scudrunner77

Took the Hornet out for a quick couple flights as the sun was setting this evening. Strapped the RX and battery in.. tested controls. Hmm... the elevator seems a little sluggish. When did I charge the RX battery??? I think it's ok? The ailerons are fine... Maybe I detuned it with expos.. last time (over a month ago) Flight one was ok- got my nerves calmed down. Second flight not so good At first I thought it was some kind of interference. Then I thought about the battery again... Then I thought I wish I had not gotten rid of the throttle servo!... Then I thought I hope it does not make all the way to the freeway.... and then in nosed in. I was actually glad at this point that is was over. I had to drive out and get the plane in the field it had gotten so far out. I could still hear the engine screaming from the final dive for a second after impact! Broke the bolt-on-wing off, broke the prop, took me a second to find the battery- it was pushed under the fuel tank. Broke the elevator servo loose, stripped the gears, and broke the control horn. Broke both servo connectors and bent the pins in the Electron 6 RX. So I got home and plugged it all back together. The elevator servo would was just shuttering and would not move.. HS-81. The aileron servo is fine.. HS-85. The RX seems ok at this point. Oh, and the battery has 4.84 volts while powering up the system. So my conclusion is that something went wrong with the HS-81 servo. I installed it the down and dirty way with servo tape and did check how it was holding up before the flight. I fought the plane for at least 30 seconds before it when in. I tried to hold it in a loop until it ran out of gas, but I really just could not control the thing. It was everywhere! But the servo seems damaged from the impact too, so it's hard to say. I did notice that the plane was hard to trim even with the first flight... and when the engine quit it pitched up which seemed strange to me. Also could hear some vibration while in flight, but noticed the oil spray was gray and figured it was just the muffler vibrating (AP .061).

We'll I guess these things happen... I know on thing- The next time I build a plane that's going to get crashed a lot it will not have a bolt on wing!! This is the third time it's been knocked off.

combatpigg

My Feedback: (3)

Sorry to hear about the crash, the HORNET is a cool looking plane. The 4.8 V you had with the system idle, could have been sapped below what ever the critical threshold is for your system to work. You could have been flying on electrical fumes. It's always a good idea to take the voltage check and do a FFC if you are not fully charged to start the day. I think battery condition is the #1 reason why we end up rebuilding models sometimes.

scudrunner77

I was checking the voltage while operating both servos, but I would agree that 4.8 volts is definately not fully charged either.

Damage to the plane was minimal... I'll mount the wing with rubber from here on out. I'm more upset about all my gear inside getting thrashed around.

combatpigg

My Feedback: (3)

How about mounting the wing with VELCRO?

That's good, sounds like inertia damage more than impact. Check your flap linkages by hand before you connect to the servos, they should move freely. Radio equipment damage is something that is more common with this micro equipment than with standard gear. I flew years with the same flight pack in .40 sized planes.

scudrunner77

How about a row of rare earth magnets on each wing saddle!

combatpigg

My Feedback: (3)

How about mounting the wing with ELECTRO MAGNETS that are powered off your flight pack? As soon as the wing gets about an inch from the fuselage, you will know it's time to land!

jiveturkey

very sorry to hear this news. I am curious, what was the mAh rating of the battery pack ?

scudrunner77

It's a 700 mAh, NiMH. I like them because the are 1/2 the size of a standard receiver pack, but last just as long.