first flight disaster????????????? PLEASE HELP!!!!!!!

I also lost my landing gear (the wheels) is it ok to fly my airplane without them until my new ones come in the mail.

figured out to get it climbing

Sounds to me like the balance is off, or perhaps you are throwing the plane too hard at too much of an angle. You should launch the plane with a gentle push, and with the wings level and the nose either very slightly down or flat. Don't try to heave it like a javelin. It will stall and then (usually) dive right in like you describe. Can you describe in detail how you're trying to launch it? Also, it shouldn't be a problem to fly without the landing gear, as long as the balance is right and you don't damage the prop on landing. I think the firebird is a high-mount pusher, right? If so, the prop hitting the ground shouldn't be a problem. But, without the gear, you will risk scratching/damaging the fuselage from ground contact. Hope this helps. Good luck.

First Flight Disaster!!! Heck, dont sweat it....I still have disasters 543 flights later :-) Now on to your problem

1 make sure you cycle the planes battery pack a few times ( charge it, run it down about 4 times....) 2 new batteries in the transmiter 3 range check it 4 set and check all control surfaces according to instruction 5 most importanat, make sure that those flights are on dead calm

days 6 a level toss into the air..not to hard...do not chuck it like a spear

Good luck Mike

Hi RiverMan, congratulations on your new Firebird Scout! I did warn you that you'd be hurling it to the ground a bit before you finally got it flying well. That just seems par for the course when learning to fly for the first time with a HobbyZone plane.

Losing the landing gear is no big deal. In fact, I'd recommend you leave them off and that you don't bother to replace them.

With my Aerobird Challenger, I actually have to hurl it like a javelin to get it airborn. I hurl the plane very hard at a 45 degree angle while the throttle is going full blast, and I can usually get the plane flying upward before it hits the ground. Your Scout isn't as heavy as my Challenger is, so you shouldn't have to throw it as firmly. If you can hold the stick back (climb position) while you throw the plane, it should climb more quickly than if you leave it in the neutral position.

As far as getting the Scout to climb, you need to pay very close attention to the eleron (v-tail flap) alignment. Tighten the tension screws so the elerons are at least flush with the rest of the tail, and maybe even a little bit higher than the rest of the tail while in the resting (neutral) position. Under no circumstances should you let the elevons rest "below" or "lower than" the rest of the tail surface.

Once you have the tension screws turned so the elevons are trimmed properly, use a micro screwdriver to tighten the little set screws on the under side of the tension screws on the tail assembly. If those tiny little set screws aren't tight, the fishing line that moves the elevons will slip loose while you're flying and you'll lose steering control of the plane.

Once you adjust the elevon trim with the tension screws and lock it into place with the tiny little set screws, you can get a little bit of extra lift at launch by adjusting your elevator trim on your radio handset. Just move the little up/down slider next to the control stick all the way down. That will boost the tails lift a bit, and you can adjust the trim back to neutral once the plane is comfortably in the air.

Since you've crashed once or twice now, check your fuselage stick and make sure that it isn't turning or pivoting in relation to the front body of the plane. A few drops of crazy glue or CA modeling glue will bond the stick to the body pod. I had a lot of trouble with my Aerobird Challenger when the fuselage stick would pivot down a bit away from level with the front of the body. This angle made it almost impossible to get the plane up in the air. You want the stick at least level with the front fuselage and you don't want it twisting. If the fuselage stick rotates at all, it turns the angle of the v-tail and makes the plane impossible to steer.

One last tip for consistent climbing, there are two tail assembly screws on the bottom of the fuselage that hold the tail assembly onto the plane. You should tighten the front tail assembly screw down so that it's snug but not overly tight. You will want to leave the back tail assembly screw a bit looser than the front one. Tighten it about as tight as the front screw, then losen it by about 2 full turns.

Learning to fly a HobbyZone plane on your own requires plenty of trial and error. Don't worry too much about bouncing the plane around, it's to be expected. That's why I recommended stocking up on spare parts right out of the chute.

Wait for calm wind conditions, be patient, and you'll be getting some good flights out of your Scout sooner than you think!

Good luck and keep us posted...

"RiverMan" wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@g43g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...

Hi,

Probably you launched your plane with an up-angle into the air...the plane climbs...losing speed because not much power...speed below stall speed...stalls...diving to the ground...crash.

So one golden rule : throw your plane horizontally, or even a little down. Keep the plane for 10 yards at this height so as to build up some speed, then only gently pull on your elevator to try to climb. Only when enough hight is obtained, start your gentle turn.

Succes ! And no, it isn't as easy as you tought...

Olivier