Here’s a picture of my Great Planes Big Stik right before its first flight with a Magnum .52 engine and Airtronics radio. I received the plane from my good friends at the Valley View Flyers a few years back and it’s been on the “Finish Building” list way too long. Before dusk I was able to get in about 6 take-off and landings. It’s a fast, stable flyer and lands like a dream with 25% Flaperons set. The Magnum engine isn’t quite running at 100%, but it’s not running bad. I need to check the spray bar, glo-plug, head temp, etc. and also make sure the 11×6 prop I’m using isn’t causing problems. I have a vibration issue which shook apart my on-off switch housing (wasn’t on real tight to begin with) and I suspect a unbalanced prop. I’ll check it out tonight. What a great day flying. Tomorrow I hope to do more.
While flying last weekend my Stryker’s right vertical stabilizer decided to come off during a high speed fly by. From the noise I initially though I had a shattered prop but I was quickly relieved that I still had power. After trying to see how this thing would behave with only one vertical stabilizer I landed it just off the runway in some grass. No harm.
When the vertical stabilizer was found, we noticed it had a chunk of it missing from where the prop bit into it. The stryker had a mid-air collision with – itself. Too funny.
This plane has been heavily used all summer and it’s a great flyer. I’m currently using cheap Tenergy 25C 1800mah batteries and so far they work great!.
This crash happened at the Denver R/C Eagles site and was a result of a stuck right aileron. A simple check of the control surfaces before takeoff could have pointed out the aileron issue and a simple fix would have had the model up in the air in no time. A good lesson for all us who fly!
