FT Versa Wing- The Crash

by noaflight2 | January 30, 2015 | (5) Posted in Just Fun

My Versa Wing

I recently made my second FT Versa Wing. The first was a tractor style, and the second was a pusher. The build was very smooth, everything fit together perfectly.  I finished the build, installed the 2dogrc.com electronics, and went to fly. My first flight was great, it was my first sucessful flight! I would recommend using 2dogrc.com products for this project as they are very reliable and easy to install. The Versa was so easy to fly, I would recommend this plane to a first time flyer because it is very docile.

The Crash

It was a very windy day. I bungee launched the plane into the wind and let the plane soar into the sky. I went about 50 feet into the wind, and then turned with the wind. I started doing some circles, and got comfortable flying the Versa in the wind, so I decided to do some loops and barrell rolls. I was doing a barrell roll when a huge wind gust took my plane into the top of a 150 foot tree. Judging by the damage, I must have been flying at speeds of about 50+ MPH. Slowly, the plane fell from the giant tree and back to the ground. I was so excited when the plane fell out, until I found out that the battery had flown out during the crash. I looked for the battery for about 30 minutes, when I finally saw something out in the tall grass. It turns out that what I saw was the battery, it was more than 100ft from the crash site. I was shocked about how much damage the crash caused, so I decided that I would put my repair skills to the test and fix the Versa Wing.

After The Crash

The Repair

During the repair, I used a lot of glue and tape. I pushed out the front of the leading edge because the crash caused a huge dent. I then covered that with tape. I also reinforced the wing with a wooden spar. The repair isn't pretty, but it flys great! 

I was very suprised when I found out that my 2dogrc.com electronics had survived the crash. Even my MadDog lipo battery was intact after the crash!

Recommended Electronics

What I Learned

I learned a lot about repairing and flying from this experience. You should always reinforce the leading edge of your plane to prevent it from crumbling during a crash. Also I learned that you should make sure that your battery is secure inside of your plane, as a plane cannot fly without a power source. Overall, I have had a great time working on the Versa Wing!

Thank You For Reading!

COMMENTS

Krümelmonster on September 30, 2015
How about a picture after the repair?
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noaflight2 on October 3, 2015
As this article was originally written about 6 months ago, i do not have any pictures of the repaired plane. The repaired plane wasn't pretty, but it flew great (until the spar broke and it crashed again).
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HilldaFlyer on October 3, 2015
Ouch! We've all experienced impacts with the earth. I'm interested in how you balanced the pusher configuration. I did it by moving the motor forward: http://flitetest.com/articles/balanced-pusher-wing. Good luck on the next build.

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noaflight2 on October 3, 2015
For the plane I used a large 2dogrc.com battery to counterbalance the weight of the engine. The battery balanced the plane very well, so I didn't need to use much dead weight. Make sure to check out my other articles about my Versa Wings, I do a lot of crazy stuff to them. Thanks for reading!
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FT Versa Wing- The Crash