[gregoryda]

Ok Bros, trying out a new radio today and I made one lap to re-trim. Get to the end of the runway and radio loss signal. It headed to the right and to the ground. Appeared to reconnect just before it hit the pavement, so It’s an issue with the new radio. It flew perfect on the old JR. Just wanted some input, I can easily fix the nose/engine mount, but how hard would it be to rebuild the wing from the servo bay out? I’m guessing pretty difficult since I glued the wings in and I would have to try to rebuild it with it in the air, off a flat surface. Shit happens! Damnit!

 

[gregoryda]

Now let’s get this radio figured out. What radio is it and what’s your setup?

I bought a Radiomaster TX16 on several recommendations for flying racing style drones. I thought I would use it for everything. There is a large learning curve in programming Edge Tx software, compared to a Spektrum or Futaba radio. It’s most likely my error in setting it up. Probably not the smartest thing to try a new format at my age.

 

[gregoryda]

yeah,easy fix. you can justangle cut ends of spars, glue new on, short pieceover splice. pretty easy to loft offaflat surface,block it up and measure from table both sides equal. or hotwire a foam wing, groove as necessary for spars, poly glue in place.

or do a winky repair... wrap cardboard around the spar and postal tape it on.

or do a colton and say f-it, fly it anyway!

Worth a try! I’ll have to get some balsa supplies and find time. Probably won’t have a chance until mid July due to family commitments. Anyone have a template of the wing spars they could share with me?

 

[gregoryda]

Did you tune the receiver?

I tried, but I was using a Spektrum Rx and I read they don’t have tuning capability. I did range check it out to about 100’ and it was ok.

 

[gregoryda]

Thanks Ron, I did a range check on low power at 30-40 yds. and all was good. RSSI was at 0, but I read that Spektrum doesn’t need fine tuning. Maybe I forgot to center the antenna and had it pointing to the right which would be right at the Mojo as it headed toward the end of the runway. That’s just a guess, as I really don’t remember the position of the antenna. I’m going to give it a shot at rebuilding it. If all else fails, I have Doug’s kit in the box. I found Swanny’s plans on line. They are dfx files. Can these be printed at Staples or Office Depot?

 

[gregoryda]

May want to tune that radio in a lesser plane,i sure feel your pain. Woodpilot is right,give it a few days to rest before repairs.

Agree, I’ll be flying the foamy with it until I can prove it’s working correctly.

 

[gregoryda]

Had the same thing happen with my Futaba 10J. That's why I got the Radiomaster. Was in a knife edge about 10 ft high heading down the runway when I lost all control. Balled up my 30cc Primo. Since then, I've been using the Radiomaster and FrSky RX8R Pro receivers and they've been bulletproof. Also have the Spektrum rx in the Timber and you're correct, it doesn't have the tuning option for those. Not sure what setting in the radio would cause your problem. I assume you took it out of range check mode before flying.....

Good point, at this stage I’m not sure what happened. Maybe the antenna was pointing directly at the Mojo, maybe I thought I took it out of range mode and didn’t, maybe it’s a faulty Tx. I know the Rx is good, it’s what I’ve been flying with prior to the Tx swap. I’ll be testing with foamy until I can prove it’s working properly. I should have done that to start with.

 

[gregoryda]

Way back in'09 I fell on my Sudokhoi and wrecked 1 wing. Here's the thread:
Sudokhoi wing repair
On Page 2 are detailed pics of how I repaired it. I built a new outer wing panel and installed it.

Thanks, the photos help! I like the joining method you used. I need to get a set of Mojo plans printed so I can make rib templates and built the wing section on the plans like you did.

