FT-22 Maiden Flight Disaster & Firewall Question

[Danny]

So my son and I have been cutting our teeth on a Hobby Zone champ and after about a dozen rebuilds we were feeling incredibly confident so we decided to upgrade. Enter the FT-22:


Okay, it was a little more than we bargained for! It's a bit of a rocket and I don't think my brain works fast enough to keep up with the thing. This is what it looked like after about 30 seconds...


After a short cry and a good laugh, we got it back together (building is almost as much fun as flying) and went out again today and did much better. Landing it is proving to be quite the challenge, however, since the prop is the first thing to touch the ground in this particular design. I glued the firewall up pretty solid but it just pops off:


Any suggestions as to how to keep this together better for landing. The current design seems to put a lot of weight out off that firewall. There's 3" of hardware bolted on to that little piece of wood. Or is there a way to put some training wheels on this thing?!!!

 

[makattack]

Ouch! The great thing about this foamboard is that it's pretty easy to fix, as you can see. If you're using CA glue, and it's not strong enough, I find that 5 minute epoxy is a good alternative. I use a toothpick to make sure it fills in all the gaps.

Nice job fixing it and flying it the 2nd time! You might find that if you can enable the motor braking feature, with this being a slot and prop. system, you might be lucky with the prop being stopped between the top and bottom plates.

 

[Bricks]

Are you using hot glue or epoxy... epoxy is the only way to go for a solid hold. I would pull the motor off and use some fiberglass cloth wrapped around the mount using epoxy to hold it.

 

[quorneng]

Danny
In some respects you may have to decide whether its better to break the mount or the prop (and possibly bend the motor shaft as well!).

Are you landing with power on?
You may have to get used to doing 'dead stick' landings. Setting the brake should stop the prop but probably only as you 'flare' just before you touch down.

When you do a 'good' dead stick landing with no damage it is very rewarding. :applause: