ORIGINAL: opwan
Maybe you shoulda bought a cheaper ARF so you could put more money in your engine so that wouldn't happen!
ORIGINAL: ram3500-RCU
''I, for one, have moved on to kit-built planes. Once they're completed, they're simply a much better quality and better looking bird. That can't be matched by any ARF in my opinion.''
Exactly. Here is perfect example. My Meister 50lb P-47. At Monster Planes, a carb bolt broke during flight. The resulting dead stick didn't go as well as I would have hoped. Here she is during the stall at the end of the ''landing''. It hit so hard it broke the right gear trunnion and bent the housing. Minor damage to the cowl was easily repaired. NO OTHER DAMAGE TO AIRFRAME!!!!! Not even the wing saddle area or gear mounts. I can't see any ARF surviving this, even at considerably less weight.
BTW, she flew again the next day and all day Saturday.
Read more:
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_10...#ixzz19heSjWyy
I'm replying to this comment for the benefit of some in the scale community who may be wondering what happened. Not for you, as you obviously are clueless. The engine in question is a 3W 80 I. NOT cheap, AND of very high German quality. In my experience, 3W is top shelf. We surmise that when I replaced the reed valves and reinstalled the carb, I must have over torqued the bolts. They held for about 20 flights. It was just bad timing that it failed when I was flying at an event 1000 miles from home. It's the way things go for me sometimes. Then I compounded the problem by attempting the normal landing instead of keeping the gear up and sliding in. I'll not make that mistake again.
CJ gear overnighted me parts, and I had her flying the very next day, with the help of Frank Tiano and his shop. Great bunch of guys down there.
I build war birds because that way, after all that work, they will last for years. I use as many as 5 different kinds of glue and EVERYTHING gets some. Most ARFs are falling apart in 100 flight or less. Usually less, unless they are meticulously gone through.