My 1st T-52

Construction Notes, Page 1

Here I am poking through the firewall (I didn't install one - oops) with a letter opener - I used the letter opener a lot during construction - also, my non-suggested method of routing before taping (see the "hole" for the battery - DO NOT DO THIS - follow the directions) foamies were totally new to me & I took on this project with a lot of skepticism.

Here's the T-52 after the first flight - notice the weird position for the battery pack? This must've been due to the quart of silicone I used to secure the servos into the fuselage - I guess. Anyway, after balancing it out as shown, it flew great - I'm probably gonna "chunk out" an area so the battery pack will just tuck into the fuselage nicely - yes, I SHOULD have built this plane as directed, but, it worked out okay anyway.

The following photo shows how I "fixed" the control linkage during the maiden flight -->> I hurried through the final phase of completion, attaching the motor as described in the instructions - worked great & very quick, light &

easy!

So, I get to the field, even though it's getting pretty dark by this

time, but almost no wind - perfect conditions. After pre-flight

balancing (sort of) it was quickly evident the T-52 was very tail-heavy,

so I brought it in and took the battery out and taped it to the bottom

of the fuselage (since there was no more room to move it forward without

gouging out material). So, I moved the battery pack toward the front.

During one of the "adjustment flights" it landed a bit too hard and, I

didn't notice, but there was a problem. After adjusting the position of

the battery and tossing it for another flight I quickly realized I had

no rudder control. Strange, I thought.

Sure enough, the pin through the clevis was sheared off!!! I was really

aggrivated but also determined to not let this stop me. After quickly

surveying the situation I figured if I could just get a paper clip, or

other similar size wire, I could get going again - at least enough to

have a couple more flights. So, I looked in my flight box - nothing. I

left the plane in the field and went to the car - no paperclip. No

other wire. I went through the front seats, back seats, trunk, then

back again to the pockets behind the front seats - WAIT!!! I found a

hair clip (which used to be my eight-year-old daughter's). YES!!! I

took the clip apart and threaded the spring through the hole in the

clevis & the control horn - VIOLA!!! IT WORKED!!! (see photo below)

After 3 or four more quick flights, I finally got the balance right & it

began to fly very nicely - very stable - only needed a wee bit of right

rudder trim. Then, after all was perfect, 60 seconds into my flight the

prop fell off - somewhere. While I was looking for the prop, a Park

Ranger came up to me & told me I couldn't fly in this field because it

was not designated for recreational use - he was extremely polite, and

encouraged me to continue to look for my propeller. I finally found it

and ran to my car with the plane, prop & flight kit. I drove to the

recreational field, about 3 miles away, during rush hour traffic, and

lept out of my car, running to the field with plane, prop & flight kit

in hand(s).

Now, by this time it was REALLY getting dark, but I flew the T-52 anyway

- and yes, the prop came off again, and again, miraculously, I found it.

I was extremely impressed by the handling and temperament of the T-52 -

it was flying around with no wind on about half throttle. I took it

into a dive and did a phenomenal loop - fairly quick - very straight - AWESOME!!!

I have some minor changes to the T-52 I'll be working on before tomorrow's flights.