Hello Everyone. Brand new flier here. I picked up a new vapor from ebay. Out of the box the wing material was coming off all around the plane. Being very impatient I taped it back together. After finally getting it to stay in the air for more than a few seconds I am wound up with excitement until the landing gear breaks on the next mishap. I couldn't be more disappointed. I keep reading about how the plane holds up quite well for its light weight.

I was hoping to get more than one evening of use out of my 130 bucks. I'm quite sure that the ebay seller wont help me now since it broke under my use. Do you think horizon would do anything for me? I've really no interest in trying to fix something this fragile just for it to break again. I also have a mcx heli on order and hoping for it to be a little sturdier.

I just purchased the clear view flight sim and going to practice flying there before I try anymore "real" planes. One things for sure this little vapor is certainly not for a beginner due to its fragility.

Actually, a Vapor is one of the best beginner planes sold. It is easy to fly and durable, but not unbreakable. Search the threads, There is a lot of info on Vapor repairs. Repairing the landing gear is one of the most common repairs.

Repairs are a part of flying model planes. Everything will crash, usually due to pilot error. If you can't deal with this fact, you may have chosen the wrong hobby. Helicopters tend to crash even more than fixed wing aircraft when you're learning.

Good luck.

http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=916206

Good luck, and like Beijing Flyer pointed out repairs are part of the hobby, a whole subset actually!

Yikes! If you paid 130 bucks for it on Ebay, you got ripped off badly. You could have got a brand new one at your local hobby shop for that price. Less trouble, less risk, and sure enough, a true bill of sale, so if anything happen that is not caused by pilot error, you get full support from Horizon.

And sure enough, as the other have said, start reading about your new hobby. Tape is not the best way to fix a Vapor. Simple C.A. glue does wonder on the film as it does almost fix it back itself when you use it, and usually come out better than original glue with no extra weight. (Tape is only used for those very hard crash).

For the wheel, sadly, yes, they do break often on very bad crash. They were made to be flown inside, in large room, and for landing on very nice floor. If you would use your Vapor in a gym, they would basically last forever, well, until you get a very bad funky crash against a wall or mid-air collision with another airplane. They are fixable with some Epoxy, and added stuff like a piece of metal, wiring, or ideally a small piece of carbon fiber. Other have used string or dental floss wrapped around the gear, then covered with C.A. glue. (Could also use Epoxy on top of all that).

In your case, since you're a beginner, you may simply keep flying it without the wheel. It will still fly straight and the only thing you'll be missing is the awesome landings this thing can do. Just fly it slow until you're about 2 inch of the floor and then cut the throttle.

Hopefully, you're also not trying to fly it in your home? Those Youtube video make it sound simple, (AND IT IS), but not for a beginner pilot. Best is to start in an empty gym or warehouse, and go smaller from there. Outside is also good, but NO WIND at all. Not one single gust. And sure enough, in a large open area. Any tree will CHEW your Vapor.

Good luck and welcome into the hobby. Don't quit. As said above, you've picked a great little beginner plane. Beat the hell out of it then, give your wallet to somebody else because if you get hooked, the Vapor won't be your last plane!

I'm always amazed when experienced flyers push there favorite plane as good for beginners when often nothing is farther from the truth. Vapor is a good inside flier but too floaty and not durable enough for starting out. IMO Aero Ace, Multiplex pushers, Estes, etc. are good for beginners, not Vapor. Specially considering the price.

Avoid prop-out-front designs and low wing when starting out (unless you have a big box of spare props and motors that is).

My vapor broke it's landing gear first thing. So I learned how to fly it without gear. Later on, when I knew how to fly it, I bought replacement gear and now enjoy takeoffs and landings. The first time I had to repair it was the best thing that could have happened. Before it broke I was afraid of hurting my $$ investment. When I knew I could fix it I flew without fear. I believe the Vapor to be an excellent first plane.

Every flying surface on my vapor is taped along the entire perimeter. Tape is your best friend..Much easier and less messy than ca. Landing gear is optional! Sounds like you need a tad more room during your learning process. The Vapor is the best first airplane you could buy. DO NOT EVEN THINK OF TRYING TO FLY ANYTHING ELSE UNTIL YOU CAN FLY A VAPOR. First thing you need to do on intial flight, true with all planes, helo, is get her trimmed. For this you need lots of room. You want to get her so that she'll fly straight and level hands off. Have a flight plan in mind. something like, fly out ,get level, turn left, maintain level flight and fly a big left loop, then a right loop, and when you get cocky, a figure eight.. You' ll get there IF you take it slow, easy and fly with lots of room to spare. After a few dozen flights you can transition to the living room. It took me a week of outdoor flying every day before I could manage indoor flight. Now I'm amassed how easy it is..Stick time, stick time, stick time...I just flew my micro P51d for the first time yesterday and after the Vapor and the Ember it feels like I'm flying a cruise missle..Glad I have the Vapor and ember for learning. I could never have flown the P51d w/o the previous learning on much slower planes.

thanks for the help guys. I have no intention of giving up. I do love fixing things but am a bit impatient especially before I get a first good flight. I will try as suggested without the landing gear for a while. Also yes I've been attempting to fly in my living room. It the plane makes it to the weekend I will take it out to a field if we get a calm day.

