Reviews.
Wingman Force Feedback by Logitech.
The realms of flight simulator are getting better by the week and to get the best from the excellent aircraft now available you need a decent joystick,the Wingman Force 3D certainly fulfills that slot nicely with a clever in-built flight load which gives you that 'seat of the pants' flying feel whether you are handling a Concorde or a Piper Cub.
This ergonomic stick with its versatile software has a nice feel to it,you can rest your thumb and forefinger on the sides and immedietly can see the difference between a conventional joystick with its smooth as silk operation,there is no nasty bias springs to contend with just ultra smooth operation to let you get on with your flying.
The configuration is a 2 axis stick with a throttle lever,twist handle for the rudder and a 8-Way hat switch and no less than 7 programmable buttons which are useful for allocating to flaps,undercarriage,and views.
The unit has its own power supply to fire it up,there is no indicator light but a hefty click as it is plugged in shows that is functioning properly.
I liked the way that it immediately detected the software and the necessary drivers installed without any fuss but the proof was to be in th actual test flight-
From the moment the engine was started the stick responded as I taxied across the bumpy grass and lined up,as the ground loads diminished so did the stick recognise this and the aircraft smoothed out as it rotated,the aileron response was beauitiful and the elevator a tad twitchy,this was soon fixed by adjusting the sensitivity values and nothing to worry about,as I lifted the undercarriage there was an hefty 'clonk' very realistic indeed and all adding to the realism factors.
To get an idea of the set up for the program buttons here is a screenshot-
Once the various axis are set up they stay put,likewise the buttons on the right which give plenty of scope for your various control inputs.
The device gets my following ratings,out of six stars-
Value-*****
User Friendly-*****
Ergonomic layout-*****
Software installation-*****
Flying feel-******
Set up of controls-*****
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________
MEDUSA RESEARCH POWER ANALYZER PLUS.
With the advent of electric flight is was inevitable that quality products to get the best from both batteries,propellers and motors would appear,in the recent past modellers have relied heavily on simply trying out different combinations to get the best from their models,now thanks to this product this is all a thing of the past and the guesswork,trials & tribulations can now be handled by the Medusa Research Power Analyzer plus to get the very best results when you fly electric.This device goes far beyond the standard watt-meter and will measure accurately what is happening from your battery power source right through to the final output ie your propeller,to fine tune we are aiming to get as near as possible to between 75 to 100 watts per pound of model,sounds easy well just try an handful of different props with varying pitch,mass and length, and you will soon begin to see what a black art this becomes without resource to a precision instrument as we display here,and make no mistake about it this is exactly what it is ! Also given that up until now many models have been equipped with what is available in terms of propeller sizes things are about to change,a whole new range of super efficient blades will start to appear as motors get more powerful and require custom made propulsion units.So where does the Power Analyzer fit in ? well right from the moment you decide which electric motor to fit into your new model,without even waiting for that first test flight you can sit at home and fine tune your vital combination of unleashed power,you see the product also comes with its very own built in software package which allows you to not only monitor but record the operating voltage,Amps,watts,amp-hours and watt-hours via your laptop,once the software is installed then its powerful qualities will soon become apparent and the full potential of this device be realised.
Here is a screen grab of one of the graphs in use-
In this case we are recording watt hours with the watts peaking as a vertical blue line on the left of the screen,all five parrameters can be recorded simultaneously and monitored by clicking onto each respective operation,you can then save the graphs onto your hard drive for study at a later date,thus making comparisons with various functions,and above all relating them to a specific battery,propeller combination.
Note on the right of the graph box appears the resultant 'real time' readings,comparisons with those shown on the Power Analyzer box itself during the test showed them to be spot on.Once the functions of the software graph package are grasped ( and they really are easy if I can handle them !) then the sky is your limit,the ability to monitor and once more usefully use the information for efficency gain brings this package into perspective.
