Now I would have expected this on my very first flight ever. Glad I got it on film because it did not last long.
I have no idea what happened, the plane started to take off nice and normal untill about 15 - 20 feet off the ground when it went straight up and right.
Dug a nice little hole in the ground. The only thing I can think of is something in the wing that I repaired gave away or I changed the aerodynamics or something. Or it could be the radio equip which no longer seems to work, the servo's snap to attention when turned on however when I move the controls nothing moves. All batteries are good. This is the first time I used this radio pack, I picked it up used but like new on ebay for the Rapture. If this was the cause I'm glad it went in the Alpha and not the Rapture.
Any ideas what I did wrong? I know it was not my takeoff skills as that is what I seem to do best. Man that was fast, I don't think I barely had time to move the sticks when it happened, if I did it did not help

Oh yeah, got any good tricks for getting dirt out of the carb?.

[link=ftp://engebrts:[email protected]/public_html/Untitled.wmv]Alpha 1 dies video 1 MB[/link]

I did a range check both before and after starting also.

Sorry aout the crash, but as they say..."It's not IF it happens, it's WHEN it happens"

Good training on that dog though, did he fetch?

I noticed that too - he went after it like a downed quail.

Sorry for your plane Skynyrd

I noticed she did that one other time. She must think she's the rescue dog.

and raise your antenna you dummy ..naw just kidding,,there are so many things that can go wrong from a gust of wind to a Nicad shorting out,,I had a plane literally fall out of the sky and we"think" it was the battery, at first my friend said"I'm hit!" but there was no one with even the same channel at the field....Rog

I'm not too concerned about the plane, the only reason it was going up again was I wanted practice covering a plane. Other wise I would have been using it to start a fire.
I am not happy about the radio pack, I am assuming it is the receiver. The engine looks OK other than the dirt in the carb.
Which I thought was a little strange. I know I throttled back, the carb was wide open.

Just check your reciver and all servos + batterypack before you put it in a new project.

used electronics on ebay usualy have short life spans......just an observation from someone who buys alot of computer parts. "like new" generaly means "i didnt do cosmetic damage"

Lesson learned, I will probably use ServoCity from now on. They have some very good prices on the flight packs.

I can't tell too much from the video, but that MIGHT have been a tip stall and the radio gear go injured in the crash. What degree was the climb out at?

That was no stall, when I took off it was probably 20 degree's the first 20 feet and then it just took off by itself, straight up and over to the right.
Nope I'm convinced it was either the rebuild or radio.
While I'm no expert I don't think you don't bury the nose 5 inches in the dirt from a 25' high stall.

Chances are you bought someone else's radio problem. Your choices are limited.
1.Send the radio to reliable shop for checkout
2.risk another plane with radios you don't trust
3.Scrap radios
Whatever you do, do it with Tx and Rx since you don't know where the problem is. If you send it in, be sure to give good description of what happened so they know what they are looking for.
Nothing irks us techs like a complaint like: Don't work too good. Clear as mud.

Sorry for the loss.
Kinda thought something had happened when I was reading the other thread.[]

This is ONE of the reasons I won't buy used gear.

I wouldn't ever use that flight pack again...

I too learned that hard lesson. Its not worth it anymore. A new radio is cheaper then a used one in the long run.

I love your dogs response.

Scott

Final conclusion Skynard?

I need a lot of training.