that's it, i'm done....feel like the world is just working against me at this point so i am just going to call it done.
went to try and maiden again this morning. got up extra early so i could get to the field, fly, get back home, then get to work all before 7:30am. Made arrangements for others to be out at the filed to take video and pics. So, first thing i notice when i wake up is that the sky is heavy overcast and it appears to maybe be raining. We also seem to have a very strong wind out of the west. to bad i say, i have to fly this airplane. so i load up and head to the field. thankfully the rain has stopped but you can still see lightning in the direction i am headed. Just about then, one of the camera men texts and say, "sorry, i forgot my camera. i have to turn back." My thought was, that's the only reason you were coming out this morning and you forgot it? how does that happen? whatever i say to myself, doing my best not to get wound up at this point. so, i get to the field and do the initial setup, get out the barriers, some chairs, all the usual stuff. Now as the sun is beginning to rise, so are the bugs. of course since i only packed light, i did not bring any bug spray, plus i had to go to work so i did not want to smell like Off all day long. So, by the time my 2 camera men show up, i've pretty much been eaten alive and definitely am not in the greatest mood at this point. once again, whatever i tell myself, just get this done and then you don't have to worry about it any more. So i grab my Tx and the plane and head up to the line. i had set the CG and battery the night before so i knew all of that was good, i just needed to plug in and go fly. I plug the 3S battery into the ESC and get these tiny, weak little beeps. that seems kinda funny, it's normally quite loud. The control surfaces are working so i do a quick check to confirm direction, then flip the throttle cut off to test the motor. sputter, sputter, sputter, is all i can get it to do. Now i'm really not happy, i'm still getting eaten by bugs, and it looks like i have just wasted my time and theirs. i do a quick voltage test just to confirm the battery is good, which it was. I then start digging around the wiring to the esc. low and behold, one of my wires coming out of the motor and broken it's solder joint from all the movement. at that point i just unplugged it, turned off my Tx, said a few choice words to the airplane, then loaded it all back up and came home.
at this point i am not even going to bother to try and get a flight in before the article is due. i just don't have the time, patience, or even interest. really kinda bummed that this is how this is going to come to a close, i know we could have done better. thinking about all the hard work that went into this only to stumble at the end...grrrrr!
article will be submitted "as is" this evening when i get home form work.
laters,
me