T-28 Trojan Re-Make

Flight Dates: 03,09,10 May 2009

Conditions
Equipment: (T-28 Trojan)
WX: Wind 5 mph, Temp ~50 F
Ground Conditions: grass
Field: (#1 )

I had a couple of great flights in very nice- almost still- wind conditions. I was enjoying my newly repaired T-28 which was fully rehabilitated from a wing separation that occurred the prior week. Unfortunately towards the end of the 2^nd flight I had a similar event to the prior week- only worse.

I was executing a low pass at full throttle to see how fast the plane looked at WOT. As the plane was coming towards me I lost control and it crashed into the ground at near full throttle. The opening pictures is a recreation of the crash sight. The following carnage resulted from the disaster:

• Canopy popped off- pilot tried to eject!

• Front cowl separated from the fuselage along with the motor

• Severe damage to the tail section

• Separation of the wings from the fuselage

• Bent push rod for front gear and Bent prop
  

The remarkable thing is that I was able to re-make the T-28 with only a little patience and new tubes of Devcon 2-part Epoxy.

I had to take the gluing in steps to get it right, but all in all it came out well. I did drop the steerable front gear since the front push rod was bent very badly. I don't really use the steerable gear since it doesn't work well in grass. Usually I hand launch the plane.

Here is a shot of the re-make, good as new-- almost!

Post crash I have flown the T-28 3 flights and about 55 minutes. It still flies well. It was a little gusty so I will reserve final judgment on the success of the fixes. Currently all systems are go! I made about 10 touch and goes on the 3rd flight. Lots of fun!

Stats
SC 1.0 Cumulative Flights: 15
SC 2.0 Cumulative Flights: 21
Total: 36
Cumulative Hrs: 8.3
successful Landings: 80
SC Maintenance / Repairs* ~$54.5

Stats
T-28 Cumulative flights 22
Cumulative Hrs: 6.2
successful Landings: 55
T-28 Trojan Maintenance / Repairs* ~$19

*Cost to replace items broken in flight

Almost a Perfect Week in R.C.

Flight Dates: 16,18,19 April 2009

This last week I gained about 1.2 hours of stick time between the T-28 and SC 2.0. Only 20 minutes was on the SC.

It was almost a perfect week of flying. The modifications I had mad to the T-28 landing gear are holding up great and my landings are getting better too. The T-28 is such a joy to fly. It is very predictable and easy to control. The only thing I am still working on are the landings and occasional control mess-ups (more on that).

A few things of note from this week.

1.) I got to test extended range on the Spektrum Electronics. I have found a huge soccer complex that is still vacant at times. This complex has got to have 20 fields in it. I am flying in an area with 4. I was able to fly out at least 1200 feet and turn back in. It is out far enough that it is hard to tell what direction the plane is going. I don't like to do that much as it is too easy to loose orientation and that can only lead to bad things. That said it gives me even more confidence in the Spektrum system to see the plan out that far and still being controlled as expected.

2.) I flew in the Drizzle today. It was a good opportunity as the fields behind my home had not filled up with others practicing sports. No impact from the drizzle on the T-28 but it was a little chilly.

3.) The old SC 2.0 feels a little mushy in the controls after flying the T-28 for the last 3 weeks. I flew her today and it felt like I had to move the sticks much more to get the plane to respond. Part of this was just getting used to a different plane. I still enjoy the SC, but it is in some ways harder to fly with my aileron modification than the T-28. I think in part because it is easy to loose airspeed and harder to gain back. Ironic that the characteristics that make it easy to fly in the beginning make it a little harder once you gain a few skills and get used to a plane that is so controllable at low and high speeds like the T-28.

Back to my 1 goof. During my drizzled flight of the T-28, I had a great landing at the end of about 8 minutes. I was going to call it good as it was getting cold. However, I thought "why not go for one more". Let me pause and just say that it seems bad things always happen when I "go for just one more". Anyway, I tossed the T-28 and took one loop around the field- turned downwind, turned to base and then final... what wait she's coming right at me let me just correct a little and ...oops that's the direction of the fence. Let me just power out of this and .... bang, into the ground. It seems I had picked up an audience at the school across the road. As the plane struck the ground, I heard a loud "aaaaahhwwww". So much for looking like a pro.

