Engine Problem on Nexstar (Caused crash)
 

So after my amazing Sunday Fun fly with my club and me basicly being written off as a full time flyer, I went out and about today doing errands and realized hey im only 15 min from the field after heading upto bestbuy to inquire about some work.


SO I head to the field preflight and voosh off i go the big solo pilot, wel about 7 flights later im like Ok 1 more and im heading home. Long story short, Dead stick On the far side of the Field near the tree line.. Apparently i was pretty far out there and Well Managed to beef it about 60 feet up into a tree.

After some cursing and ranting I went out and assessed the damage. Looked around... hrm wheres the plane.. *Slowly looks up*... Picture a plane hanging from the highest limb of a tree by the front Landing gear wheel....

*Sigh* great.

Insert 1 hour of Climbing a tree with a 30 foot long peice of pipe taped together...
Insert Plane falling gracefully into the Giant *****er bush ...

Insert more cursing and ranting..

insert dumbfounded look when i realized... The only damage was 1 servo arm on my wing and a small punchture throught eh covering of the other side of the wing...





So im checking it over.. trying to see why it went dead stick. (Take in mind Prop still in 1 peice)..

I see carb kinda shaking.. looking closer.. BOTH Carb screws were gone.. and the carb was just sitting in place... im yelling.. Never once in any of my training or manual's did it say to check the carb screws before flight or at any time..

realizing That my carb screws must have worked out somehow and Thats why the engine went out.




Have any of you ever heard of carb screws backing out? is this somthing i should have been aware of?.

im seriously considering calling up hobbico and asking about this because it seems strange that an engine that came with a RTF Should not have screws in the carb back out after maybe 20 flights total on the engine.


Thoughts? Opinions?

None the less im very very gratefull that my plane escaped with minimal damage. hell i think My legs and arms from climbing 40 feet up a tree took the most damage from todays events.

RE: Engine Problem on Nexstar (Caused crash)
 

Sorry to hear of your crash and am glad the damage was not bad.
(thinks to himself, I really must check my carb screws before I fly again)

RE: Engine Problem on Nexstar (Caused crash)
 

Dorsil,
Sorry to hear that you had a bad time, but glad that it turned out ok for you.

As far as the screws go. Here is the break-in procedures (and continued maintenance) that should be taken on every plane, no matter if it's a kit, ARF, or RTF. The plane needs to be assembled and every screw, nut, bolt, clevis, etc... needs to be tightened. This means everything on the plane. If you break-in the engine on the plane then everything should be checked again to make sure it's all still tight. This is especially true for the engine, check everything to make sure it's still tight (including the head bolts because they can and do loosen up on break-in). After your first flight it's time to recheck them all again. After that you need to set up a maintenance routine of how often you check them all again. Some do it a couple time a summer, some do it a few times a month, some do it after every day at the field. Myself, I check everything as I'm cleaning up the plane. If I find anything loose I'll bring the plane into the shop when I get home and go over it all again to see if anything else loosened up.

These planes aren't fly and forget. You have to check them to make sure everything is still tight on them. I've seen pilots that have planes that are 10-15 (and more) years old, and if you ask them I'm willing to bet that every one of them have a routine of checking their plane over.

Hope this helps

Ken

RE: Engine Problem on Nexstar (Caused crash)
 

I would put new screws in with Loctite this time.

RE: Engine Problem on Nexstar (Caused crash)
 

Yes, I have seen the screws fall out before. Had a guy out the other day and we just could NOT get it to idle down no matter what we did. Throttle closed and even with a finger carefully placed over the intake the silly engine kept running, quite fast at that. We looked at what we thought was everything and finally noticed one (1) of the 2 mounting screws had come out. this allowed air in and the the carb supplied fuel as needed to run. No spare screws on the field that fit so he had to park it for the day but at least we had figured it out.

RE: Engine Problem on Nexstar (Caused crash)
 

Well lesson learned lol, im definatly going to have to make a rutine to go over every time i fly. i guess i got away lucky today, few bucks for new screws and some tape on the wing and im back in business.

Last time that happens tho.

