Well Chris "was" is the word. It was a Brodak ARF, one of the best flying planes I have ever owned. Yesterday I took it out for a check flight to make any last minute trim or engine adjustments. The new O.S. 40 FP I modified with a couple of head shims, venturi and an O.S. A3 plug was running superb. I just finished the vertical eight and was pulling some up to level out the plane and all control went away. The plane plunged in strate in on it's nose. Good thing I was flying on soft damp grass, the engine was not hurt. The plane was a total loss. At first I thought a cable pulled out, but when I inspected the plane it turned out the push rod from the bellcrank to the flap horn was not connected. I checked the wire for signs of damage indicating it came out from the crash, no it was in perfect condition just now where it belonged. The push rod was secured by one of those spring like retainers that rap around the push rod and slip over the bended end. I guess it came free from the first crash and I just didn't know.
Learned two things from this alway crash test a plane before taking it to an event, it would have been very bad for my ego if this had happened at VSC and second rap wire and solder a retainer on the push rod. It's really too bad because the plane was flying just great. Oh well, I guess it's time to break the Score out of the box and get it flying.
See you in Tucson!
Andy
Topic: Question for VSC people (Read 2003 times)