As some of you will remember I have been teaching myself to fly with an Aircore 40 Trainer. I love this plane, it is almost indestructable. It easily got me past the first hill on the learning curve with only minor damages that could be repaired in under 1/2 hour. I have about 20 flights on it now and I am starting to really have fun with it. The last time I went out flying was the first time that I did anything other than just fly circles and figure eights. I did a few loops and rolls and lots of hammer head stalls, god I love that. I was even giving it full ailerons while climbing to stall and Its real cool to watch your plane flip around at the top. Any way...I did one of the spinning hammer heads and the plane came out of it right in the sun. I should have released the ailerons and gave it some up elevator as soon as I lost it but I didnt. when it finaly came out of the sun I couldnt tell wich way it was pointed right away and by the time I could it was too late. I slammed her into the ground real hard and I finally managed to break something that actually required some time to fix. I managed to break the "power cartrige" into several pieces and crack the carburator mounting flange on my mds .48. I had to make a new PC out of plywood, it took me about an hour to cut out the pieces and epoxy them together. You just gotta love a plane that bounces so well. I'm not sure if the engine is toast yet or not. I cleaned it up and put it back together with a bunch of blue silicone sealer and am waiting for it to cure before I try to start it up again. If it doesn't work I'll try JB weld next, if THAT doesn't work I guess I'll just have to buy a new engine. If you are looking for your first trainer, give the Aircore 40 a try, and it will give you several tries without shattering into toothpicks.

Thats why I took up SPADS, got tired of watching all my work turn into toothpicks.

Way to go, Todd! I taught myself with an Aircore 40, too. Mine was getting pretty beat up, like yours, when I found the SPAD community. Built a Debonair and it flew better than the Aircore!! Love the SPADs.

If that was my engine, I would goober a ring of JB Weld around the flange, in addition to the silicone.

Party on!

rrh

Wow! You have to work pretty hard to break the power cartridge. What did you hit, cement? Normally, the tiny screws that hold the PC in will give, and the cartridge slides back into the plane, cushioning the crash and saving the engine. Must have been a great crash!