WCB

Aileron flutter then aileron came off. Spiraled in from about 200 feet up. Adios Alpha. Autopsy revealed the aileron hinges had VERY little CA attaching them. Hangar Nine Alpha owners a word to the wise...."check your hinges."

cruzmissile

I think it would of been recoverable since one aileron came of. You would still have elevator and rudder coordination.

LearjetMech

Sorry for your loss! Just for craps and giggles, give Horizon a call and see what they can do for you! One thing a company doesn't want to hear is a "failure due to workmanship". Trust me, I'm in the full scale business! Worst they can say is no! Were you flying with an instuctor? How many flights did you have on the airplane? What manuever were you in to cause flutter? Reason I ask is I have an Alpha too. looking forward to your response and if Horizon has any soft spots.

Spaceclam

the alpha has many problems. it is called an rtf, but i have tseen things like pushrods hooked up incorrectly, wing dowels not glued in, HINGES NOT GLUED WELL and all kinds of other stupid things. you may as well buy an arf. with the amount of work that you have to put into an expensive prebuilt plane to catch those fatal things, you are wasting time and money. in the hobby, building skills are a good thing. i wish i could build kits, but given school and all, i don't have that kind of time. an arf allows you to get some basic skills but you personally install those things so you can be confidant it is done right.

Mike_Mc

Hey look, another ARF/RTF where the wing broke at the lame non-glassed wing center. ***sarcasm of***

Combat Addict

I had a SuperStar RTF, it is now my dads. Always make sure you epoxy the wing halfs together. For future refrence.

rik756

My Feedback: (12)

4' wide medium fiberglass right down the middle and all the way around on anything I fly... Don't leave the ground without it!

ctshepherd

My Feedback: (34)

By looking at the pic, it wouldn't have mattered what was holding it together! It also looks like the wing has been repaired once before judging by the covering patch.

4' wide fiberglass eh? That is some pretty wide cloth!

donhef

I feel you loss also. Looks like my Avistar after getting hit by a downdraft on final.

Wings look repairable, I re-did mine. But you might want to see if Horizon will send you a new fuse. Mine was torn up from the nose all the way to the aft radio compartment bulkhead. I didn't feel like I could repair that kind of damage. But you do learn a lot from repairing the wing structure!

On the bright side, the tail feathers look great! :-)

WCB

Thanks for the words of sympathy. It's not so bad. The engine and flight pack are serviceable so they'll be flying again real soon. The Alpha served it's purpose.
In response..

Cruz Missile- Yes it was probably recoverable if I was a more experienced pilot. I have seen some of the best pilots put them in the dirt too. Of course I would never say "It could have been saved." I call that Class.

Learjet Mech- Yea I have emailed Horizon about the observation. Might not help me but may help someone else in the future if they pass along the fact that they need to use more CA on the hinges. I throtteld back at the first sign of flutter but the hinges still failed.

Space Clam- That was the only problem I found with the Alpha. It was a tough plane that had several bumps, scrapes and patches. It flew great, ran great and served me well up to that point. If those hinges had been secured properly I would still have it.

Mike_Mc/Combat Addict-The wings WERE epoxied together. That joint held. If you look closely you will see the wing broke way out beyond the point they were joined. So I could have wrapped with fiberglass...perhaps..then I would have had a bigger chunk to put in the garbage bag. It is not much consolation to say "hey the rest of the plane is turned into epoxy stirrers...but hey look.. my fiberglass wrapped wing joint is still like new."

LearjetMech

So what you ganna get next!!!

Combat Addict

Well, at least you can't blame it on bad epoxy.

WCB

I have a Big Stik 60 ARF I'm putting together. Started it tonite and should be flying it in a few days.I'm putting an Evo 61 on it. I also have an Ultrastick, but need a flight pack for it.

I got a reply on my email to Horizon Hobbies. They want me to send the wing and aileron for their examination. Possibly a product replacement under warranty.
If they replace it I am giving the plane, flight pack and engine to my brother so he can learn on it.

LearjetMech

EXCELLENT!! Follow through! Most likely you will get a replacement! That is what I like to hear! Keep us posted please!
Nik