There was something similar, although a bit more enclosed, parked up by Fleet Pond a few months ago, possibly supplying a local comms mast or perhaps some MOD buildings.
Sal seems to be keeping his head down, which makes me wonder if he is a troll.
So where's starter pull-cord?
Cheers
If genuine, it rather seems that he needs professional advice with his procurement.
Chris
ISTR there were large engines made with added starter engines.
NT
To run the compressor to build up a supply of compressed air to be released into engine to "blow" it over?
I really don't remember.
NT
I once started a wartime D4 tractor,it had a rope start petrol starter motor to start the diesel.
I hate to go one better, but My old dad had one that required a shotgun cartridge 12 bore blank to start it up. There was a special valve in the head of one cylinder to accept the cartridge. He would then leaving it idling all day when not in use rather than re-starting it as diesel was dirt cheap back then; certainly cheaper than cartridges.
There's a you tube video of summat like that. In fact there are lots...
Similar system on quite a few WW2 aero engines.
I recall this system being used in the movie, "Flight of The Phoenix" where it was referred to as a "Coffman Starter".
As far as I can ascertain, the gasses from the cartridge simply substituted for a high pressure air supply to a pneumatic starter motor rather than being fed into a modified cylinder on the engine to work directly on the piston as was implied in the "Flight of The Phoenix" movie.
The only downside with this system was that it could only provide enough energy to turn the engine over by two or three revolutions for each 'shot', unlike a compressed air start from a high pressure storage tank which could keep cranking until the air tank ran 'empty'.
The major advantage of the Coffman (shotgun cartridge) starter was its very low weight penalty. The air motor was considerably lighter than its electric counterpart and even a case of 24 cartridges weighed far less than a lead acid starter battery of equivalent energy.
I immediately thought of that film when this was first mentioned. I always do! Quite a good film, I thought (the original) although the acting wasn't marvellous. And the brilliant bit where they find out he is a *model* aircraft designer...
Was thinking of just that film when the topic came up. ;-)
Yes, it raised an interesting point in regard of the difference between a "Toy" and a "Model" aeroplane. There was a 'real to life' misconception by the rest of the characters that the two were one and the same thing.
Sadly, I'm now reminded of this general misconception every time I see those *toy* helicopters on sale, even in 'so called' modelling shops where the proprietors really aught to know better, even Aldi once sold an RC *model* helicopter just a few years back.
It's now extremely rare indeed to find any honest to goodness helicopter
*models* on the shelves of such emporia these days, they're all those twin concentric contra-rotating rotor abominations, bearing no resemblance to the look and 'feel' (handling characteristics) of the vast majority of real helicopters in service today.These 'flying toys' are the inevitable result of expanding beyond the enthusiast/hobbyist interest group into the much larger 'consumerist' market demographic.
As always, PT Barnum's observation is the basis of the key strategy of "Marketing" in any major retailing operation where the product is designed to minimise the skills requirement to the point where even a fool can get results (and think they've joined an illustrious club they'd previously been denied access to).
A classic example of this being MSFT's various windowed OSes designed specifically to allow computer illiterates the joys of using a general purpose personal computer without any need to learn a thing about IT.
Initially, this 'de-skilling' exercise of windowed OSes was a benign enhancement which retained (and even enhanced) the important 'User Features' reaching its peak with windows 95osr2 and windows 2000 professional's classic desktop but MSFT aggressively neutered the useful 'user features' with subsequent windows versions (winXP and beyond) with indecent haste at the turn of the century, replacing the removed useful features with 'bling' to appeal to the childlike mentality of their home market consumer demographic, assuming that foreign consumer market demographics would be exactly the same.
If you make something so 'Foolproof' that even a fool can use it then only a fool would *want* to use it. That's not to say that everyone using MSFT's current versions of windows are fools, just that only fools would happily and uncritically use those OSes in the false belief that there is no better alternative.
This in itself wouldn't be a problem to those who prefer to use a home or office computer rather than be used by such except for the fact that MSFT effectively orphaned their earlier epitome of Desktop Environments, windows 2000 Professional (Classic Desktop) by totally dropping support, forcing hardware and third party software developers to exclude it from their compatibility list.
Fortunately for the keen RC model enthusiast, there is no cartel impeding the sales of component parts to satisfy the desire to model real life craft in miniature according to their own unique goals.
In the case of the computer hobbyist (not necessarily computing for its own sake), when they look to alternatives to MSFT windows (and Apple products), the equivalent of creating a unique desktop environment using Linux or BSD is largely hampered by a dearth of *nix driver support as a result of the Wintel cartel's influence and control over the hardware manufacturers.