Now we will move onto the actual physical set up of the meter,so for this out came my trusty electric powered soarer with its Astro cobalt motor,wel why not use something tried and tested ? here we can see the layout of the cables-
Setting up is simplicity itself,firstly we connect the load side ie the motor with its propeller source,the meter then becomes the bridge from which we can monitor what is happening exactly as we did with the software,then the battery is connected to the source business end ie the battery,once the power source is connected the display appears thus-Voltage (V),Current (A),Watts (W),Amp-Hours (AH) & Watt-Hours (WH),the amp-hous and watt-hours share the same space,in the upper left hand corner of the display,these effectively alternate every 3 seconds.
It is interesting to note that the Power-Analyzer has two ranges of current and automatically switches between low and high range,to quote from the excellent booklet supplied with this equipment it says-'Low current range has a resolution on 0.05A,and works from 0.0A to 19.00A,High current range has a resolution of 0.10A,and works from 19.00A to 100.0A'.
However that is not the end of what this piece of kit can do,it is also capable of measuring the capacity of a battery by first discharging it from a battery charger that has a discharge facility or by using the ESC (Speed controller) and motor,then connecting the battery to the 'source' side of the Power-Analyzer' once the battery is discharged the final battery capacity is shown in amp hours.
Measurement of the charge being placed into a rechargeable battery is yet another task that the Power-Analyzer can amply cope with,in this case the battery becomes the load,at the end of the charge cycle,the amount of charge placed into the battery is displayed in amp-hours on the units display.
Summing up the Medusa Power-Analyzer is that for a modest outlay (retails at £46.00+ VAT) you have a very capable piece of test equipment which will enable you to get the utmost from your electric flight equipment,gone are the days of working in the dark as to what is happening within your power source and the eventual power train,this is in my eyes the Crypton tuner of the model world and I have no hesitation in recommending what is without doubt a first class quality piece of equipment.
The product is available from Aurorra Ltd,108 Wheel Lane,Grenoside,Sheffield,South Yorkshire,S35 8RY,Tel:01142570401,check out their web site at www.aurrora.co.uk for other allied electric flight goodies,the company is committed to top quality fully tested goods.
Our thanks to Mike at Aurorra Ltd for supplying the review equipment and his unstinting support.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
WEST MOUNTAIN RADIO CBA-Computerised Battery Analyzer.
This is far more than a simple battery voltage tester,with such a wide variety of battery sizes and types in use by modellers today,and with any chemistry make up and provided they are below a massive 48 volts then this unit will perform sophisticated scientific tests of these batteries.
The unit is perfectly capable of much higher test rates than any other tester on the market today up to 40 amps or 150 watts,whichever is the higher.It also functions just as well with great accuracy below 3 amps and at small currents so is ideal for small batteries as well.
Whil testing the total amount of energy stored in a battery ie capacity in amp hours,combined with the excellent software supplied can graphically display and saved and printed for comparison at a later stage,you can even do multiple tests of the same battery and information overlaid for study.Batteries can be suitably labelled,numbered and their respective life monitored.
The CBA will even test the temperature of a battery with the use of an optional external temperature probe with the safety of an automatic temperature cut off control.One unique feature for such a small unit is a built in cooling fan which kicks in during the battery test,the fan is so quiet that it can hardly be heard.
The unit features an integrated plug and play USB interface direct to the computer or lap top.The software supplied loaded well and is straightforward to use with a top level display,it provides automated sensing of the cell count,a safety check of the test rate and most importantly recommends a safe minimum discharge for the batteries that you are testing.No longer do you need to work in the dark with your valuable batteries,you will continue to learn important and valuable information about the batteries in your inventory.
To use the equipment is simplicity itself,once the software is opened and the battery connected the following procedure is undertaken-A green LED comes on the CBA and the software legend displays ‘stopped’ to get started a test name is placed in the top left hand window,each test can be easily saved for later comparison between different batteries,next the battery make up chemistry is added ie nicad,nimh,lipo etc,the battery can be connected at this stage,once the green start button has been pressed then the graph will start to appear and auto scale,all reading windows then change from green to red,the red LED comes on and the green word ‘stopped’ changes to red which denotes running and the fan gets going.The current display then comes up to the test level,and the wattage will be displayed and the amp hours will build up as the graph traces the path.The test continues until the test cut off point is reached,the program displays ‘test complete’ and everything returns to the stopped condition.At this stage the battery can be carefully dis-connected,you can then go to the file menu and save the results,or if you wish make a coloured printout.
