My old stock NiCad EasyStar battery finally died after like 6 years of good service. Maybe I can try to condition it back with my charger, but anyway, time to break out the long-sitting Radian, I thought.
The reason the Radian has been sitting is primarily that the rudder hinge seperated This happened because it was rubbing a bit against the car roof every time I put it in or took it out. It would have fit fine if I'd disassembled it first (taken the wings out each time), but I didn't want that wear on the wing spar holes [not to mention the bother of assembly/disassembly each time I would want to fly]. I've always kept my Easy Star and Easy Gliders fully assembled, but the Radian was juuust too big for the back seat of the car. I
could squeeze the Radian in assembled, but there was a little rubbing almost every time and after a while the rudder hinge seperated.
Another reason is that the winds can suddenly pick up around here, and I really wish the Radian had spoilers to help me get it down if needed. I'm a little nervous every time I fly the big floaty bird. But that's not the immediate issue.
Anyway, after reading lots of threads on hinge repair, I finally just threw some clear packing tape on both sides of the hinge and hoped it would work -- which it did! Held, no problem (I fly a mellow style). I still plan to make a more permanent repair -- probably a CA hinge, as I bought the material a few years ago for just this purpose (but never used it --
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