Christchurch and District Model Flying Club
Sloping Off - our newsletter

O...M...G...!

I was flying my Rollason Beta all through the BIMBO weekend (I have lots of 2200 mAh batteries) and it’s always great fun either in a scale “racer round the pylons” way or in some rather scrappy aerobatics.

It was built a few years ago and at first seemed very tail-heavy, but as I got used to it that feeling went away and it became a favourite. It was crashed pretty comprehensively after an outside loop finished a foot or so too low but was a fairly easy repair. It occasionally flies on four cells, but I prefer it on three, despite the balance issue.

For my “last flight” on the Friday I loaded a brand new 2200 pack into the nose, aware that it was slightly lighter than the ones I normally use. Take-off was OK, perhaps a bit twitchy and the flight proceeded but I gradually became aware that the handling was very sensitive, not to say delicate! After a few passes I landed and taxied back to the flight line.

Taking the hatch off to disconnect the battery, I could see there WAS NO BATTERY!

I took the wing off and there it was, hiding under the RX, right over the CG. It had slid back under take-off acceleration by about 9 inches and was firmly lodged in the structure. How an already “just about OK to have fun with” model was still flyable in this condition...well OMG! as they say!