Lesson learned, the hard way.....

Here is a picture of the Aichi, after losing line tension on its 1st flight at Brodak's.

Lesson learned, use a bigger engine. BTW, hit the concrete pad dead center,
another lessen learned, don't fly over the concrete.

Jerry

P.S. That's the cyl head next to the bag of other assorted parts.

Jerry's plane both looked good & presented well in the air.
Phil Spillman & I were the judges. It made a noise that makes you wince/gasp (sp?) when it hit.

The OS 4 stroke engine broke in half. Sad.

Build another one Jerry.

Sorry Jerry I know how you feel...Greg

Jerry, sorry to see this happen. I was told that the Orange looked great. Try to fix it after the proper amount of mourning.
Wayne

Fix this one, Jerry

I agree with Al. I saw the broken ship and it looked very repairable. Now the engine was another story!
Jerry, you should be able to get it back together with out too much trouble.
Bill <><

If it weren't for bad luck, you'de have no luck at all...what a shame.

Did you get any post-crash information or info on what caused the loss of line tension?

Curt,

The main problem was probably the Saito 40 on a 630 sq. 56 oz. airplane. Conditions was dead calm with what little air there was, was moving down the trees on circle #1. Lost line tension on the 3rd loop of the clover. John Jordan got a good look at what happened. I was moving back but the plane was moving in the same direction. The lines were slack on the ground when it crunched.

The wing and stab are in fairly good shape. Was going to rebuild as a profile with an OS 52 4S that I have, and try to keep the weight down.

LAST EDITED ON Jun-22-04 AT 03:28 PM (CDT)
 
Jerry and I flew together most of wednesday and he had it trimmed out for dead air. I was very surprised to see it next to my chair all broken later in the week. We had out tent covers set up next to each other and he helped me get my plane trimmed out. Jerry thanks for the White Knuckles pin.
Ed

Jerry, how much nitro were you running????

falling out of the sky does not jibe with some of the earlier tests Zambelli, et al did some years ago with smaller than expected four strokes. How was the overall trim of the model? Did you have many flights on it yet?

LAST EDITED ON Jun-22-04 AT 09:19 PM (CDT)
 
Using Power Master YS 20/20. The plane had flown well on Wednesday when the air not as heavy or as still. The only thing that changed was the very heavy humidity on Saturday morning.

I had drilled the exhaust outlet and removed the elbow as Bob suggested earlier on Wednesday. That brought the lap time down to 5.1 seconds. Overhead power was not great but seemed adequate. Just needed more power.

Hi, Jerry – real shame about your plane. It was quite unique and a well-executed job.

If you’re planning to re-build it (and I suggest you do), I would recommend against the OS .52. First off, it’s nearly 5 ounces heavier than the SAITO .40 and will require two ounces more fuel. Also, it is extremely powerful, possibly too much for the Aichi. Of the three we tested, the ENYA .53, the SAITO .56 and the OS .52, it was the most powerful. We flew them in .60 size planes.

I would strongly recommend the OS .40 Surpass. It weighs around 2.5 ounces more than the SAITO but is noticeably more powerful. It will require approximately one ounce more fuel than the SAITO .40. My Euclid has around 650 square inches and weighs 58 ounces with the Surpass .40. It flies well on 65 foot .015 lines, swinging an 11-5 or 11-6 wide blade wood prop. I use the stock carb, wired open.
Just my input,
Bob Z

Thanks for the info Bob, but I swore I would never get caught with an underpowered plane again.

Just moved the Saito 40 from the Prowler to the ARF nobler. At 42 oz. It should fly OK.

Took a Super Tiger G51 from my shelf onto the prowler. It flew yesterday, no more dropping out of the vertical eight. (The ST 51 was the same weight as the Saito 40.)
MORE POWER, AURG, AURG, AURG.

I have an OS 52 on the shelf and will probably use that to rebuild the Aichi.
MORE POWER, AURG, AURG, AURG.

Jerry,

Study the way it broke carefully. Trust me, you learn a lot about your construction methods and execution by examining where a plane breaks and how. Not that it makes it any less painful, but the knowledge is useful. Then set it aside for awhile and eventually, you'll want to fix it.

LAST EDITED ON Jun-24-04 AT 01:00 PM (CDT)
 
Randy,

The wings, flaps, horizontal stab, and elevator are in pretty good shape. The fuse is broken into sections and will need to be replaced as a full fuse or profile. If full it will be built a lot lighter. After all, I could mould the shells since there is now an available mould. Have not decided which way to go yet.

Here’s a look at the engine compartment. Held together pretty well. Notice that clamp mounts ripped the lugs clean off the engine.

Hey, but the mounts themselves held up. That's interesting.

This is one reason I don't put a lot of time and work into a beautiful paint job. A beautiful paint job doesn't make it fly any better. I have one airplane that I built several years ago that I spent several weeks working on the exterior appearance and I am afraid to fly it. I have flown it 3 times, mostly straight and level, a few wing overs and a few loops. I put too much work into it to be taking it home in a basket. I can have a lot of fun flying an ugly airplane and if I crash it I can usually have it back together in 2 or 3 hours. Maybe some day I will learn to fly without crashing.