sometimes you just shake your head

[stx44]

So I seem to be having a string of failures- seems ages since I had a truly successfull build- ie resulting in a model that looks good AND flies well.

So i built an Edge. Was ready to flight test and it got crushed moving house. Bummer.

So I built the 500 Avenger. Looked fantastic, but flight testing showed it to be a bit of a dud, and culminated in some pretty terminal damage when a wind gust caught it.

Then I decided to use the plastics from the old busted Skyraider to build a new "better" one. Looks were ok (nothing flash, little disappointed), but it was light and straight. Flight testing proceeded, and within an hour I had it to the point where it would do the lenght of the soccer pitch (couldnt get it to circle). Then disaster. Unsure what inspired the stall and spin, but it did some pretty spectacular ground loops on , ummm, does that get called a landing? What appeared to be fixable turned out to be lethal structural failure where the wings enter the fuselage.

So I move on to the current build- a bostonian (boo hiss, not guillows I know). I have been experimenting with different surface finishes now its winter again- trying to avid the old wrinkly look I get when flying in the damp on acrylic finished planes. (I know this goes away when it dries, but thats not the point). Just discovered that a layed them down wrong, so the enamel has glued the parts to the building board- end result- stripped tissue, and split spars. (admittedly the finish was pretty rubbish anyway- the coverage wasnt right and it looked patchy).

Sighs.

I guess the upside is I have plenty of storage room now, so I have no excuse not to build something else!

[Wildpig]

Now that it's winter, again??? You in Australia?

Bummer with the flights and crashes. Those 900 series planes, I add a half former to join the spars together. With the grain of the former horizontal. Also, I join the trailing edge pieces with a piece of balsa stock going through the fuselage. Really helps hold things together for those nose first landings.

[stx44]

Yeah- east coast of ausatralia.

Hadnt thought of a former between the spars but seems a good idea. The skyraider cracked the fuselage between the wings, so you could flap the wings up and down about an inch.

I deemed it not worth repairing- easier just to build something new!

[davidchoate]

I will help if I can, but I have'nt had much success myself as arv as FF

[davidchoate]

if u look at my p-51 thread. you can see how I repaired it with 1/64" ply, and also cut myself. CA works good for sealing a cut too.