Skycat80

A little background first... About 6 months ago, I bought a Tower Hobbies .46 nitro trainer. As suggested by nearly everyone here, I joined the AMA and a local club. This past Friday, I met up with an experienced instructor who also happens to be a friend of mine. We met at the field and he looked over my plane. At first, everything looked ok. He hooked me up to a buddy cord and started to taxi down the runway. He hit a small hole and set the plane sideways, so we went out to straighten it out. When we did, I noticed that the stabilizer was loose on the plane and he told me we couldn't fly it until it was fixed and glued. So, somewhat disappointed, I headed home to fix the plane up. I was, however, a little excited that we got to hear the engine run and it ran really well.
Fast forward to today. My wife went to lunch with her friends, so I figured I'd head to the local hobby shop and walk around. I've had my eye on a Tactic TTX 650 radio for a little while, so that was in the back of my mind when I walked in the door. As I was looking at the electric planes, I looked down on the bottom shelf and behind a few boxes and found something a little different. I dug the box out and it was a Flyzone electric plane with a Tactic TTX 650 taped to the box. The price on the plane was $229 and it was TX-R. I didn't know if the TTX was taped to the box by mistake, so I asked the plane guy at the counter. He seemed a little surprised and told me this must have been one left from Black Friday and said he thought they'd all sold out. Either way, he told me it was the best deal in the shop. He said the radio is free with the plane. At that point, I knew I would be leaving with a plane and radio. I exlplained to him that I wasn't crazy about the plane as I'm new to the hobby and I felt the plane was a little advanced for me. He told me if I found another plane for the same price, he would still throw in the radio for free. I immediately drew my attention to the Flyzone Cessna 182. He told me it was a great plane and would be a decent second plane. I quickly scooped up the Cessna and radio and headed to the checkout. Thrilled with the deal I got, I called my instructor and he told me I had gotten a great deal. I got the Flyzone Cessna 182 with everything but the transmitter and the brand new Tactic TTX radio for $219. I was very pleased with the deal I got. Of course, like a kid on Christmas morning, I got home, headed out to the garage and put the Cessna together. My wife came home and came out to the garage. After telling me I was a lunatic with a money management problem, I got her to understand the deal I got. I told her it had LED's on it and she warmed up to it a little bit.
It had been raining all night and had just stopped raining for a few minutes. It was just starting to get dark and I couldn't wait to taxi it around the driveway. She came outside and stood on the porch watching me taxi it around for a little while. Of course, the taxiing got faster and faster until I was zipping up and down the road with the plane. We were both having fun just watching the plane run up and down the road. All the sudden, a gust of wind came along and I must have pulled the rudder to the left at the perfect time... The plane flipped over nose first and I knew it wasn't good. When I went to pick the plane up, I saw that the shaft on the motor had broken in half and there was a chunk of missing from the prop.
I was pretty mad at myself for being so stupid. I knew I shouldn't have been out messing with the plane, but I couldn't help it. So, now I have a new motor and prop on the way, but I can't help but think it was a stupid thing to do. I haven't told my instructor yet, but I'm sure he'll get a kick out of. Needless to say, I plan to get the Cessna all put back together and put on a shelf until I can take it out with my instructor.
Am I the only guy that just couldn't wait and tore up a brand new plane???

I also want to say that this site is fantastic and invaluable when it comes to new pilots. I wanted to say thank everyone for all they contribute to this site.

TomCrump

You are not the first, nor will you be the last, to experience the joy of taxiing a new model in the street, in front of your house.

Why, I've actually seen 1/4 scale gassers, taxiing on my street. I'll have to find out who they belong to.

AMA 74894

My Feedback: (1)

welcome to your new addiction

you're certainly not the first and won't be the last person to do that...Welcome to RCU and enjoy!!

jester_s1

Are you sure you needed a new motor? Many motors have replaceable shafts for just such an occasion. And no, you're not weird at all. Every one of us had that "kid on Christmas morning" feeling when we started.

Skycat80

Well, I ordered a motor last night. However, I just removed the broken shaft and I'm looking for replacement shafts right now. I'm having trouble finding what one I need. I have a micrometer, and can go about it that way, but a part number would sure be nicer. I'm also trying to search on where to find replacement shafts...
The motor part number is FLZA6082. I'm trying to find it that way, but not having much luck so far.

jester_s1

It may not be repairable then. Some of the less expensive motors aren't made to be fixed, or at least don't have a good parts supply from the manufacturer. I would have suggesting going up to a brand that you know you can get parts for if you were going to have to replace it, since you can reasonably expect this to happen again before you get proficient at flying.

Skycat80

**UPDATE**
I called Flyzone and spoke with a rep. They were more than helpful. I told him the truth about what happened and that I was just basically looking for a part number for the shaft. He told me that he couldn't give me a part number for the shaft, but that they would just send me out a new motor at no charge. I certainly didn't expect that. I can't say enough about how helpful they were. Big thumbs up for Flyzone! I will definately be buying their planes again.

jester_s1

Wow. I wouldn't have expected that either. Kudos to Flyzone!

You've also stumbled upon one of the great untapped resources in our hobby- the customer service line. Most companies will put significant effort into helping you be pleased with their products because they know that there are very few of us who just buy one airplane and leave it at that. You'll usually get better advice from the service line, and sometimes free parts when you explain what happened.

Gray Beard

My Feedback: (-1)

Most of the guys I fly with get there electric gear from Hobby King. The shafts are replaceable but the only local place to buy them is Hobby People. The shafts cost more then the complete motor. I have never looked to see if H King sells just the shafts or not but you scored well with Flyzone. Good service gets them good customers that are loyal so it is a win win for both of you.