Strange flight behavior

[cadman83]

Ok here it goes,

I have been flying my trainer for the past 2 months, pretty much without any problems when yesterday something very strange happened. While flying it started to try and "roll" out of the air and I could also hear a "fluttering" sound. Well, I was able to safely land the plane (my first successful recovery...wooo hooo) and looked it over. From what I could tell, nothing looked out of order so I re-seated the wing and took it back up. Well, the problem was even worse so i landed the plane and had an experienced pilot take a look at it, he couldn't see anything out of order either. Everything appears to be ok, when the sticks are centered all surfaces are at the correct positions and there are no apparent tears in the mono-kote. I am afraid that the next time i fly the plane that it will be my last. Do you guys have any ideas on what it could be.

Btw, the plane is a Tower Hobbies Trainer 40 sized, with a .40 engine. And i should note that I have about 20-25 flights already on it and nothing has changed.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance,

Mike

[mflander]

Sounds like a servo problem, might have a gear or pot going out in a servo.

[Scott Gerber]

	Quote: Originally Posted by mflander
	Sounds like a servo problem, might have a gear or pot going out in a servo.

Agreed, sounds like an aileron or rudder servo problem....


Scott

[adrian]

also check all your connecting rods

[ericb]

Check to see that none of the hinges are broken.

[50%plane]

	Quote: Originally Posted by cadman83
	Ok here it goes, I have been flying my trainer for the past 2 months, pretty much without any problems when yesterday something very strange happened. While flying it started to try and "roll" out of the air and I could also hear a "fluttering" sound. Well, I was able to safely land the plane (my first successful recovery...wooo hooo) and looked it over. From what I could tell, nothing looked out of order so I re-seated the wing and took it back up. Well, the problem was even worse so i landed the plane and had an experienced pilot take a look at it, he couldn't see anything out of order either. Everything appears to be ok, when the sticks are centered all surfaces are at the correct positions and there are no apparent tears in the mono-kote. I am afraid that the next time i fly the plane that it will be my last. Do you guys have any ideas on what it could be. Btw, the plane is a Tower Hobbies Trainer 40 sized, with a .40 engine. And i should note that I have about 20-25 flights already on it and nothing has changed. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance, Mike

This is your sign, get a Funtana.


Ahh, seriously, check the servo gears and hinges,,, If you can flly yoru trainer well, it sounds like you need to get a new, more advanced plane.

[exeter_acres]

I do not know the details of that plane....

is the wing held on with rubber bands....
if so, are you using enough? how often do you replace them?

if nylon bolts... then yep....check servos

[mmcconville]

Most likely the torque rods that drive the ailerons have worked loose in the ailerons. Check the ailerons and see if there is a noticable amout of slop (ability to move oneor both ailerons without moving the torque rod or linkage). If that the case, you can inject some epoxy or thick CA inth that area on both ailerons to fix it. Hope this helps.

[cadman83]

Thanks for all of the tips guys. When I get home I'll take a closer look and hopefully zero in on the problem.

About the funtana:
I have been doing some "lite" acrobats with my trainer, mainly flying inverted, barrel rolls, loops, etc.. and have started to think that maybe I am pushing that poor thing to hard. What would be the "next step" plane to go with?

Thanks

[Scott Gerber]

Something along these lines so you don't have to buy another engine...

http://www.horizonhobby.com/Products...ProdID=HAN4100


http://www.horizonhobby.com/Products...ProdID=HAN1690



Scott

[mmcconville]

Yup. The Pulse is a great next step.

[teedee]

Look to see if any covering on the leading edge is loose , this won't show up unless at flying speeds. I have seen two instances of this happening recentlyone on a Wild Hare Giles , the leading edge covering was loose and the other on the horizontal stab.

[exeter_acres]

	Quote: Originally Posted by mmcconville
	Yup. The Pulse is a great next step.

Ya think



Actually it is an excllent next plane... very nice

[mmcconville]

I do!

[cadman83]

Well guys, thanks for all of the advice, but I am sad to report that after an exhaustive examination of the plane (connecting rods, monokote, wings, etc.) I was unable to find the problem in time. My plan was to make sure that there wasn't a low voltage problem (all servos moved cleanly and range check was ok) so, while attempting to take off, as soon as it got in the air the plane hard-overed to the right and cart-wheeled through the field. I obvisously missed something, but can not even guess what went wrong. This will always bother me, but at least I know that it wasn't pilot error.

Oh well, in the spirit of "Getting right back on that bike again" I did my best to shrug it off and ordered my next plane (the "Uproar" from Tower Hobbies). They tell me that it's a good "next step" and at half the cost of other planes in that category, it makes sense from a crash/replace perspective. I'll let you guys know how it works and if it truly is good for the next step.

Again, thanks for all of you help.

Mike