almost lost my aresti
 

i flew my aresti again today. had one great flight. it was windy but it flew so well. i landed. fueled and went up again. then i herd this god awful flapping noise. it went out of control. it was going away from me and i was loosing it heading to the woods. i killed the engine and gave it full left aileron. and full up elevator. i aimed it into the wind. and it started coming donw. almost into the trees. but i landed in the bean field. on its wheels in one piece. but it broke the wood a little in the side of the fuse up by the cowl. and it cracked the wood loose where the landing gear goes. come to find out. that damn red trim they have on the wing came loose and pulled up like a parachute. ive allready got the fuse repaired. was not bad. thank god i go over all the joints with epoxy before i put them together. or it would probably be splinters. so any one else watch out for the trim coming loose and crashing u. i even went over all of it with a heat gun before i flew it. to make sure the monokote is tight. i really like this plane but this bummed me out. i was thinking of calling horizon. since all 8 or so of my planes are hanger nine. im going to take care of the trim and it willllll not come off again. this plane flys so nice and to bung it all up because of monokote makes me sick. im just glad i saved it. i think it was manley alot of luck. but i did not panic. at least not alot. but it was there. i had to clean out my pants. so any how everyone watch out and check those damn trim pieces. if it happened to mine it could happen to others. take care bill :p

almost lost my aresti
 

The red stripe on my h9 edge came off all but the wingtip end. made all kinds of noise. Made it fly a little funny too. What made me ill was the half inch stripe had bare wood underneath it! So I had to quit flying. Wouldn't want to chance getting oil on bare wood. So I came home ironed it back down, (thought I had it this time) and wouldn't you know it came off again. It now has a newly cut stripe with a little ca on each end to help it. Friggen Stripes!

Re Nearly Losing Aresti
 

What i always do with my Planes, is go over all of the Covering Joints with Clear Nail Polish, this helps in keeping fuel from penetrating through under the cover, and also Stops Lifting.
Hope this is of use.

Ray

almost lost my aresti
 

ahhh clear nail polish. i like that idea :p

almost lost my aresti
 

Thanks for the info. I'm headin to the beauty counter at wallmart.

NAil polish
 

Gentlemen, just don't let me catch you using that nail polish on anything but your planes.

almost lost my aresti
 

I have and have had a few H9 planes, including the Aresti. Some of the coverings have needed attention right from the get-go, but some of the fun is heating it up and petting the plane. It's "Ultra"coat though, not "Mono"coat on this H9 plane.

almost lost my aresti
 

Clear nail polish is not really a good idea. It will not hold up with time and ultimately it will make your plane look ugly because it will discolor.

Use clear poyurethene from your local hardware store instead.

clear coat
 

I've been thinking about this on my Majestic too - lots of colors in striping. What about poly spray - a light coat - think tat will help?

Bob

almost lost my aresti
 

I'm not sure a spray is a good idea. You may end up adding too much weight or messing up your covering overall. This is only a gut feeling -- no experience to base it on.

almost lost my aresti
 

ARF's are not ARF's in my limited exposure to the products. I have been a kit builder and scratch builder for years but have lost the time build with the usual commitments. I have about 30 hours in my H9 1/4 Cap 232 screwing around with buying aftermarket push rods, repainting fiberglass, installing aftermarket tailwheel assemblies and replanting covering, figuring post construction installation on whatever including inventing a reasonable method to run servo wire extensions (dropping a fishing sinker tied to thread through the rib holes). However, I am a fusbutton and refuse typical ARF compromises. One compromise I will refuse is airframe integrity. Burn me once shame on me...burn me twice shame on you... (Quote... Scottie...Star Trek!)

Joe

almost lost my aresti
 

Heating up the covering with a heat gun could have caused your failure. After any use of a heat gun, you should follow up with an iron set at 200 to 220 degrees (depending on covering material) moved slowly and with light pressure around the edges of all covering you warmed with the heat gun.

Here's what may have happened :
1) You heated the covering over the wing bay
2) The covering in this area shrank
3) This shrinking pulled on the covering where it was attached to the wood, causing the glue to begin to stretch or give up.
4) history...

almost lost my aresti
 

I also think that on the aresti the red trim on the wing is applyed last making the edge of the trim heading into the wind. So if there is any hint of the trim lifting at the edge, the wind in flight is going to amplify this problem real fast.

almost lost my aresti
 

dont get me wrong I love this plane but factory should have covered back to front so overlap points to TE

almost lost my aresti
 

--If you don't like nail polish- :stupid: :eek: -I use Top Flite No Heat-Just wipe the complete plane with it--removes glue and seals edges-It is used to install Monocote on top of Monocote without a heating iron--leaves no bubles. Another trick I learned from a pro builder is use liquid car wax to seal covering seams. Makes the plane real shiney, too

Top Flite "No Heat" "Trim Solvent" on Ultracote
 

After reading this thread, I decided to seal my Ultacote seams before I fly my Aresti. There is Top Flight "Trim Solvent"--I could find no such thing as "No Heat." I believe it's the same thing, just sold under a different label.

Anyway, I tested it on scrap UltraCote today, and it works fine. It's a tight bond and it cleans up real nice. The bottle says "Trim Solvent is designed to be used to apply MonoKote over MonoKote and most other heat-activated film coverings."

almost lost my aresti
 

That is correct-they are the same, just different name brands

almost lost my aresti
 

The heat gun is most likely to blame, as BarryB stated. This should be used only to shrink the covering, not to tack it down. Next time use a covering iron on all the seams to tack it down firmly. Also, I use Mothers liquid car wax (carnuba I think) on the whole plane and buff it down with a soft cloth, this seals everything up just fine.

almost lost my aresti
 

A guy out at our field flew this profile fun fly plane (BIG, like 120 size) with a big thick wing. n a full throttle pass, the seam of covering on the leading edge split like a V shape, and so did the sheeting. Just imagine it in your heads, the whole wing "peeling off" on a high speed run. Needless to say, the plane didn't make it.

RE: almost lost my aresti
 

so is coveringthearesti in car wax a good solution then?

RE: almost lost my aresti
 

Wax on the covering makes it look nice and thats about it! Try wiping trim solvent over the joints. And it works on all heat applyed coverings.
All new ARFs should get the heat iron treatment on all seams.

Look here > http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXHZ43&P=0

RE: almost lost my aresti
 

Heat gun is not the best answer to ensure that the trims/edges stay on. Use a simple iron ... that solves the problem ... after that use some nail polish for the sharp edged trimming. I sometimes use some thin CA, applies using a needle.

RE: almost lost my aresti
 

I use trim solvent along the seams of all my ARFS anymore, then iron the seams with my heat gun. Even with this you need to keep an eye on the edges and corners, and get right on them if there are anysigns of lifting[:@].
When they (manufacturere's) apply trim it should always lap over from the front toward the rear of the plane, when possible[X(]. At least this way the air is'nt trying to peel it off all the time. It's a pita[>:].

PS: I hope you guy's dont start using nylons for wing bags to go along with your nail polish trim coat Hmmmmmmm!:eek:

Take off's are optional. Landing is mandatory.

RE: almost lost my aresti
 

Epoxy cup --- Don't be knocking nylons. When I was in Hawaii and flying U controls we had a hard time getting any covering etc. ( in fact anything ) so I used nylons to cover the wings then doped them. A bit heavy but boy could they take a beating. By the way that was a long time ago. ENJOY !!! RED