My best fix to the landing gear problem was hot glue. I broke my landing gear 3+ times before I found the good fix. After the latest set of LG broke, I CAed it all back together and then put a decent amount of hot glue on the stress points of the LG. It is flexible and strong. I haven't had any LG problems since.

HTH,
PC49

Originally Posted by balsafarmer

my vapor broke it's landing gear first thing. I believe the vapor to be an excellent first plane.

Originally Posted by pipercub49

my best fix to the landing gear problem was hot glue. I broke my landing gear 3+ times before i found the good fix. After the latest set of lg broke, i caed it all back together and then put a decent amount of hot glue on the stress points of the lg.

Originally Posted by rtbates

every flying surface on my vapor is taped along the entire perimeter. Tape is your best friend.

Sounds like you need a tad more room during your learning process. The vapor is the best first airplane you could buy.

It took me a week of outdoor flying every day before i could manage indoor flight.

..stick time, stick time, stick time...

lol!

Rich,

Is this what you do in your spare time?

-PC49

LOL! I know it seems like my every waking moment is spent causing trouble on RCG but actually only a few minutes a day (often limited by free Netzero). More time is spent riding bicycles (pedal and motor) and flying (RC and UL).

I also like candle lit dinners and long walks on the beach,

Originally Posted by jedispork

Also yes I've been attempting to fly in my living room. It the plane makes it to the weekend I will take it out to a field if we get a calm day.

See, as I said... You should not try to fly it in your house until you have at least 5 to 10 hours of solid air time in a very large room (ideally, a gym, empty warehouse, very large conference room, underground garage that have more than 8 ft ceiling, etc).

And sadly, even outside is a bad idea for a beginner. If you see only one leave moving in a tree, it's too windy for it. You need NO WIND at all! Those are not common, though you may get lucky early in the morning or just before sundown. May I remind you that after December and January, usually April is the month that get the most wind on average? Again, before somebody say it, yes the Vapor can be flown outside. But not in the hand of a beginner. Heck, even if there's no wind on the ground, sometime, just going over a roof top, it's another story. Now don't even try at 200ft

So truly, don't try it in your living room yet. (Trust me, you'll be able to show off to your visitors soon enough). Try to find a good and large indoor spot and give it a go. You may want to buy one more battery, so if you go to that spot, you can fly non stop! That's another great thing about the Vapor btw... 20 minutes on one battery, while the other one is charging in the battery powered charger beside you. No need to wait for battery cool down before charges, since it does run cold! Two batteries means unlimited flying.

I am quite late, but I did see something in your post that seriously stood out.

Originally Posted by jedispork

Hello Everyone. Brand new flier here. I picked up a new vapor from ebay. Out of the box the wing material was coming off all around the plane. Being very impatient I taped it back together. After finally getting it to stay in the air for more than a few seconds I am wound up with excitement until the landing gear breaks on the next mishap. I couldn't be more disappointed. I keep reading about how the plane holds up quite well for its light weight.

I was hoping to get more than one evening of use out of my 130 bucks. I'm quite sure that the ebay seller wont help me now since it broke under my use. Do you think horizon would do anything for me? I've really no interest in trying to fix something this fragile just for it to break again. I also have a mcx heli on order and hoping for it to be a little sturdier.

I just purchased the clear view flight sim and going to practice flying there before I try anymore "real" planes. One things for sure this little vapor is certainly not for a beginner due to its fragility.

Either my vapor landing gear is invincible, or I'm just really lucky

I've bounced mine off of the ground doing loops too close to the ground MANY times, I've also snagged it on pipes hung from the ceiling in the underground parking lot.

The only part I've been able to break is the front wing support, but that was a SOLID hit to break that. I was trying to fly through an opening in a tree(yeah, I know...) at "high" speed, and snagged the wing on both sides. A drop of CA and 5 minutes of waiting and it was 100% back in business.

To the original poster, keep at it! It's a very good flying plane, but keeping it in the air in a living room definitely takes some experience. It still takes focus for me, and I can fly my micro 4 site around the living room.