When has a plane had enough?

So here it is, the question all RC plane enthusiasts have to face at one moment or another in their lives "When has this plane had enough?

For me it started when I decided to move from my making my own planes (thank you Scott(s), and Flite tests) to the war birds. The one plane that really caught my eye was the F4U Corsair, from Parkzone. 

For those of you that do not know this plane let me start off by telling you that the flight character of this plane is only matched by its scale look. It is beautiful out of the box. The detail, the clean lines and the solid build that is only to be expected from Parkzone. Still, you need to know about war birds and their infamous flight characteristics, which include dropping a wing. Now I have heard horror stories about the Corsair and how the gull shaped wings make it harder to fly.. and on and on, but the truth is it is the Corsair is just like any other war bird. Now pay close attention because if you plan on moving into something that looks cool you should be prepared "Warbirds fly best under speed!!" Do not try to go slow, or show off with a slow fly by and attempt to bank out. Something else that I found out about this plane is it does fly faster than my Ft scratch builds, and because of the color you can loose oriention quickly, which brought me into a TREE the maiden flight!

Now, no one is a bigger sore loser than someone who just put roughly $200 through a tree. So ofcourse this plane has not had enough. However, being new to the whole "repair a wrecked foamy" I resorted to my building methods from Scratch building. To an extent I was able to repair the plane back into working order, but a little word of caution, Hot glue works best on foamboard, NOT EPO Foam. What I found to happen was the heated glue melted the foam, causing an indent on my main wing, Other places didn't matter since I could not see it but it was not the prettiest repair. Still, everyone loves a plane with character, and battle scars.

The real trick was going to Home depot and getting a color match sample. Cheap and spot on with color. It masked all those ugly white scars, no problem. 

Second lesson to be learned, if you have any loose contacts from your battery to the esc or from the esc to the rx, address them IMMEDIATELY!. I got away with one too many flights neglecting a loose contact from my esc to the rx before my plane blacked out on a high altitude dive and..dirt nap!

Now, if you have ever heard women speak about their first child and how perfect everything has to be, then talk about there second who is playing with mud pies the same is true about planes. That initial shock of "MY GOD, I CRASHED!" seems to fade after every hit, and something creative begins to brew, beginning with a simple question "How can I fix this, and make it strong!" Never under estimate the power of Gorilla glue. You can fix practically anything with it when it comes to EPO foam, call it a cure all if you want. I can seam tears, bond breaks, and even fill voids, and gaps. You can sand it, paint it, and use the left overs as chase toys for your animals. It is gods gift to the RC hobbist. Also with foam TAC, you can now repair movable joints such as ailerons, and elevators without hinge tape.

Now, some may say if the motor, esc and rx go then "your plane has had enough" I say with after market parts from Altitudehobbies.com you can quence all you after market needs with your unemplyment check, NO PROBLEM! So why not keep it going. Altitude Hobbies sells Suppo motors, which in my opinion are suprior to the horizon hobby power 15, and pair that with a 40a Suppo esc and this plane will have the air rush of plane with 4s power using your everyday 2200 3s. 

Now, if you haven't watched Flite tests video about crashes and repairs, you should, and if you have then you should know to check your CRAP!

My third mistake was not checking my CRAP! and after that last crash I must have missed a tear, or rip somewhere on the main wing because just when you think you have experienced it all, something else happens..

THE WINGS FOLDED!!!!!!

Incase your wondering, "How do you fold a wing" this is how to do it:

1) Take your plane up over 200ft

2) Invert it and cut the throtle

3) Drop nose down towards ground

4) Bang the ailerons and put the plane into a diving barrel roll and wait for ..

If you want to see a spectacular crash, even if it is your own, fold your wings on a dive, trust me. You wont be disappointed.

A word of advice when surverying your crash, pick nothing up at first but make big circles around the site picking up debris as you move inward. Trust me, if I neglected this I would have lost my 6 channel spektrum rx that got thrown 15ft from the plane as the wings ripped from the body in mid air, Spectacular!

So back to the bench and with some patience, gorilla glue, and foam tac I'll be flying again,

Hopefully this article will give everyone who has had a bad crash and is ready to throw away a plane some hope, and to answer my question "When has a plane had enough?" A plane has had enough when you said it has had enough, or when it combusts into flames, which ever comes first. 

Safe flying!