[00lude]

I just picked this up a few days ago. Built it and on the first flight the motor mount came loose and the prop chopped into the side of the plane. This was only about 2 min into the first flight. I glided it safely to the ground so there was no other damage. Being that the plane is built, It would cost an arm an a leg to ship it back to e-flite. Do you think this would be covered under warranty? I am assuming so, but I am wondering what you think e-flite may say. I am hoping that they will replace it.

[BigBreeze]

This is my opinion, but I think you should fix it the best you can, and fly it. I generally go over all the joints in any ARF-type plane to make sure everything is solid and glued properly before maiden.

You could try to get warranty on it, but I would think that what you get in return would not be worth the headache. Who knows, you may get lucky and get a new one, you never know!!

Marc B.

[00lude]

Originally Posted by BigBreeze

This is my opinion, but I think you should fix it the best you can, and fly it. I generally go over all the joints in any ARF-type plane to make sure everything is solid and glued properly before maiden.

You could try to get warranty on it, but I would think that what you get in return would not be worth the headache. Who knows, you may get lucky and get a new one, you never know!!

Marc B.

Thanks for your opinion. I put a little bit of epoxy on it and repaired it to the best of my ability. I am a little concerned as I wanted the plane to be as light as possible with the cg a little further back than normal for better 3-D. Now the fueslage has some prop cuts on the side of it as well as a heavier nose, I am a bit dissapointed... I am interested to see how Horizon will handle this.

[AJCoholic]

Only one way to find out.. email them.

AJC

[hifly2104]

The worst scenario is they could say not covered and they lose you as a customer and a few others along with you. The best thing is you could end up with a new plane. If you don't ask or make them aware of the problem, then the problem is yours.Ok the new one when it arrives . Epoxy it as previously suggested but use 30 min epoxy . You can heat it before putting it on or after, making it flow into the joints and therefore needing a whole lot less than if unheated

[00lude]

Originally Posted by hifly2104

The worst scenario is they could say not covered and they lose you as a customer and a few others along with you. The best thing is you could end up with a new plane. If you don't ask or make them aware of the problem, then the problem is yours.Ok the new one when it arrives . Epoxy it as previously suggested but use 30 min epoxy . You can heat it before putting it on or after, making it flow into the joints and therefore needing a whole lot less than if unheated

Thanks alot for the help! I am very new to the sport so any help is always appreciated.

I emailed their support center on sunday and I am still waiting for a reply. I was sent an auto-reply stating that they would get back to me in 3-5 business days.

I took the plane out last night after the repairs to the firewall and everything seems to be holding up fine. However, I have been having an issue with the cg (I think). It is bang on with what E-flite recommends for cg, but the plane flies very tail heavy. Any thoughts? Is there a good way to calculate what the cg should be?

[hifly2104]

25% of the wing cord is a good place to start. If the wing is 8" wide then start at 25% of that from leading edge (2") from leading edge . You can go up to 35% but really need to watch as now tail heavy conditions can occur. It wouldn't be the first plan a mnfg has the wrong specs for I have a Hanger 9 Funtana 90 and it is out about an inch compared to their specs Hanger 9 and E flite are to my knowledge the same company

[Flypaper]

It is an aerobatic plane, so the CG is a little further back than normal. Good way to tell where you at is to flip it inverted. It should take just a bit of down elevator or none to fly level. If it takes a lot of down, move the CG back. If it wants to climb, move it forward. A lot of it is personal preference. The controls become more sensitive as you move the CG back, so you may want to back off on the throws. There again it's a personal preference thing. If you find it snaps out of a tight loop, back off on the elev.control throw. Hope this helps.

[00lude]

Originally Posted by Flypaper

It is an aerobatic plane, so the CG is a little further back than normal. Good way to tell where you at is to flip it inverted. It should take just a bit of down elevator or none to fly level. If it takes a lot of down, move the CG back. If it wants to climb, move it forward. A lot of it is personal preference. The controls become more sensitive as you move the CG back, so you may want to back off on the throws. There again it's a personal preference thing. If you find it snaps out of a tight loop, back off on the elev.control throw. Hope this helps.

Good points. When I flew inverted the plane really wanted to climb. I have since moved the CG forward more than an inch from what was recommended and now it is essentially neutral. Thanks for the help! I think it is just about time for another plane. Maybe something a little bigger

I have recieved one email from E-flite. They will replace the plane but they want me to send in this one. With the shipping alone to send it, I could purchase another fuselage and save money. They seem to have a very inefficient system for responding to emails. 3-5 days for a response so since I have started this post, I have had one response and I am awaiting my second response from them...

[Pangaea]

Enjoy your plane. Don't get hungup on e-mail response time. Even Castle Creations give a 5 to 7 days response time for questions.

Usually...E-Flite planes are well built. I'm surprised the mount came loose like that. Goes to show that one should go over their plane and strengthen stress points.

It is a credit to your flying skills that you landed safely without further damage.