yel914

The advice for preassembly is a good one. That Seamus has been around the block I don't make any rash decisions when I crash a plane. I pick up all the pieces and sock it away for a while. I find myself thinking about what may have caused the crash for some time afterward. Eventually, I look at the crashed plane and decide what to do with it. By then I've calmed down and can apply some rational thoughts about my next step. Sometimes rational...but not always!

SeamusG

I've opened up the "messed up"hinge slot so that a piece of 3/16, 1/8 stock can be slid in wet with wood glue with grains aligned. Using a drill bit at the ends (3/16) and cut straight lines on the hole's outside edges. Cut a piece of stock and sand over the ends to match the holes and the depth of the trailing edge. You can either recut the hinge hole at the same location - might be problematic - or move the hinge slot to a new virgin location. I would not use a mircro balloons putty or any other type of filler.

I've rehinged CA, Dubro pinned hinges and Robart hinge pins using the technique.

blw

My Feedback: (3)

Mine has been crash repaired 8 or 9 times. It survived a hard mid air with another SSE. It was given to me when the builder got tired of repairing it. I just repaired a Smoothie that broke in two in the same place down the fuselage.

jazzboy

My Feedback: (1)

Fun thread. Will be building an SSE with a Saito FA80 GK ABC. Already saw a few great tips on throttle linkage.

Cheers,
Andy

UltimateFlyer120

My Feedback: (5)

It will be interesting to see how the balance comes out with an FA 80. Good luck!

jazzboy

My Feedback: (1)

I'm sure the elevtor and rudder servos will be at the rear of the fuselage.

wildlifeguy

My Feedback: (5)

I'm not one for reviving very old threads, but I just happened to be thinking about this one for some reason this past Saturday. I followed this build by the OP throughout and built mine at the same time. This is the image I posted shortly before my maiden flight:


Mine flew great from the first flight. Even with the O.S. 70 up front, I didn't have any extreme balancing issues; left everything stock except for landing gear. It quickly became my favorite plane and I was extremely comfortable with it. On the drive out to the field Saturday, for some reason, I remembered this thread and how disappointing it was to hear that the OP had built a great model only to crash on his maiden. Mine has given me 2 great years of flying fun. It has plenty of power. In fact, a .65 would probably have been just fine rather than the 70. However, I bought the .70 used on RCU for a great price and it has been the most reliable engine I have ever had. Great fun in crosswinds, trying to do "full scale" style side slips to landings. Maybe thinking about this thread was a sign, because it all came crashing to an end Saturday afternoon.

As usual, the wind was directly across the runway, but manageable. I first flew my gas plane with an uncomfortable landing, nicking the prop. I then started the SSE. I still remember the feeling of pure joy and comfort with control as it crabbed into the wind after liftoff. As I often do, I then pointed it straight up and let it go up and up and up seemingly accelerating the entire time. Once it got way up, I put in right aileron to bring it around, but it banked left. I instantly thought crossed aileron connections, but knew I always checked that before securing the hatch. I tried left aileron just in case, but no response. Still at full throttle, it began a death dance in the air with all kinds of uncontrolled movements. I accepted the impending fate, closed the throttle in some hope that it would respond and watched it corkscrew at wide open throttle all the way down into the dirt. Then there is the impact and what seems like a full 2 seconds between watching it hit and hearing the sound of the crunch. Still not sure what happened. After gathering the pieces, I noticed the servos twitching and finding the connection between the battery and switch loose. It may have been caused by the impact, or may have been what caused it. I never would have checked that before flying. I was in a somber mood, but not too sad. At least I was able to enjoy a great flying plane for a couple of years. Fortunately, after prying the engine out of the dirt and removing the caked on mud, I found it to be completely unharmed. The workhorse is now clean and ready to put on my next plane arriving Friday. I love building, but am going to try an ARF just this once.

Sorry about the essay, but wanted to share.

Cyberwolf

My Feedback: (4)

That is a real shame, they are indeed one of the best flying aircraft a person could ask for. Glad to hear the engine escaped any damage, I still have my SE but I don't really fly it all that much anymore. I too have been into gas for quite some time and they seem to get allot of my attention now days when going out for a day or two.
But every now and then the SE gets the dust wiped off and checked over to make sure it is still airworthy (battery and so on ) And it still flies as good as the day it was built. I really doubt I will ever get rid of my glow planes or engine's except by maybe a mishap of some sort.
Again sorry for your loss.

blw

My Feedback: (3)

We have flown a lot of SSE's at my field. I have 2 and taught students to build 4 of them. I used them as trainers to teach them to fly.

A friend of mine crashed his and it looked just like yours. Someone built it for him as he had never built. He rebuilt his and flew it a lot before having a midair with my SSE and later crashing it into a tree flying WOT. Mine was given to me after the builder got tired of repairing it. I think it has been crashed and/or damaged 8 or 9 times and still flies.

Rebuilding the nose of yours is a chance to do some neat mods.