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General control line discussion => Open Forum => Topic started by: William DeMauro on October 09, 2010, 04:00:31 PM
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I don't normally post pictures of other people's crashes, but these pictures are used with Jim's permission. Today, Jim Borelli crashed his beautiful looking and great flying ARC Vector when he ran out of fuel during the overhead 8 and was unable to save it.What was so amazing was that this plane crashed so straight down that there was no damage to the engine and the prop didn't even break. Check out the way the spinner was almost perfectly compressed.
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What a tragedy this is. I've seen this plane fly and it sure flew great, and it is really too bad it met it's demise :'(
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So I guess he won't be flying it tomorrow at Pal Park?
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It's always a tragedy to see this happen to anyone, but the pictures verify once again the value of metal spinners verses plastic. I have had and have seen several engines saved by the collapse of aluminum spinners when hitting the pavement. Plastic doesn't do that.
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I hate to see things like this, but it makes me feel better about my last 2 crashes.
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I wouldn't assume this engine was saved. I'd check the crankshaft and the backplate to see if it was pushed back . I'd check the rod also to see if it was bent.
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I wouldn't assume this engine was saved. I'd check the crankshaft and the backplate to see if it was pushed back . I'd check the rod also to see if it was bent.
You are right. I should have said that it appeared to be fine. The backplate was not pushed back and it turned over just fine. That doesn't mean that it is perfect for sure.
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I lost a plane with a plastic spinner straight in did not hurt the motor over asphalt aka la40
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Would that be considered a total loss? It looks like the wing and everything back is in one piece. Years ago, I pancaked a Nobler like that and took the nose right off. I was able to build a new nose and Ambroid it back on. No epoxy back then.
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Plastic or metal, a straight in crash like that is going to do damage. I had one in which the spinner disinergrated, sheared mounting bolts and split the motor mounts. The engine was trash even tho it turned over easily. It naver ran the same for some reason. The back plate did have a dent where the crankpin hit it. There was no wobble in the shaft when it was running. Never could figure out why it would not run right again.
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Would that be considered a total loss? It looks like the wing and everything back is in one piece. Years ago, I pancaked a Nobler like that and took the nose right off. I was able to build a new nose and Ambroid it back on. No epoxy back then.
Look closely and you'll see that the outer surface of the wing is fractured in several places, and if I'm not mistaken the stab is twisted with respect to the fuse. So I suspect that while the thing looks OK in a picture it's really broken up inside.
In a crash like that the engine is going to stop moving forward very suddenly, and the fuselage is going to be supported by a number of very rigid members, mostly the motor bearers if there are any and the fuselage sides. So the fuselage is going to stop pretty quickly, too, while simultaneously putting great strain on the fuselage structure. The wings are going to want to keep moving forward and will have great leverage -- so they'll tend to want to shear off or at least to rack (i.e. go diamond-shaped). Basically, the plane is this huge rigid assembly, with few "crumple zones" to relieve stress in the direction that it hit, so chances are you'll get broken up wood throughout the plane.
If yours pancaked in -- i.e. if you hit the ground at an angle, rather than head on -- then there's an opportunity for the damage to all be concentrated in a small area, and for the energy of the crash to have been dissipated (relatively) slowly in that one spot, allowing the rest of the plane to hang together.
Without taking off the covering and looking at the underlying structure I couldn't say for sure -- but that looks like a plane that's badly broken up inside.
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Well we hate it when ever one of these ships goes in. The plane appears very repairable. The break in the trailing edge covering is suspect and can only be decided upon farther inspection. It is best to put one of these away for a rainy day. Then take it out and start the repair. Windy would have this repaired in no time. And it would probably fly better than before............never could figure that one out. Personally if they are going to go in I had just as soon they were totally destroyed and ready for the trash can. I have tossed some very repairable ships. One was an ARF Nobler that was oil soaked. Another was a new proto type ship by Tom Neiber called a Hobo. By the time I got it framed up everything on it was crooked. I am not sure just what happened to it but the wing was jig built and it got a roll in the inboard trailing edge. The fuselage warped just in front of the stabilizer so it was cocked to one side. After much consideration and thought I saw the trash truck coming down the street so I made a decision to just toss it. The truck driver looked at me and said; "Just didn't come out right did it?" I would of had to completely taken it apart and cut new pieces for reassembly. More work than I wanted and too many other planes in my head to build. Sorry Tom if you read this but my Hobo hitched a ride. The Hobo appears to be a nice size plane for a Fox .35 and Tom did a nice job of designing it. Personally I am having a great time with the venerable Oriental. I have both profile and full fuselage types and I cannot tell any difference in the flight characteristics. They all fly smoothly in the level laps and go just where you point them. For an Intermediate pilot I am sure that if I ever move into Advanced they will carry me there. When you get right down to it I believe the trick is to get one air frame that you are comfortable with and fly it. Build several and go to some contests to be judged. You know where your mistakes are so work on those. It is an impossible pattern to get right so don't be too hard on yourself. End of sermon............................Jerry
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Bummer about the crash, looks like it was a really nice plane. On another point though, who makes the nice teenie-tiny aluminum fuel filter and where can I get some?
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I flamed out at the Nats ...just past the entrance to the wingover...just a few hours before appearance judging in 1997. n1 I hit squarely as Jimmy must have also...the rub is, I flew the same prop at the 98 Nats on the same plane after the rebuild! LL~ True story
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John left a couple at my feet, I believe?
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[ On another point though, who makes the nice teenie-tiny aluminum fuel filter and where can I get some?
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That's an H&R Filter, Brodak must have taken the line over. They're on Brodak;s website. Only filter I've ever used!
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John left a couple at my feet, I believe?
Were you judging at Brodaks when I stalled that Tangent the same summer Rich! Crap that was an embarrassing few weeks! LL~