BlitzRCWorks MX2 PIREP

Today CJ flew the heck out of my BlitzRCWorks MX2, and I solo'd her myself. When he flew there was a lot of  "oooh!" and awe, when I flew there was a lot of "oh..." and "ahh...." He did better...

She has a tendency to be tail heavy so you have to shove that 4S battery waaaay up there, and check CG on every flight (I have a sticker in there to remind me in big red letters). Getting the battery in and out can be a challenge. She will not fly if at all tail heavy, so please don't even try or she will waffle to her death and easily roll onto her back. She has power, not enough to hover, but she can climb like a monkey. CJ took her through a thorough routine. Steady knife edges, clean quick turns, fast response to the elevator so that a sharp 90 degree from horizontal to vertical happens with slight elevator. She snaps sharp and as CJ put it, "will spiral like a football!" She flies fine slow, but be very light on the controls as she doesn't like slow speed maneuvering. Keep some speed on her or she'll waffle long before she stalls. Be attentive on takeoff, climb out straight, get some speed on then let loose. Too much power and her tail starts to flutter. She is touchy, but a light thoughtful hand can fly her sweet. CJ loved heavy aerobatics with her. She gave him brisk responses and fast speed changes. On landing she is pretty straightforward, but she will glide power-off forever. Which is where I ran into trouble. I ran out of runway and when I powered out I didn't apply enough power, let enough speed come back on, before I tried rolling her away from the tree line at the end of the runway and she waffled hard onto to her soft landing gear. Bleed off speed on a shallow approach with a late flare all the way down, or she will flip over her gear. The landing gear are a mixed blessing. Soft so that on a crash they bend and not rip the wood plate out of the foam, but so soft that any slight insult and they bend. When they bend, be sure to remove them and straighten them, don't do it on the fuse or you will rip out the gear plate. As I mentioned I tossed the wheel pants after the first couple of flights. The hinges are a bit delicate... I bumped one of the ailerons taking her out of the car and the tiny hinge at the outer edge broke.

CJ has a very high level of skill and he loved this plane. Once he got a feel for her he took her throughout her envelope without having to work at it. For me, a beginner, it is a lot of plane. I was behind her a lot, and had a tendency to over control her a bit. She is not a beginner nor a second plane, and I will need to be very careful handling her until my skills catch-up with her. In my first pirep I wasn't too fond of her, but I am warming up! She is a lot of fun for a good pilot, a lot of work for a beginner.

UPDATE (6.5.11): Today I had to bring her in as an emergency landing when one her elevator hinges gave way and the elevator began to flutter madly. Of course the landing gear bent, again... The hinges are teenie weenie plastic hinges that snap with the slightest provocation. I am replacing them all with CA hinges using foam safe CA. There is a lot of slosh in the control horns too. Jim advised me to use some stiff plastic to create a larger surface for the control horn to work against. Here she is above after I repaired/rebent the gear... I don't like the way they sweep back.