I recently purchased a Hanger 9 Arrow trainer, an AMA card, and joined the local flying club. My friend has over 25 years experience flying so he is instructing me with a buddy box.After about 8 times out we have yet to get the engine running correctly, the last time when my friend put his finger over the carb to cut it off it kept running, I know enough about 2 strokes that I knew it was getting air from somewhere it wasnt supposed to. We also had the radio die immediatley after takeoff once, this resulted in a hard landing with nothing hurt but a bent landing gear, I was informed by the hobby store that sometimes interferrence will cause as he put it " getting shot down ". The hobby store owner insisted ,after I repeadly said no, that I borrow a used engine from him while mine was getting repaired. We went to the flying field, I asked my friend to fly the plane first to make sure eveything was good with the new engine ( different weight , etc. ), this time the radio died, the plane went into a vertical dive full throttle, a total loss. The hobby store owner has aggreed to replace my plane, my question is....is this the norm that the equipment is not reliable, this is making me rethink, have I gotten involved in a hobbie that I will spend more time trying to make equipment work than having fun.

What kind of engine was it? If you hang around the field long enough, you will find that "clubs" will have opinions on what engines are reliable at that location. I know it sounds weird, but once someone finds something that works, it seems to work for everyone at the field.

As for the radio, ask someone to put a volt meeter on your batteries. There are several things that can cause a "hit". Again it may sound weird, but some fields may tell you that "channel XX just doesn't work here". Hope this helps.

I'd also like to know which engine and which radio you're using. (It helps if you give more info.)

But it's very unusual to experience successive problems like you seem to be having. I've heard of cheaper engines having air leaks around the carb, and it's usually an easy fix. The radio issues really do sound like battery pack problems, or something in your plane causing interference. (You don't have a steel cable running from the servo to the carb do you?)

At least the Hobby Shop owner is treating you right. He could be saying forget it, your problem. []

Good luck, and let us know what happens.
Dennis-

Yea, sounds to me like a battey or frequency problem. Have someone check the batteries for you, and ask at the field if anyone else has had problems with the channel you're using.

I have the Evolution .46 TPS engine and a JR Quatro radio

Send the radio and engine back. Sometimes you just get a "bad" one

BTW the wat its ok to have a steel cable running from the carb to servo as long as the either the clevis or throtle arm are plastic. I've been using them for years on all my models without a problem

After talking at length with the hobby store owner i have found that the radio manufacturer probably wont take responsibility for the crash, so to keep the hobby store from taking a hit I decided to get the ARF from him at his cost, send the radioand the motor back. I am still going to pursue the radio company to see if they will help.

This may help to find the problem. I was reading up on a transmitter signal monitor and found this one that you can make. Just hook it to your antenna and you can hear the signal from the TX. It might help figure if it is the TX or RX.

Parts:
1. one 001mfd capacitor
2. one diode
3. one 10uH RF choke
4. one miniature headphone jack
5. one plastic 35mm film container or something similar

Instructions:
Drill 1/4 inch hole center of the bottle cap. Mount a phone jack there with the terminals so they will go inside the bottle. Cut the leads on the RF choke and the diode to 1 inch. Two of the jack terminals have small holes: solder the diode lead into one hole and the RF choke lead into the other. Bend the free ends of the diode and the RF choke toward each other, and twist them together, trim them to fit in the bottle. Solder them to one end of the .001mfd capacitor. Drill a 1/16 inch hole in the center of the bottle bottom. Put the free end of the .001mfd capacitor through the hole and put the cap on the bottle. Plug a transistor radio earphone into the jack. Bend a hook in the capacitor wire, which hangs on the TX antenna. Turn on the TX and listen.

This was taking from the book !QUOT!Master Modeler Series Building Techniques!QUOT! by Randy Randolph

I hope this helps

Me too. All i use is steel cables. But who the h*ll iam i LOL. I only been doing this for
33 years.

Sorry guys, but I have a plane that HAD a steel throttle cable with a plastic servo control horn AND a plastic clevis at the carb end, and at certain throttle settings, usually around 3/4, the servos would jitter like hell. The cable also ran in a plastic sleeve.

I replaced the steel cable and never had another glitch.
Dennis-

Thanks for the info might come in handy some day. Never had that problem
nor have i heard of one having that problem. That one would have throwed me for a loop
trying to figure it out.

It threw me for a loop too, literally! [:@] (I didn't diagnose the problem until the plane went in one day.

I was making an approach towards the field at something over 1/2 throttle and the plane suddenly climbed, rolled over and went into a tree. Fortunately no serious damage.

I eventually found the glitching after repairs and putting the plane and radio gear through a real vigorous range test, including running the engine at various throttle settings. When badly jittering servos showed up repeatedly right around 3/4 throttle, that's where I focused my attention, and changing out the cable solved the problem.
Dennis-

Mfromsc,

Regardless of what engine you're using, whether it dies or not, it's no reason for your plane to be destroyed. People safely land their planes all the time "deadstick". Your problem is definately radio related. You've either got bad batteries or you're getting radio interference from somewhere. Did you, or your instructor, range check the plane before flying it? I could go on and on because there are several things that need to be done/checked before taking a plane up. The best thing that can be done in your situation is to try to find a scanner that will check the airwaves for interference. At our field, if there is ever any question as to whether a channel is bad or not, we simply break out the scanner and test it. Your club may not have one, but I'm sure if you chech around, you'll be able to borrow one from somewhere.

Like I said before, it could be bad batteries, and there are several ways to check to see if they're good or not. As for your engine, simply buy a "new" engine, like a Thunder Tiger or O.S. LA .40. These are two of the best beginner engines on the market and they rarely aver give a person any problems. They're also cheap $.

Whatever you do, don't get discouraged! In my opinion, from the way it sounds, the people in your club could be a bit more helpful. I haven't heard you say much about the people there helping you. I don't know how many people are in your club, but someone should have been able to diagnose your problem. If you left the field with no opinions, that's not good. The fellow at the hobby shop can only go off of what you're "telling" him, he's not there to see the problem like the people in your club. Start asking for more opinions if you encounter problems again.

John

Thanks John, when this happened, it was myself, my instructor and another guy. At our club it seems if you ask 5 people their opinion you will get 5 completely different opinion, my instructor is also my friend and has been flying for 25 + years I think I will stick to what he says, so we sent the radio back to JR as it is still under warrantee. Thanks for all the help, I will keep you informed as to the outcome

What type of scanner and where do you get one?
thanks

BTW your hobby shop is a keeper. You are lucky to find such a good one. Stay with him, he seems like a great guy. He will be a big help to you later on as you progress in the hobby. I agree there is either interference or a radio problem. Ask around your club and see if someone else is having problems with that frequency. Another thing to try is set the plane down with the transmitter off and turn on the plane and watch for any jitters in the servo's. This could be a sign of interference. good luck with your problems.

Mark Shuman