Dennis:
Thanks for confirming what I have beleived for some time. I was sure that it should have been safe to use a #38 in a #23 receiver. We are trying to eliminate all possibilities related to our recent crash.
We lost all controls at once. We did another range check after recovering the plane, yes the elevator was still working fine and the batts were at full charge.
This was the second flight on a new LT40 with a 61. Our concern is that this is the 4th plane that has had the same or similar loss of signal in the same general area of where we fly, yet not everyone has had problems. We fly at our local airport and the area that this seems to happen is just past a grove of trees and the edge of a farm field. There are no power lines in the area either.
There is a signal tower (radio dispatch?) but it is located at the oppisite end and off to our right. The DEAD ZONE is almost straight across from the center of our runway maybe 2 blocks away.
With out some kind of signal tester we are at our witts end and afraid we will have to choose another field to fly at.
Thanks Again for you advice and lending an Ear

Hootcher