MEX YAK 54 1160mm

[Vecchio Austriaco]

Hi there,

this summer I found a rather cheap and nice looking YAK 54 - I had the matching motor and ESC at home in my drawer - so I could not resist and I purchased it.

Easy to build, ready after 3 evenings. I went to the airfield for a maiden flight - plane took off without problems, I made the usual trimm corrections and tried to get used to the handling of the bird. But not for long.

During a normal horizontal flight the motor plus prop and spinner decided to leave the aircraft. By doing so the prop hacked into the canpoy - may be because the connectors to the esc pulled him to the side. 

I had to concentrate to get the bird slow into a field - ever tried that wihout engine? Rather tail heavy.....  My son concentrated himself to see where the canopy has "landed" but nobody saw the path the engine took. There were some 5 other guys on the field but nobody saw the engine. The plane did not have any scratch despite those done by the prop when it to

 

uched the engine cover and the canopy which has a small whole now. The engine castle front plate was broken into pieces - not at the edges where it was glued to the castle itself - but 5 mm inside. The balsa ply used was of such a weak and brittle quality that it broke.

I just want to mention that there were no vibrations as I used a Hacker A30 10L with alu spinner and an APC E prop. I fly the modell now with the same combination - and you can hardly hear the engine.

I searched 3 hours in a 3m high corn field full of weeds for my engine and prop but without any success. In the meantime the corn is harvested and my Hacker  has been ploughed deep into the Italian soil.

I repaired the plane by making a new front plate from 3mm birch ply for the motor castle and I reinforced the complete motor castle by adding birch ply stripes. The plane flies well and would have been a success without that maiden flight adventure.

 

I add 2 pictures of the new model before flight just to warn you when you see this design. Not a problem to buy it - but reinforce the front plate of the motorcastle with some FRP sheet (like you find it for instance on Sebarts models)

I informed also the company where I purchased the plane - a large Austrian shop doing a lot of internet business - no response.

The second picture shows the front - the front plate of the engine castle broke at the air holes (weakest point)

 

So - be carefull and have a nice flight.

Greetings from rainy Italy

The Vecchio Austriaco

P.S.: This was my first posting in this forum - but I think more will come.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Bruce Richards]

Do not give up hope of finding your motor. I lost a Lipo and ESC from my Zagi. The field was harvested ploughed planted and harvested again and as I was walking up the field to fetch a model that landed in the field I looked down and their was my Lipo and ESC. No use at all but quite a surprise to see it just laying there.

Edited By Bruce Richards - Moderator on 06/11/2009 18:18:53

[Mowerman]

Once again an ARTF of 'Unmerchantable Quality' ( I think thats the term Trading Standards would use)

[Chris Card]

Hi Vecchio. 

 

Wow... I'm amazed you could control the plane with such a large change of C of G resulting from losing all that weight from the front.  It's a beautiful looking plane though, I haven't seen them sold in this country but they way ARTFs get rebranded and sold through many routes I'm sure it could be "out there" somewhere.