Elevated

Some of you might have read my other post on first time flying and doing it in high winds.

It has been fun learning to fly using this Axn 4 channel mid wing plane. Would have been helpful doing it with an instructor, but i am figuring it out.

Last week i was flying at dusk and the sun was on the horizon. It was still outside and the mosquitos were down so i thought i would do a little flying.

Well when i flew into the sun i lost visual of it and took a nose dive. I didn't see any damage. So sent the plane back into the air. Little did i know that the battery had slammed back into both the rudder and elevator servos stripping out the gears.

When the plane was air born i had a heck of a time controlling it. I tried to get it where i could make a landing and was head for a crash, so i hit the throttle and sent it up into the sky. Then lacking rudder, this is when i realized it was messed up, it did a large loop and went nose first into he ground at full speed. The thing was toast or so i thought.

As you can see the nose is in bad shape, cracked on both sides from the top down to the bottom.





Well i read you can boil the foam and it will go back to its original shape, so i figured why not give it a try. Well it worked and a little glue and tape and it was looking pretty good.



Yesterday i got the servos replaced and pained stripes on the bottom that are black and on the top that are red. This definitly gives it more visibility in the overcast skies and helps to see what the orientation is.

After a flight around the field i was having a problem getting it trimmed in as it is flying a liitle bit different. So i came in for a landing and landed very nicely. I adjusted the elevator push rod and took her up for a flight again.

Things seemed to be going better now and the elevator was sorted out. I still needed to trim the ailerons as it was diving to the right a little. This would have been fine but i was already close to some trees, but i looked like i had plenty of room. Well i trimmed it to far and went right into a 70 foot or so tall oak tree on my property line. Arrggg.

I hop on the 4 wheeler and drive over to the edge of my field and hope it came out the other side. Nope, it is up there about 25 ft tangled in the thick branches and below it was a lot of smaller brushy trees keeping me from getting below it. Dang! Well i drive back to the house and find a grappling hook i made some years ago to pull out branches from the trees after a big storm.

After about half a dozen tries i snag it and pull. It was stuck good. Thinking it was already ruined i sad the heck with it and pull with all my weight, some 170 something pounds. Nothing! Getting ticked off i figure it will be better to recover this plane in pieces then to leave it all up there and loose all the electronics. So i give it another good pull and keep pulling it through branches breaking branches as i go.

Then the plane comes out with the grappling hook stuck in the wing, but overall it looks fine.



I need to do a little wing repair, but i think i will have this plane up and flying again. I am really surprised that it didnt sustain more damage from the crash and from me pulling on it with all my weight. I guess these planes are pretty tough.

Forgive any grammatical or spelling mistakes as i am writing this on my phone.

Gray Beard

My Feedback: (-1)

Hope you learned something, I sure did. I didn't know about the foam and hot water. Then again I don't fly foam planes but the grand kids do.
For you, well, just a couple of minor items. I always warn my students about flying in front of the sun, being sun balled isn't always avoidable but if it happens don't make any stick movements until you can see the plane again. If it's level when it's passing the sun it will stay that way for a while.
Second thing is the plane will fly very well without rudder. Most people that learned to fly were only taught elevator and aileron in the beginning anyway. My basic instructor didn't know how to use the rudder, I found that out later on.
Anyway, thanks for the tip. My next trip out with the grand kids I will be able to repair there planes a bit cleaner.

stevegauth30

Ahh, the ol hobby king AXN. I bought one for the kids, to get em flying for cheap. They thrashed it like crazy and it still flies. Go figure. Someone at my club cut the wing tips off and somehow put a glow engine on it. The thing does well over 100MPH. Pretty neat to see.

stevegauth30

Ahh, the ol hobby king AXN. I bought one for the kids, to get em flying for cheap. They thrashed it like crazy and it still flies. Go figure. Someone at my club cut the wing tips off and somehow put a glow engine on it. The thing does well over 100MPH. Pretty neat to see.

