zip hlg dies

[davidbogart]

crap! today was tragic. i hooked up my zip hlg to
the high start pulled back for just one more flight,
and as i let go she drove herself nose down into the
ground and exploded on impact (the nose was buried
a good 4" in the ground to add to my horror).

one of two things happened: a)forgot to turn on the tx.

or b) when i got back to rolling up the high start i noticed
there was a not halfway up the latex tubing that had tied
itself around the stake, preventing the swivel from working.
i think this is what actually caused it.

anyone else ever experience this? i think im in the wrong
business...off to order another one.

dave

[Don Sims]

That stinks Dave, sounds like the knot did it. Not turing on the transmitter would do it to! Are you sure I wasn't at the controls? Sounds like one of my stuped mistakes!!!

[John Gallagher]

Who makes the zip HLG?

It's not the swivel. Most people don't know enough to use a swivel. A knot would only increase the pull on the towhook.
For it to dive into the ground the elevator was set for a dive. Either you bumped the trim or there was no radio control - transmitter off or battery dead, receiver off or battery dead, or radio interference(unlikely).

Don't ask me how I know.

John

[davidbogart]

john,

i think i was just trying to salvage what pride i had left with
the knot theory..oh well. its a mistake you only make once.

dave

[davidbogart]

by the way john im not sure who makes the zip
but i bought it from northeast sailplane products
out of vermont. it was a nice flyer. emphasis on was.

[Desert flier]

I also had a crap day yesterday speked out my 2m brolga and last i saw it it was on the horizon in a spin trying to loose height . Spent a sikie on a trail bike looking for it and then did a arial search in a light plane but still could see nothing. It is out in the middle of nowhere someware wating for me. Can you get locator beacons for model planes ?

[a944734]

Threw my Graphite off a hill full power yesterday. Slipping my right hand back into the windshield on my tx I caught my horizontal trim lever. Onlookers prolly thought I was the coolest cat as I missed the ground by about an inch. Sometimes you're lucky :o

Sam

[beefa]

Considering myself experienced at TX-less bungee launches I find that the plane still launches straight up as you would expect off the launch before very quickly (and this depends on how your plane is trimmed) arcing over to one side, continuing this arc until it nose dives, while still accelerating, hard into the ground.
I have also seen launches with the plane turned off, and these will do very similar things to the above.

I have also been lucky enough to see a very well trimmed slope glider launched off a mountain with the plane turned off... this thing flew perfectly for a looooong way before the lift ran out and it slowly descended to the valley floor. Very peaceful way to lose a plane that : )
Lastly I have turned up at a slope with the wind howling, the mates screaming Get up here !! pulled everything out of the car turned it all on and done a very quick radio check, then launched only to find that in the car something had bumped the switch to reverse the controls on the TX for the elevator.. When flying off a seaside cliff only 30metres high you will almost always send your plane into the ocean .. lucky this time my brain realised what happened very quickly and i was able to fly it up into some air and then switch the controls back over... nasty stuff.

All of these crashes and losses (not all mine i must stress) have taught me 1 very very important lesson.Every single flight/launch, when you have the plane in hand at full stretch on the bungy and you are just about to release, just tap one of your control sticks to make doubly sure that you have signal.

Just my 2 cents,
Beefa

[Desert flier]

very good advice though

[aeajr]

I also had a crap day yesterday speked out my 2m brolga and last i saw it it was on the horizon in a spin trying to loose height . Spent a sikie on a trail bike looking for it and then did a arial search in a light plane but still could see nothing. It is out in the middle of nowhere someware wating for me. Can you get locator beacons for model planes ?


Yep!

Sound and radio beacon types. ;) I have them both.

Plane Locators & Battery Monitors
http://www.rcezine.com/cms/article.php?cat=&id=67

[Desert flier]

Thanks for the lead will get a audio tracker before i fly again. I found my glider after 15hours looking over 3 days it was 1.5 km from where i was standing and lost site of it The total distance from launch point 4km. The only damage is the wing poly jount and reglue the fin back on every thing else is fine

[Vito]

An anendum to the good advice above. I learned to wiggle the sticks before each flight the hard way as well. I found out that if you turn off some computer Txs before saving (Hitech Flash 4) it does not save the servo reverse. I flew a dozen launches, took a break to watch someone else, and nosed my plane in on the next launch after wiggling the sticks and listening for servos.
Now I wiggle the sticks and watch the elevator before each launch.
Vito