Date: 6/28/09 8:30 PM
Plane: Parkzone Radian (Carbon Reinforced Fuselage)
Conditions: Windy 5-8 Mph w/ Gusts
Flight Time: about 8 minutes total.
Notes:
Having my confidence boosted from my last flight experience helped me get the courage to attempt flying with medium gusty winds. My first flight was about 5 minutes long and the plane was handling erratically in the air, I had to be heavy on the controls, as when I would turn into the wind the plane would seem to gyrate. I had to use nearly full trim on the elevator pushing the nose down. I was able to bring it in for a rough landing. I thought maybe the trim was off and adjusted the screw on the piano wire. Then I attempted my second flight, and a few minutes into it, just as I had told Kirsten I had it under control, I was gliding with slow speed, and a gust of wind came up, the plane starting maneuvering in a odd spiraling motion while seeming falling toward the ground. It looked as if I had been caught in a twister. Adding throttle only made it fall faster, and suddenly there was a big CRASH! in the trees right next to the road. I ran over only to find I had clipped a tree with the wing, but fortunately only a minor wing in the leading edge of the starboard wing. However I was impressed that the fuselage had help up without any damage, and grateful I had taken the extra time to reinforce it.
I was able to expand the indented foam on the wing using a mixture of boiling water and soap, then gluing the remaining crack.
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