Christchurch and District Model Flying Club
Sloping Off - our newsletter

Oh Nooooooo!

After a couple of really lovely flights with the GH a month ago, the wind picked up slightly and Adrian,my flying companion and spotter, went home. I had one more flight which seemed OK, but there were some slight control issues which I put down to the bumpy wind.

 The final flight was much the same, then it suddenly veered off to port. I regained control and did one circuit to land, but at the last minute, and only 10 ft or so high, it veered hard again and fell into the water close to the shore, immediately hiding behind some reeds by the bank. I had time to see that the port wing outer section was out of shape, but no more.

 I walked down the bank to where I thought the model was in the water and could hear the motors when I advanced the throttle. I pushed in through 6' high reeds until until the land ended and the water began...but I there were still reeds in the way. I pushed forward until I was waist deep and moved the throttle stick...no response. The RX had died.

 So I tried a bit further down the bank, still in 6' reeds and nettles. Got to the edge of the reeds and open water, up to my waist again. No sign of the model. As I turned round I slipped and went chest deep. Ugh!

 Back on land I realised that my mobile phone was still in my pocket. And dead, but insured.

 I gathered all my stuff together and walked back along the shore, finally sighting the model upside down about 10' off the shore, being blown downwind. This time there were no reeds at the shoreline, so it was a simple wade in and recovery. The model was so full of water I had to lift it very carefully and allow it all to drain out before I could wade back to the shore.

 The port wing section was still missing and out of sight. Perhaps it had sunk? I took the plane back to the car park, packed it all away and went back to look. After a bit more wading around I found the battery hatch hiding in the reeds, then round a small corner and in a little bay, there was the wing section with the float still attached. The ply joiner blade had snapped off flush with the end rib but that seemed to be only serious breakage. It will be a tricky repair though.

 I couldn't take any pictures because the phone was dead, but here's an "after" shot of it drying out in the garden. The interior of the fuselage is soaked to about half way back, the wing CS was full of water but the tail group was fine.

 As to the cause, I think the clue is in the picture. The port aileron was cleanly detached from the wing and hanging onto the CS by the connector. So I suspect that my hinges had gradually worked loose during the third and fourth flights until they finally gave way and caused the crash. Pinned hinges next time!

 It could easily have happened over the land, as I was flying parallel to the bank in order to touch down close to the shore. If it had crashed onto the land, it would have been a write-off. Small mercies. As it is I suspect I will need a new RX and SCs. Everything else should be fine.

 I hope your day was better than mine!

Afternote.

Following the repairs, which were very straightforward, I took the plane to Longham again, and after one nice circuit, bu**er me, it happened again, this time from 40 ft not 10, and after a seriously long session of not being in control at all, cavorting round the sky.

It took at least half an hour to drift to shore, narrowly missing a small island of reeds on the way. Once again it was upside down and very full of water, and the port wing joiner had again snapped clean off. The cockpit canopy was missing and the impact had burst some of the forward upper fuselage apart. When I got it home and dried out, it was amazing how little damage there was. Repairs took longer than the first time but were pretty straightforward. I made the hatch opening larger because I had found the original too small for my mitts, and I replaced the missing canopy with a foam one, carved up and painted.

It has not flown yet, because I’m not sure what caused the crash. I suspect a loss of contact between the TX and RX, but whether due to problems with the TX, a fault in the RX or some other cause I don’t know. *worried frown*

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