The Matrix has maidened... not so successfully...

It was a terribly windy day, gusting and at about 60 degrees from the runway... I arrived at 2:30 and waited until 4:30 before I finally decided that I would give it a go. I wasn't afraid of flying in the wind... I was much more afraid of the engine dying on me and the ability of the plane to make it back to the runway. It was getting dark and I didn't want to wait another 2 weeks before I could fly (my original engagement was postponed until next weekend).

So up she went... the plane got off the air in 10 feet because there was so much wind! I had to give her throttle just so she wouldn't go backward on the ground. Anyway, she needed a tremendous amount of down elevator and few clicks of right ailerons to maintain a steady (if you can call it that give the wind was pretty much throwing her around!)... after 4 minutes flying, engine quit on the down wind leg. I got her above the runway at a good altitude but was unable to prevent her from getting blown into the rough where I tore a wheel pant completely off and twisted the axle...

needless to say... with no guarantee the engine would stay running and with the wind, I quickly called it a say :-( On the other hand I flew my Clipped Wing Cub with my newly installed brushless and it flew great (once again... all of the place... nearly crashed 3 times because of the gusts. but that is to be expected on a windy and gusty day on a 30 oz. plane!).

The Matrix is in repairs now. I am considering switching the TowerHobbies 75 which has given me nothing but troubles. Also, the plane comes out so tail heavy that I have two battery packs next to the fuel tank just to make sure she balances correctly. I'm going to move the throttle in front of the firewall and maybe a battery too. Also seeing if I can move the two elevator servos forward. One thing is the weight. The other is the Hitec Eclipse I'm using doesn't deal with it well. It's on channel seven and a potentiometer controls it. I may have dialed in something other than neutral attributing to all that trouble!!!

Pretty but definitely not perfect!