JHarris6210

Ihave recently purchased a Cox Sky Ranger. Nice little plane for beginners. I have never flow one and this one flys right from the box, even I can do it. The only problem I've encountered is while soaring overhead it climbed to a height I didn't expect from such a small cheap plane. I killed the throttle in an attempt to bring it lower and it continued to stay airborne. I still had control of it because I could make it fly around in circle trying to figure out how I was gonna get it down. Eventually the wind picked up and forced it to drift toward a tree line where it stuck in the top of one. Rifle close by I shot the limb out from under it and watched as my plane bounced of limb after limb until it landed. UNHARMED. This Cox Sky Ranger is tough!!! What I would like to know is the causes that prevented it from descending? Is it possible to still have control over the rudder and not the elevator due to the range? Wind was less than 5 mph from the south.

Glacier Girl

My Feedback: (4)

Wind at 5mph where you were standing, it can be much higher above you. As light weight as that plane is, it wouldn't take much to turn it into a kite.

And once the wind has a hold of it, if you don't have a lot of elevator authority there isn't a lot you can do.

JHarris6210

Thanks for the reply. It seemed to be the wind speed like you said. After my first few flights this morning i went to another location this afternoon. The wind was the same but larger area so I didn't have to climb as high and didn't have that same problem. Although this plane is light and pushed around by the slightest breeze, I am having an easy time flying it considering I have no experience. Crashed it a few times into the ground with no damage. Also made a landing using the gear on concrete without crashing. I am loving this hobby so far. Plan to visit a local club tomorrow for my first experience with professional fliers. My two little girls are excited about the trip as much as me.