Bye Bye Xtreme

[CrashParkFlyer]

My son and I cut out teeth on the Commander. We have been flying them with ease for the past year. For Christmas, I bought 2 Aerobird Xtremes - one each. After the initial "training" period, flying individually in sport mode, then pro mode, we decided yesterday (Sunday) would be our first flight together - both planes in the air at once.
After about 6 minutes, I noticed that my son had let his plane get quite far away. I told him to bring it back and he said it would not turn. I landed mine quickly and ran over to him, taking his transmitter off him just in time to see it dissapear below the tree line, well out of the park. There was nothing I could do as I couldn't even see the plane. Last seen heading out of Heaton Park in the rough direction of Manchester City centre. Of course he is gutted - and I am baffled. He was doing so well with it, even landing it better than I was landing mine! He insists it would not turn and would not respond to input from the transmitter. He also mentionrd that he had lost the sense of which way the plane was flying and it's orientation in the sky. This has happened to me on the odd occasion, so I know what he means.
We drove round where I thought it may have come down, but couldn't find it. No surprise there, its like looking for a needle in a haystack and the area around the park is quite heavily populated. A report and check with the local police quelled my initial fear that it had come down hitting a car on a main road and caused an accident.
Our name and address is in the plane and also on the battery. I hope he gets it back, it put a real downer on the weekend. I still can't work out what went wrong, or how, with a years flying experience behind him, he got into that situation. Part of the fun for me, was flying with him (he's 12).
A sorry tale and the sad demise of a Christmas present.

[kawasakirider]

Mate i hope your son get it back are they nitro? How expensive are they if you go to your lhs and tell them the rx failed they might replace it if your son came in with you sad and told his story that is horrible sorry to hear that

[Leo L]

When you say that the plane was quite far away, how far away is that? The transmitter should be good for about 600 meters, but if you were in the confines of a city, it would be less. There could also have been interference from another source. One of the disadvantages of the PZ equipment is that the frequency they use is common to many other R/C toys.

[CrashParkFlyer]

:) Well guys, would you believe it? Not five seconds after my first post the phone rang..................... "Hello, have you lost a big yellow airplane?"
It came down in a back garden. It wasn't until today that he had a good old look at it and found the name and our phone number on the inside and on the battery. I'll pick it up tonight and report on any damage when I check it out.

(Kawasaki - these planes are electric)

[CrashParkFlyer]

When you say that the plane was quite far away, how far away is that? The transmitter should be good for about 600 meters, but if you were in the confines of a city, it would be less. There could also have been interference from another source. One of the disadvantages of the PZ equipment is that the frequency they use is common to many other R/C toys.
Leo, the plane was pretty far away, maybe not out of range, but farther away than I have ever let a plane get away from me. The last time I saw it was before I could get a hold on the transmitter. At this point I was landing my own plane, but I couldn't tell it's orientation in the sky.
I take your point about the PZ equipment. But we were in an open park with constant line of sight, its not as if we were actually flying in a built up area. When I go to the flying field, if there is someone already there with an RC plane or truck, I ask them what frequency they are on - its good manners as well as a safety issue. However, I have been there on many occasions flying, when other people turn up with RC trucks and cars and just start using them, although I didn't SEE anyone using RC when this incident occured.

[CrashParkFlyer]

Firstly, I'd like to say a big thank you to the guy who's garden the plane landed in for ringing up and returning it to my (very grateful) son. He wouldn't even accept a reward.
OK, one of the control horns has snapped and the tail is a little creased on both sides of the V. So a new tail is in order. The wing elastics have bitten slightly into the leading edge of the wing - a piece of tape will sort that. On connection of a fresh battery, the power is intermittent, sign of a bad connection - but not at the circuit board, that's solid, at the battery connector itself. I can make the power go on and off by wiggling the battery connector. My guess is that it lost power in the air, due to this bad connection. I thought it was strange that my son would fly it away so far. I think he was struggling with a dead plane long before he called my attention to it.
I have heard a few people on this site question the quality of the connectors employed by HZ. Some people even suggest replacing them. The battery in my Xtreme works fine, but this one was always a struggle to connect and release. What do you suggest? Can anyone suggest suitable replacements? All suggestions gratefully received. :)

[Taylorcraft]

Friend,

If you have really determined that the connector is the culprit, it can either be replaced or tightened up - depending on type of connector. I suspect that the battery connector has pins, and the plane connector has sockets. The sockets will get loose with time, and cause glitches.

