Desperate Help needed in LV! Horrific weekend

[VKGT]

Out of all my time in R/C this has to be the worst weekend I've ever had. I can't even begin to express how depressed and distraught I am after all of this...

I recently moved from Tucson to Las Vegas and decided to make a weekend trip down to fly with some friends at TRCC. I loaded up my 2.6m CompARF Extra 260 (that I've had for a few months and haven't flown yet) on Friday in the back of my truck and started off to Tucson. About 150 miles into the drive, the wind begins to pick up severely on the highway all the while the Extra has been in the back and hasn't moved. Suddenly, a large burst of wind picks up the tail of the plane as I'm driving, rips it from it's restraints, smacks into the tailgate of my F150 and sends her soaring into the air, only to body slam sideways into the middle of the highway at 80 miles an hour. My heart sank, I couldn't believe what I had just seen in my rear view mirror --- a beautiful CompARF 2.6m that I haven't even been able to fly yet now completely destroyed in the middle of the road. I guess I was fortunate that nobody ran it over and I was able to safely retrieve this thing from the highway.

Needless to say, it made for a very depressing drive for another 6 hours as my heart sat very low in my stomach. That kind of trek left me with a lot of time to think about what I could have done differently or how I could have prevented it but it was obviously way too late for beating myself up like that.


After careful brainstorming I decided that if I were to have any chance of getting another large plane in the near future it was going to be in Tucson. I made some calls to my bank and thought about how I could possibly pull off an attempt to get a replacement airplane in lieu of this unfortunate accident --- I'm active duty Air Force so I definitely don't make enough to support having catastrophic incidents with a giant scale aircraft.......and my wife who is currently deployed to Iraq doesn't support the crash-one-buy-one-soon-to-replace-it idea. Pulling and scraping what funds I can get together, I decide to call a buddy from Tucson who had a CompARF Giles for sale on RCU. It was an unbelievable feat to make this work but he made me a good deal and I was the proud owner of this airplane on Saturday. After spending an hour or two programming and testing, I flew her and was nothing short of amazed at flying my first Composite airplane (never had a chance to fly the Extra and would never get that chance after the drive to Tucson). Although still really depressed about the loss of my 2.6m, I was happy for the moment at the sheer power of the DA-150 in the Giles.

Skip ahead to Sunday morning. I wake up early and head out to the field anxious to fly the Giles before getting in the truck and driving back to Las Vegas. After unloading and an having an extra set of eyes look at my programming, I take the Giles to the sky. At this point she flies nothing short of amazing. After about a solid 10 minutes of flying time I have an issue. The previous owner said that he flew the plane regularly for about 17 minutes. I'm not throttle hungry but I needed to get a better feel of the aircraft for her second flight. All of the sudden the motor cuts out after a low fly-by. I have a head wind pushing hard and I felt like I could turn the plane around and set her back on the runway. Wrong. As I started to turn the wind pushed at the tail of the plane and pointed her right towards the fence-line. Thinking that I still have room for a solid dead-stick landing, I pitch the plane down and pull into a perfectly level glide about 10 feet off the ground when all of the sudden my new Giles hits straight into desert shrubbery and cacti. Somehow I got lucky and the wings, vertical stabilizer and rudder survived along with most of the electronics from what I can tell. Verdict is that I simply ran out of fuel...my first DA-150 and it definitely didn't get me to 17 minutes.




I've never had this bad of luck with anything before.....my heart sank twice this weekend and now I'm very beside myself. I had to drive home to Las Vegas today with one unsalvageble CompARF 2.6m extra and one very damaged fuselage on a newly acquired 3m Giles 202. I don't know what to do now.....I don't want to quit this hobby but this is now big money and a huge loss for a horrible 3 day trip to Tucson. The Air Force keeps me locked up for very long shifts so even if I knew how to repair fiberglass I would never have the time to do it.


Is there anyone out there who can work with fiberglass or that knows somebody that can help me repair the Giles? Is it even repairable? With being so new to Las Vegas and working so much I don't have any contacts out here so I'm putting it out there on FG to hopefully get some help. It's one thing to lose any airplane but even thinking about it I can't stomach the idea that I just lost one beautiful airplane and heavily damaged another...I'm definitely not a wealthy guy, just a military guy hoping to get some help if I can .. I'm even willing to learn how to repair fiberglass or whatever it takes. I don't have the means to buy a new fuse anymore since I bought the Giles and unfortunately crashed it.

I've always helped people when they needed help, even let them fly my airplanes when they didn't have one to fly and did what I could....Now I suddenly find myself on the flip side and don't know which direction to go since it appears that any good luck I might have had is now swept away in a matter of one weekend....

-Dave

[Blip]

Damn dude......thats the worst luck ever....what a bummer.
But on a positive note............I think you came to the right place

I'm no fiberglass guru but I know some about the subject from my early years in the marine industry. I've done a lot of GRP in the past on cowls, LG, boat repairs and some one off parts for various interests. But what I do know is its real tough to repair glass without two issues always creeping up.

Weight and Finish

GRP's amazing stuff with the right tools, time and skills but its real easy to reinforce the damage and inadvertently add excess weight. If the damage is extensive you can bet your gonna add a bunch of weight because there isnt the material thickness available in a plane fuse like a boat hull would have. So feathering the damage out and rebuilding is tricky. Sanding and fillings also going to add weight and will prolly never look like it used to,
Another problem with GRP is when its shocked by impact it can de-laminate and spread over a far greater area then the immediate damage zone, meaning the repair is twice as large as expected.