Further consecutive tests can be made by placeing in another test number in the left hand window and the above steps simply repeated.
The great thing also about the CBA is its compactness and portability,take your lap top with you to the flying field or boating lake and take the guesswork out of your valuable batteries,coupled with a set of interchangeable power leads or adapters this unit will prove an invaluable part of your toolkit.
Mention must be made of the first class instructions and a useful glossary of terms for beginners.
I have no hestitation in recommending this useful and versatile unit,once you have used it then you really will begin to wonder how on earth that you did without it !
The compact CBA battery tester wired up,utilises USB connection on your computer.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________
RC FLIGHT MASTER Extreme64 By Reality Craft.
Having flown virtually every type of model flight sim on the market without a doubt this has got to be the most realistic yet in my opinion,Extreme64 is the next generation physics which utilises 64 bit maths up to 1 million times the accuracy of standard 32 bit systems,it features some awesome 3D aerobatic models and I can vouch for the realism of flight with all of the models,a total of 50 in all ! this is what you can do with this system-
If you like sailplanes then Realwind will keep you aloft as you soar with the birds across hillsides,waterplanes are catered for with a D.H Beaver on floats plus an electric example as well,the water ripple effects plus the glugging as sunken models go under is outstandingly realistic,and you dont even have to get your feet wet ! if heavy metal turns you on then try out the B-52 Stratofortress,Avro Lancaster and even a Boeing 747,the flight dynamics have been very carefully worked out to givese models the right feel about them,on top of this you can re-configure the settings to give a different centre of gravity,alter the way the physical mass of the model flies and then go and test fly.
Helicopter enthusiasts have not been left out,and this is really where FlightMaster comes into its own,nose in hovers are really difficult to perform on your own model without constantly bending parts,with this system you will be doing confident nose in hovers within a couple of hours,the scale helicopter is a beauty and has a most realistic sit in flight,great fun to fly around the trees and obstacles,if your interests lie in 3D heli flying then this is your tool to success,practise on this and it will save you scores of expensive models and downtime doing repairs.
The scenery comes in two types 3D and photo quality images,some interesting sites have been picked and I found them most enjoyable to fly from the areas selected,see the screen grabs here.
Either a standard joy stick or a model TX Transmitter can be used,the latter will need an interface cable sold as a seperate item.
Requirements are:Windows 98/ME/2000/XP.Pentium 1.0 Ghz or equivalent,128 mb RAM,32 MB 3D Video card (DirectX compatible)DirectX 8.0 or higher ( included on the CD) 400 MB Hard disk space,2x speed CDROM drive,keyboard and mouse.
A unique feature that will appeal to beginners is the coordination trainer,this is a great idea to assist beginners in learning and developing the skills needed to fly RC model aircraft.
This screen grab just does not do justice to the look of this scale Bell 427 helicopter seen here just getting into the hover,in the background is a wind farm that creaks as the sails turn,birds cheep in the background and the trees get very close as you weave between them,the little aeroplane in the centre instrument is an attitude indicator,very useful when the model is flying at distance,that is a rotor rpm gauge on the left of the attitude instrument,the arrow on the lower left is a wind direction indicator.
The Beaver goes around the circuit over some very realistic photo quality scenery,this gives excellent spatial training and a real feeling of just being there ! touch and goes are a pleasure to practise while the rain pours down outside you are in the warm gaining good practise.
Here the Avro Lancaster rumbles around the circuit,dont worry you will not get any complaints about noise from these neighbours ! the sheer challenge of flying the Lanc from this interesting location is real fun but dont overshoot into the hedge.
