I'm not sure what is going on but I've been thru two of them now.

I crashed my first one a few weeks back on it's maiden flight. It got maybe 2 feet in the air and snap rolled into the ground. I checked out the radio gear in the plane and could only find a faulty on/off switch, but not sure it was the fault as I had used it a couple of times that day; running the engine and taxing around to check ground handling.

The second was today. I decided to try another as I read such good reports on here about the plane. The second ME did pretty much the same thing; got about six feet in the air and did a snap roll right and into the bushes at the field. The plane is salvagable, only split the nose section open.

It's not like I'm new to the hobby or fun fly planes. I've been flying for over three years now and had a Sig SE. I thought this would be a good replacement for the SE as I lot it while trying to learn flat spins.

I now have two good ME wings and one damaged fuse. You can check the damage of my first ME in my photo gallery; the second isn't as bad. I'll probably fix one of them; but it'll be a back burner thing for later.

Guess I'll have to just get me another SE to have fun with.

Backwards ailerons?

Good guess Razor, but I always check my flight controls before I take off. I stand over the tail and cycle the controls and pressurize the tank with a runup. I did check the controls also after the crash to see what was and wasn't working; everything was good to go.

seems the magic is too good for you. xtreme aerobatics are what it's made for, and 80% of flyers who think they can handle it CAN't. Also, sounds the cg is set for 3D; move it forward a little.

Where did you have the CG?

Mine flies like a dream.

I had the CG set at 3.75. I know most on here had it set at 4 or greater but figure I'd start at that point and work from there.

I don't know SMartman, maybe it is too much for me. I flew the Sig Something Extra for almost a year without a prob. I only lost when a friend was trying to show me how to do flat spins. I figured it would fly similar to that plane.

I'm not saying I'm a great flyer, just that I can fly. I'll stick with the SE and maybe in a few years I'll be capable of handling the ME.

Think I'll make my SE with a flag theme this time, or maybe a US Navy one.

Cheers.

I am sorry to hear about your trouble. The Magic Extra definitely one of my favorite planes.

My CG was set up at 3.75 and the plane flew great. I have moved the battery back a little since.

Something is set-up wrong because If you can fly the Somethin' Extra then you should have no problem with the Magic Extra. It is an extremely forgiving plane and will slow down to a crawl....

If the Control throws are set to the low end of the recommended travel the plane is very stable and easy to fly. My plane has no bad tendencies.

How far is your elevator travel. Are your throws set too high? If you apply too much UP Elevator the plane will probably snap. I have dual rates on mine and it will snap on the extreme high end of elevator throw.

Sounds like time for some "exponential" if you radio does that!
Just a thot!
Ray

I had the throw set at the recommended amount for the test flight. I had planned to increase it later if needed. I remember how the SE was when I first flew it, what a hand full. The SE was my third plane and after about 10 flights I got comfortable with how it handled. I actually flew it at half of the recommended low rate, the low rate was set for the upper portion of my duals.

I figured the first one was something with the radio, it was on model four. So I programmed the second on model six, just to be sure. Pretty much all of my planes have dual aileron servos so I know how to set that up. I was flying my 4star 60 just fine that day as well.

I decided to go ahead and fix the ME now instead of waiting for devil to bring me a winter coat. Now I'm determined to fly that darn thing, one way or another. Besides, it's hard to have a repairable plane sitting in the hangar when you have spare parts from another.