kenh3497

Thank you!!!

I had visions of using some sort of double ball joint contraption forward of the firewall.

Ken

kenh3497

Finally I'm ready for paint. One small issue with the chin cowl needs to be taken care of first. I don't know when I'll actually get the paint done as I don't have a warm ventilated place at home to do that. In any case the major work is done. Balance is looking good so far. In fact it may wind up a little tail heavy if I put everything back in the original positions as I purchased it. Of course, I have yet to paint but I'm confident that will not cause an issue with the balance. I'm only refinishing the front and will try to match the colors as close as possible without obsessing over it. Grey primer first and 95% sanded off, then a VERY light coat of grey for coverage and then a coat of some white primer I found. Colors over that and the white primer will be the white seen elsewhere on the airframe. Then the repair will get a light coat of automotive urethane over the new colors to seal them in. The current colors will be left as is.

Ken

kenh3497

The final coat of grey primer is on. It was sprayed to "just cover" to minimize weight. Because it was cold and damp outside today I'll give it a few days to cure and release any moisture that may be trapped in the primer before moving on. A very light sanding to knock off any high spots will ready the fuse for some white primer which will be my base coat. It sounds a little counter productive to spray two different colors of primer but the white primer I have covers poorly. The grey will give a solid color to go over so should minimize the amount of white needed. Color next and a light coat of automotive urethane to fuel proof.

I'm on the home stretch I think.......

Ken



ps. After the primer has dried enough to sand I will give it it's light sanding. This will open the surface of the primer to speed the drying process and also help with possible moisture release.

kenh3497

A little hickup in the painting pro cess. I believe oil contamination from the back side of the fuse soaked through to the outside through the pinholes in the glass. The photo is after I wiped off what looked like little pimples in the primer. This area is under the foam/glass layer on the inside so strong solvents can't be used. Both sides of the fuse in the same spot were affected.

I wiped down the area with denatured alcohol and sealed the pinholes with CA. I then lightly sanded and it's ready to prime.

kenh3497

Ready to shoot some clear. I'll take it to my workplace on Saturday for that. The chin cowl is done its just not with the rest of the plane. Next will be installing everything that makes it fly.

kenh3497

Here we go all ready to go back in the air.. I have just a couple little issues that "bug" me but won't affect the airframe. Just need to tidy up a bit inside. Next comes running the engine and getting the idle and high speed mix set and the throttle servo adjusted to give a somewhat lineal feel.

I changed the paint scheme slightly. I don't know if it is better or worse, just different!

Ken

EDIT: The original paint is in the right hand photo

kenh3497

I guess I'm not meant to have a meaningful relationship with this airframe. After replacing a bad glow plug I was able to get a nice tune on the engine. A slight hesitation midrange but ran well everyplace else. I took off and was about 75 to 100 yards out and about 75 feet high and the plane performed an uncommanded right roll. 3 or 4 of them in half that many seconds. opposite aileron had no effect so I closed the throttle and it crashed. All controls worked normally after the crash and a range check matched what I had pre crash. I "think" the failsafe may have engaged but I've never had that happen to me before so I'm not 100% sure. In any case I'm back to square one with a two piece airplane fuselage again (nose broken off). Not much desire to repair......

The only think I can think of is the National Guard unit that was pulling in to park near our field (less than 1000 feet away) "may" have been transmitting and it swamped the RX or caused interference. Might just stick to sport planes so not much investment to loose.

Ken

flywilly

My Feedback: (121)

Hi Ken,
That is really a shame, especially after your excellent repair effort. I don't think you went into 'failsafe'. If you had, you would not have been able to throttle back as all the controls get locked into a preset condition.
Let the remains sit for a few days and then have a good look at the repair job. You did it once, the second time might be easier...

kenh3497

My fail safe settings are throttle to idle and all other surfaces to neutral. It may be the throttle came to idle as I pulled it back myself????? I had no elevator/aileron control except post crash and all worked as normal.

I'm pulling all the gear out and sending the RX for a checkup. Maybe vibration???? It was wrapped in foam as i always do so in my mind not likely????? Absolutely NO interest in RC at this point.

Ken

naftali

Sorry to hear what you have experienced. Were you flying on 72 Mhz or 2.4 Futaba?

kenh3497

Hitec A9 TX, Optima 9 RX (back from checkup/repair from Hitec), 1700 Mah LiFe RX pack, new(ish) but proven switch and a mix of JR and Futaba servos.

I've had a bit of a kick in the teeth of late. Wind storm (weak tornado????) demolished my barn, corn crib and several large trees. A week later I took a Friday off to visit with the insurance adjuster and work on clean up. Received a TEXT mid day from my employer I was no longer employed there. No explanation of any kind. Didn't want to pay me for my unused PTO and fought my unemployment claim. That was resolved but threes later I still haven't had a deposit made to my account. I need a little cash to live on...... I will be starting a new job but It will take a couple weeks until I get a paycheck. My plan was to compete in my first contest this weekend........ Didn't work out......

Ken