Elevated

Did a few repairs and had her up flying again tonight. Seems to fly fine. She is a little twichy at first but got the Axn dialed in again. I played a little more with some loops and rolls and i am impressed with this little plane.

Yeah the rudder does not get used all the time but when it is windy it comes in very handy.

I am starting to think about getting a balsa plane such as a stick or may e the GP Escapade. I would like to graduate, but i am goig to wait until i get where i stop crashing this thing. LOL.

Gray Beard

My Feedback: (-1)

Where are you located??

bikerbc

Although an Escapade is a very nice plane and quite easy to fly I would not recomend it to a low time pilot .I have only had the small one and don't know much about the bigger one. They land quite fast and the small one with a 46 in it can really move and if you aren't ready for it you can lose it quickly . It dose'nt have a lot of self correcting tendancys but it goes where you point it . I would go for the Stick. The ones I have had have all been very easy to fly. They slow down to land,are aerobatic and are an all around fun plane . Just a thought--If you are looking for a reasonable priced foam RTF or TxR take a look at the flyzone Beaver . It comes with flaps ,wheels and floats. Has lights that are bright . It handles the wind fairly good . Has tons of power. Comes off the water in about 5 or 10 ft . It's really a fun little plane .

stevegauth30

Sounds like awesome advice. The FZ Beaver is a sweet plane. I fly it the most out of me fleet. I have the bigger Escapade and it can be a handfull. Id second the stick or the Beaver. If you go the Beaver route, it will hone your rudder skills. It can be flown without the rudder, but if you use it it flies VERY scale. Just my 2C.

Elevated

Thanks guys. I think for my next plane i would like a balsa and not foam. Foam maybe better as it is easily repaired, but i would like a more traditional plane.

Do you guys know anything about the HK Stick 1500? It looks pretty nice has a little dihedral to the wings vs straight like a real Stik. It is fairly cheap as well at about $80 so it wouldn't be the end of the world if i crash it.

Cheap is kind if the route i am going right now as i do not want to get an expensive plane until i have much more experience.

Really i probably don't need another plane for a while, but i just figure i will do the research now so i will be ready when the Axn is toast or i just want to try something else.

By the way GB, i am up in MN.

stevegauth30

Well, if cheap is what your after, then that will do ok. I dont deal with them as they have ZERO customer service and mostly sell crap, (sorry, but it is). BUT, for the first couple of seasons in the hobby, thats all i bought. And i always had a smile on my face when flying. So, mthe moral of the story, go for it. Any stick will be a good second plane. Eventually youll want nice planes that last for years and years, and youll spend the extra money on the good stuff.

Gray Beard

My Feedback: (-1)

OK, I was just wondering, I have a brand new H-9 Ultra stick RTF I plan on selling, I have a couple guys having me hold it for them but no money has shown up yet. The problem is it's fully assembled and can't/won't ship. Too bad, I really have it set up nice.

bikerbc

The most important things are to be safe and have fun .I you aren't in a big hurry for your next plane have you thought about building one? There are some really nice kits that are fairly easy to build and you will end up with a much better plane . You will need the space to build ( a small shop or unused bedroom ) For many of us building is one of the best parts of the hobby . There is not much to match the feeling you get when you put a new airplane that you have built in the air for the first time ,espially if it flys well and does not crash .

bikerbc

If you are close to Gene I would go for his Stick . I don't think you could ever find a more knowlagable trustworthy guy to deal with

Gray Beard

My Feedback: (-1)

Ken has a good point about building. My nephew was learning to fly while with me in Calif. and when he went home he built his own trainer. Flew that until the covering was falling off. While he was flying that he built a 60 size Bridi Kaos and learned his stunt flying with that plane. After that he got into bigger stunt planes and they were all ARFs but unlike most ARF pilots he was able to do all his own repairs on them when needed.
Building isn't for everyone though, it takes time and is another skill set. I'm one of the few builders I know and get asked to do repairs for people quite often.

