If you "plant an ARF, will little ARFsprout?   Do little arfs sprout and grow well on cement?
   I guess we will find out as I planted my Brodak Pathfinder ARF today on cement.  Comingout of the first pull out of the Reverse Wingover  to inverted---- SMACK!!!  think it got the engine too. This was the third flight on the plane.  First two, it rasponded to turns both ways s if it was terribly nose heavy.  But the CG was where it was supposed to be.  So for this flight I sealed the hinge lines and really didn't get to do anything.  I did a couple of ups and downs and the plane seemed to be responding ok, so I tried the RWO and SPLAT--- IT just felt dead on the lined VERY sluggish as if it was nose heavy.  I hvae carbon fiber pushrods and there seemed to be no flexing there.
  Ah well---- one less ARF to worry about.

  Bigiron

Which engine did you have  on it Marvin? 
Let us know if you need parts, after all the people you save engines for with parts from "Ye old junk barrel", I am sure whatever you need will be quickly on its way.

 Of course if it was a Fox then we know you probably already have what you need!

Marvin, sorry to hear of your loss.  My question is if it was flying like it was nose heavy, why not add tail weight instead of sealing hinge lines.  I always thought you sealed hinge lines when the plane does not turn equally both directions.   

Marvin, sorry to hear of your loss.  My question is if it was flying like it was nose heavy, why not add tail weight instead of sealing hinge lines.  I always thought you sealed hinge lines when the plane does not turn equally both directions.   

  Doc,  I did recheck the CG location  given in the instruction booklet and wes already behind the recommended position.  So that is why I decided to try sealing the hinge lines for the naxt flights.  I have several more things I want to check out from the wreckage before I do much else.

  Bigiron

well, I finally got up enough gumption to look into the cause of the ARF Tathfinder crash.  I have settled on the probable cause as being failure of the elevator hinges. I used the E-Z Hinge types that came with the kit  as I didn't want to spent more on the ARF (bad decision)Besides, It  SHOULD have sufficient materials to fly adequately.   It appears that the coating surface on the hinges separated from the mylar (or whatever the core material is)and the hard "down" elevator  pushed the control horn along with the elevators rearward instead of iving down to the elevators.  The coatings from the hinges is still in the slots of the stab and the bare ends of the hinges are still attached to the elevators,  The stab and elevators were not damaged in the crash, so it appears that the hinges failed before the crash.
  Just looking at the wreckage, I think I MAY try to rebuild it.  It looks kike the engine, spinner, and tank took most of the brunt of the impact and suffered the most damage. OS LA 46 (E-Bay orphan) bent shaft, Creamed venturi and NVA, skint up head, piston binds in the cylinder near the bottom of the stroke, ---backplate (plastic) appears ok as does the thrust washer. OH yes-- muffler broken off at the lug area.
  Concencus--- it goes into the junk barrel annex until further notice.

  Bigiron

Yes Dick, I know about the "toothpick" fix for hinges, and I do that on most of the planes that I build myself. BUT--- this was (and I emphacise the WAS) an ARF and I built as closely to the instruction sheets as I could so I could give an honest evaluation of it.  Yes, there were some "issues" that I HAD to fix that were not included in the instructions --such as regluing the hinge slots in both the flaps AND the horizontal stab, as the slots that were there had split out diagonally from the slot ends those cracks were two to three inches long at each hinge location.  There were 16 items that I HAD to fix before the plane could be flown safely or with any confidence.  Apparently I Missed at least one (G).

  Bigiron

Hey Marvin,  I have a fuselage for the pathfinder.  It has a little bow in it, and Brodak replaced it.  I never did try to straighten it.   Your welcome to it, iffin ya want.
Lee TGD

I went to the Brodak web site and found the Pathfinder ARF listings. In those listings he tells us (specifically) that the "C/G is 2 3/4" behind the leading edge". Why does he do that? Do the instructions say something else? On no other listings does he tell us where the C/G is...


Ward-O