HobbyZone Firebird Freedom Electronics problem
 

Purchased my first decent RC plane and got it yesterday. After draining (remote worked fine) and attempting to charge the battery (I think I put 10 minutes into it in the end) I took it to a field to fly. After adjusting the ruddervators(?) I did a test throw to see if it flew straight. Well I threw it too high and it flew then nose dived, hitting it squarely on the nose, pretty straight though so I was happy. Well when I got to the plane one of the ruddervators was maxed out, I'm guessing I did not tighten the screws completely. Anyway I fixed that and was ready to actually fly and I could not get the remote to control the plane! Unplugged and re-plugged the battery in, nothing... I looked inside at the electronics and nothing looked bad or too loose. So I completely charged the battery and tried it again after about an hour or something (after the light on the charger stopped blinking), still absolutely nothing, zippo.

My question is has anyone else had this problem and what have you done other than buying a whole new fuse'? How easy is it to take the electronics out of the plane to check if anything is loose? Do any of the other HoybZone planes have similar electronics I can replace with the ones in this one?

Thanks all

RE: HobbyZone Firebird Freedom Electronics problem
 

Hello,
Sorry to hear of your miss happening.
First of all.... you only charged the battery for 10 minutes for your first flight?
That’s pretty crazy... why did you do that?

I don't believe the crash had nothing to do with it, I have the Phantom and Aerobird 3, on the Phantom I had pretty strong crashes and all was good.
So basically the plane is not responding at all after crash?
The light on the TX is on... right?
Do you hear something happening on the plane when you plug the battery in?

I would call Hobbyzone support and explained the issue you are having.

RE: HobbyZone Firebird Freedom Electronics problem
 

I think I only got 10 minutes because I could not get the led flashing on the charger, just got a constant light. I finally (on the way to the park) plugged and unplugged the battery and the thing started to flash, hence I get the time from home to the park. I thought I could at least see it fly... When I got to the park after plugging in the battery everything twitched so I know it was working then.

The light on the remote is on yes, and no I do not hear anything when I plug the battery in. The electronics board gets very hot though so I believe I can trust that the battery is powering the board.

Since it brand new I am going to try to return the plane, but if that doesn't work I'm trying to gather options other than buying whole new fuse'. I'll ring HobbyZone and see what they say tomorrow.

Thanks for the response!

RE: HobbyZone Firebird Freedom Electronics problem
 

It seems you have a defective plane, call hobbyzone support, give them a full explanation of what happened, trying to do the first charge, partial charging on car.... don't mention the crash, I really don't believe it has nothing to do with non working plane, they are made to handle some level of abuse, and if there is no physical evidence of damage, it should be good.
Reading your second email gives the impression of faulty plane.
They will send you a replacement body.
Don't loose much time, and don't waste more money... be patient.

RE: HobbyZone Firebird Freedom Electronics problem
 

I thought that I would respond that after explaining to HobbyZone they offered to send me a new 'fuse. I did however send the whole thing back to the original Vendor (hobbywarehouse) for a new one.