Wing fold

[Maverick]

Hi all,

Was wondering if any of you pilots out there have has the same experience as me.

I’m currently running a Parkzone Supermarine Spitfire Mk IIB with LiPo conversion.


Took my spit out for its maiden flight on Monday 4th Feb, weather was a light breeze at ground level and all was going great guns, was doing the circle flying pattern to gain height (As shown in the booklet) with A mode controller settings, when out of the blue gust of wind caught her head on and made her do a nose over tail loop which luckily I controlled and then carried on flying.

5 min later another out of the blue gust and up and over we went and again got her back under control, ok now I was thinking that I had been lucky, had my warnings and I was to land and give up the ghost for today, did one more lap before landing to loose so height and whist flying up wind again BAM a gust came again but this time the nose lifted and the right wing folded and down she came :(

Lucky she landed in soft soil which took most of the impact but to get her off the ground again she requires a new front wing, cowl (cracked in impact), firewall (Slight crack in plastic) and glue to put the tail back on.

Has anyone experienced a wing fold or has anyone any suggestions what to do to help strengthen the wing against this sort of thing.

Cheers

Matt

[MalcolmS]

Same thing happened to me after Xmas. I was showing off to the in-laws and so flying in a stronger wind than usual. Plane handled beautifully and I could fly it well when all of a sudden a gust of wind pushed it up and back and the right wing folded up. I distinctly remember seeing the Spit with a V shaped wing as I realised what happened. It then ploughed into the ground and distinigrated. It was the worst crash I have had and I was a bit upset!!! :( Previous crashes which have been my fault have just damaged props, cowl etc but this time the plane broke up a lot (even the pilot ejected!!):eek:

I had put this down to being the original wing that had gone through several tumbles (and outlasted two fuselages) and was therefore weakened. It was creased at the edges where it had done a cartwheel back in August so I just sighed and went home to spend hours of fun trying to fit the servo in the new wing. However all is now well!!!

I have seen various people strengthen their wings with carbon fibre rods when they change to Lipos (mine is fast enough on stock for the moment!!). Have a look at this from DetroitHawk over at WattFlyers.com

http://www.wattflyer.com/forums/showthread.php?t=14741&page=4

Good luck

Malcolm

[GSS]

I found a simple solution to this - use heavy duty fibreglass tape across the wing. Simply run two or three strips from left to right.

It costs about £7.00 but provides enough strength to prevent the wing snapping when in a tight turn.:D

[denali]

I use the fiberglass tape too.I'm runninnig brushless with lippo and all is good so far.

[Anthony]

I've only flown my Spitfire a few times but I've already noticed fairly large creases forming in the top sides of both wings where they meet the fuselage. Is it normal for a Spit using standard batteries and motor to have this problem?

[ralphp]

Mav....I think you've been watching to much top gun and not enough Battle of Britton!
these kites are towards the top end of there tollerances for the engins in them!
If you look at the postings you will find that engin changes end in mounting cracks, lipo batteries mean wing folds......

The extra speed (going top gun!) puts extra stress on the wings, engin mountings and servo's (due to control surfaces wind impact)

If you change the battierys to the red 1400 Im sure you'll have more fun and less hassle, and there are plenty og guys going lipo and having no issues.......its up to you!:D

[ralphp]

Ant,
if you've been throwing her about.....you will get stress lines apearing and COULD fold the wings (or in high winds) :confused:

I would STRONGLY recommend getting a new set of wings as there cheaper to replace than the whole bird!:mad:

Young man.....have your ground crew sort it! pip pip!:eek:

[Radweld]

I've never had a wing fold but then I also am pretty aware of the problem and limit the G's in dive and climb. I have one wing that's snapped during a crash that I will strengthen with a carbon rod and re cover. This is the test bed for my dual aileron servos.

[Anthony]

Ant,
if you've been throwing her about.....you will get stress lines apearing and COULD fold the wings (or in high winds) :confused:

I would STRONGLY recommend getting a new set of wings as there cheaper to replace than the whole bird!:mad:

Young man.....have your ground crew sort it! pip pip!:eek:


Hmm I may have thrown her about a little bit! ;)

I've probably had less than 10 flights with my Spit, it was fairly windy the last time I flew and some loops were a bit tight, ohh and it made a great noise pulling out of dives!!

How do you find the limit of the planes abilities without causing damage?

[ralphp]

Now thats a question!.....some say "fly by the seat of your pants....die by the seat of your pants" and eat wings or mountings, the real answer is

HAVE FUN DONT WORRY ABOUT IT....AND LARF WHEN IT ALL GO'S WRONG!:D

If you can....you understand the sport/game for what it is!:)

Every one wants to fly past the limit some times......just keep an eye on the "weak points" after flight for tail tail signs.

"Don't you have your ground crew, walk your kite!?"
"Preflight's on control surfaces, stabliser and god forbid cracks!!!!!"

I believe we can all live long enough to become wingcommanders if we keep to the rules!

Oh well the young of today...
"cravat with out tie, pipe when cockpit open.................:D

[Anthony]

I think I may just have to avoid pulling out of loops too quickly. I was surprised to see that I had damaged the wings simply by doing a few loops and stuff on standard equiptment... from reading this forum I thought I was safe doing any manouver I liked as I havn't gone lipo of brushless.

[Radweld]

I think a WOT dive and max climb might cause the wings to fold, I have not tried this maneuver. In fact your kind of less likely to have problems with Lipos as their generally lighter.

[Anthony]

I havn't done any long vertical dives though, just some loops and rolls... it's not as if ive gone way up, done a half roll and dived full whack at the floor and then suddenly pulled out; I've just done fairly normal manouvers, so I don't see why the wings are getting creased.

[Radweld]

If the wing gets damaged, it's not always possible to tell if there is a crease in the wing due to the covering. I guess in this instance you can cause a wing to fold. Maybe I've been lucky it's not happend to me.

[ralphp]

Lets be honest these birds are made for "nu-bes" and easy repairs.....if your looking to go all top gun you have to build one your self, with sheet bulsa covering to take the big G!

[Anthony]

Also on the box it says 'fully aerobatic' perhaps parkzone should qualify that by saying 'fully aerobatic, but take it easy'. :D

[Radweld]

I've done some pretty wild flying with mine and i've never seen this problem, obviously it exists but I don't belive there is a design flaw with the plane.

[ralphp]

Mine has taken some "uncommen" manouvers....due to poor piloting skills including pulling out of some "major" dives and still no wing fold, but I still watch for creases and bends. I haven't had any folding yet either....I've been using parkzones for about two years now?

[Anthony]

I took the wings off my spit today and sure enough theres a crease right down the middle as well as two creases where the wings meet the fuselage. instead of being strong the wings were able to flop up and down a bit like a birds and I've only had about 10 flights with it. I've ordered some more wings now because I don't want to replace the whole plane the next time I decide to turn tightly.

[ralphp]

Now theres a safe pilot......check your kite and walk around before and after flight!
I'd be carfull about this "wisperd voice" you could check the enginmounts also some people tend to eat them!:D:D LORL
Only pulling it Rad!