I was flying my T-52 this morning (along with my scratch built, which I think I'm going to now call the "Homer Foamer", because if Homer Simpson flew foam e planes, this is what he would need). Anyway, me and the T-52...

I had been flying for a few minutes at a new site. Plenty of room (so it seemed) but it was a bit narrow, with trees on the far end and a parking lot/school/garage near side. I check the controls, give it full throttle, and nice toss and off she goes. She is pulling to the left a bit, and climbing a lot with the sticks neutral so I decide to bring her in to make some trim adjustments. (No, I am not quite to the point in my flying that I can do trim adjustments "on the fly.") So I cut the throttle (I love watching the 52 inch wing work its magic...such a graceful glide)...careful, keep the airspeed up....keep the wings level...bring it in slow....WHOOP!!!!! Sudden stop. I have flown it straight into the concrete wall of the garage. No tumble, no cart wheel, just instant stop. I walk over to the plane and notice I've broken...one rubber band that holds the wing in place. That's it. I use a combination of rubber bands and velcro to hold the motor/gearbox/prop in place - no damage. Pull a rubber band off my wrist (I keep 3 or 4 on me when I go to fly), check the allignent of the motor for thrust, make my trim adjustments, check the controls, full throttle, and into the wind she goes.

Thanks again to the fine folks at JK Aerotech for this fine trainer. For those thinking of going the foam route, this is one of the best ways to do it. More time flying into things, less time epoxying your mistakes back together.

Ain't learning fun?

Hehe...mine just keeps ticking away. Nose crashes have made the coroplast fuse doublers a little out of shape but she still goes.
Thinking about buying another kit but not using the center piece of wing. Put on ailerons and power it with something in the 500 class of motors. Or maybe go brushless with it. I think Sal C's
latest t-52 or I should say, T-33 is pretty quick. I don't know what
motor he is running though.

Dave...

That kind of crash would have put most planes on the bench for at least a couple of hours of repair. Ain't it fun to have a great flying airplane that can take the licks. I remember coming home after each Wingo incident and gluing everything back together. Boy, that got old fast. The flat wing with ailerons is a big jump in performance, you'll never go back to the "landing eagle" wing.
Have fun,
hoppy

Originally posted by LuckyArmpit
...I think Sal C's latest t-52 or I should say, T-33 is pretty quick. I don't know what motor he is running though.
Dave...

Dave,

I'm running a S400 direct with MAS 5.5x4.5 prop. T-33 sounds too ducted fannish, it's actually a T-30 (30" WS). I had mine out tonight (mosquitos & all) in a very calm almost non-existent wind. Usually I run 7 600ae's but with 8 and no wind it really screamed! Ele is so reponsive that I can dive very steep at full speed and pull back on the stick almost a foot from the ground and it will climb away! Adam will be able to clue you in on how it flies, he has a kit on the way...

Flying a T-52 stock except for 450 Turbo.
Had 9 yr son out for several hours with him on the trainer box.
He would complain if I kept control for more than a few seconds so...I let him fly it after launch until impact, er "landing".
He finally asked for help and agreed to the keyword Help - means he wants me to take it. I agreed.
So we got in a few hours of fun - had the field to ourselves except for some specatators.
Went thru a heap of batteries and recharged many of them (8x500, 8x600, 8x1000NiMh - forget them, 8x1400, 8x1700, 8x1600 NiMh - RS - low punch, ok duration).

Had a blast, father and son. He claims he is now the better pilot. He could be right - I totaled my Zagi in an near-Vne, insane, near ground manuaver brought on by oxygen stravation of the brain caused by excessive laughing.

Add a 18 year old with .40 trainer ARF looking for an instructor.
Referrd to club membership chairman (he has a list of available instructors). Probable new club member.

Total damage to Zagi caused by daddy in 1 flight - needs wing cores, tray, canopy and elevons.

Total damage to T-52 caused by 9 yr old learning to fly over 2 1/2 hrs with many flights - one lost rubber band, 1 broken rubber band, one broken servo arm (had 3 spares).

T-52! T-52! T-52!

And working on the wife for the $ for the Big T.

OK guys, you've made my mind up.....the e-plane wing goes on the T-52. Now were talking symetrical fun. I was hesitating because of the lesser wing area but if a 30" will fly, that wing should be perfect. Where's the 3M77, tape, etc.
hoppy

Originally posted by hoppy
OK guys, you've made my mind up.....the e-plane wing goes on the T-52. Now were talking symetrical fun. I was hesitating because of the lesser wing area but if a 30" will fly, that wing should be perfect. Where's the 3M77, tape, etc.
hoppy

Hoppy,

Mitch flew my Mini T (inverted and all) and suggested the very same thing, symetrical wing. I'm going to do it but after a few more projects.

You're having WAY too much fun, Sal!

mw

Originally posted by Mark Wood [groundloop]
You're having WAY too much fun, Sal!

mw

That's the idea isn't it Loop? Did you order your Big T yet???

Not yet, but you can bet your bottom dollar I'll have one of these in my hangar before too long!

mw

Originally posted by hoppy
OK guys, you've made my mind up.....the e-plane wing goes on the T-52. Now were talking symetrical fun. I was hesitating because of the lesser wing area but if a 30" will fly, that wing should be perfect. Where's the 3M77, tape, etc.
hoppy

Hoppy are you talking about putting an E-plane wing on a standard T-52 or a scaled down version like Sal's Mini-T?
If the standard T-52, I look forward to your flight report. It doesn't seem like it would work. But, heck it is only foam, right?


Mitch

Just flew the T-52 this evening Got it trimmed out pretty good this time. I put the motor in with about 5 degrees of down thrust and a little bit of right. What a difference...sweet and smooth. In fact, the only problem tonight was not enough batteries!

Also, when I landed I noticed that my gearbox looked a bit loose. I saw that the screw that holds on the back plate was missing. Oh great, those have to be tough to find at a hardware store. So when I got home I took the motor/gearbox off (again, using the rubber band/velcro/coroplast method) and sure enough, no screw in the screw hole...But wait, what's that stuck to the motor? The screw was "magnetically" stuck to the motor case.

The perfect end to a perfect trip to the flying field.

Is that the infamous 3 gear ratio box???? They are notorius for loosing screws. Try some Loctite on those threads. You're lucky you caught it before it loss another one and the aluminum gear disintegrated. Be sure the threads are free of oil and grease before you apply the Loctite.

hoppy

Yes Hoppy, the very one! I guess it's time for a trip to the hardware store.

I just finished my t-52. I used the Al motor mount supplied with some 4-40 nylon screws. I used rc-56 glue for most of the construction.The goop ate foam even through the tape on a test piece.(5 min. epoxy was use for the wing. Now for my stupid question of the year. How many rubber bands should be used to hold the wing on and in what configuration. I think the wing should be able to break free in a crash without damage but should not move around during flight.