F-18

Its been a while since I last flew, but last time I did, a little indecent occurred. When my friend was helping me by pushing the plane back to the truck, he tripped on the antenna wire and kicked the stabilizer with his foot (which continued to walk even though the plane had stopped when he stepped on the wire). this is not a problem, as the part is pretty cheap. I am concerned about the antenna wire. I am pretty sure the tug on it was minor, as we were walking pretty slow, but I can't get the thought of the plane losing contact and hitting a person.

I also decided to get another trainer, I crashed my last one (quite spectacularly, the price of teaching ones self) and went to a Hangar-9 Pulse 60, which flies really well, but i would like to get another Trainer, maybe the new Hangar-9 Alpha 40 RTF, I wold like to get another Alpha 60 but it seems they are no longer made. How is the new Alpha 40 with that fancy radio?

Thanks.

BillyGoat

I would be concerned in that I wouldn't put it in the air again without doing some checks. Have a buddy help you do a range check. I'd say not the same guy that caused the problem. Have him take the transmitter with it on and the antenna collapsed, and walk away until the servos start jumping. If he gets 60+ paces away before the servos start jumping on their own the receiver passes the first test.

Now have him move about 5 paces closer and move this sticks while you make sure all surfaces on the plane move without hesitation. At that point you should have access to the receiver where the antenna enters the case. Wiggle the wire, if no servos move erratic I'd say your good to go.

For future reference thread the antenna wire through two holes of something like a shirt button just before the wire exits the fuselage. This way if something catches the antenna it will pull at the button instead of the case of the receiver.

Greg Wright

My Feedback: (6)

F-18, the alpha 40 would be a perfect trainer for the beginning pilot. The airplane is very stable and user friendly as for that fancy radio you are referring to is a airplane saver. Meaning that it is on the 2.4 Ghz frequency and you don't have to worry about your buddy ever stepping on the antenna ever again because they are only about 2 inches long and they are totally inside the plane.

______________________________________________


Greg Wright

Not a JR Rep/ But Would Love To Be One!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

airbusdrvr

BillyGoat is correct in range checking and strain relief for the antenna. Only comment would be that most range checks with the antenna all the way down are about 100' . Depending on how long your stride is, 60 paces could put you nearer 200' or double the distance. Beyond 100', servo jitter could be considered normal and you might then think you have a bad range check.

Tommygun

My Feedback: (2)

Open up the receiver case and make sure the wire hasn't started to pull from the printed board, and the the insulation is mostly intact. Set up a mock system with servos plugged in, hold everything in your hand, and shake the heck out of it while someone runs the controls. Any hiccups in the system and you have a loose connection/problem somewhere. You could also just sent it in to Radio South for a checkup. Or do like Greg said and move up to 2.4

BillyGoat

Thanks airbusdrvr, I was hoping somebody would jump in with better figures. I've been range checking before the first flight of the day for so long I had to stop for a moment when responding and think how far I actually go. 60 paces was a wild ***** guess.

F-18

OK Thanks, I really want to take it out. It has been sitting i the shop for a year or so and I recently starting working down their a lot and it started to get to me.

Another thing, I took it out, charged it up, ran the engine in the summer. The battery most likely still has a fair charge to it. Should I just plug it in over night or will that damage the battery?

Tommygun

My Feedback: (2)

You charged it this summer? Then yeah, you need to charge it. NiCads and NiMhs (especially NiMhs) lose all sorts of power just sitting around. I'm assuming you're using the cube wall charger that came with the radio system. These are "dumb" chargers, ie, can't detect peak voltage and hence won't shut off when the battery if fully charged. So you need to do it by timing in that case. I think most charge for 12 hours or so before you consider it fully charged. Consider purchasing a quality peak charger such as an Accucycle Elite if you plan to stay engaged with the hobby; it's probably some of the best money you'll ever spend since it will likely save your airplane.