Twisted out of the box... Airframe manafacturing tolerances??

[scratch339]

Hi, ive just recieved my PZ Spitfire and there is a significant 'twist' in the tail section...

With the main wings level on a flat table, the rear wing is visibly off-level to the rest of the plane. I have calculated the rear wing to be 4.5 degrees from level compared to the main wing. The rudder is also slightly off the vertical, although not as bad as the tail plane.

I know the old adage of 'you get what you pay for' but this seems to me to be outside of expected manafacturing tolerances and im worried that the maiden flight is going to end in lots of foam pieces!

This is my first 3 channel, having learnt to fly with the Firebird Freedom (a quirky and tempremental little sod on its own!).

Can anyone offer an opinion on whether this is a manafacturing defect or just what you can expect with RTF foamies...

FYI, the plane was sent in the post although there are no signs of box damage or mishandling from the courier. The box had been opened to insert a spare battery cover i ordered (after reading they break easily). The plane has definateley not been previously flown as the wing screw hole threads had not been cut and it otherwise looks brand new.

thanks for your help :) Ian

[scratch339]

Update -

Phoned the supplier, who were fantastic and are sending out a new plane without any questions. Now, to pray for this horrid weather to go away!

[ChocksAway]

Snap!

Viewed from the front the tail on mine is not dead square.
Also had to tighten one side of the wings more than the other to try and level the wings.

Flies ok - ie trims out via tx.
Had to fly using high throw straight away as there was insufficent control surface movement to correct the initial dodgy flights.

Good luck

Colin

[Anthony]

It seems these types of problems are quite common; I have a replacement spitfire now, since my first one had a dodgy receiver. The only problem is that the vertical section of the tail is cracked on my new one where it meets the fuselage, making it a bit wobbly. I want to fix it but I'm not sure how, considering that it might mess up the weight balance. Any tips on how I can secure it, so that it wont fall off when i come to fly it for the first time?

[Whittsluck]

Hi All, i'm new here and just took delivery of my PZ Spitfire, after reading what Scratch339 wrote about the twist in his/her fuselage i decided that i would put mine together and check for any twisting, low and behold a significant twist in the tailplane area of my new spit!

Would just like to say thanks to Scratch339 for pointing this out as i may have accepted this as something to live with, as scratch said [I]"I know the old adage of 'you get what you pay for' and being £100 may have thought that a twisted tailplane is the price i pay for a cheap RC aircraft"

Thanks once again Scratch and happy landings to all you pilots out there :)

[scratch339]

Hey all,

After i got my new plane, the twist was still there but not as pronounced. Looking at other posts, its possibe the airframe is designed this way for some aerodynamic reason? Only noticed yesterday that the prop is pointed to the left and down when viewed from above!

Still loving this plane, no major crashes yet altho i did snap the tail off on a bad landing. Plenty of gorrila glue, few strips of wood and some cloth tape and it flies just the same!

Just got the 1400mAh battery from the Sqyuadron Leader shop too. Same price as normal battery so well worth it for a spare.

Now to wait for the wind to die down. Not looking good for the next 4 days :(

Safe landings everyone!

[cdo6275]

Hi,

I had the same problem when I received my Spitfire, the rear tail stabilizer was pointing down and not level with the wings when fitted. I e-mailed Squadron Leader who's customer service was first rate. I sent it back and got a new one, (tested by the Sqn), and now i'm flying a good looking Spitfire around north Devon. Must of been a faulty batch from supllier?

Thanks SL

[Anthony]

I've just got a new spitfire, which too suffers from the tail pointing down on the left. Do I risk a flight with it, or is it enough of a problem to take it back where I bought it?

[SquadronLeader]

Hi Scratch 399,

Where did you purchase the plane from? I don't recall you purchasing your plane from Squadron Leader!

We too have had the excessive twisted tail scenario on a number of occasions. It seems the manufacturers/distributors are sending out a fair few sub standard planes with the same tail problem. When questioning the distributors about this issue, they have landed the blame squarely on the Chinese manufacturers - In summary, high demand and output is putting pressure on quality control.:eek:

In order to reduce the chances of our customers receiving the faulty planes, we at Squadron Leader, do carry out a quick visual tail inspection on every Spitfire before they are sent out. Admittedly, from time to time we do miss the occasional twist, but generally most are identified and sent back to the distributors.

You certainly did the right thing by sending it back. All of you out there should be cautious of flying a Spitfire with a twisted tail. If in doubt, call your reseller and explain the problem and send it back before you fly it. Remember, once you have flown the kite.......the warranty is void!

With regard to the prop positioning, the gearbox assembly has a manufactured bias in order to counteract some of the forces that would otherwise negatively affect flight. You can see this bias if you place the gearbox on a flat surface - threaded propshaft end facing upwards.

I hope this helps you guys in some way. Thanks for the posts.

Safe Landings.

[Anthony]

Well I fixed my slanting tail by taking it off, removing the green plastic mounting bits and putting them back with a matchstick placed between the bottom of the left plastic section and the vertical tail section... seems to have worked a treat levelling things up! :)

[peterbmst]

I did the same as Anthony when I found my Spitfire tail to be slanted - undid the green mounts and chocked up one side with a bit of balsa. This is pretty typical of any ARF model, or even one you built yourself - nothing is going to be perfect, so you just improvise. After a few crashes, you'll have added bits and pieces of tape and glue and scrap foam everywhere. All part of the fun of old-fashioned aeromodelling.

[ralphp]

Have you changed yours over to "Ausy" markings?

[kamakazi]

I've just received my new spitfire to discover the same issue - tail twisted over to the left. :mad: Have sent an email to sl, so hopefully they can resolve the issue.
Am I right to ask for a replacement, or should she fly ok?

[mea04cjh]

Dont worry im sure they will sort it out. I had a similar twist and the squadron gave excelent service.... gotta love theses guys for it.
Have flows the spit with slight tail twist and it seems fine.

[bullittrob]

I've just received my new spitfire to discover the same issue - tail twisted over to the left. :mad: Have sent an email to sl, so hopefully they can resolve the issue.
Am I right to ask for a replacement, or should she fly ok?,.,.its such simple fix,.,.JUST ADD A SPACER TO LEVEL IT ALL UP.,ones its square again a peice of clear tape to stop it moving.,i always offer mine up against either a door frame or a picture frame to set the tail up,.

[kamakazi]

But a spacer won't fix the vertical tail fin being twisted compared to the main wings. Are you saying this isn't a problem ?


____\____


Thanks for the advice.

[bullittrob]

when you look at the spitfire head on,. the left wing is higher than the right,thats normal,.,..if the upright section of the tail is bent & isnt square with the stabalizer then try to bend it back,,,.their quite forgiving pulling them about,.all mine have had the same probs,,.

[ralphp]

I actually had a crack in the base of the tail as well as the "bend".....I opened up the crack slightly, added pva and pinned upright with a clamp. left over night, removeed the clamp.......tail vertical

[kamakazi]

Got an email back from SL today - they are sending out a replacement fuselage asap :) Hopefully it'll be a fairly easy job to transplant all the bits .......

Thanks for the quick service Squadron Leader !