I maidened my Multiplex MiniMag a few days ago in my back yard, but without much luck. Everything is "virgin" on this MiniMag setup, and arguably the pilot as well:

Equipment

- Warp 4 6-turn brushless inrunner
- APC 7x5E prop w/Hyperion prop saver (what is Hyperions's Web address, anyway??)
- CC TB18 ESC
- 3S LiPo 2150 20C (DN Power), fully balance-charged
- Optic 6 Tx
- Hitec HFD-08RO Rx
- 4 Hitec HS-55s

Configuration: Motor<->1.5" space<->battery<->ESC on the sidewall<->1" space<->Rx

I did not put a capacitor on the motor - am I supposed to?

The Flight

I fly only in my rural back yard where there are no power lines around, and I've flown my EZ* many times without electronic incident. Just some hungry trees.

About 40 degrees outside. The first few attempts at take-off ended up with the plane hitting the ground maybe 30 feet away, but not terribly harshly. When I got someone else to throw it, I was finally successful. She took to the air pretty smoothly and I soon turned her 180 degrees at about 30 feet altitude.

After only about 20 seconds in the air, the motor/prop began to "chatter" in mid-flight. The plane wasn't traveling fast, and I don't think the throttle/RPM was too high for the prop saver o-ring. I turned her again (heading toward a lake!) and landed, again not terribly hard. I picked her up and started the engine but it sounded fine, so I'm clueless about the source of the "chatter".

The next attempt to take off, the plane nosed into the grass pretty hard. I walked up to it but she wouldn't respond to any Tx commands (throttle/servo/elev/ailerons) from even three feet away. I unplugged & replugged the battery, turned off & on the Tx. When I plugged in the battery, the ESC would beep it's opening signature following by three beeps, but w/o the trailing signature it normally has. I tried this several times. When I turned on the Tx with the plane on at this point, the servos seemed to twitch just a teeny bit. I turned everything off for a few minutes and brought her inside, and she remained unresponsive on my bench.

What's Going On?!

I set her aside a few days. Today, using the same equipment w/o any charging, on the bench she responds fine!

I soldered the battery and ESC Ultra Deans and gold bullets to the ESC myself, everything else is factory. Because the ESC responded to the battery but not the Tx, I think the battery is OK - it registers about 12V.

Any ideas as to why the plane's electronics stopped responding in the field, but is OK now?