Sonuvabitch...

When I built my first eFlite Pulse XT 25e I read about problems with a wing spar that was too short, allowing the wings to terminally fold up in flight, destroying the aircraft. I managed to destroy 3 of them over the past several years by other means. Until today... when I lost my 4th one to that foretold fate.

It was a bit gusty, I took off, climbed out, felt out the winds a bit, and did a loop. There was an explosive crack, and her wings folded, came off the fuselage and she fell 150 feet into the woods in several disintegrating pieces. One of the wings fluttered down, and landed in the top of a tree, the other fell to the scene of the crash.

I am rather disappointed. I don't think I will replace her, which really upsets me. This aircraft was on of my favorites...

Links to past posts of my various eFlite Pulse XT 25e.

In the woods, the site of the crash of the main fuse and one wing.

Dammit....

Waaay up there, the other wing.

A close up. Skewered.

We recovered the wing spar... half of it. The spar is about 3" long , runs in the spar joiner: the piece of wood that makes up the spar slides into the box in the wing, the remnant of which I am holding. The spar ends where that little piece of wood is sticking up just beyond my thumb.  There just isn't enough spar to take the forces, and as so many others found out, it collapses given the right setting.

We threw away anything that didn't have electronics in it. This is all that is left.