Radjet 800 Second Attempt

...and crashed it again

That evening I did some searching regarding these lesser known flight characteristics of the Radjet 800. I found one video post indicating that the standard centre of gravity was too far forward and recommended moving it right back to the finger grips.

I had used the specified battery, a 1300mAh 3S unit, which pushes up against a stop in the fuselage. Easy. Simple. Except that this doesn't seem to work, at least not in my case. So I cut nearly an inch from the internal stop so that the end of the battery is now just inside the fuselage tunnel. I also moved the receiver position a little further back, the combined result of which was that the centre of gravity had moved substantially rearwards, although not quite as much as suggested in the video, but that should be fine.

The repairs complete and the Radjet suitably taped-up, I returned to the field with high expectations of a fun flight. The launch went well, with the plane zooming low over the paddocks towards the hill. Having launched with generous elevator based on my previous experience, I was dismayed to find that setting the elevator to neutral caused the Radjet to dip swiftly down. Not good, and by now the plane was well away and heading towards the woods.

I tried to turn it but was rewarded with a multiple snap roll instead, so now having lost orientation as well as almost losing sight of the plane, the result was virtually a foregone conclusion. A second attempt to turn and climb ended up off course and the little jet ploughed into the hillside, triggering the sudden flight of a pair of frightened birds.

It had been a while since I'd tramped the paddocks in search of wayward aircraft, but now I headed through the paddocks again, greeting the kangaroos as I headed up the incline towards the downed Radjet. The nose was still intact this time due to the fibre tape applied during repairs, however this had resulted in the nose to becoming a crumple zone instead which was probably worse. The canopy had also taken a beating with a section of the plastic shattered which would need fixing.

I'd chosen the Radjet because it looked different and fun but, so far at least, it hadn't worked out that way. Considering the problems I was experienci

ng it did cross my mind that the Rarebear probably would have been a better choice, with its conventional layout and more stable flight characteristics. On top of that it's also faster than the Radjet, although somewhat more expensive. Still a Radjet that doesn't fly isn't really much of a bargain...

With the parts in hand, I headed towards the car wondering what I should do next...