RE: Engine Problem on Nexstar (Caused crash)
 

Yeah, you could have lost the carb although I think I remember my plane coming down once with the carb hanging from the fuel line. Wouldn't want to depend on being that lucky again.

RE: Engine Problem on Nexstar (Caused crash)
 

Develop a preflight checklist. Go through it step by step EXACTLY the same way every time. You should check to make sure all nuts, bolts and screws are tight before every flight, no more than every few flights.

I also have a routine that I follow from the time I turn off the truck, to the time I start the engine on my plane. I take out and assemble the plane the same way, in the same order, and then check the same things before I fly, every time. It sounds like a pain and a little anal but it can sure save you a lot of heartache. Even at that bad things can happen but it will help to prevent things like what happened to you. Its really easy to get to having fun and forget to maintain your plane, transmitter and batteries on a good day. Try to go over the plane at least every couple of flights and make sure everything is nice and tight and in its place.

Another thing that can mess you up is onlookers. While assembling and preparing my plane to fly I excuse myself politely and explain that I need to finish my routine.. If for some reason I need to stop and talk or help someone.... I start over at step one. ;)

RE: Engine Problem on Nexstar (Caused crash)
 

nevermind. [&:]

RE: Engine Problem on Nexstar (Caused crash)
 

I think that crash warranty is only while you are training w/qualified instructor. I believe Dorsil has already soloed?

RE: Engine Problem on Nexstar (Caused crash)
 

nevermind. :eek:

RE: Engine Problem on Nexstar (Caused crash)
 

I agree 100% , I rarely have problems with anything I order from Tower, and I have ordered alot, but on that rare occasion that something was not quite right Tower customer support was second to none.

RE: Engine Problem on Nexstar (Caused crash)
 

I'd still call 'em up and see what they could/couldn't do for you. Carb screws backing out on their own are pretty uncommon. You'd be surprised at what a little legitimate complaining can accomplish.

RE: Engine Problem on Nexstar (Caused crash)
 

There is nothing legitimate about it. That's like trying to get them to replace a plane because it crashed when the batteries weren't charged. Screws and bolts loosening on a new plane is VERY common and it something that needs be checked on the plane. Especially on a new motor. As I said above, all the bolts and screws on a motor need to be checked, the do loosen up as the motor breaks in. IMHO to ask Tower to replace the plane in this instance isn't right. It wasn't their fault that it happened.

Ken

RE: Engine Problem on Nexstar (Caused crash)
 

Sorry to hear of your misfortune but I gotta go with Ken on this one. Calling Hobbico to cry foul, would IMO, be a foul. Unfortunately that's all just part of what it takes on a dialy basis to keep these things in the air. When I'm not flying them in the daytime, I'm working on them at night. If you stop & think about the kind of rpm we run these things at, ANY screw vibrating itself loose is not un-common. We all need to get in the habit of checking & tightening any loose screws on a regular basis. Especially any & all screws on, in, or around the engine compartment.

Steady maintenance is as big a part of this hobby as the actual flying is. I try to do mine at night. I know I'm gonna fly in the morning so along with putting everything on the chargers tonight, I will also go over everything on the planes I plan to fly so that when I get to the field I know everything is ready to go.

When the sun comes up I'm already fueled up & range checked. Then I'm ready to fly as soon as it gets light enough to see. Try to get yourself in to a routine. It certainly doesn't have to be like mine but find one that works for you & you will spend your time at the field flying instead of tinkering with your planes. Good luck & I'm glad your plane only suffered minor damages, they are all easy quick fixes. Consider it an inexpensive lesson, it could have been much worse.

