rcarlson

First of all, I appreciate all the information that is available in this forum. I am relatively new to RC flying but I flew a friends’ Slo-V at work and took to it with much delight. I guess it was the right plane at the right time because I went out and bought one last week end. My lunch hour for the first week consisted of practicing basic flight skills to eventually doing loops. What a blast this plane is.
By the time Friday evening came around I was very comfortable putting the Slo-V in the air. There was one lesson that I wanted to accomplish and that was to take-off and land on a smooth surface. Well I took the family around the corner to the elementary school parking lot and had a good take off (with some video coverage) and a smooth landing. Things are going good I thought. Well my 11 yr old daughter was bugging me to try the controls - this is where everything went to the can.
After getting the plane in the air I handed half of the controls to her as to try and grab the TX quickly if anything went awry. I wasn't quick enough. The first thing she did was push up on the stick - perfect one point landing into the grass, the screw that holds the servo and Rx pack ripped a good 10 mm grove in the fuse. I didn't get upset (acted all civil and all). I checked the plane over and noticed that with the servo pack moved forward, my ailerons were down. Easy enough - I pushed it back in its original position and was going to try and fly - bad idea. The pack moved forward as soon as I hand launched it and it took a 5 foot drop straight into the pavement. Broke the gear assembly box. Oh great - I flew this thing all week without an incident and within 15 minutes disabled it with 2 major crashes. Well I went to the LHS and picked up a gear assembly for a few bucks - no problem. I took a tie wrap and some double sided tape and secured the electronics pack on the fuse. All is well again - or is it.
I borrowed a couple of 7 cell batteries and added to mine I was able to fly for a couple of hours Saturday rotating the batteries out on the charger once they had cooled. It was a bit windy and I had to pretty much run at full throttle the whole time. The next day I went back up to the school and started to fly - hmmmm, I heard the motor missing (sputtering). I thought it might be a loose connection so I landed it (right into the side of my car) and took it home.
As I was trying to troubleshoot the problem and running the motor, the servos were twitching like crazy. Then all of a sudden a thick flume of smoke came from the ESC/RX; oh crap, burnt electronics are not a good thing. I quick unplugged the battery. The next day I called the LHS and they said to bring the ESC/RX in and they would replace it - cool. I got back to the house and put my new ESC/RX back on. I plugged up the battery and hit the throttle. Two seconds, the motor stopped. Here I go again. I quick unplugged the battery to save the ESC/RX - whew. Now what I thought, I checked the voltage out of the ESC/RX and it read the battery voltage and varied as I moved the throttle back and forth. Dang-it, it must be a bad motor.
I read many posts on this forum last night and had a good time doing it. All the problems that I encountered have been experienced by many many folks that were willing to share their experiences and ideas. I took some of the advice on this forum and bought a Venom Fireball today (to replace the motor that I burned out). I came home this evening and started my little mini project and got the new motor installed. I tried it out and it sounded great. I put the wing on and went out back into the neighbor’s field. I hand launched the plane and zoom it took off as smooth as could be. This is the first time that I was able to get the plane above 50~75 feet. I guess it got about 200 ft and I dropped the throttle down to half and let it float smoothly around the field and part of the neighborhood (maybe a 10~12 min flight on the stock 6 cell battery). This is what I wanted - to be able to relax and fly around without having to fight the stick.

A bit winded, but I had to share my thoughts (first post and all).

RC

camlf

Yes, Thanx to everyone in these forums. I have learned alot when looking to get a firebird or a challenger.I also have found many great mods and repair tips. I'm very happy with my new areobird. It is a bit fast to me while climbing but is great when you cut the gas back. Congrats from another Newbie on your flights and able to repair.I do like the part of the hobby of doing mods and repairs. I like to fix things as well as fly. I am doing good but should of I took step one first, with a slow-stick. I got a ways to go before I try the Pro-Mode. Good luck, rcarlson.

Tommyr

Great story! I just got a Slo-V too but haven't flown it yet. I'm sure I'll have as much fun as you.

Enjoy your Slo-V! And let's see the video if it's possible!

Tom

highpines

Hello all....My first plane was the Slo-V and I still love to fly it for sure but here is a few things I did to keep from repairing and replacing parts and to make it more fun.
1st ....I piched up an e-flite prop saver...cut the prop shaft off at about 3/4" from front of gear box with a Dremel or whatever and install the prop saver. unfortunately I went thru 3 shafts without the saver. Beleive me this works.
2nd...I was using a 9.6v flat batt pack for awhile till I went thru a few motors, more power was cool but I don't think the stock motor liked it. Now I use the 8.4's and everything is fine.
3rd...I I moved the clevis from the bottom hole on the tail to the second one up from the bottom...alot more responsive and more fun.
.....I have a Slow Stick with outrunner and 3-cell lipo's and it will take off in about 1 foot and will go totally vertical but I still love my first Slow-V trainer. Just a few thoughts..............Have fun......