What kind of radio were you using? I'm becoming more paranoid about my 72MHz gear every day.

I am using a Futab 6EXP 6-channel, PCM/PPM(FM) selectable System. I bought it new from Tower hobbies on 4/13/08.

http://www.futaba-rc.com/radios/futk62.html

I'm using the Tower hobbies brand of the same radio (almost, mine doesn't do PCM). Do you think you had a radio "hit"? What channel were you using?

I am on channel 41, and was tagged 41 on the board. I am not sure if it was a radio hit or not. We did some testing after recovering the "pieces" and after checking the batteries we performed a range test and it seemed to fail the range test, which drove Randy to suggest it was a crystal failure. Hopefully Futaba wil tell me what the problem was after I send them the radio.

Heere is a service message I found about Futaba Systems

http://2.4gigahertz.com/techsupport/service-advisory-tm7-7c-6ex.html

This appears to be for their FASST systems though at first I thought it might mean any system.

And believe it or not they are going to charge me to fix my system even though it is under warrenty. Bah greedy company.

Let me know how your experience goes with Futaba support. I have a Hitec 7-channel and Futaba 6-channel radio that would need to be fixed before I could sell them... or donate them to my children to fly on!

Let us know how the rebuild is going. Among all the club members we probably have enough crash rebuild experience and balsa wood to build a small fleet of .40-sized trainers.

So far the experience has gone well, I DHL'd My system to them Last Wednesday, They had it Thursday Morning, Worked on it Friday and shipped it back to me today.

They found:
Your comments have been noted and taken into consideration during the
evaluation of your merchandise.
The system was aligned and tuned.
The unit has been properly calibrated

So it appears when I bought it it was not fully set up correctly and tuned. Hmm

At this point I would say I am happy with their service, now lets see how soon it get back to me.

Some small amount of frequency drift is normal for any radio system. Expansion and contraction of components from heat, microscopic cracks in various materials, and other things may factor into it. I would not take their "calibration" as gospel that it was out of whack... it just looks like a regular checkout.

My money is on one of:
* Low voltage on your receiver pack.
* Someone else turning on their radio.

I can't say for sure but:

>The system was aligned and tuned.
>The unit has been properly calibrated

Is usually tech speak for "we didn't find anything wrong so we ran our standard manufacturing procedure and made sure it's all within factory tolerances."

--Quote from Matt-- |
My money is on one of: |
* Low voltage on your receiver pack. |
* Someone else turning on their radio. |
---------------------------------------
Voltages were great.
5.1 on receiver pack and 10.1 on transmitter.

So this being the case and with what has been said here, I would agree that someone hit their transmitter which interferred.

Oh Well, Poop happens, you cant make a cake without breaking eggs, and I do not think you can learn to fly with out having atleast ONE memorable crash.

See my "crashes you'll remember" new post: http://uterc.org/node/333

New Trainer
I just picked up my new trainer, (price was an obsticle) so I went with a Hobbico Nexstar .46. This means Wednesday I can fly my own bird again! Woo hoo, and according to the Esky simulator I can land good, just not always on the runway. :)

I wanted to go with another Superstar .40 but the hobby shops in town did not carry it, and I did not want to wait any longer by ordering one and having it delivered. Hopefully this Nexstar will be ok.

From what I've seen with NexStars at the field, you really need to make sure you keep the covering shrunk on with your iron. It really likes to peel, and though it looks superb when new, it starts to look bad after a few weeks if you don't spend time with your hobby iron after most flying sessions. Some trainers at the field dislike the NexStar because it's a .60-sized trainer with a .46 engine that tends to fly a bit "heavy". It also tends to have a bit more adverse yaw and P-factor influence at low speeds than other trainers.

All that said, it's otherwise a superb trainer. Don't let my negative comments discourage you; just be aware of what issues the plane has, and plan to deal with them. I look forward to seeing you next week!

She flew beautifully, my .40 engine on it pulled it around the club field very nicely, and I brought it in on my own for a smooth as glass landing.