 

[gregoryda]

I’ve done that exact repair twice on a jo40

I just removed the covering from the bottom and CA’d it back together as best and strait as I could with the pieces I had. After that I just used bass wood from one rib to another on the inside of the broken spars. Let that go through each of those ribs by 1/4” (you’ll have to cut a notch from the ribs between the current spar notches)
Replace the sheer webs (making sure the grain is vertical)
Replace or scarf in new sheeting for top and bottom then recover after sanding.
It doesn’t add much weight and I never broke it in flight. But do be sure to check your lateral CG incase your repair is heavy enough to need to add a nail or something to the opposite wing tip.
The nose is easier. Just get it strait and lay the CA to it and clamp it tight for a while. You can just sheet both sides of the broken nose with1/16” ply and epoxy. I’ve had to do that a lot to chinnyaks.
it’s totally repairable. Sleep on it a couple days. I’ve found it best after a crash to just hang the plane up and not even think about it for a day or two. When you come back to it you’ll have fresh eyes and it won’t look as bad. You’ll have removed most of the emotion out of it.

Thanks for the suggestions on how to proceed and how you fixed it. I need to get some plans printed and rib templates made from them. I can only piece/save maybe 1 rib. The others exploded in tiny pieces.

 

[gregoryda]

Thank you for the suggestion. I will look up my current multi model firmware and update if it’s not current.

 

[gregoryda]

Made progress this week. I range checked the TX16s with the old McFoamy. It flew as far as I could see it, no issues. I’ll continue to test it before moving my Balsa planes over to it. I’m guessing it was Pilot error….damn it! The only thing I can think of is that I forgot to move the antenna to the forward position and it was directly pointing at the Mojo at the end of the runway.

Good news, I had time to get plans printed, by wood and repair the Mojo this past week. I haven’t built a kit in over 30 years, only ARF’s and minor repairs. It showed as I made some mistakes along the way, but it came out ok… I think! It also reminded me how much I suck at covering. The old cub yellow Orafilm I had wasn’t sticking well, wrinkled bad, and corners were pulling up,removed a bay at either end and used red VH cote, which was also old, but stuck well. Waiting on new servo gears that striped out. I’ll get it in the air in a few weeks. Wish me luck! Thanks to all the Bros for advice on the repairs, it helped big time!

 

[gregoryda]

Forgot pics! Here they are.

 

[gregoryda]

I’m glad it will be back in action. I still haven’t found a landing gear for my PA Addiction, and last week I put my AJ Slick in. I did a low snap roll into a wall to hover, but over rotated and with the same color scheme top and bottom, I couldn’t react in time and nose it in inverted. Busted the motor box, cowl and canopy. Waiting on parts for it as well. June was a rough month, but had a blast!

 

[gregoryda]

Yeah, we love those wood walk flight videos! Damn, I was looking at the OMP Bighorn, that nixed that one. Maybe that 60” green OMP Edge would be nice.

I moved the motor back another inch, so I should be about perfect cg. About 4.5-5” from the leading edge.

 

[gregoryda]

I waited too long. The OMP cf reinforced Edge is out of stock again. They didn’t last long. I may go with EF for my next fatty. Remind me, what is the name of your YouTube channel so I can see those last videos?

 

[gregoryda]

Yea the OMPs don’t last long. I was extremely disappointed in the bighorn but it was such a nice quality arf I’ll try their decathlon or challenger when they come back.
As for EF, I won’t be buying anymore from them after the problems and response with their 78” edge. It flies great but it was a very disappointing build with lots of issues and they couldn’t have cared less when I inquired about them.
If you haven’t tried skywing, look into them. I was really turned off by their fanboys (who are total pricks) but the models themselves are actually great. Better quality than EF IMHO. Better wing and stab attachments and cheaper while giving you servo extensions, fuel tank, spinner, lots of extras like wire braid and fuel line and even fuel dots!

t
Thanks, I’ll try check out Skywing. Great flying, you are the Tree Master!

 

[gregoryda]

Nice flying! The DLE looks really reliable. Where did you buy the Skywing? I see a dealer on the West coast but shipping cost to the east coast will probably suck.

 

[gregoryda]

Thanks for the info. I need to stay at 60 or 75” max. to fit in my car.