If I had your problem I would consider two options.
1. Buy replacement parts from the model manufacturer.
2. Patch up the busted parts as close as you can using any means available (glues, tape etc) and try to duplicate as much as you can from wood using the carnage as a reference guide/template.

Sorry I cant help you more.

Ouch!! you just posted the pics when i was writing this, now I can see the damage. The Giles doesnt look so bad, cowl excluded, but that can be bought as an after market item. Can you grab some shots of the inside fuse showing the damage. That one looks relatively straight forward to repair from where I'm sitting.

The Extra........hmmm thats glass also right? If it were me I would option 2 that one.

[FlyguyXII]

Sorry about the bad luck. Just out of curisoity have you checked with your auto insurance about your 260? They may cover something in terms of stuff in the bed of your truck.

[VKGT]

You know, it might be worth a shot..I'll have to give them a call. Thanks!

[Propstriker]

What horrible luck!! My heart goes out to you!! Crashes are never easy.
Might not seem to at the moment, but they do fade from memory.
My Suggestion.....Strip the equipment out of both planes, Keep the airframe that holds the best possibility of repair. Send engines, recievers, servos and other components in for repairs. Sell one of the 2 DA's and use the funds for a lower cost ARF.
Might be able to sell other components you won't be needing for the new 40%er.

Hopefully you have a smaller electric/nitro 3d to stay sharp while you get your new "Flagship" assembled.
The damaged airframe can be repaired or replacement parts purchased as time and funds permit.

Best to ya!!!!

[BobPhx]

Sorry to hear about this.. I always wondered about carrying a plane in an open bed...yours is the first I have heard of coming loose, although I am sure there have been others.

Ditto on stripping the airframes and figuring out what needs to be fixed and getting it repaired / sent off, etc. Somehow that always makes me feel better.. at least I am doing something.

I know it sucks, been there, just try to keep in perspective, it's just a "toy" airplane..things could always be worse.

Good luck!
Bob

[FENWAYFLYER]

Sorry to hear about your bad luck. I have done a repair on my 2.6 Yak using the West System epoxy. The stuff is awesome. However I am having a bit of a hard time due to a tail heavy plane. If I could do it all over I would just have bought a new fuse.
Good luck

[VKGT]

I appreciate the support guys. I'm realizing that like Blip mentioned, it will probably never look the same and most likely add weight if I am able to find some way to get it repaired. It's a good call to contact my auto insurance for the 35% and I hope it's not a longshot. Even if all the components are still in tact and in working order, there is still the cost of paint to match the scheme on what's left (wings & horizontal stab). On both planes, I'm sure that the motors are 100%. The 35% never took a hit to the front so the motor should be perfect -- even the prop survived 100% without a scratch and the spinner stayed on with minor road rash. For the 44%, the motor wasn't running when she glided into the cactus --- even the prop surived on this plane but the already fragile spinner took a smack. I guess it would have been a great idea to drop it off with Jeff from DA yesterday since he was out there flying with us. I'm ready to sell as much as I can to get this Giles back in the air...I'm even willing to part with stuff around the house in a desperate move and desire to fix this airplane. It really blows, I very rarely lose an aircraft and this weekend I lost two high-dollar giants.

[BobPhx]

Just thinking out loud, but you might post a "wanted" ad in the usual locations.. maybe somebody has had the opposite type of problem you had and has a decent used fuse. Worth a shot.
Bob

[warren cross]

VKGT give me a call I live here in vegas also,cant help much with repairs but we got a great flying club here ,also some folks from Nellis afb. Some active duty and lots of retired. Thanks WARREN CROSS 8785990.

[FlyguyXII]

Keep me updated on what you find out with your insurance. Hope that works out for ya.

[bobzilla]

hi VKGT..a close friend and co-worker of yours was out flying with us Eldorado flyers this weekend and after I maidened his new planes..he told me the story of your loss. I had a 2.6m CA with an 3w85 and flew awesome. Sorry for your loss..but...(don't you hate those buts!)...the primary reason I fly at Eldorado dry lake is...you can deadstick anywhere, anytime and 99/100 land somewhere safe...no trees, rocks, ditches, houses, roads or sagebrush. Those that fly north field, and sam boyd are not that lucky! If you decide to not fix your CA..I can offer my 43% Giles ARC (needs minor assembly and covering/painting and a nice 120-150cc engine) It is not a CA, but for $400, it is a steal! Email/or pm me if interested.

bobzilla

[sweetpea]

I can vouch for Warren........one of the best guys out in Vegas.

[VKGT]

	Quote: Originally Posted by warren cross
	VKGT give me a call I live here in vegas also,cant help much with repairs but we got a great flying club here ,also some folks from Nellis afb. Some active duty and lots of retired. Thanks WARREN CROSS 8785990.

Definately, thanks very much! It was great talking with you!

[VKGT]

	Quote: Originally Posted by FlyguyXII
	Keep me updated on what you find out with your insurance. Hope that works out for ya.

I definitely will. I have been having trouble getting the time to call before they close but will do very soon