ponyboy1995

I am having some problems w/ my Challenger. I flew it the other day and it seemed like it did not want to stay in the air. It was hard to climb. I figured it was because of the wind. I brought it down and packed up.

Today I took it out w/ just a small breeze and it was doing the same thing. It would not climb good and whenever I stoped pulling back to climb or turned it would dive. I tried to adjust the tail but it just got worse. My last 3 launched I couldn't get it to climb at all. It would go about 20' and land. Any suggestions? Please help!!



Thanks,

JOE

[&o]

rdmonster

Have you removed the prop. It could be on backwards. Is the motor old with a lot of time on it. Could you're battery be shot or not charging right. These are the only things that come to mind. How does the thrust feel when your holding it at full throttle befoe launch? Good luck

biker_ray_pa

Also, are you using the "optional" 7-cell battery pack? The plane is set up and balanced for the 6-cell pack. Use the 7-cell without adjusting the COG and you'll have a problem (don't ask how I know [:@])

Ray out

BobbyGee

My Feedback: (3)

Joe, try reading this, it's one of the most complete guides to setting up the Challenger that I've seen.

http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_10...tm.htm#1031325

The author, aeajr, has posted a lot on the Challenger and if what you're needing isn't there just search for posts on the AC by him and you'll find loads of helpful stuff. That's what I did when I was getting started with my AC.

Best,

BobbyG

flyhard2

Joe
Check to see if the tailboom has come loose. It may snap back in to position, if it does secure it with a zip tie, The plane will not climb if it is loose. Let us know what you found.

Matt Kirsch

My Feedback: (21)

You probably have the tail flaps adjusted so far up that they're doing more harm than good, creating tremendous amounts of drag rather than trimming the airplane to fly straight and level.

Put 'em back the way they were first.

Next, does the motor sound weak? Does it have a lower sound than it used to? You might have a power problem such as an undercharged battery, damaged battery, or damaged motor.

ponyboy1995

Thank you all for your help. I checked the boom and that is secure. I have not had any bad crashes w/ this fueselage. My last one the boom came loose. I checked the servos. It was the circuit board. Some how one of the little screws that connects the circuit board to the bracket came off. Not sure how. I got a new screw and put it remounted it. When I opend the latch I got the remote and moved the rudders around and I noticed that the board was moving. I took the board out and thats when I found the problem. I took the bird out to test it. It flew great. I had it climbing as good as new.
So, thank you all for your help. I am back in the air.

Joe

aeajr

My Feedback: (2)

Take a look. I suspect #2 is your problem

I have an Aerobird and an Aerobird Challenger. Combined I have over 300
flights on them. I have taught several people to fly their Aerobirds. Here is
the procedure I tell people to follow to get the plane to fly properly. I
can't be sure how much damage you have done to the plane due to crashes, so
let me just offer this as a starter.

Unless you have removed the white foam that sits between the battery and the
electronics, ignore CG for the moment. Do all of your flight testing with the
6 cell battery. The 7 cell makes it nose heavy and will change the way it
flies. When we are trying to fix it, I would use the 6 cell only.

1) With your transmitter on and all trims centered, and your battery connected
in the plane, but with the motor off, look at the control surfaces on the tail
from the back. Are the movable parts exactly even with the fixed parts? If
not then you are going into a turn the moment you launch assuming the motor is
straight and the tail is straight. More on that later. Normally, these
surfaces have to be
perfectly aligned.

2) The boom between the pod an the tail - is it solidly anchored or can you
move it around inside the plane. If it moves, it has broken loose. This must
be
fixed. It will either sag causing the nose to go down or it is twisted causing
the plane to turn right or left.

3) Check the tail, especially by the rigid plastic near the boom. Are there
any creases? I had a problem with my Aerobird that caused it to turn to the
right so badly that it crashed because it would go into a spiral. I tried
everything. Turned out there was a crease in the tail that caused the tail to
flex under pressure. On launch, this could take you into the ground.

4) It is possible for the tail to shift from a severe nose crash. There are
trim instructions in the owner's manual. AFTER you have checked the other
items and
fixed or found them to be OK, try trimming the tail for more up or down force.


Other points to be aware of:

When the motor is running, more air moves across the tail so that you get a
faster response for turns. The slower the motor is running, the slower the
plane will respond. When gliding, response can be very soft.

Make sure you are launching into the wind - directly into the wind, or the
plane will be turned by the wind when you launch. Same for landing.

Let me know how it goes.

If this doesn't help, I invite you to post photos.

These are what I would
want to see: All shots are with battery in and transmitter on, motor off.
All trims to center and not touching the stick unless I tell you to. All
tests are in Sport mode.

view from nose to tail - level with the top of the plane - to check alignments
view from tail to nose - same reason

Remove the wing, lay the plane on a table on its side with the tail hanging
off the end. Place a ruler or a suitable straight edge under the body
extending to the tail. I want to see if the boom
is straight

surface alignment - battery connected, transmitter on - make sure your trims
are centered

For the shots from tail, I want you to center the motor in the frame so that
you are shooting STRAIGHT down the shaft.

view from the tail at tail height - full left command
view from the tail at tail height - full right
same - full up
same - full down
sticks centered and hands off shot.
Finally view from under the tail.