Why did I crash my Super Cub and Spitfire?

[Malcolm S]

Hi Folks

I am afraid I have been a traitor and bought a PZ Spitfire as I felt I had mastered the Cub and needed a new challenge (and wanted a scale warbird). I bought it and took it out the same day and to my delight it flew well however the landing wasn't great and I cracked the cowl and and there were also some cracks in the firewall which I fixed with 5min expoxy. The next time I took it out there was video evidence and it took to the sky, climbed nose up and then fell to the left and crashed with major damage to the fuselage, firewall and gearbox.

I would appreciate any thoughts anybody would have as to why it crashed. Just for fun in the video you will also see some strange Cub behaviour but that was due to broken firewall since replaced and all fine (I suspect firewall was the Spit problem too but I cannot believe these machines are that fussy about their firewalls!).

Anyway here is the video link:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_eTJGkazCI

I am sure it will make some of you smile or cringe.

And to prove I can fly a Cub reasonably have a look at the other videos on my Youtube site. ;D

Malcolm

[bigtone]

To answer your question, your hand launch needs a bit of work. When hand launching any plane, you must throw it nice and level. Your launches are at to high of a angle causing your aircraft to stall and crash. The more level your hand launches are, the more speed your plane will have. After that, then you can pull up without stalling.

[Twister65]

I agree that the hand launches are likely the problem. A friend of mine has a habit of doing that, and he now has a long history of damage. I can be a tough habit to break because your first instinct is to try and get the plane as high as possible, as quickly as possible.

[Malcolm S]

Hi Folks

This thread should not really be about crashing my Cub as I know why it had crashed - it was due to a bent firewall which is why it twists to the left and down. All fixed now and flying beautifully - just added them to the video for fun.

Just for info I have also posted the same question over at Wattflyer and the other opinion as well as the steep hand launch being a problem is that it was a windless day and so the plane had no help with speed that flying into the wind gives you so it stalled. This of course should not be a problem with the Cub as she flies so well (when the ACT is turned off - mine appears to keep cutting the motr so maybe the sensors are blocked) ;D

If you want to see the replies over at Watt flyer:
www.wattflyer.com/forums/showthread.php?t=24207

I obviously need to fly my Cub more

[davemac2]

I think it is a combination of a weak non-level hand launch which prevents the plane from accelerating, combined with possibly too much up elevator to try and compensate.

Throw it hard and level. It's ok for the plane to initially drop a few feet when doing this as it picks up speed. Concentrate on flying straight from a hand launch with no turns until you have decent air speed and develop a better feel for how each plane responds. Let it clilmb slowly. You should not need any more than very slight up elevator when launch and for the next 5 secs of flight. The spitfire is likely not going to be as forgving as the cub when it stalls.

dave mc

[SCC]

I'm back in the UK this week and I'm looking forward to getting the Spit back in the air, preferably with no wind.

[trollsplitter]

My only suggustion is although we enjoy/cringe at the crash and burn footage enlist your cameraman/woman to launch it for you. When I was trying to learn with my fw-190 i found this helped than trying to through and grab control quickly. I just concentrate on flying it from start and my buddy concentrates on thoughing it hard and level. Now i just gotta work on avoiding those powerlines

[Malcolm S]

Hello Everyone

I am finally back in the air with my Spit - it has taken a long time as I was very nervous about breaking it again and becoming resigned to only flying the Cub successfully. Plus the weather in the UK has been rubbish of late or I was working when it was good.

Anyway yesterday I took the plunge and gave it another go and it was a roaring success! I was also brave enought to use a pencam attached to my sunglasses and here is the result:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Jp8MYtxHE4

(for extra points guess the two bits of music!!)

The Spit really is quite easy to fly it was just my atrocious launching last time that killed it. It really must be full throttle and level with a reasonably hard throw. It is of course faster than a Cub and I still prefer my Cub for tricky stuff like on board cameras and drop modules but for now I am a very happy bunny knowing I am not a complete r/c flight numpty (translation: twit) ;D

Now Christmas is coming it might be time for another plane - maybe a Stryker!!!

Thanks to everyone's advice

Happy flying

Malcolm

[jt01]

Great job of flying ! Glad to hear of your success.Paul ( SCC) will be proud of your camera mount.You did a great job keeping it centered.

Jim

[Malcolm S]

Yes I did get the pencam idea from Paul having seen his PZ Spitfire video. I felt I wanted to get some footage of my Spit in the air even if it became a lawn dart after launching

It is a great idea as of course you are always looking at the plane only trouble is that I used tape to fix the cam as a rubberband just meant the camera twisted downwards which was a bit messy. Paul how do you fix your cam?

[supercubdub]

malcolms said:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Jp8MYtxHE4

(for extra points guess the two bits of music!!)

Great video, and nice flying!

Though you should have added engine sounds like me ;D uk.youtube.com/watch?v=E7vNDlqY9bY

[SCC]

Malcolm.
I just put a bit of Velcro between the buttons on the 5in1 and on the bridge of the sunglasses.

Good to see your Spit in the air.

I'm so happy with the way the Spit looks and flies, that i have just bought the Ripmax version

[Malcolm S]

Hi Paul

So you put the camera on the bridge of your glasses? Doesn't that make it point too far upwards? I had it to the side so it was pointing in the same way as the glasses and therefore my eyes/head. However was a bit tricky to mount - had to use tape which was not elegant

Malcolm

[SCC]

Hi Malcolm.
I don't find it points too far up wards, but i do notice that the subject is biased to the right of frame some of the time. I think this is due to the fact that my right eye maybe stronger than the left.

I popped the lenses out of these cheap sunglasses, it helps me see the plane better on those Grey sky days.

[crashedagain]

what type/brand of camera are you guys using? I like the simplicity of the one you posted Paul. The camera is the perfect size to head mount or put on the plane. The pics helped a lot.
thanks
Colin