I'll forgo the dramatic build up, this didn't end well.
Text, photos and video by Tom Hintz
Flight video by Dennis Shaver and SoloShot3
Posted – 6-2-2019
A string of lousy weather and other commitments put this re-maiden flight off way longer than I anticipated. Weather is just one of the realities associated with flying RC planes. Another is unplanned encounters with things like the Earth.
When I finally got the chance to fly the Phoenix Model Giant Westland Lysander again, there was more wind than I would have liked but not enough to give up the chance to fly. From the first takeoff of the day, the Phoenix Model Giant Westland Lysander needed only a few clicks of trim to fly straight and level. With 126” of wing I was not surprised when the wind bounced it around a little. The Phoenix Model Giant Westland Lysander was doing fine in the wind.
The first landing of the day also went well. With the full prescribed flap angle deployed the Phoenix Model Giant Westland Lysander continued to handle well as it came to the runway. I forgot to switch to lower rates over-did the elevator a bit and bounced it slightly, but the Phoenix Model Giant Westland Lysander settled onto the runway. Not a bad plane to fly in wind.
The second flight of the day was going well with the Phoenix Model Giant Westland Lysander needing no further trim changes. The winds were a little stronger but again, nothing to prevent us from flying. I was finding out that the Phoenix Model Giant Westland Lysander liked flying with the DA60 at partial throttle.
About halfway through the planned flight time I had just done a lazy half Cuban 8 and had returned to straight and level flight, again at partial throttle. The Phoenix Model Giant Westland Lysander suddenly pitched downward a little and the left wing failed. Watching the video frame-by-frame has me thinking that the sudden downward pitch was the first symptom of the wing breaking. The left wing snapped off at the end of the wing tube.
We originally thought that a strut had failed but both legs of the left strut were equally bent to about 90-degrees, indicating they were still fastened to the wing as it broke off. If one of the strut legs failed, those bends would not be identical.
As you might suspect, a 126” wing has terrible flight properties when about a third of it ventures out on its own. The Phoenix Model Giant Westland Lysander went into a 45-degree downwards spin leaving me nothing to do other than cut the throttle. I had gone full lock on the ailerons and rudder, but the now one-winged Phoenix Model Giant Westland Lysander was having none of it. I cut the throttle and watched it go splat.
The Phoenix Model Giant Westland Lysander was reduced to a bunch of busted-up balsa and light ply. Though it hit at around a 45-degree angle, the DA60 looks to be OK but will be sent to Desert Aircraft for their evaluation. At this writing I have yet to go through the radio gear, but I know the Powersafe receiver needs to be either evaluated by Spektrum or replaced. That was too hard a hit to assume anything in the Phoenix Model Giant Westland Lysander was not damaged internally if not externally.
It’s been around 30 years since I’ve had a plane essentially blow up in flight. Folks who have been around RC flying for long will tell you crashes are part of the hobby, and that appears to be true. That doesn’t make it feel any better. Planes can sometimes be repaired after what looked to be terminal crashes. Others, like this crash mean the Phoenix Model Giant Westland Lysander is a gonner. Nobody got hurt and other than the Phoenix Model Giant Westland Lysander itself there was no property damage.Have a comment on this Reviews? –Email Me!