Of course, you need to keep in mind the major difference between DIY RC modelling enthusiasts and DIY Home computer enthusiasts is that the former represent no commercial threat to the established major retailers of product aimed at the consumer whilst the latter group is seen by the Wintel cartel as a serious potential threat if not impeded in one way or another.
Apologies for expanding the 'topic drift' even further but I've been monitoring the stupid arguments over the merits of Linux versus windows
10 in the acow-10 news group recently and the parallels just seem so overwhelmingly obvious, I felt impelled to offer my observations. It's a far cry from the original topic of "Ordering (a) 250KVA (generator)", isn't it? :-)
Not sure I'd call the Gaui X7 a toy at nearly 900 quid.
People have the same problem with guns are they real or toys, well that should be easy to decide, but a model gun or a replica gun.
Just saw what I assume is a real one orange in colour think it's heading for the Royal Londons helipad.
Same for cars there' far more toy cars than model cars or real cars or replicas, I think it's down to what people are buying.
Linux is free windows costs money.
well I woul;d have thpought 250KVa generators are more likely to be hired than a 900 quid toy helicopter especailly when you can get a decent drone with camera fo that. Trouble with helicopters is that as models they are a bit dated and can't do anywhere near as much as a quadcopter so why buy one ?
A friends weddign the photographer had his own quadcopter, not a helicopter.
Indeed. And also that designing a Model plane as opposed to a Real one was in some ways a simpler job - I believe the character pointed out that in soem ways it was more complex.
The point he was making was that he was using exactly the same, from basic principles, design rules as the aviation industry used for "The Real Thing". I think the extra complexity was in relation to stability requirements for free flight models and the problems the remote pilot had to contend with when flying RC models.
How about this for a multi-rotor device?
Chris
It's not and neither were any of the others on that page.
Around about 30 years ago, I remember being quite impressed by the quality of RC race car kit being assembled and raced by a couple of works colleagues who were heavily committed to the hobby. It was like Formula One in miniature in regard of the details in suspension and tyres and chassis. This was before the advent of LiPo batteries and high performance electric motors turned it all into a Plug 'n' Play operation.
Although I could see the fascination in the RC model hobby, it was far too expensive for me to participate at the time, particularly as I already had financial commitments to electronics in the fields of radio transceivers and highish power audio amps along with an interest in open reel magnetic tape recording and other related "Hi-Fi" audio kit and eventually into digital electronics and personal computing.
As much as I found the hobby fascinating, particularly that of flying fixed wing model aeroplanes, I was content to confine my activities to that of spectator and student. There was only so much of me to spread around and amongst all these fascinating hobby pursuits.
Now that I'm older, and a little wiser, I realise that, at the end of the day, all these hobbies are essentially a way of 'wasting time' in an entertaining fashion. I'm not having a go at hobbyists, we're all largely 'wasting time' one way or another even when the activities involved cannot be dignified with the label "Hobby".
Most hobbies have the virtue that the 'play' involved does contain a strong educational component (the whole point of play amongst most animal species, not just humans, being to learn about the world in which you have to survive). 'Play' is a vital part of growing up for the juveniles to become fully functioning members of whatever species they belong to.
The windows advocates would argue, with some justification, that there are other costs when using Linux (neatly forgetting that there are also similar (learning curve) costs when moving to the latest windows desktop paradigm).
Everyone, including me, prefers to take a definite stance whenever possible when it comes to forming an opinion on anything just to keep it nice and simple in our mind's eye. Holding a middle ground view demands far more intellectual effort which is a tax on our cerebral cortex's resources which we naturally try to avoid.
Unfortunately, the truth is rarely so black and white, often (as is generally the case) being somewhere inbetween the two extremes, usually right in the middle ground most of us would prefer to avoid. However, taking a more relaxed inbetween view has its compensations (less inclination to get into pointless arguments that black is black and white is white for one).
I think you might be forced to change your mind once you've viewed the following videos. :-)
A quad-copter isn't so much a model helicopter so much as a very stable camera platform. I have the feeling that you may be confusing what I referred to as a "twin concentric contra-rotating rotor abomination" toy with the legitimate RC quad-copter flying platform. Just to clarify the situation, here's a link to a video about hacking such toys to make them more manoeuvrable (neatly contrasting the difference between toys and models)
One of the dragons said the helicopter rotor etc system is patented, hence the toys all have to use alternatives. I don't know how that can be so, but there you go.
NT
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