Maidened my Cessna 177

[Spice Cat]

Took time off today and went to the strip with my recently completed ABS Thunder Tiger Cessna 177.

I must admit that when I first received this model, I has reservations about the whole idea with it being made from blown moulded ABS but the accuracy and quality made up for it. I felt the fuze was very flimsy at first, but when the two internal bulk heads were added, all was well.

Anyhow, up she went with an SC61 engine on the pointy end and flew beautifully. There was a fair amount of trimming went on and the first landing was a greaser. Unfortunately the subsequent ones were less so but she is home in one piece.

I did notice that on the last landing, I came in low over the "rough" and just prior to flying over the strip, the model suddenly sank to the ground almost as if she had stalled. I'm pretty sure the airspeed was good at the engine was well off tick over and although flying level, she had given no indication of sluggishness.

Any ideas???

Final observations; she is a superb hack, good fun and all the better as she is easily cleaned at the end of the day.

PS I bought this on forum recommendations. Glad I did. Cheers Forumites.

[Stephen Grigg]

Strange how often a first landing is excellant and they get worse from there, Possibly intense concentration on the 1st because of the unknown.

[Spice Cat]

I think you may have a point. The first landing is always a question of "just get it back on the ground in one piece".

The next landings I probably try too hard with.

[Martin Harris - Moderator]

Apart from the possibility of encountering a downdraft (curlover, thermal etc.) the most likely thing is getting it a bit too slow. Remember that stalling is a function of angle of attack and doesn't relate directly to throttle. Were you dragging it in a little over the rough, perhaps?

A flying friend was surprised to encounter a wing drop while at full throttle last week - pulling too hard in a loop as he got near the top...

The easiest way to assess speed is by watching the model's pitch attitude - it's not an exact science but that's why you'll often hear shouts from experienced fliers shortly before a less experienced pilot walks out onto the strip with a black bag!

P.S. I was quite impressed with one of these that I did a bit of instructing on a few years back when they were made by ARC - flew well and really looked the part in the air.

Edited By Martin Harris on 18/05/2012 17:46:06

[Spice Cat]

Thanks for taking the time to reply. I didn't get much time to play around with her today (the model plane that is) but next time I will experiment with the stall.

Cheers.