CRAPS, I should have stayed home today. When I started the truck to go flying, it was weak, but I figured it would start again. Right there was my first mistake! I should not have gone. As soon as I got to the field, I tried to restart the engine. I figured it surely would work after charging on the 15 minute drive. NOPE, nada, zero, zilch. What to do. I decided to fly since I was stuck, and I figured someone would come to fly in perfect weather like today with calm air, sunshine (no clouds at all), 50F, wowsers! 10:30 when I arrived.
I had a good first flight with the 50cc Extra 330L. Landed a little fast, but it stopped on the runway, so all was good. The engine restarted well and up I went again. I got the idle slowed a bit and was making a perfect landing. I thought it was a done deal. I must have been one inch too low because my LG got cleanly wiped off the bottom of the fuselage. I couldn't believe my eyes as the Extra rolled over the LG and belly slid to a stop. Broken prop, broken muffler pipe still dangling to the muffler can, typical hole in the bottom of the wing due to the sharp end (of course) of the wheel pants, ripped out some LG braces, and tore 2' of chinakote off the very bottom of the fuselage. A couple longerons were broken in spots. I call it a major minor repair...not a major disaster, but lots of work still must be done. Of course the wheel pants are cracked here and there, as well as the cowl.
Ok, so I hung around taking my time because I needed help to get the truck started...either a kick start or a jump start. NOBODY came for an hour. At 1PM I had to take matters into my own hands. I tried to push the truck to the old house so that I could kick start it on the little hill. Couldn't move it but 30' and then it was slightly uphill to the house and I could not get it there. I then pushed it back, and even tried to kick start in reverse, but could not get enough speed. So I put the fuselage in the shed and everything else in the cab, locked her up, and headed for help. I went across the street, slightly north, and there were young hispanics at the repair shop outside, so I asked for use of a phone, or a jump start. First one guy let me a cell, then another said they could jump start me, so he took me and his cables in his pickup to the field and we got the truck started immediately. I gave the guy $10 which he gladly took, and drove off. I got my fuselage out of the shed and headed home uneventfully but fully aware of heeding the need to not kill the engine at anytime!
So insult to injury is what I got! Double whammy of dead battery and busted plane. ALL IN ALL, A GREAT OUTING, HAHA. I took it in stride...came home and ate then removed the dead battery for going to Walmart tomorrow, mowed the lawn, spread moss killer on the lawn, sprayed moss killer on the roof, and here I am contemplating what repair on my Extra to do first. RAAAATTS!
Oh the tips: follow your instincts...I had a feeling the battery was too far gone, and I should have stayed home! What a lousy start to my Year of the Golden Rabbit!
This is just a place for me to ramble (sometimes rant) about my hobbies which include radio controlled airplanes, oil paintings, my sports cars, and any other random blithering from me.
Aloha and Welcome to my small speck of cyberspace! Dec 8, 2010 is the birth date of my blog. Never had one before, but my son encouraged me to have one, and it seemed like a good way to at least keep a log of my RC airplane building and flying. With the initial design kicked off by my son, I'll carry on from here and have fun with it. Now that I have it, I will use it to also keep track of my oil painting efforts, and any other ideas, hobbies, travels, or whatever else that come up. LIFE IS GOOD!
Update on 02/25/2011. It's been a few months since I began this blog, and I am enjoying creating and having it! I like documenting the things I have done in my hobbies, and sharing with my small family. I think Jer and Tad actually view it fairly regularly, as a means to see what I've been up to lately. At worst, it serves as a reference for my own use.
Update on 12/22/2011. This blog stuff is habit forming. My blog is a year old now, and I make an entry about every other day or so as that seems to be the frequency of doing something in one of my hobbies. Like my hobbies, this blog is a lot of fun, and it has become in itself another hobby that I enjoy.
Years are flying by...update on 01/11/2013. Still enjoying maintaining this blog even though hardly anyone sees it. I don't advertise it anywhere or to anyone, and it is mainly just a way for me to keep my own notes and thoughts on my flying, painting, and cars. If a stranger happens upon it, I think it is by pressing NEXT at the top of the current blog they are visiting, lol. It's a great device for me.
August 2014: still here! Took up flying RC helicopters one year ago and got hooked. Had flown micro Helis up to then, but got serious with 450 size for a couple months, then bought the Goblin 500 and Gaui X5 . Also got my Boxster in April 2013. Most importantly, Ariel was born 12/02/12 followed by Skylar 07/20/13, and they are little beacons of joy in our lives. Life is indeed good!!!
Thursday, February 10, 2011
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Aiye carabah!!! Glad that you found help and also that the plane is repairable. Yikes!
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