Snapped the CAP in Coffin Corner  
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All Forums >> RC Airplanes >> Crash & Rebuild >> Snapped the CAP in Coffin Corner
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Snapped the CAP in Coffin Corner - 12/31/2007 8:56:35 AM   
glydrjocky


 

Posts: 88
Joined: 3/20/2007
From: Livermore, CA, USA
Status: offline 		I'm posting this for my own therapy. I was practicing knife edge passes with my Great Planes CAP232 and decided to try a ''belly in" pass. Somewhere about airshow center it snapped rolled on me, came around and pointed nose down and as I pulled to recover in high rate it pancaked into the ground in a full accelerated stall.

In retrospect it was purely my own fault. I had done a few previous knife edge passes with full top rudder and the CAP climbed out as it went by. I reduced power slightly on subsequent passes instead of just easing up on the rudder a bit. I set myself up in "Coffin Corner" of the flight envelope and of course.......she bit me!

Whamo!!!

The impact sheared the gear off and as the wheels rotated under they struck the ribs on either side (yup, the wheels line up perfectly with them) and shoved the wing through the fuselage. Busted my wing center section plywood dihedral braces dead center but amazingly left the upper and lower spars intact. The fuselage sides sheared cleanly in 4 places leaving the front and aft sections vertually unharmed. The impact to the OS FX46 slimline muffler down tubes pulled the fire wall apart and neatly busted the tubes out of the muffler header. The ABS cowl survived with only surface scratches.

Now that I have had a chance to examine the 4 equal peaces of my once pristine CAP, I have come to the conclusion that "we can rebuild her".

Since I always disliked the tiny strip ailerons that came with the kit I plan to shorten the trailing edge when I replace the damaged rear spar, making room for wider tapered ailerons. The light ply fuselage sides showed an extremely weak area around the cockpit which will need some serious reinforcing.

Not sure how long this process will take as I have a 4 star fourty that I need to finish up first but I'll work on the CAP as I go.


Crashing...........does indeed..................Suck!

T


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< Message edited by glydrjocky -- 12/31/2007 9:02:32 AM >

_____________________________

Research has shown that hours spent at the field flying RC helicopters will indeed make you a far better simulator pilot.
       Post #: 1

RE: Snapped the CAP in Coffin Corner - 12/31/2007 1:43:14 PM   
krayzc-RCU



Posts: 5855
Joined: 3/26/2002
From: Kannapolis, NC, USA
Status: offline 		bummer i hate to see here in that shape in the ER room.....

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smooth as silk!

(in reply to glydrjocky)
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RE: Snapped the CAP in Coffin Corner - 12/31/2007 3:41:33 PM   
glydrjocky


 

Posts: 88
Joined: 3/20/2007
From: Livermore, CA, USA
Status: offline 		Scalpel!...............Gauze!.............Suction!............30wt ball bearings?.............or is it anti freeze.

Wonder if this is how Dr. Frankenstien felt during his rebuild?

T







_____________________________

Research has shown that hours spent at the field flying RC helicopters will indeed make you a far better simulator pilot.

(in reply to krayzc-RCU)
       Post #: 3

RE: Snapped the CAP in Coffin Corner - 1/1/2008 8:38:38 PM   
Gray Beard


 

Posts: 1544
Joined: 4/21/2003
From: Hemderson, NV, USA
Status: offline 		A little CA, A little epoxy, good as new!!

_____________________________

If drinking and driving are illegal, then why do bars have parking lots???

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RE: Snapped the CAP in Coffin Corner - 3/31/2008 8:46:55 PM   
wot4dave


 

Posts: 12
Joined: 5/14/2005
From: Surbiton, UNITED KINGDOM
Status: online 		Keep an eye on the weight as you re-build

(in reply to Gray Beard)
       Post #: 5

RE: Snapped the CAP in Coffin Corner - 3/31/2008 10:39:05 PM   
kid chuckles


 

Posts: 677
Joined: 5/2/2007
From: Granbury, TX, USA
Status: offline 		Yes watch weight for sure. I always keep a box of dounuts in work shop hid out behind shoot #1. I end up weighing more when i have a tedious project, that keeps me in there for awhile.

(in reply to wot4dave)
       Post #: 6

RE: Snapped the CAP in Coffin Corner - 4/1/2008 9:10:34 PM   
Steve Steinbring


 

Posts: 192
Joined: 7/17/2007
From: Homestead, FL, USA
Status: online 		Know the feeling!

