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Old 06-02-2005, 07:31 AM
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Matt Kirsch
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Default RE: Fighterbird II Antenna Problem

How much of the antenna was lost? If it was only an inch or two, it shouldn't affect the range much, if any. Do a thorough range check before you try flying it again, though.

Reattaching it is as simple as soldering the piece back on, but it sounds like you are having trouble accessing the free end that you need to solder to... Unfortunately, the plane's fuselage is one injection-molded piece, and it's not that easy to disassemble. Enterprising owners have been able to jimmy the system board out through the cockpit, but I'm not sure how they did it without breaking anything. You also have to detach the lines from the tail flaps, which takes away any trimming you've done to make the plane fly straight. I would hesitate to do that, because then you're starting over with a plane that'll do who knows what when you go to fly it again.

What you might be able to do is reach in through the cockpit opening and snare the antenna wire with a hook made from a small paper clip. It should be just threaded down through the tail tube from what you describe. Snake it out through the front, then solder the piece back on. Cover with some heat-shrink tubing, then thread back down the tail tube and out. You can stick a thin, stiff wire into the tail tube from behind to act as a "fish" for pulling the antenna back through.