DA 85 cost me a QQ Yak 54 101

[OverTemp]

Do you still have the Andserson Power Pole on the ignition? Look at where the ignition wires enter the connector. They are crimped in and the wires are brittle... they most often fail from vibration and diconnect the ignition at the plug. Sounds like your motor just turned off... this is what happened to me. Luckily I was in dead-stick range.

[crhammond]

	Quote: Originally Posted by swatman260
	That is something that I had not considered. The Smart-Fly system was working before and after the crash, so I'm just assuming it was working during the flight. I have wiggled all the wires and it never flickers, but I guess it could have in flight.. The reason that I suspect the ignition is because of how suddenly the motor quit. A bad kill switch would have the same results. I''m hoping for a definitive answer from DA without having to buy a new motor. Only time will tell at this point.

When you get everything back together watch the red LED (if you don't have it installed outside somewhere then put it on and run with the cowl off so you can see it.) Run the engine and rev it a bit and you'll see if the light flickers. Normally if it is failing on the ground the engine will quickly cut in and out. If you have a good clean cut on the fiberoptic cable it helps a lot too. See how mucht he FO Rx is moving and if it is jumping around that is a bad thing...

Also - those power poles have cost a lot of planes IMO. I have seen many of them come apart. I always solder my wires to the ignition from the cutoff. I like as few connectors as possible in the plane. I don't use extensions at all any more - I solder on extra wire and crimp and solder my own connectors on.

[bryan01601]

Sorry for the loss keep us posted.

Chris hope your treating my extra with lots of care !

[The_Wreck]

I immediately replace the powerpole connector with a deans ultra on all my DAs. Also, if you want a rock solid electronic ignition kill, I have had great success with the RCATS RC100 switch. Super simple and eliminates the fiber optics part of the equation.

http://www.rcatsystems.com/electronics/rc100.php

[crhammond]

	Quote: Originally Posted by bryan01601
	Sorry for the loss keep us posted. Chris hope your treating my extra with lots of care !

Your baby is still my baby Although I am putting together a 42% Pitts M12 soon The plane is still mostly mint although I did manage to warp the canopy a little on a hot day. I invested in a plane cover after that. I made a few changes and got the weight down to 38lbs with smoke! It still flies awesome.

[crhammond]

	Quote: Originally Posted by The_Wreck
	I immediately replace the powerpole connector with a deans ultra on all my DAs. Also, if you want a rock solid electronic ignition kill, I have had great success with the RCATS RC100 switch. Super simple and eliminates the fiber optics part of the equation. http://www.rcatsystems.com/electronics/rc100.php

Are you powering the Ignition from the switch too? Is this okay to do with 2.4Ghz? I know on 72mhz we needed the FO to isolate the Rx from interferance but maybe its not an issue now?

NEVER MIND - I read the manual. Very cool - I think I may switch over to these!

[tec]

I've seen this happen twice, both times the throttle linkage vibrated loose off the motor.

[sprice50]

Hope you find the issue.

[The_Wreck]

	Quote: Originally Posted by crhammond
	Are you powering the Ignition from the switch too? Is this okay to do with 2.4Ghz? I know on 72mhz we needed the FO to isolate the Rx from interferance but maybe its not an issue now? NEVER MIND - I read the manual. Very cool - I think I may switch over to these!

Eventhough you found your answer, I flew this with a DA100 on 72Mhz for over a year and never had a problem. Another cool thing is that you do not need an external switch for your ignition battery. When you turn off the receiver power the RCATS switch shuts down and turns off the ignition.

[Sukhoi08]

that is sweet. I'll put one on my next plane.

[Sukhoi08]

do you solder the three open end wires to the ignition pack wires? I have never installed a gas engine yet so I am not sure of the build up.

[swatman260]

I've wiggled all the wires from the engine back to the receiver, and nothing seems to change. The led on the ignition never flickers, and neither does the one on the Smart-Fly panel. I do still have the power pole connectors on the ignition, but the wires seem tight. The engine is off to DA now, so I can't check them again until it comes back. Sounds like I should probably just remove them altogether.
Someone help here...I tried to change the thread title, but it doesn't seem to have made a difference. How do I change it?

[bosshoss]

The PowerPole problem is widely documented. THe wires do break off,....at bad times.

But, up unitl this thread I have never heard of anyone having a problem with the Smart-fly Opti-kill.

I use them on all my planes, without a single failure. I can see a bad install causing problems on any piece of equipment, however.

RC-Cats 100 relay shut off is a solid device....a solid device that brings ignition noise that much closer to your receiver. I have used one , it worked , but I found a shortened range check with it in place. It allows transients from the ignition to travel to the receiver. In a perfect install, with no frayed. twisted, resistive, or otherwise non perfect wires, it still can allow noise from the ignition to travel to the receivers front end.

Stick with the Smart-fly, mount it well, use it correctlly. Again any bad install can make any equipment look bad. Some electronics come with caveats from the get-go. The Smart fly is not one of them. The RC-cats 100 shoiuld come with a disclaimer. IMO.

The other Yak story is similar to mine....I wanted to get rid of the blurble and had many deadsticks at different times...... 1 1/8 LSN and 1 1/4 HSN ...no problems.

[swatman260]

I very seriously doubt that the problem was cause by the Smart-Fly system. I have had zero problems out of this system, but I guess until something else is proven to be the cause, I can't rule it out. It really sounds as if it may have been an "over-tuning" issue, but who knows.

[The_Wreck]

	Quote: Originally Posted by Sukhoi08
	do you solder the three open end wires to the ignition pack wires? I have never installed a gas engine yet so I am not sure of the build up.

I used Deans connectors from the battery or Regulator to the RCATS then used deans to the ignition module (replaced the powerpole). Everyone has their own experiences. I can only relate my own experience with the RCATS and it has been flawless with no problems. 2 of the issues with Smart-Fly optical kill came on 40% planes with experienced builders and a very clean install, I too have seen many installations where there was no problem. I am not trying to make a solid case against Smart-Fly, only that based on my knowledge I am sticking with the RCATs.