Not 100% familiar with the type and make of connector used here, I can only give general recomendations. But it should be possible to carefully unlock each socket from the connector and pull it out of the connector. Then, still using caution, tighten up the socket (in most cases it has a "c-shape") so it fits tight around the pin in the battery connector. Then, before doing the other socket, reset the locking tongue and put the socket back in the connector. Repeat success for the other socket as well.

Now the connection should be stable, no matter how you wiggle the connection. If it's still acting up, consider to replace either the receiver or ESC (where the battery is connected), or the connector itself (can include some soldering and is generally not recommended). In some cases you can also replace the connector itself; cut the old one of the cables and crimp/solder on a new one. This is what I'd do in this case - depending on the length of the cable (if it gets too short this is obviously out of the question). If you should replace the connector with another type, you also have to replace all other involved connectors, on chargers and other battery packs.

Anyways I hope you get it sorted out and both of you can fly again. Happy landings! :)

Brg

Taylorcraft
____________________________________
Given enough power even a brick will fly.
But the lighter the brick, the better it flies!

[CrashParkFlyer]

Thanks for the reply there Taylorcraft. Perhaps I should have posted an update, but thought people had lost interest in the thread. Upon closer examination of the problem, it seems the connectors were not, in fact, at fault. The problem was at the board where the power wires from the battery connect to it. In all honesty, this could have happened as a result of the landing (as explained - unseen by me), but under the circumstances, I don't think so. Anyway, I took it back to the LHS, told them what happened, and they replaced it - no questions! So we now have a new Xtreme (on 35Mhz). No problems with this one although the incident has shaken my son's confidence in his flying. He is now very reluctant to send it up in anything more than the slightest gentle breeze. I told him he just needs some more stick time with it and he will be OK. I'm sure he will. However, the possibilities of what could have happened haunt me. At the time, I had a vision of some poor driver on the main road swerving to avoid this big yellow thing that came out of nowhere and ploughing into a bus stop full of people. A reminder to us all of the responsibility we must take when we send an aircraft into the air.

[HottsOne]

Not sure if you guys are interested, but if you want an upgrade for your extreme first see the video www.putfile.com/hottsone then see item number 6041811127 on www.ebay.com I have had alot of success with the aerobird challenger with this tail as well as my research with the Extreme. I don't like the instructions that Hobbyzone gives as the foam is too flimsy for these kind of aerobatics for a pieced together foam control surface. Let me know what you think.

[Leo L]

CrashParkFlyer,
How are you and your son doing with your Extremes?

[CrashParkFlyer]

Well Leo, thanks for asking. Me? I'm doing great. I can pottle about the sky for ages at half throttle with the 2800mAh battery and throw the poor bird about at will under full throttle. I am now considering moving the control lines down a hole from the factory settings. My son is not so good. As reported earlier, he has lost his confidence in his flying and in particular, with the Xtreme. At this time of year we don't get to fly that often, but we were out last weekend. When it was his turn, the wind came up slightly and he wanted to land his plane because of it - despite my assurance that the plane could easily handle the breeze. I landed it for him in the end. I think he is scared of losing it again or crashing it, even though we have done extensive testing/range testing and the plane is in tip-top form and flies very well. This is a shame because before his little "incident" he was doing very well with it and totally enjoying the move up from his Commander. As the days lengthen and the weather gets better, I will just keep taking him out with it. I know as soon as he gets a few good flights under his belt, he'll be back to his old self and I can look forward to flying with both planes in the air like we used to with the Commanders. For me, that's the fun of it.

[HottsOne]

Glad to hear you are encouraging him to continue. Too often children fall to the way side and don't get back into form. I commend you for being a good parent.

[CrashParkFlyer]

Yeah, thanks for that Hotts. I always tell people that this is a great father and son hobby. We can spend some quality time together and have some great fun. :)

[Leo L]

Sounds like your son needs a confidence booster. Get a pair of Airhogs AeroAce planes for you and your son. It will seem like a step backward, since they are only 2-channel, but they are an absolute blast to fly. Many people have used them for dogfights; other have played games like trying to hit each other in the head with the plane, etc. I'm sure that you and your son can come up with some novel games. The plane is only 9" and can be flown almost anywhere, like a gym, basketball court, back yard, etc. Some flying time with the AeroAce should get your son's confidence at least partially restored and he should get the bug to fly his Extreme again.