"Raptured" my Rapture 40
 

Well, not quite to that extent. More like "Raptured my WALLET with my Rapture 40" [:@]. Anyway, here's what happened: After a good 20 flights or so, and I'm getting a little too good at the sticks for my own sense, it bit me. The head wind was starting to pick up, and I figured I'll just go fly into it and hover for a bit. Used rudder to steer, kept the wings level with the ailerons and managed the throttle, keeping the nose slightly up. In a split second, the right wing dropped and it spiraled, strait towards the dirt. Folks, you don't go 5 mph in a 10 mph in a head wind, when you need 18 mph of airspeed! I opened up the throttle and snapped the elevator to break the stall, along with opposite aileron to stop the spin. No affect on either control, but it did snap the opposite direction. Got it level (with the elevator at high rates) and it pancaked, then cartwheeled twice. Busted the prop, right wing spar, several ribs, and made a new set of wheel wells out of some of the sheeting. Shattered the spinner, Bent the landing gear all to heck. Busted a shear web or two. Broke all the nylon hinges in half on the right wing, so I'm going to have to do some re-slotting, or at least I hope I can. That is, as long as I can pry the aileron off the torque rod. It's in there pretty good.

Moral of the story: The Rapture 40 was not meant for 3D. Although it can fly and land like a primary flat-wing trainer, it is not as forgiving. It WILL snap when you least expect it, the very moment you take it out of its flight envelope. So, fly it like you would a scale Cessna. The two are very similar in characteristics, except the Rapture may not be as stable as the high-wing, especially when dealing with a cross wind. It's just a reminder, folks. A certain model may be as easy to fly as a trainer, but that doesn't mean it is one. And remember too, that this can even happen to experienced hobbyists.

NorfolkSouthern

RE: "Raptured" my Rapture 40
 

OUCH!

I followed your build thread, and you did a really good job building this plane, sorry to hear about your crash.

I agree that it is definatly repairable. To get the torque rod off, try to use a heat gun (hairdryer works too), the heat will soften the epoxy
and make it a bit easier to remove.

Good luck with your repair.
Ryan

RE: "Raptured" my Rapture 40
 

Thanks for your support, RhyanO. I'm already getting some of the ribs back in place, the spar repaired well with just some medium CA. I may add a few balsa block reinforcements in places. This is a tough bird, no damage to the fuselage other than the prop and spinner. The fuel tank got knocked out of place, but I think I can fit a screwdriver in there to get the tongue back in the groove. How about getting those epoxy hinges out? I could also try the heat gun on that, but they're in solid I'm afraid. Would it work if I drilled a hole next to each nylon hinge, and then fit a Robart Hinge in?

NorfolkSouthern

RE: "Raptured" my Rapture 40
 

Sorry to hear about the crash. At least you don't have too much damage. The good thing about having built the plane yourself is that you aren't afraid to tackle the repairs.

One thing that may keep you out of trouble when you try some flying like this again is to use your rudder. Keep the ailerons perfectly neutral if your flying that slow. When you get behind the power curve like that, ALWAYS use the rudder to level the wings. Trying to use the ailerons will cause this to happen even on a trainer. When the aileron goes down to raise a wing, you are actually increasing your angle of attack past the stall. That's the cause of the spin. Down elevator will break the stall, and don't touch the ailerons.

Good luck with the repairs, it's a great looking plane.

RE: "Raptured" my Rapture 40
 

I wouldnt try to salvage the hinges. I would cut them off flush at the trailing edge of the wing and at the ailerons. Once the hinges are cut, you can take the heat gun to the aileron torque rod. Just heat it slowly and work it a little bit at a time. To re-hinge the wing, you can most certainly use the robart hinges.

Here is a link for a tutorial on their installation.
http://www.rcuniverse.com/magazine/a...article_id=269

I am finishing up a BTE Venture 60 kit and I am at the point where I am ready to install the hinges. I am also going to use Robart hinges. I usually do a lot of research of things like this, to learn what other people use for hinges, and weather they like them or not.

Here is another link.
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_42...tm.htm#4259924

http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_37.../tm.htm#376584

You will find that some people also really like CA type hinges. Here is a helpful link of a tutorial for the proper installation of CA hinges.
http://www.rcuniverse.com/magazine/a...?article_id=55

Best of luck,
Ryan

RE: "Raptured" my Rapture 40
 

Sorry about your airplane. When asked about how non-trainers fly I always tell my students many have similar flight characteristics to trainers, BUT it's when you get into trouble when you really learn the differences. I've been lulled into that "this airframe can do anything" feeling, but have always been quickly snapped out of it by a near miss. I suppose I've been lucky.

