Bad Weekend For A Wizard.....

NEW222 Sun May 26, 2019 2:54 pm

Just thought I'd share about the little misfortune I had this weekend.... So I made up some new lines for my Lil Wizard and took it out to the cottage to try flying it. No problems, I had the engine running good. Well, I get there and Saturday morning go to fly it. Try starting it, and no luck. Then get it firing and sputtering. Ok Get it running head out to the handle and signal my dad to let it go. Nosedive. Go to start it again, only to have the spring starter break! No more starter. Finger flick till I got the hang of it and get it running yet again. Running good so I run out to the handle and try again. 10 or so feet, then nosedive again. Well, I then see the engine was loose on both the firewall mount and on the beam mounts. I did not take my small screwdrivers and accessories as I did not see any unforseen circumatances. So clean it up and put it on the floor in the back seat of my truck... Fast forward to about an hour or so ago. Arrive home and unload the trailer and little tractor at my parents. But as I was leaving the cottage, I reached back and lifted up my rear seat to grab my jacket from under it as I knew I would need it when I got home. So I now arrive here at home and unload the rest of the junk I brought back. I then remembered my small tray of modelling stuff. I open the read drivers side door and see the tray on the other side. I reach over to grab it and then I hear and fee some resistance...... Yep, guess where my Lil Wizard was.... I guess earlier when I reached for my jacket the plane wedged itself between. I just gave it the final push when I got home. WIth this all said, teh tail was broken in a few places, rudder in about 3 pieces. It is currently sitting on the table with CA drying as I type this. I will try for a couple pictures later as I needed to charge my phone now. Also to note, I do believe I will be shortening the lines from 50' to 40' as even when calm, it did not have much line tension.

Marleysky Sun May 26, 2019 3:19 pm

OWCH ! don't like to hear that crunching sound. Glad to hear you have repairs well under way.

**Cribbs74** Sun May 26, 2019 11:01 pm

It would have been better if you busted it when flying! Wink

Just because the box says it can fly on 52ft lines I wouldn’t bother. Or 40ft for that matter, 35ft is plenty, especially if you are doing that wen-mac Testors thing.

Why the nose dive? Holding the handle upside down? Grass too tall, grabbing the gear? Sometimes that rubber band setup makes the gear flimsy and retract rearward on takeoff.

You’ll figure it out, better luck next time.

Ron

rsv1cox Mon May 27, 2019 6:24 am

I have to agree with Ron on that line thing Chancey, I don't think I ever flew 1/2A on anything greater than 35', dacron at that.

Get it glued back together and post pictures.

Bob

NEW222 Mon May 27, 2019 9:16 am

Lines getting shortened tonight. The nose diving is due to poor releasing technique by my dad. I kinda wish I had a video of him releasing it. Kinda like spiking a football after a touchdown... lol. I also agree Ron that it would have been better if I crashed it rather than squishing it. Thanks.

getback Mon May 27, 2019 10:33 am

Man That's luck sometimes just not good , Glad your able to glue it back up for another round and hate to hear you didn't get in the AIR ~! ! Crying or Very sad

NEW222 Tue May 28, 2019 7:48 pm

Nothing too spectacular, but here it is all glued back up. Hard to tell, but the glue is wherever you see dark lines. The only repairs that are harder to see are the rudder and fin. Also, I just got back in from shortening the lines to 35'. I will try this first before cutting to 30' should I need to.

NEW222 Tue May 28, 2019 7:51 pm

As I will be out at the cottage mainly by myself this coming weekend, I may not get a chance to fly it, or attempt to. However, if teh weather permits and is not too windy when my parents come back out Saturday evening, I may be able to give it a whirl. Also to note, I made a few spare backplates so I can switch out the McCoy should I need to, as I will have a Cox installed on teh other backplate. I would just like to fly it as it was built by teh original builder.

Ken Cook Tue May 28, 2019 8:33 pm

The Wizard has good looks. That's about it. The plane is very heavy mainly due to wood selection not to mention the ply doublers. It was designed as a trainer but it wasn't very good at that. It was essentially designed to enable a new pilot to get the feel of spinning around and understanding the controls. This usually required a experienced pilot by their side to assist. Goldberg had some iconic box art which has stuck with many of us through the years. Ron's avatar is a perfect example of the Lil Satan. For many, that's what sold the kit. Don't expect maneuvers as even a loop requires a bit of whipping in order to do so.

**Cribbs74** Tue May 28, 2019 8:59 pm

I did some loops on my box stock Wizard with a Babe Bee. First one ended in a broke nose, second and third broke nose, but the fourth.... I learned to keep it high.

It will do it, but there are better airframes to learn with. In your case you just have to get it to the field and back home in one piece.

Do you have any friends around your cottage? Many strangers to the sport will happily release. The excitement is contagious.

BTW I have a video out there somewhere with an RR1 on the nose of mine when I was just getting started. It looped easily then.

