May it rest in peace. Some of you may have read on some lists; she's gone. Vertical, straight in, rolling about double the rate of full aileron. Doing some crossover snaps, push for recovery, rolls started, never ended. Had about 150' altitude, and although I killed the motor, and had rudder/elevator, the ailerons seemed ineffective.

Of course - crash damage was far too severe to assess causes, but the only thing I am SURE of is that the aileron servos stayed put, the hinges/pushrods were fine; there wasn't a hint of flutter that I heard, and things were still solid post mortem.

I'm GUESSING - PURELY GUESSING - that a wing pulled away from the fuse, even though that doesn't seem logical, because on the push it started this violent roll. I've HAD airplanes that had rapid roll rates; this was BEYOND RAPID....then silence.

So it's gone....motor will go back to manf. to get the bent crank, crankcase, carb adapter, etc. replaced. But Bill will make it good as new (it WAS new - TWELVE flights on this motor)

Open to suggestions for a NEW 80" range aerobat, has to fly as good as this Extra did, and NOT AN ARF. Maybe over the winter I can crank one out from scratch; at least then I'll be the one to blame (and know)....

Any airplane suggestions out there? Any of the Lanier stuff any good???

I have a Midwest 80" Cap kit for sale...just got it in 2 weeks ago. It has the airfoiled tail group. these are awesome birds and easy builds. Let me know if your interested.
Thanks

How many flights did you have on your bird?

Which motor did you have on it?

sorry to hear....I also have one of the DP extras....

Had a Taurus T-52, only 12 flights; went in on the 13th.

I've got about 10 on mine so far....

Hi-torque servos all around....so far no probs, but I haven't done any crossover snaps becuz I have no clue how they differ from a normal snap....will you please tell me?

Thanks

Crossover snaps....my term, and probably not correct. But they are very neat to watch, and really present the plane on a horizontal line in a variety of attitudes....so...here's the sequence that I did, which ended in the death dive....
Horizontal line, down wind, about 1/3 power - nice speed, not too fast.. Push Full Down, Full LEFT aileron, Full LEFT rudder, Pow! - a snap happens really fast , almost sort of a horizontal tumble, as soon as one revolution is stopped, then BANG, Full Up, FULL Right Aileron, FULL LEFT rudder, and that makes an OPPOSITE tumble, then Full LEFT Aileron, Full Right Rudder, full DOWN elevator...for a complete revolution. You end up Upright... This is a very impressive looking series on a line, and really shows a lot of the airplane in many different attitudes.

Just don't enter too fast, and don't get too slow....BTW - my full throws were NOT "3D" travels, just the recommended "high rates" for "normal flying".....

Although this describes pretty easily - it is not for the faint of heart, as there are some REALLY bizarre-looking attitudes during these things....

For fun, do the same series on a down 45 degree....

For more fun do the same thing with the Pitts--Ever since I saw Sean B Tucker and Jim Leroy it is my favorite manuver only I do 2 or 3 in the same direction and come out inverted or knife edge and IF I CATCH IT IN TIME it looks like I planned it that way---gets the crowd going every time.
Bob, I think if I were you I would replace that DP Extra with a GP Patty Wagstaff Extra --maybe install a ZDZ for power .

Great Idea, AJF-2 !!! Might do that....

At least it has solid ailerons and WAY better wing attachment/anti-rotation stuff....the loss of the DP was SURE a bummer....but we move on.

You are correct about the Pitts....do this one...

Vertical upline, outside snap, while reducing power, after the snap, plane is nearly stopped, neutralize everything except hold full OPPOSITE rudder, and blip the throttle....then hold on...

Sort of a pinwheel/tumble thing....looks pretty cool.

aerobob, what servos did you have in your Extra? I'm sorry for your lose but you'll have an equivilant up in no time!

-Kelly

Kelly - had GWS servos all around, all coreless, metal-gear, high torque, non-digitals. They are alive and well (and were, post mortem) and serving in my Venus pattern airplane. All a-ok.

Still not a clue about the cause, but from the roll rate on the downline that was so rapid I couldn't SEE it (almost), I really suspicion some sort of wing retaining/tube failure.

But the good news is the GP Wagstaff is RTF, when weather permits.

how about a world models 300s 80.5 in i just got one and am waiting on the perfect engine a taurus 52 and you already have one and you also have the servos so you could have it up in a few weeks really a nice airplane and it has monstrous control surfaces for 3D

Hey Bob, Took the PW out today for the first time in sub 15 mph winds. It will not be long and you will have a new favorite plane--I am almost sure. The best way I can describe it is that it flys like it is a much bigger aircraft. Have fun when the weather breaks.

Bob, were the anti-rotation pins still in place? On mine the pins were loose, and took a drop of glue to lock them in place. Tom

Tom - wasn't the antirotation pins; they were solid post-crash. They were LOOSE however, when building.

Bob:
When you talk to Bill about repairing your Taurus, ask him about the new line of ARC planes he is putting out. He said several were in the 80 inch range. The web site is aerodromemodels.com but he does not have it fully up yet so no pictures. I have a DP ARC extra with TS52 with abut 50 flights on it. Have had absolutely no problems with it as some people are posting. Been waiting forever for the new DP Edge. Sounds like it is going to be the same size as the Extra or 78".
Paul

Bob:
Forgot one thing. I have had a wing come loose on an edge (forgot to put the screw in) When it come out past the anti-rotation pins, it turned perpendicular to the other wing causing a very slow spin to the ground. So slow that the damage was minimal even thought it started 100 feet up. So I doubt that this was your cause for the crash. I would think it would slow down the roll rate, not increase it. HUM??????? Puzzling!!!
Paul

Paul - thanks for the idea about the ARC. Engine has been repaired, is reinstalled in a different plane (my Pitts). Haven't run it yet, just got it back last Saturday.

Also good observation about the wing rotating....although I have seen planes have a single panel rotate only partially....I still can't confirm what happened.

Receiver has been in consistent use before and after this DP experience. Servos are still doing fine....same with switches, extensions, etc.....

What I just thought of and have NOT checked, is vibration effects on the battery pack. Although packed in foam, and working fine pre and post crash, and now in the GP...maybe I should put it on the pad sander and check it out....

Puzzling is right..................................

I would get an aeroworks 29% Edge it is the best flying airplane in the eighty inch size I have flown.

Falcon - Been There, Done That. It was an okay airplane, but I didn't like the spin entry and snap characteristics. May have just been me, but I prefer a slower, and cleaner entry into the spin than I could get with my AW 29%....

It was also the first large airplane I lost to elecronic failure; the ONLY piece of anything not tied together was the connector going from the switch harness to the regulator. Yep. It worked it's way loose....POW. A "rolling takeoff", without a "departure climbout".....

I wish you were closer to K.C. I'd sell you my DP 330. I have way too many planes and more on the way.

John Wells
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