Well the wing did separate from the fuselage and the canopy popped off, so it looked spectacular. It is nothing 10-15 minutes and a little epoxy can't heal. It's just unfortunate because, man was I looking cool you should have seen the landing just before I thought "let's go for one more...."

Damage

T-28 Wing- minor damage to attachment mechanism

Stats
SC 1.0 Cumulative Flights: 15
SC 2.0 Cumulative Flights: 19
Total: 34
Cumulative Hrs: 7.8
successful Landings: 70
SC Maintenance / Repairs* ~$54.5

Stats
T-28 Cumulative flights 17
Cumulative Hrs: 4.8
successful Landings: 35
T-28 Trojan Maintenance / Repairs* ~$7

*Cost to replace items broken in flight

T-28 Front Landing Gear Repair

Flight Date: 4 April 2009

Conditions
Equipment: (T-28 Trojan)
WX: ~5 mph, Temp ~50 F
Ground Conditions: grass
Field: (#2 )

This was a great flight up until the last “landing”. I had made 4 nice landings on this relatively low-wind day. However, I unconsciously developed a bad habit of immediately reversing the direction of the plane just after it takes to the air. Toward the end I ended up reversing and flying into the ground fairly hard. The front landing gear took the brunt, breaking a plastic piece that holds the gear in place. I used some CA glue back a the hanger to fix it but it was not as secure as from the factory.

Flight Date: 7 April 2009

Conditions
Equipment: (T-28 Trojan)
WX: ~18 mph, Temp ~50 F
Ground Conditions: grass
Field: (#3 )

This was a quick flight and unfortunately I should have called it before I took flight. The wind gusts were too great to fly the T-28. I confirmed what I knew pre-flight once the plane was in the air. It was too gusty to realize steady, controlled flight. I brought the plane down after just a few minutes. Unfortunately, the landing was poor and ended up nose down on the front landing gear. The quick-fix that I had applied from the last flight came un-glued so to speak.

I ended up trying some new experimental repair procedures back at the hanger using spray foam- great stuff. Below are a few pictures of the process. It didn’t go as originally planned as the great stuff did not cure as hard as I would have liked. So, I ended up adding some reinforcing spars to the front gear. I have used these spars on other fixes and you may have also heard them called Popsicle sticks elsewhere.

Steps as show above:

1.) wood sticks used to keep foam from expanding into the area of the landing gear push rod

2.) foam allowed to expand and sticks removed (less than gracefully)

3.) trimmed foam down flush and found it was a little too soft

4.) cut out recessed area to receive to reinforcing spars*

*I like to use the word spars when discussing aircraft repair techniques

This more thorough fix worked out well and held up well on the next 2 flights.

Flight Date: 14 April 2009

Conditions
Equipment: (T-28 Trojan)
WX: ~10 mph, Temp ~50 F
Ground Conditions: grass
Field: (#4 )

These were 2 good flights in a very large soccer complex. I also had my first over water flight as there was a small lagoon adjacent to the fields. It was a little gusty at times, but the T-28 handled it fine. Both landings where decent and the new an improved front gear worked well. On the 2^nd landing I flared too much too soon and the plane gained a couple feet and the lost airspeed resulting in a less than stellar landing and the front gear took a little abuse. The good news is that the gear held up.

Damage
T-28 Front Gear- fixed with spray foam / glue ~$7

Stats
SC 1.0 Cumulative Flights: 15
SC 2.0 Cumulative Flights: 18
Total: 33
Cumulative Hrs: 7.6
successful Landings: 68
SC Maintenance / Repairs* ~$54.5

Stats
T-28 Cumulative flights 13
Cumulative Hrs: 3.6
successful Landings: 22
T-28 Trojan Maintenance / Repairs* ~$7

*Cost to replace items broken in flight

Back to the Hanger

Flight Date: 28March2009

Conditions
Equipment: (Parkzone T-28 Trojan)
WX: ~5mph, Temp ~40 F
Ground Conditions: Almost all snow melted- wet field
Field: (#1,2 )

Flight Summary

Flight 1 (~20 minutes) and Flight 2 (~20 min)

Great first flight in the early afternoon. The whole family came to watch. It was a little cold however, and the Kids had a hard time staying entertained by the plan. I was able to make a 1 ok and 1 nice landing.

