Angel's Shadow - RIP

Alan Simmonds alan at gspceilings.com
Tue Oct 28 12:10:12 AKST 2003


It's like Sellotape only totally transparent

> Whats diamond tape? 

--- Alan Simmonds <alan at gspceilings.com> wrote:
> I understand its possible to crack the glue joint on
> the L/E when
> picking the model up.  The fix is apply diamond tape
> to the L/E of the
> wings and the tail (yes, this same fault has
> manifested on the horzontal
> stab too!!).  The tape will prevent air entering the
> wing cavity in the
> event of a crack and should stop the wing blowing
> apart.
> 
> Alan Simmonds
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: discussion-request at nsrca.org
> [mailto:discussion-request at nsrca.org]
> On Behalf Of chadnortheast at shaw.ca
> Sent: 28 October 2003 14:48
> To: discussion at nsrca.org
> Subject: Re: Angel's Shadow - RIP
> 
> 
> I witnessed this happen to one of the UK team
> members during official
> practise at the WC this year.  The left wing panels
> leading edge
> separated during the 3rd point of the 3/4 point,
> 1-1/4 snap manouver in
> F-03.  At least one of the wing skins was completely
> separated from the
> model, and about 10" or so of the wing root was
> still attached to the
> fuse.  
> 
> Chad
> 
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Tony Stillman <tony at radiosouthrc.com>
> Date: Tuesday, October 28, 2003 7:00 am
> Subject: Re: Angel's Shadow - RIP
> 
> > Adrian:
> > 
> > Very sorry to hear about your loss...
> > 
> > Jason told me that he had heard and seen some of
> this before, and
> > it was a
> > concern.  He had two new airplanes sent to him to
> use for the WC, 
> > but they
> > arrived very late (hence, part of the reason for
> the choice of flying
> > electric...), he told me.  On of his concerns with
> his older 
> > models was of
> > this exact thing.  He was hoping that the new
> models would have 
> > the problem
> > solved.
> > 
> > Tony Stillman
> > Radio South
> > 3702 N. Pace Blvd.
> > Pensacola, FL 32505
> > 1-800-962-7802
> > www.radiosouthrc.com
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > From: <adriancwong at earthlink.net>
> > To: <discussion at nsrca.org>
> > Sent: Tuesday, October 28, 2003 12:49 AM
> > Subject: Re: Angel's Shadow - RIP
> > 
> > 
> > I was out flying with my Angel's Shadow this past
> Saturday. The
> > plane had
> > only about 60 flights, and was finally fully
> trimmed to my liking. 
> > On its
> > fifth flight of the day, while it was on its down
> wind trim path, 
> > the left
> > top and bottom wing panel suddenly separated and
> ripped apart in 
> > mid air.
> > The next thing I noticed were the two wing panels
> floating in mid 
> > air in
> > slow motion, and the rest of the plane rolling
> onto the far right 
> > side of
> > the embankment.
> > 
> > After I recovered from my initial shock, follow by
> much cursing in
> > the pit
> > area, my friends and I set out to retrieve the
> wreckage. Following 
> > a ten
> > minutes search over a large loose dirt area, under
> the rare 
> > grueling - 95
> > degrees - October Californian sun, we recovered
> the two wing 
> > panels. As we
> > were picking up the wing panels, I remembered
> noticing a 
> > separation on the
> > leading edge of the right wing panel a month ago;
> I had promptly 
> > applied CA
> > to cure the problem. At that time, there was no
> visible problem on 
> > the left
> > wing. However, another friend of mine, who is a
> fellow Shadow 
> > owner, had
> > informed me that he had noticed the same
> separation problem on his 
> > planealso.
> > 
> > Unfortunately, following an hour of intensive
> search, with many
> > cuts by the
> > tall sage brush, we could not locate the rest of
> the airplane. 
> > Apparently,there is a huge swamp right next to the
> tall 
> > embankment. With the tall grass
> > and weeds covering the entire area, it completely
> swallowed the 
> > whole plane.
> > Not only did I lose the airplane, I couldn't even
> recover a single 
> > piece of
> > equipment for future use.
> > 
> > Later on that evening, after much beer pounding to
> ease my pain, I
> > think I
> > finally discovered the main reason for the crash.
> The first thing 
> > I noticed
> > was that the wing broke right next to where the
> wing tube ends. 
> > Apparently,in order to save weight, the
> manufacturer installed 
> > only three thin foam
> > spars inside the wing, thus; seriously jeopardize
> the rigidity of 
> > the wing.
> > Unfortunately, due to the many snapping maneuvers
> we have in FAI, it
> > weakened the integrity of the wing over time.
> Since there was no 
> > main spar
> > to support the wing, the area from the end of the
> wing tube to the 
> > tip of
> > the wing flexes tremendously. Eventually, it
> opened up a gap 
> > between the two
> > wing panels (on the leading edge), and the wind
> did the rest.
> > 
> > I have accepted over the years that all planes
> have an invisible
> > expirationdate stamped inside. If we keep flying
> the plane, 
> > something will eventually
> > happen. But, to lose a relatively new airplane due
> to manufacturer's
> > negligence, it's pretty hard to swallow. I
> sincerely hope this is an
> > individual case, however, I will strongly urge all
> Shadow owners to
> > carefully inspect their airplane.
> > 
> > I have taken some pictures on the wing panels, if
> anyone is
> > interested,please contact me off line.
> > 
> > Adrian Wong
> > 
> > Chingbergh Enterprises, Inc.
> > 1555 Lakeside Drive, Suite # 194,
> > Oakland, CA 94612
> > Tel: (510)452-1005
> > Fax: (510)452-0378
> > E-mail: info at chingbergh.com
> > www.chingbergh.com
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > 
> 
=== message truncated ===


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