The Mig 15 is one of a stable of jets that whistles around,she flies very well,here I am doing a beat up of the control tower.
Here the mighty B-52 takes off from the long concrete runway,get it wrong on the landing and she will break up as she hits the approach fence,dont worry a quick click onto F11 and away she goes again.
Taxying out the Beaver into wind through the buoys,and yes she will sink if things go pear shaped,you can even hear the water sloshing around in the dam.
Verdict: A really excellent model flight simulator that does what it says,above all whether you are a raw beginner or experienced flyer you will learn so much because it is as accurate an enactment of model flight that you will get,well done RealityCraft,you really are onto a winner with this one.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________
MECCANO CONCORDE.
The long awaited Meccano Concorde arrived during August 2005 perhaps just a little too late to get the maximum sales potential from this beautiful aircraft that is no longer in service,Concorde enthusiasts will love this sleek rendering in good old Meccano parts with some special items made specially for this delightful version,the layout has been carefully thought out with quite a detailed undercarriage unit in the form of built up bogies,rubber tyres and sturdy axles and legs.
The model assembles from a box of parts neatly packaged and set out in a polystyrene foam building tray,the instructions come in the modern form of non text illustrations displaying the required parts for each assembly stage,the crux of the fuselage revolves around eight cylinders each bolted together to form the long slim form,the die cast nose and tail cones bolt onto further specially formed pressings held in place with lock nuts for the drop snoot nose.
The only area where there was assembly problems was the engine assemblies,the required hole spacing shown on the drawing is wrong and created quite a bit of head scratching to find a solution,by adding an additional strip under the wings and placing a long bolt straight through the wing from top to bottom I solved the issue,the fronts of the engine intakes needed extending with further small one inch strips which were in turn fixed to the brackets,in all cases I had to rob parts from my stock of Meccano.
Why such an error should have crept in I really do not know ? but it is a serious one that needs looking at and rectifying.
The decals complete the attractive look and when the model is at rest it really looks the part.
Here are some angles on this unusual model-
Looking down onto the Meccano Concorde shows the attention to detail,not an easy subject to produce from bolted components.
Impressive sit on the bogie undercarriage modules made up from a few dozen parts.
A better view of the undercarriage,note the cross piece of Meccano strip that had to be added to secure the problem engine nacelles,the hole staggering just does not line up placing the engines too far towards the leading edge of the wing,the plastic jet nozzles were a sloppy fit and needed to be fixed with cyno,otherwise they fall off.
Another view showing extended intake lips.
The sleek frontal lines of Concorde.
Verdict-A clever rendering of Concorde marred by the problem with the engine nacelle fitting problem,but dis-regarding this I really enjoyed building this one.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________
Google Earth.
If you have not tried out the fabulous Google Earth yet then what are you waiting for ? pan into any area of the globe and literally see your back yard with the garden shed,you can even tilt the image to ground level so see roads,rivers,airports from ground level,and once more it is totally FREE.
The imaging streams North,South,East,West and by manipulation of the mouse the image magnifies into ground level,well almost.
To demonstrate the potential I did three tests,one is the area of Nassau,one the centre of Leeds and the other aircraft on the ground at Coventry airport,you can read off details never before imagined possible,as a learning tool it is second to non,for online route preparation it backs up your cars GPS by pre-planning,set route A/ to route B/ and the route prepares itself in front of your very eyes,if you need watering holes or businesses then these are also marked as overlays.
This has only got to get better,geographical survey work is constantly being updated and areas of coverage improved all of the time,every flying field,boating lake and model raceway is on there somewhere,check co-ordinates by hand if you know them for precise locations,give yourself a bit of time because this sure is addictive stuff,lets do our own mini tour to see the potential-
Spaceship view of Nassau,note the area to the right is shaded,by placing the cursor to the right brings into view the overlap area of the map ( not on this fixed image here ) scroll forward with the mouse and it brings you down to ground level,ships,boats,buildings can be clearly seen.
