Broke My TF Corsair!
07-20-2009, 09:58 PM
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Broke My TF Corsair!
Not long ago completed a TF 1/8th Corsair (my second build of this model). Glassed it and painted as a British Fleet Air Arm version, not a lot of scale detail but I was happy with the results (see pic below).
As of last Sunday have about 4/5 flights with it, all good. Weather is not bad at all (we've been enjoying some good flying weather lately), the wind is about 45degrees to the strip but not too strong. I fuel up, pump up and off I go.
Take off is smooth and uneventful (I've learned the hard way how to get these birds off the ground). I have the sky to myself so I do a few circuits, throw an loop or two and a couple of rolls. Suddenly my 91FX, which to date has been 100% reliable (in this plane and its predecessor) is sounding very sick. I try and nurse it around to set up for a landing but half way round the back of the pattern the motor dies completely!
At this point I'm over trees with the strip between me and the trees. I bring the plane around and try and line up on our cross strip, all the time telling myself to watch the airspeed. All is looking good as the plane glides towards the strip (I have deliberately left the wheels and flaps up) except that at about 3 feet high one wing suddenly tip stalls. The plane drops like a stone onto the wind and cartwheels sickeningly. Oh dear, goodness me I exclaim as I walk towards the model.
At first I think I may have been luckly as it seems that the wing bolts may have sheared. No such luck unfortunately, the nylon bolts have held to allow the mounting blocks to get ripped out. Worst still, the stabilizer must have taken a whack when the plane cartwheeled, because it too has broken loose. The damage inventory seems to be as follows:-
Minor damage to the wing
Wing mount blocks ripped out plus damage to sheeting in the area
Stabilizer broken away with damage to sheeting around it. The stab mount platform seems undamaged.
So, the plane can and will fly again. Last night I shifted the under construction Ultra Sport 60 off the board and took the first steps by cutting the stab away completely so that I can get in to repair the end of the fuselage. The plane was glassed and airbrushed, so I am hoping that I will be able to paint the repaired areas to be almost unnoticeable. At least that's one of the benefits of kit building.
As far as the crash is concerned, I can only conclude that, despite my instructions to myself, I goofed by letting the plane lose too much speed. I was trying very hard not to stretch the glide, but maybe that's what I did. Maybe the clipped wings contributed, but up to now I didn't notice any difference between this one and its predecessor which did not have clipped wings.
Terry
As of last Sunday have about 4/5 flights with it, all good. Weather is not bad at all (we've been enjoying some good flying weather lately), the wind is about 45degrees to the strip but not too strong. I fuel up, pump up and off I go.
Take off is smooth and uneventful (I've learned the hard way how to get these birds off the ground). I have the sky to myself so I do a few circuits, throw an loop or two and a couple of rolls. Suddenly my 91FX, which to date has been 100% reliable (in this plane and its predecessor) is sounding very sick. I try and nurse it around to set up for a landing but half way round the back of the pattern the motor dies completely!
At this point I'm over trees with the strip between me and the trees. I bring the plane around and try and line up on our cross strip, all the time telling myself to watch the airspeed. All is looking good as the plane glides towards the strip (I have deliberately left the wheels and flaps up) except that at about 3 feet high one wing suddenly tip stalls. The plane drops like a stone onto the wind and cartwheels sickeningly. Oh dear, goodness me I exclaim as I walk towards the model.
At first I think I may have been luckly as it seems that the wing bolts may have sheared. No such luck unfortunately, the nylon bolts have held to allow the mounting blocks to get ripped out. Worst still, the stabilizer must have taken a whack when the plane cartwheeled, because it too has broken loose. The damage inventory seems to be as follows:-
Minor damage to the wing
Wing mount blocks ripped out plus damage to sheeting in the area
Stabilizer broken away with damage to sheeting around it. The stab mount platform seems undamaged.
So, the plane can and will fly again. Last night I shifted the under construction Ultra Sport 60 off the board and took the first steps by cutting the stab away completely so that I can get in to repair the end of the fuselage. The plane was glassed and airbrushed, so I am hoping that I will be able to paint the repaired areas to be almost unnoticeable. At least that's one of the benefits of kit building.
As far as the crash is concerned, I can only conclude that, despite my instructions to myself, I goofed by letting the plane lose too much speed. I was trying very hard not to stretch the glide, but maybe that's what I did. Maybe the clipped wings contributed, but up to now I didn't notice any difference between this one and its predecessor which did not have clipped wings.
Terry
07-21-2009, 12:15 AM
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RE: Broke My TF Corsair!
First of all, that's a really dangerous looking spider you have in that pic.
Sorry about your accident. It's a great looking airplane and I'm sure it'll be good as new. There seems to be a rash of engines dying/crashing going on around here lately. Don't beat yourself up about that landing, everyone knows in that situation luck, or bad luck has a lot to do with how much damage results. I pancaked my Seagull Edge 46 on it's maiden about a month ago. Engine died when I was going around. I was lucky, just flattened the gear, but an inch or two either way or different wind and the same events could have destroyed the airplane.
I hope you go through that motor, tank, blow out the clunk before the next flight. Trusting a particular motor is a great feeling.
Keep us posted on the next flight!
Sorry about your accident. It's a great looking airplane and I'm sure it'll be good as new. There seems to be a rash of engines dying/crashing going on around here lately. Don't beat yourself up about that landing, everyone knows in that situation luck, or bad luck has a lot to do with how much damage results. I pancaked my Seagull Edge 46 on it's maiden about a month ago. Engine died when I was going around. I was lucky, just flattened the gear, but an inch or two either way or different wind and the same events could have destroyed the airplane.
I hope you go through that motor, tank, blow out the clunk before the next flight. Trusting a particular motor is a great feeling.
Keep us posted on the next flight!
08-22-2009, 01:43 PM
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RE: Broke My TF Corsair!
Sorry to hear the bent wing bird went in RedBack.
Take some photo's of the repair progress if you can. Interested to see whats involved in that sort of repair.
As for the dangerous looking spider.....
If I remember correctly our Red Back is one of, if not the most poisonous spiders in the world.
They like to hide under toilet seats. I know a few people who have been bitten in that area.
Take some photo's of the repair progress if you can. Interested to see whats involved in that sort of repair.
As for the dangerous looking spider.....
If I remember correctly our Red Back is one of, if not the most poisonous spiders in the world.
They like to hide under toilet seats. I know a few people who have been bitten in that area.