Flight number 2 was solo. I had a great flight, but the last landing was hard and I had a minor breakage on the nose landing gear. I have inspected it and it will be easy to fix- but the plane is currently in the hanger until I find 5-10 minutes.

I continue to love flying this plane!

Flight Dates: 29March2009

Conditions
Equipment: (Super Cub 2.1 – Ailerons – LiPo Battery)
WX: ~5 mph, Temp ~35 F
Ground Conditions: grass
Field: (#1 )

Flight Summary

Flight 1 (~16 minutes)

The wind was fairly low. I was practicing gentle turns and things where going well. About 16 minutes into the flight I lost perspective of the plant- thought it was flying towards me and it was flying away. The end result was a nose-dive landing. I broke a prob and the front fuselage is a little more cracked than it was. SC 2.0 is also grounded until I can find about 15 minutes to do the fixes.

Things I learned from these flights
Wind above 15 mph really makes the SC difficult to fly. Both aileron and non-aileron wings where impacted severely by the gusts. Not really a new learning- rather a re-learning. (I didn't realize the gusts where at greater than 20mph until I checked weatherbug)

Damage
SC 2.0- Broken Prop- $3.50
T-28- Front landing gear plastic broken

Stats
SC 1.0 Cumulative Flights: 15
SC 2.0 Cumulative Flights: 18
Total: 33
Cumulative Hrs: 7.6
successful Landings: 68
SC Maintenance / Repairs* ~$54.50

Stats
T-28 Cumulative flights 9
Cumulative Hrs: 2.6
successful Landings: 16
T-28 Trojan Maintenance / Repairs* ~$0

*Cost to replace items broken in flight

1 step forward, 2 steps back.... 1 step forward

Flight Dates: 18, 19 March2009

Conditions
Equipment: (Super Cub 2.1 – Ailerons – LiPo Battery)
WX: ~10 mph, Temp ~50 F
Ground Conditions: grass
Field: (#3 )

Flight Summary

Flight 1 (~6 minutes) and Flight 2 (~4 min)

I found a new field near a very large soccer complex, however the exact spot I chose was sub-optimal. I was fling the SC fairly low to the ground and there was a tree that I needed to stay away from in the line of flight. Unfortunately, I had some kind of stall / nose dive at about 7 minutes into the first flight. The plane “landed” hard on its nose. Remarkably, the only thing damaged was actually the tail. Just like SC1.0 the tail snapped clean off. It was a disappointing error even knowing that I would be able to fix the damage with epoxy.

The following day I returned again with the re-conditioned SC and flew a short flight in a better spot. However, it was too cold and windy to make the flight last longer than 4 min. so I called it good.

This first flight felt like 2 steps back compared to the recent flying I had been doing with no major events. It primarily came as a result of poor field positioning / selection and the need to avoid the tree.

Flight Date: 20, March2009

Flight Summary

Conditions
Equipment: (Parkzone T-28 Trojan)
WX: ~5 mph Temp ~50 F
Ground Conditions: grass
Field: (#2 )

Flight 1, 2, 3 (20, 20, 21 Min)

I lucked out with some great weather last weekend. Saturday was 50 degrees, sunny with minimal wind- perfect!

I took the T-28 out again and had a great set of flights. I am really impressed with how this plane flies. It is easy to fly it very smoothly and it looks great in the air. I am having some problems getting the landings down because the plane does float. I am finding I almost need a throttle off approach to get it down. It makes for some fun low and long approaches. I am getting the hang up the no-touch, touch and go, but not quite ready to consistently make a touch. I had a number of decent landings and a few rough ones as well. The plane is holding up and so far I have not abused it too badly.

I did have a couple of landings where the plane essentially dropped straight down from about 1 foot in the air. The was brought on by either too much flair or inability to get it down and It just ran out of lift...

