Help! FT Nutball RC plane turning to the left side after takeoff!

Hi all, I am a beginner in RC plane flying. Built an FT Nutball foam electric rc plane. After handlaunching the plane turns towards left and spirals and falls on the ground.
I checked all the alignment of control surfaces and everything is found to be centred. I don't know what could be the reason.

Please help!
 

Attachments

  • IMG-20240403-WA0005.jpeg
    IMG-20240403-WA0005.jpeg
    187.1 KB · Views: 0
  • IMG-20240403-WA0003.jpeg
    IMG-20240403-WA0003.jpeg
    285.7 KB · Views: 0
  • IMG20240403165411.jpg
    IMG20240403165411.jpg
    3.9 MB · Views: 0

Merv

Site Moderator
Staff member
Hi all, I am a beginner in RC plane flying...
There are several things that could be causing this, the CG could be off, the wing could be twisted, the controls reversed, just to name a few. Even if you corrected everything, the Nutball is going to be difficult for a beginner to fly. I would recommend you set it aside for now. Take the components and build a more stable plane like the Tiny Trainer. Learn to fly on the TT, then if you want go back to the Nutball.
 
I have a query with respect to thrust angle. Could that be an issue? Why does Nutball and even Tiny trainer have zero thrust angle?
 

AIRFORGE

Make It Fly!
Moderator
I have a query with respect to thrust angle. Could that be an issue? Why does Nutball and even Tiny trainer have zero thrust angle?
Not sure about the Nutball, but the Tiny Trainer uses a mini power pod which has approx. 2-3° of right thrust angle built in.
 
Not sure about the Nutball, but the Tiny Trainer uses a mini power pod which has approx. 2-3° of right thrust angle built in.
Then how come, the Flitetest team able to fly the Nutball in stable straight path without thrust angle? Whats the reason?
 

AIRFORGE

Make It Fly!
Moderator
Then how come, the Flitetest team able to fly the Nutball in stable straight path without thrust angle? Whats the reason?
I've never flown a Nutball, but I would think that easing in and out of the throttle would help a bit. Adding thrust angle would help. The Nutball is known to flop around some, so don't expect it to fly super stable without some mods.
 

Piotrsko

Master member
Then how come, the Flitetest team able to fly the Nutball in stable straight path without thrust angle? Whats the reason?
The Flitetest team probably has a couple hundred hours flying things in various ways, and you don't get to see all of that experimenting and death crashes. The Nutball is known to be twitchy, which is the allure because with twitchy come responsiveness. An experienced flyer can overcome this trait with mods to the plane, and being able to correct with control movement. Pretty sure you haven't developed the hand eye coordination required to feed an appropriate amount of turn and throttle to keep it straight.
 

Merv

Site Moderator
Staff member
Then how come, the Flitetest team able to fly the Nutball in stable straight path without thrust angle? Whats the reason?
Pilot skill
The Nutball is not a beginner friendly plane, a skilled pilot just makes it look easy.