Gray Beard

My Feedback: (-1)

He isn't close and as I said, it's assembled. I made it RTF thinking to sell it here at the field. Installed OK servos, nothing great but OK and put a nice rebuilt OS .91 FS in it. When it took it out for the maiden the guys freaked and told me not to fly it if I was just going to sell it. You know, wait for a buyer before the maiden so I didn't get any dirt on it.
I have a friend in Florida that wants it but I can't ship it for him so he is cooking up a deal with a furniture moving friend of his?? That's a real want!! If someone with the money locally wants it they will get it first. I admit it is a nice plane but you know, it's an ARF!!

stevegauth30

You wanna save some money while learning not to crash? Join a local club, get with an instructor, and invest in a simulator. Real flight or phoenix. Will save lots of $ and greif in the long haul.

Elevated

Thanks guys for the replies. I think assembling a kit would be fun, but i am building my entire house by myself, while we live in our camper. Not much space or time for that sort of thing right now. Thus ARF and electric planes for me right now. I just want to be able to take half an hour and fly when i get the chance.

I might go ahead and order the HK Stick 1500 for now. Then i can order the rest of the ectronic later.

I did some more flying again last night after the sun had go e behind the trees. There was a steady 5 mph ish wind and it was a lot of fun to play in as i could take the plane up and just glide around silently like a hawk. I went through two 2200 ah packs and landed a dozen times or so to work on my landing skills. All landings were soft and where i wanted this time. Yea, i am getting the hang of it.

I appreciate the advise for getting an instructor, but as i said in my other post, the closest club is around an hour and a half from me. So i will not be seeking an instructor because i do not have the three hours just to put into driving. Besides i am getting where crashes are less frequent and i can actual land and fly where i intend to. I am happy with my progress so far.

Thanks. I will keep you guys up to date on my progress.

stevegauth30

Thats all that matters. Have fun.

Elevated

Been having fun with this plane. It flies a little funny now after all the repairs, but it still flies.

Still looking at a secong plane.

Elevated

Today i decided to clip the wings. Took close to 5 inches off each side so now the wingspan is around 41".

I had never measured the wingspan so when i cut almost 10" off i was wondering what the deal was when i measured it at 41" since the manufacturer says the WS is 44". Well they are wrong and i measured the WS holding the tips back in place and got 50-3/4". Not sure why there is more then a 6" difference from what the manufacturer list.

Anyways i am waiting to try this plane out tonight after work. Hopefully it will handle fine. I am expecting it to be faster and more maneuverable. I would think it should be more stable in the wind since there is less wing surface to be caught by gusts.

I will give you guys an update after giving it a test flight.

stevegauth30

bEEN THERE, DONE THAT. iT TURNS IT INTO A WHOLE DIFFERENT PLANE. iT WILL MORE THAN DOUBLE THE ROLL RATE, AND A BIT FASTER. i CHANGED MY PROP TO A 5X5 I THINK IT WAS. THAT GAVE UNLIMITED VERTICLE. WENT FROM A SOMEWHAT BORING LITTLE PLANE TO A FUN PLANE IN A HURRY.

Elevated

Yeah i am looking forward to flying it later. Hope it is not too windy tonight. It came stock with a 5x5 prop, i have seen a lot of suggestions for getting a 6x4 prop to wake it up a bit. I am going to get one of those ordered. Thanks.

Elevated

Hopefully i can handle the plane ok now with the shorter wings. Hehe. I have gotten pretty good at flying it the way it is and haven't crashed in quite a while. Getting pretty good at landing it in a tight space as well.

stevegauth30

OK, then it was probably a 6-4 or a 6-5 I put on. There was only maybe 1/4 inch of clearance but worked fine. Just watch you don't pull too many amps or the magic smoke will come out. Lol.

Elevated

Cool thanks. How do i know how many amps it is drawing with a 6x4 vs the stick 5x5?