RE: Engine Problem on Nexstar (Caused crash)
 

nevermind. [:o]

RE: Engine Problem on Nexstar (Caused crash)
 

IMO this would be basicly trying to swindle Tower for a minor problem of neglect. If you want to complain to anyone, call OS. just because nobody at your field checks their equipment for loose hardware, at least to your knowledge, doesn't make the mfg responsible. To expect a new plane because you lost @$2 in screws is part of what drives our costs up. Do you think warrantys are free? All this is figured into the basic cost of a product. Do you think the warranty on your car is free? Far from it my friend. Dorsil needs to suck it up, buy some screws and stick on a little tape and go fly. Sheeesh!
The LA engines are infamous for loose backing plate screws, do you want to blame Tower for that too? If you read through the various beginner threads you will find a lot of places where people are advised to go back and recheck ALL hardware (includes engine) for tightness after the first flights and again on a regular preventative basis

RE: Engine Problem on Nexstar (Caused crash)
 

Wow, Apparently this is a touchy subject. Ive emailed Hobbico, and just let them know of the Screws backing out. Could be a problem for others, Maybe not. IM DEFINATLY NOT looking for a free plane from tower, Mine survived and Im fixxing it up just fine. My lesson was learned to preflight "Everything" In the engine compartment for obvious reasons.

Thanks everyone for your input. =) IM OK. The plane is OK.


Absolultly no more reason for debate on the issue.

thanks!

[:'(]

RE: Engine Problem on Nexstar (Caused crash)
 

nevermind.[&o]

RE: Engine Problem on Nexstar (Caused crash)
 

As myself and others have mentioned, it's not Tower/Hobbico's fault if a screw comes loose. To ask them to replace an item because of user neglect is totally out of line. As was said above, it raises the prices for all of us in the hobby. A corporation like Hobbico isn't going to just "eat" the cost of that replacement, they will figure that into the cost of all items that are sold.

Even though the Nexstar is sold as an RTF package, the instructions for that plane clearly point out that the plane should be checked for loose bolts, screws, etc.... while you are cleaning up the plane. Here is a link to the Nexstar manual online [link]http://www.hobbiconexstar.com/downloads/hcaa17-manual-v1_1.pdf[/link] , the portion of the manual that I am referring to can be found on page 23 of the manual under the "Clean Up" section. Here is a screen shot of that portion of the manual.

I am not trying to say that Dorsil is wrong, and I do understand why he would want for this discussion to end. But I have a hard time sitting quiet when something like this comes up. It's just not the manufacturers role to replace items damaged because of neglect. Should we ask them to replace a plane because we only put 4 rubber bands on the wing?? Because we didn't fully tighten the prop down?? Because we didn't put a full tank of fuel in?? Because we didn't charge the radio batteries before we flew?? Of course not. Asking them to replace a plane because of a loose screw is the same thing.

Ken

RE: Engine Problem on Nexstar (Caused crash)
 

Check every screw, bolt, and nut!!!!!! I had my Nexstar RTF engine quit on me and was lucky to land it safely. The problem, one of the muffler bolts was missing and the other was on its way out. I put a lock washer on and no problems so far.

RE: Engine Problem on Nexstar (Caused crash)
 

I bought the same model plane and a DVD with it stressed checking ALL screws and the prop nut. They said it had traveled thousands of miles and got vibrated(bounced) around a lot. I checked mine on delivery and all the engine mounting screws were loose. It would have caused a crash at some point. The do warn to check all screws etc. Also the front wheel screws holing the shaft to the firewall were loose.

RE: Engine Problem on Nexstar (Caused crash)
 

For future success in the hobby, you might start working on your deadstick landings once you get everything fixed up. They are pretty easy on a trainer and can be simulated by just cutting the engine to idle and gliding in. If it doesn't look good the first time, you still have power to go around.

Blue locktite will hold those screws in next time. I don't use it on head bolts or backplates because it can make them look tight enough when they actually aren't, but for carbs and mufflers it'll prevent lots of headaches.

RE: Engine Problem on Nexstar (Caused crash)
 

The reason I opened the topic was to see how an engine caused the crash...It didn't...
The first thing to do when you get an ARF is to check every screw nut and washer and glue joint.....
Don't get me wrong I am sorry you had a crash...but as I tell my newly solod students...be very careful you are in more danger of crashing now than at any other time in your flying carrer.....Why because desire outweighs ability and or judgement.......
I was no different......
Repair the slight damage and learn from this one..when you teach down the road you have your first there I was at 10,000 ft teaching story.....
Good flying

RE: Engine Problem on Nexstar (Caused crash)
 

Jester............you are right..........seems the best landings I ever do and have done are dead stick...........you know it's coming down and you just have no choice :D