Well, I've made a couple more repairs to the little guy over the past few weeks.
First was the broken shaft (second time). This time I ordered a new motor and 2 props from A Main Hobbies - shipping was only $3.50, and after all was said and done, the package was less then the motor at some stores. Based on some advice from a fellow pilot at a recent fun-fly, I tried just replacing the prop. Turns out, the threaded shaft creates a weak spot right where the threads end. By cutting a bit of styrofoam off the front of the plane to make room for the new prop, and by drilling the hole in the prop slightly bigger, I was able to pressure fit the prop to the stubby shaft and I have flown over an hour on this setup. So, the $15+ motor and an extra prop will remain in their packaging until such time as needed - maybe they might end up in another small bird.
Second was the motor mount. After flying for nearly 30 minutes tonight, I got brave (daring? stupid?) and ended up with a hard nose first landing. This landing would have snapped the previous shaft off at the threads. This time it just knocked the motor loose. It still flew for the rest of the battery (nearly 10 minutes)! Got home and made the following repair:
The motor had completely freed itself from the previous mounting attempt. Upon inspection, one of the mounting / centering pins was snapped, so CA to the rescue (DON'T GET ANY ON THE STYROFOAM!).
Once the peg was secured, I turned to the body. The holes were basically clean and intact, so I filled them with a drop of white glue each and pressed the motor back into place.
The plane is then scotch taped back together and its ready for another evening of fun!
Enjoy!
First was the broken shaft (second time). This time I ordered a new motor and 2 props from A Main Hobbies - shipping was only $3.50, and after all was said and done, the package was less then the motor at some stores. Based on some advice from a fellow pilot at a recent fun-fly, I tried just replacing the prop. Turns out, the threaded shaft creates a weak spot right where the threads end. By cutting a bit of styrofoam off the front of the plane to make room for the new prop, and by drilling the hole in the prop slightly bigger, I was able to pressure fit the prop to the stubby shaft and I have flown over an hour on this setup. So, the $15+ motor and an extra prop will remain in their packaging until such time as needed - maybe they might end up in another small bird.
Second was the motor mount. After flying for nearly 30 minutes tonight, I got brave (daring? stupid?) and ended up with a hard nose first landing. This landing would have snapped the previous shaft off at the threads. This time it just knocked the motor loose. It still flew for the rest of the battery (nearly 10 minutes)! Got home and made the following repair:
The motor had completely freed itself from the previous mounting attempt. Upon inspection, one of the mounting / centering pins was snapped, so CA to the rescue (DON'T GET ANY ON THE STYROFOAM!).
Once the peg was secured, I turned to the body. The holes were basically clean and intact, so I filled them with a drop of white glue each and pressed the motor back into place.
The plane is then scotch taped back together and its ready for another evening of fun!
Enjoy!
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