Put a 60 sized Sukhoi in the dirt on takeoff Sunday afternoon. It was getting real windy, with what was to be the proverbial "Last Flight" of the day. The airplane came off the ground quickly rolled about 90 degrees of bank to the left to my surprise. I corrected a wee bit too much and too quickly! Almost completely rolled the airplane to the right but didn't quite have enough altitude to fly it through. Found out I had forgotten to put the ailerons on low rate so I simply over controlled the airplane. The wind or no wind I normally should have been able to handle that situation, but I set myself up for crash.

Anyway its now stripped down, starting to put the fuselage back together, the wing suffered almost no damage. Should have it flying pretty soon!

Good luck with your rebuild, with your mods it should fly even better

(in reply to kid chuckles)
       Post #: 7

RE: Snapped the CAP in Coffin Corner - 4/12/2008 2:43:51 AM   
Geardaddys


 

Posts: 216
Joined: 8/21/2006
From: Woodstock, MD, USA
Status: offline 		You must have been REALLY high and FAST to get into the "coffin corner" with a RC airplane!

(in reply to Steve Steinbring)
       Post #: 8

RE: Snapped the CAP in Coffin Corner - 4/12/2008 4:41:10 AM   
victorzamora


 

Posts: 495
Joined: 10/16/2006
From: Mt. Airy, NC, USA
Status: offline 		That's what I was thinking

(in reply to Geardaddys)
       Post #: 9

RE: Snapped the CAP in Coffin Corner - 4/26/2008 4:55:47 AM   
glydrjocky


 

Posts: 88
Joined: 3/20/2007
From: Livermore, CA, USA
Status: offline 		Yeah, I know it wasnt the real "Coffin Corner" ala the SR-71 but it sure felt like it right about the time it hit the ground. I've glued the fuselage together, rebuilt one elevator half and replaced the dihedral braces in the wing. It is actually going to shape put pretty quickly from here on out! I'll get some pics up soon.

Thanks for the support and advice everyone.

Tony

_____________________________

Research has shown that hours spent at the field flying RC helicopters will indeed make you a far better simulator pilot.

(in reply to Geardaddys)
       Post #: 10

RE: Snapped the CAP in Coffin Corner - 4/26/2008 5:26:08 AM   
glydrjocky


 

Posts: 88
Joined: 3/20/2007
From: Livermore, CA, USA
Status: offline 		A few photos of some recent progress...........

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< Message edited by glydrjocky -- 4/26/2008 5:27:48 AM >

_____________________________

Research has shown that hours spent at the field flying RC helicopters will indeed make you a far better simulator pilot.

(in reply to glydrjocky)
       Post #: 11

RE: Snapped the CAP in Coffin Corner - 4/26/2008 2:38:45 PM   
glydrjocky


 

Posts: 88
Joined: 3/20/2007
From: Livermore, CA, USA
Status: offline 		thinking of replacing the narrow strip ailerons with the sample in the photo. I got a pattern for the exploded/missing ribs by downloading the Great Planes CAP 232 build manual that has all the digrams of each diecut part sheet. Blew them up on the printer till the size was correct and transferred that to balsa. Hopefully the diecut drawings were accurate.

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< Message edited by glydrjocky -- 4/26/2008 11:51:36 PM >

_____________________________

Research has shown that hours spent at the field flying RC helicopters will indeed make you a far better simulator pilot.

(in reply to glydrjocky)
       Post #: 12

RE: Snapped the CAP in Coffin Corner - 4/29/2008 1:44:01 AM   
Steve Steinbring


 

Posts: 192
Joined: 7/17/2007
From: Homestead, FL, USA
Status: online 		Looking good Tony!

I've got my Sukhoi back in the air, the damage wasn't too much different than yours. A couple rolls of Monokote, some crap balsa and plywood, a little time, and its a flyer again.[)]

(in reply to glydrjocky)
       Post #: 13

RE: Snapped the CAP in Coffin Corner - 5/6/2008 3:30:39 AM   
glydrjocky


 

Posts: 88
Joined: 3/20/2007
From: Livermore, CA, USA
Status: offline 		Glad to hear youve got the Yak in the air again! I really miss flying this CAP, it was quite snap happy when I threw the sticks around, of course that is how I ended up here. Tried to find the 5/16 square stock that I will need for the trailing edge but all my local hobby shops are fresh out. One place had a few well picked sticks that were bowed, twisted and warped. Not the quality that I want to build a wing with. I'll keep looking, have a few more options open to me.

T

_____________________________

Research has shown that hours spent at the field flying RC helicopters will indeed make you a far better simulator pilot.

(in reply to Steve Steinbring)