More power on a slab wing with nose heavy tendencies makes a big difference.

Edit: Here is the video, sorry if it’s old news.

NEW222 Tue May 28, 2019 9:54 pm

Thanks Ron. I liked the video. I had seen it before, but it was sure nice to watch it again! Gives me something to hopefully look forward to. As for help releasing at the cottage. There may or may not be others there to help in releasing. Depends on the weather if others come out or not. One friend there, I wouldn't trust helping as it would more than likely end up in a trip to the hospital, and the only other may have prior commitments. However, with that said, I may or may not have 'borrowed' the old ladys rubber bath mat. Nothing has been said, yet... So, I may have a 'Rusty Stooge' also. Worst case scenario, I will at least run some engines in the daytime, and I have yet to start my airboat this year, and if I do, I can run it on the ground while alone. But ultimately my main goal is to fly something. I also have a ManWin coroplast trainer there too, and this week, I will be bringing my support equipment. The only reason I did not have anything there was the weekend before, we all got the stomach flu and I ended up leaving my truck out there for the week, and the car was full. I will keep you all updated.

aspeed Tue May 28, 2019 9:59 pm

You can make a stooge with three metal barbecue skewers. Stick two in the ground a run a string to the eye on the other one.

NEW222 Tue May 28, 2019 10:26 pm

Thanks for the tip. I would probably try that, but the ground I have available is not too good for being straight. It is fairly rough, but I guess I cannot say anything unless I try!

**Cribbs74** Tue May 28, 2019 10:34 pm

The bath mat is best suited for a combat wing or anything high powered with a sporty CG. The Wiz has neither. Too nose heavy, unless you have some serious power. A hand launch works though, hopefully you can figure something out.

rsv1cox Wed May 29, 2019 6:08 am

Catching up on this thread.

Looks like that tail section was pretty well smashed up Chancey. I like the way you did the repairs saving the original builders decals and paint scheme. Hopefully you can find a helper rather than using a stooge. These are always more fun when you have a partner.

Enjoyed your flight Ron, I hadn't seen it.

Love that angry bumble bee sound and "Don't talk - Why?" commentary.

Bob

**Cribbs74** Wed May 29, 2019 6:46 pm

rsv1cox wrote:Catching up on this thread.

Looks like that tail section was pretty well smashed up Chancey. I like the way you did the repairs saving the original builders decals and paint scheme. Hopefully you can find a helper rather than using a stooge. These are always more fun when you have a partner.

Enjoyed your flight Ron, I hadn't seen it.

Love that angry bumble bee sound and "Don't talk - Why?" commentary.

Bob

That was just 5 or so years ago. My oldest daughter was doing the video and trying to keep it quiet, my boy was super excited and did the release. How quickly they grow up. My oldest is in Nursing school and works full time at a retirement home. My son is no longer happy with a military haircut and is taller than me now. Not saying much as I am only 5’7” but he is 13 and 5’9” and his voice got deep. I really miss him being small.

It all happens too fast!

Ron

Edit: I guess he didn’t do the release, my mind is failing just watched the video again and looks like I stooged it.

rsv1cox Thu May 30, 2019 6:29 am

Ya, tell me about it............

**RknRusty** Thu May 30, 2019 7:38 am

Hey, Chance, good luck on the next try.
My instructions to a new launch partner are:

Hold it with your fingertips around the lead edges with no slack in the lines
Aim it slightly UP and OUT.
When I wave you off, JUST DROP IT. (No toss, no help, just let go and duck out of the circle immediately)

Also, if you ever turn it into a testbed or build another one, add some tapered fixed flaps to the TE of the wing. This will greatly enhance its aerobatic abilities to loop. You'll like the shorter lines, it'll fly with much more authority.

For future reference on any slab-winged plane you might want to build, I recommend getting some of the Sig 1/4" half-airfoil shaped balsa, and laminate them together to make a symmetric foil. Card the epoxy off until you can barely tell it's there, and weight them together while it sets.

If you want to really get wild, a Medallion with one of those red plastic radial-mount tanks will make you a happy 1/2A pilot!
Rusty

NEW222 Thu May 30, 2019 9:12 am

Nice pics Bob. What is the Honda in the first picture. Looks similar to one I used to have. I had a 67 S90, 68 CL 70, and a 69 CL 90. They were nice, but sold them off a few years ago. I regret not having any pictures of them.

And also thank you Rusty for the tips.

rsv1cox Thu May 30, 2019 10:57 am

NEW222 wrote:Nice pics Bob. What is the Honda in the first picture. Looks similar to one I used to have. I had a 67 S90, 68 CL 70, and a 69 CL 90. They were nice, but sold them off a few years ago. I regret not having any pictures of them.

And also thank you Rusty for the tips.

It's my first S-90 Chancey, a 1963. Took it to work almost every day when I was stationed at Master Jet Base Oceana in Virginia.

Rebuilt my 1968 S-90 a couple of years ago and posted about it here.

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