Damage
SC 2.0- Broken tail- fixed with epoxy

Stats
SC 1.0 Cumulative Flights: 15
SC 2.0 Cumulative Flights: 17
Total: 32
Cumulative Hrs: 7.3
successful Landings: 68
SC Maintenance / Repairs* ~$51

Stats
T-28 Cumulative flights 5
Cumulative Hrs: 1.9
successful Landings: 12
T-28 Trojan Maintenance / Repairs* ~$0

*Cost to replace items broken in flight

Maiden Flight ParkZone T-28 Trojan

Flight Date: 15March2009

Conditions
Equipment: (Parkzone T-28 Trojan)
WX: ~11 mph, Temp ~50 F
Ground Conditions: Almost all snow melted- wet field
Field: (#1 )

Flight Summary

Flight 1 (10Min)

Wow! I took my new T-28 Trojan (StarCode as named by my daughter) out for it's maiden today it it is a fantastic flier. The first 2 flights were early in the morning before the wind picked up and the plane handled superbly. There was no trimming required!

I did a quick pre-flight servo check to make sure the servo's where set up correctly. Quick tip- A pilot friend of mine mentioned during his pre-flight check of his “real” planes he turns the control wheel towards the direction he wants to turn with his thumb extended- hand on the top of the wheel. He looks in the direction his thumb is pointed and ensures that the aileron is up on that side. I have been using this concept with my planes before taking off- whatever way the stick is pointed (from behind the model) the aileron should be up.

The first take off was rolling from the ground in some packed dirt. With WOT the plane assertively rolled down the “runway” and took to the skies. I was careful to apply small inputs to the sticks and found the T-28 handled predictably and was very stable.

With a little less than half throttle the T-28 will cruise at SuperCub speeds making a relatively easy step up from the Super Cub equipped with ailerons. At full throttle the plane climbs aggressively and gains speed quickly.

I was able to make some slow passes relatively easily and the T-28 is a pleasure to see in the air.

After getting used to the flight characteristics I made a number of low passes- as if to land. What I found was the T-28 is a real floater. It was almost hard to bring it down. The good news is that this makes it fairly easy to land once you get the hang of how it handles

I ended up making 4 good landings. 2 where very nice. 2 where decent. On the last landing- which wasn't particularly hard- the whole left landing assembly popped out. Nothing broke it just came loose. I fixed it easily with some 5-minute epoxy. It was held in with some silicone glue.

My setup consists of the following:

• Stock Airframe / Motor / Esc (plug and play model)

• Spektrum AR6200 Receiver

• Flight Max 2200 mAH LiPo

• TX is a Spektrum DX7

The only modification I made to the stock plane was to cut off the stock batter connector and solder on a Deans plug. I really can't imagine changing anything on this plane- what a winner! I am very happy I made this choice as a 2^nd plane.

Flight 2 (20 Minutes)

I have had the T-28 in the hanger for about 1 month. I had been trying to hold off until I had my planned 15 hours on the Super Cub. To date, I have almost 7 hours on the Super Cub. I will say that had I not spent this time on the SC, I am certain these flights would not have gone so well.

This 2^nd flight was very good as well. I think I flew it a little faster than the first flight. What I did notice is that it is a lot easier to gain speed on the T-28 vs. the Super cub. I had situations that where 1 to 2 wrong moves away from a major catastrophe. Such as flying within about 20 feet of a pole and having a few awkward turns too low to the ground. The point I am making is that you do have to be more thoughtful with this plane than with the SC.

I had 3 good landings- one beautiful rolling landing with flair- I love landing with the tricycle gear!

Things I learned from these flights

• The Parkzone T-28 Trojan is a great 2^nd plane after having experience with the Hobbyzone Super Cub

• Need to watch throttle / speed and think ahead of your moves with this plane as it has more potential to get into a bad situation quicker than a slower model like the SC

Damage
Not really damage- Left landing gear came loose on a decent landing- epoxied back in place

Stats
T-28 Cumulative flights 2
Cumulative Hrs: 0.5
successful Landings: 7
T-28 Trojan Maintenance / Repairs* ~$0

*Cost to replace items broken in flight