Click here for the video. (Right click and save target as) 1MB You need the latest DivX codec and maybe the player for this to work.
If it doesn't work, try later, I probably just ran out of bandwith.
To set it up, my dad picked up this basic RC plane kit for $150 or so. Included controler, plane, battery charger, etc., all we needed. It's a 3 channel (Rudder, Elevator, Throttle) plane with an electric motor. In this video, I took off, began to start a climb and turned, but my engine cut without warning and I came down quick. We're not sure what caused the sudden failure. My dad was filming as I flew, and I edited it with some sounds. Enjoy!
My first try with this plane was when I was about 13 or 14. It had a pretty bad engine, and I was taking off with a crosswind. The batteries also turned out to be low, which further reduced power. I took it off a track at my Junior High, and was barely able to get it off the ground. Once I did, I didn't have enough speed to conduct a turn, and I got blown over by a gust into a small hill and broke the prop.
The second time my dad tried it out. We got a more powerful engine and better prop, and took it off a baseball field from homeplate. He must have hit an updraft because the plane all of a sudden shot up in a 70 degree climb. Because of the low speed of the plane, and the touchyness of the controls, when my dad tried to level out, the nose pointed straight downwards, and we bent the reduction gear when it crashed.
Fastforward 3-4 years later, I'm now 17. I take it off today back at the Junior High, with a slight wind blowing from the front, and a little to the right. I didn't give myself quite enough take off room, and I was forced to make a quick turn right after lift off or else I'd fly into some trees. Unprepared for the touchyness of the controls, I got too low and my wing caught on the ground and I cartwheeled, but reletivly no damage. All we had to do is replace a snap tie that secured the engine.
This time, I give my self more room to take off, and thus I can make a more leisurly turn after I take off. After I'm up, I climb and turn right. I'm a little wobbly, but I'm in good control, but all of a sudden, I hear the engine stop. Still quite low, slow, and in mid turn, I couldn't level out, and thus I crash, and bend the reduction gear shaft again. This last flight made up this video.
My dad and I are planning to convert the plane to a gas powered engine to provide a little more reliability and power. It's a pain to guess how much juice is left in the battery, as you shouldn't charge it until it's fully out because it's Ni-CD and has a memory. One theory of what caused the engine to cut is a wire came loose on the engine. We're not sure if the wire came loose because of the crash, or if it came loose prior, and it's what led to the crash.
