Ford Fiesta XR4 / ST150 Differential Bearings

The most commonly discussed Achilles heel to the Fiesta XR4/ST150 is the IB5 transmission. The gearbox doesn’t randomly explode, but has one significant weakness in addition to the “usual” front-wheel-drive hot-hatch gearbox fragility.

Continue reading Ford Fiesta XR4 / ST150 Differential Bearings

Kyosho PureTen GP Spider Mk2 – Resources

In 1998 Kyosho released the PureTen GP Spider Mk2, a nitro powered 1/10th scale touring car featuring an in-house developed GS11R engine.  On this page you will find a collection of resources that will help you restore and maintain these unique cars. Continue reading Kyosho PureTen GP Spider Mk2 – Resources

Building the $99 Pro FPV Racing Quadcopter

When UAVFutures published their guide on building a $99 Pro FPV Racing Quadcopter I was intrigued.  Could it really be done for that price?  Could I build it better?  Would the result at the end be substantially better than my first quadcopter?  There was only one way to find out; Build it! Continue reading Building the $99 Pro FPV Racing Quadcopter

Why you shouldn’t buy a Flysky X6B Receiver from Hobbyking!

FlySky users know there’s not a huge number of receiver options with battery telemetry, so when the FlySky X6B started coming available it was only the 2nd such device, the Turnigy branded iA6C being the other.  Unlike the Hobbyking exclusive Turnigy iA6C the FlySky X6B is widely available.  In this post I’ll cover the reality checks needed if you’re buying your FlySky X6B from Hobbyking. Continue reading Why you shouldn’t buy a Flysky X6B Receiver from Hobbyking!

Project: Quanum Trifecta Drone (Part 2)

The Quanum Trifecta sold through Hobbyking is a circa 295mm Tri-copter that folds for transport yet still carries 8″ propellers.  In my first post I gave a bit of background on the project and following on from that this post will give a rundown of the parts sourced for the build.

Continue reading Project: Quanum Trifecta Drone (Part 2)

Updated to real BLHeli and it’s AWESOME

When I bought these Emax Nano v2 20A ESCs I thought I was getting a bargain.  In hindsight they have been the root of many hours of uncertainty and confusion.  Once the “stock” BLHeli was replaced with the real BLHeli though it all came together. Continue reading Updated to real BLHeli and it’s AWESOME

Lessons from Flying my DIY Quadcopter Badly

The hardest thing about building my own quadcopter from random parts has been the process I’m about to describe.  Using (flying) it.  You see, if like me you’ve never flown anything before you’re going to be starting at the bottom of a steep learning curve. Continue reading Lessons from Flying my DIY Quadcopter Badly

Problems Updating EMAX Nano ESCs

When I ordered all the bits for my first Quadcopter build I didn’t do much due-diligence.  That’s how I ended up spending tens of hours trying to update the BLHeli firmware on the EMAX Nano ESCs.  This post takes you on my journey of frustration and enlightenment. Continue reading Problems Updating EMAX Nano ESCs