Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Tale of Two Cities

Flight Date: 15Feb2009

Conditions
Equipment: (Super Cub- Stock Plane and Electronics)
WX: ~3-5mph, Temp ~20F
Ground Conditions: Visible ground Ice encrusted
Field: (large Soccer / Baseball Field)

Flight Summary
It was the best of times......
This was my the first day of real flying. The wind was relatively low and the plane handled well. I practiced a number of touch and goes. I was able to consistently fly circles and figure of 8 pasterns. I was also able to control the planes altitude well. I would estimate at least 7-8 good landings. I also practiced cutting the motor at altitude and bringing the plane in with no power. Although SC isn't particularly loud, “there is a certain satisfaction that comes from a non-powered approach when all you can hear is the sound of wind and servo”

Things came together and I was even able to pull of a couple of loops. Cool!

It was the worst of times......
Later in the day I tried landing in a more precise way near the dirt in the baseball diamond. This is where the scene changed on me. I was getting too close to the tall fences and had to make some difficult corrections resulting in a rough landing that snapped the tail. This was a let down compared the otherwise fantastic day of flying. I did simply push the tail back together and took another short flight, but the plane was not as controllable so I took SC back to the hanger for an assessment.

The good news is I was able to fixed the break with some Devron 5 minute Epoxy and adjusted the control surfaces while I was at it.

In the time it took to charge one battery again, I had the SC fixed and was able to make one last sunset flight!

Things I learned from these flights
You can absolutely fix the SC with Epoxy
The repairs help you learn about the plane- in this case how to adjust the control surfaces
It is easier to fly in low wind

Damage
Tail Snapped: Fixed with Epoxy in less time than it took to charge batteries ~$8.00

Stats
Cumulative Flights: 9
Cumulative Hrs: 1.9
Successful Landings: 8
$ to date: $192

1 comment:

  1. I think it's funny-- my experiences parallel yours in a way-- I definitely finally had a good day of flying when I went out in warm, no WIND weather. Great feeling...I was getting discouraged. I also learned a lot about the plane internals from a crash.

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