RE: "Raptured" my Rapture 40
 

I'll have to try some of icegs's advice in using the rudder to level the wings, without the ailerons. Another problem too, is that the elevator was on high rates, which most likely contributed to the problem. The plane stalled as if it was forced up on takeoff before it was actually ready to fly, and there was no ground effect.

OK, so now I got the ribs fixed. One still needs a new center section, but there shouldn't be any problem fabricating that, like I did with a couple others. It'll be stronger than original because I'm not so much as going for looks, as I am for durability. It's inside the wing, so it'll be harder to tell when it's all covered again. At the bottom of the photo, you can see where the wheel bashed in the balsa sheeting. That'll have to get fixed too.

I got the aileron off, and cut away the exposed parts of the nylon hinges. I will drill one side of each of the nylon hinges, as well as on the ailerons to accept the Robart Hinge Points. I repaired a Slow Poke's tailgear this way, after it got sheared off when hitting a bump. It works very well, with a great improvement in durability.

The wing tip was messed up pretty bad, to where the covering was about the only thing holding it together. It'll have to be reinforced, with one of the end ribs fabricated from scratch. With the way it busted off the wing, I will have to put some balsa blocks in place to reinforce where it attaches to the spars, and the leading and trailing edge. I may need to add a little weight to the other side, to get the wing to balance laterally, but I'm hoping I don't. On the covering: The cheap Econokote will be replaced with Jet White Monokote, along with the standard Metallic Plum, carrying the original color scheme but with a much cleaner and nicer look. I just hate the Econokote's yellowing, and Monokote is much stronger.

NorfolkSouthern

RE: "Raptured" my Rapture 40
 

It looks like you are coming along nicely with your repair. You should be back in the air in no time.
Keep us posted on how your repair comes out.

Ryan

RE: "Raptured" my Rapture 40
 

It's been a while since I responded. Anyway, I finished with the fixes and it looks as good as original. The flight characteristics changed slightly, since I added a little more weight to the right wing to balance it a bit. I now trim it more to the right, as I was trimming towards the left before. It still tracks just as strait as ever.

Lately, I have been running into some engine problems. Thus, I am having to take it out of service until I get the issue resolved. If anybody knows of any shops that can rebuild engines, the info will most certainly come in handy. It runs fine on the ground, but during flight it likes to cut out a lot, and I have had a number of dead sticks, but no trouble bringing it back. The plane serves a better purpose in flight, than it does as a chandelier or coffee table decoration, I must say. Well, maybe I could install a light socket in the canopy!

NorfolkSouthern

RE: "Raptured" my Rapture 40
 

Norfolk,

Good to hear you are back in the air. In regard to the engine, I would post the your problem in the glow engines support forum.

If your engine runs okay in the ground when hot, then you might just have a tuning or fuel delivery problem.

If your engine does not want to run when hot, then you might have a scored or scratched piston/cylinder. A minor disassembly for inspection would confirm that.

I hope you fix your engine soon.

Pedro

RE: "Raptured" my Rapture 40
 

I had the head off the engine, and the piston looks like it's carboned up. I think that's fairly typical for the mileage, which is a bit high. I think that engine has been through at least 10 gallons, if not more. Compression is good, and I installed all new fuel lines. I am dead certain I sealed the tank as well as I could. I suppose I could try another glow plug, but I'm not sure what good that'll do. I think I will take this one to the glow support forum. I don't have the necessary facilities and/or tools to work on an engine in my small apartment. To get it clean enough, I'd have to run some antifreeze in a crock pot, and I would really need a garage for that. There has to be someone out there some place who is willing to overhaul this thing.

I have also found that this plane is reasonably affordable to fix, compared to many ARFs I've seen. So, I started on a House Of Balsa Decathlon kit with an OS 10 LA. I am planning on using it to save energy, which has been getting rather expensive lately. To save covering and facilitate better ease of repairs, I might use the same covering I did on the Rapture. Then I'll plan on using my expensive ARFs a little more sparingly.

NorfolkSouthern

RE: "Raptured" my Rapture 40
 

Personally, I prefer less hazardous cleaning techniques. I use dawn power disolver for cleaning up my engines. Because it is caustic base, it still can make your hand itchy if your skin is exposed for long time. That's why for safety, I use latex gloves with it.

A new glow plug is one solution to cure your unreliable engine. I have had that in the past. Now, I change plugs every season regardless of the use.