Leeds centre,you can get closer than this if you want to,high resolution photography ensures pin sharp imaging,the tilt slider below the arrows ( on the original ) brings you down to a few degrees,play around with it to see the potential.
Aircraft parked up at Coventry airport,the map follows a contour so the more you move across the earths surface the better the image.
So find out your own locations by checking it out now.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________
SILVERLIT UFO
This model UFO will give you hours of flying fun,it is a really high tech four motored lifting frame with gyroscopically controlled motors,the outer frame is made from a band of carbon fibre composite which springs and bounces off any surface that gets in its way,the receiver,four motors,gyro and spectacular flashing blue and red lights are powered from a 12 volt Nickle Metal Hydride battery,the model comes with a nice little transmitter in Mode 2 with lateral,longitudinal,throttle and 'rudder' controls,it also has a very neat feature for re-programming the gyroscope should the factory settings become confused,this are activated on all four axis by throwing individual switches,all functions have trim facility,there is also a mains slow/fast charger,fast charge is 25 minutes,you can also charge it from your cars accessory socket with the adaptor supplied,then there are 4 spare blades for 2 of each pitces.
Not knowing how she would fly,not having handled a UFO before ! I slowly opened the throttle,she immediately settles into the hover mode much like an helicopter ,but that is where the difference ends,the orientation of the model is goverened by the front red light,this reflects on a band of red tape,the idea is to keep that portion forward,the 'rudder' control for want of a better or more appropiate word is quite sensitive and needs gentle movements to swing her round,the lateral control works up to 20 degrees when the gyro becomes sensitive and she slides,provided that you have enough height she will recover,with a bit of practise you are quickly circling the room with tiny control imputs,should you strike something ( which you will at first ) then the gyro automatically resets itself,this is indicated with the three blue lights and the front red one flashing,then you are rady to lift more aliens into space.
The outer ring takes a fair bit of punishment protecting the delicate propeller blades within the ring.
There is a lot of inbuilt technology and thought that has gone into this true fun flying machine,I cannot wait to get her outside in calm weather to put her through her paces,forget what she looks like as she will not win any awards for beauty,but she does fly well and brings a new angle to electric flight,fun with a capital 'F'
There is a lot of high tech crammed into the central module,the electronic gyro stacked on top of the receiver with the four carbon rods exiting to the four electric motors and speed controllers on the outriggers,a carbon fibre rebound bar is fitted inside the circular fender,the centre coil antennae takes care of any trailing aerial wire.
The lower view showing the 6 feet protuding past the motors,these offer adequate protection,the centre of the lower console provides a place for the battery,this clips into a plastic cage which springs into place,the UFO certainly is a very rugged machine.
A better view of the geared motors that clip onto the carbon fibre rods,two motors spin clockwise and two anti-clockwise to eliminate torque effect.
At arms length all ready for flight,the clever layout of the Silverlit UFO is apparent.
Not the easiest thing to photograph in flight,but my wife took these after several attempts and lots of briefing !
Conclusions-The Silverlit UFO is a challenging model to fly,anyone who has flown helicopters should have no difficulty,you need to only add small control inputs to fly this one and due to her rugged structure she will stand up to a bit of rough and tumble,the gyro reset facility is excellent,the whole package offers good value for what you get.
For beginners this model will lead them into use of the anti-torque rotor of the helicopter,except this one has no tail rotors,she will sharpen up your reflexes and improve your flying,a lot of flying fun.
_________________________________________________________________________________
TSR-2 Model by Airfix.
A few sprue pictures and the lovely decal sheet of the new ( at February 2006 ) Airfix TSR-2
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________
EXTRA 300 by Sasco
Extra 300 being rigged.
Note the massive ailerons for 3-D flying
Cannot wait to wring this one out
In-runner brushless motor provides the power with a massive 13 inch propeller
Sorry test flying delayed until the problems with the battery are sorted out,note the bare wires where they enter the plug ! what concerns me is that it could have ignited in the trip from China to the UK in this state.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
