Skunkwrks

It's very fixable with a guy who knows how to lay up fibreglass and I had a great friend here who walk me through the steps when I had to rebuild the nose of my Viper.

smcharg

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This plane flies so dang good, I'd send it to Jonathan to fix if I didn't have a guy here.

Skunkwrks

Find it very silent after the news you presented Scott........................!

AEROSHELDON

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Mine just hit the water so nothing to share....... just watching.

smcharg

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HA. OK so, update...
I've contacted CARF and they had the 3 colors of paint for the Infinity Scheme in stock in the US and are shipping those out to me. Hopefully, it won't be too long but it'll be longer than I want it to be before this bit of awesomeness is back in the air.

I've shipped the turbine back to Kingtech and have sent Dirk pictures of the aftermath. He feels fairly certain that the turbine wheel is what failed and why so much damage. He said this is a first for that wheel to fail with all of the testing they do. In the end, I'm OK after cooling down. Things go wrong, things fail, humans make mistakes. It's all about the customer service provided after the fact and Kingtech has more than provided that. I'll make sure to take a lot of pictures once the repair is completed and we're ready to fly once again.

Skunkwrks

Scott, great to hear there were a few Rebel Max left from the recent shipment. My Rebel Pro is in-transit, customs are clearing .

Its good that Kingtech is replacing the engine but now they are probably concerned with other 235 having the same issue. Sounds like a recall is in order, Kingtech will be just cleaning up the fallout from problems from the 235 like this later on if they don't recall the engine and restore confidence to future sales.
Other manufacturers like JR have recalled products and replaced the defect product with a different one, so they would be held accountable for Aircraft crashes. Covering their Ass.

smcharg

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I don't think one failure constitutes a recall. It's possible one bad turbine wheel slipped through the cracks (pun noted but not intended). I have several friends running 235's just fine and it's rare to hear of an issue with most any manufacturer, especially like this. Let's not write off the company and their procedures just from one incident.

Skunkwrks

Not written them off but in the past year years if see Turbines returned from the 25 hr check and had the rear bearing seized then waiting three months for the turnaround to the client .Other guys have waited five months for the 25 hr service inspection to return. Maybe you get good service in the heart of the US but here we are cast a sided as if second class customers. Now after wait happened to your 235 I'm just shocked by the lack of quality control on Kingtech's behalf. I've pointed out that these cracks and flaws in the turbine can be detected with some dye penetrating spray and developer. What were paying for a premium for these engines, quality for everyones safety shouldn't be overlooked by any manufacture.

This turbine disc exploding reminds me of the DC10 that lost the rudder engine after the turbine disc erupted in flight May 1989 it belive. The crew tried to land the plane without and hydraulic function which was servered from the exploding turbine disc. It crash-landed into the cornfield at Souix City airport. Killing 136 souls , the whole fleet of jets were grounded and inspected the turbine disc and found flaws in the metal from manufacturing. It was a big mess after that , these planes headed to the Boneyard because the customers lacked confidence in the aircraft.

Dansy

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‘Wow your so dramatic…unreal, and you don’t even fly with kingtech….. pretty funny 😁

Dansy

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On and on…..y’a I just lost confidence in the 10 kingtech I own …..NOT

BarracudaHockey

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Subscribed

Y'all behave

Kenrico

Such a nice thread being ruined by some who doesn’t own an aircraft or turbine in subject

back to topic?

hey Scott, nice you where able to get it down safely, things happen in Rc and real world hopefully you get it fixed nice and back in the air soon!

smcharg

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Hey Kenrico,

I got the plane down sans rudder. Luckily, I still had elevator. There's some significant damage to the rear portion of the fuse, the main part of the fuse, and a little of the canopy but all is repairable. I've ordered the paint from CARF for the Infinity Scheme and all is in stock here in the US. Kingtech has 100% stepped up and I am more than satisfied as to how Dirk from Pacific RC Jets (where I bought it from), Barry, and factory Kingtech have handled the situation. As I've said, things go wrong and now that I've calmed down, I can't ask for more than great customer service which is exactly what they've provided.

The plane is amazing. I've moved my CG back slightly and am closer to 20mm behind the wing tube now. I have a bit of trimming left to do once the aircraft is repaired but it's all in the amount of down elevator I need with flaps and some expo on the ailerons and elevator. Also, for the rolling loop, I may need a little more rudder but this is still the best plane I've ever owned. Zero knife-edge coupling, no trim on rudder or ailerons. 60-degrees of flaps is insane and stops the plane in its tracks. You need about 1/2 throtttle (on Half Expo through the ECU) to continue flying around with full flaps. For landing, set up on final, full flaps, throttle as needed and fly over the threshold of the runway, cut the throttle and she sets down on her mains with nose wheel in the air. You almost don't need brakes! By the way, both takeoffs were 1/2 throttle!

Txmustangflyer

At the rpm these things run at...a microscopic flaw in the alloy turns into a crack quick.

I commend the recovery and dead stick. I heard the blast in the vid and, even just watching the vid I ducked (combat ptsd)
The fact that the damage is, somewhat limited is a testament to the design of the turbine and the airframe. A lesser jet would have broken up in the air.
CARF could use that vid as a testament to the strength of the aircraft..Kingtech as a testament to the strength of the canister. Looking at pics of the unit it definately was an inside to outside failure. My initial thought upon reading about it was wondering if it had sucked some debris, causing a failure but that would have been immediate and a different set of symptoms.

Again, nice recovery despite the feeling you must have had at the bang. Kept your cool and got it home. Many would have had theirs in a trash bag. Just glad it didn't happen on a low pass. But near the top of a vertical move.

smcharg

My Feedback: (1)

For those interested, the Rebel Max repair has begun. As much as I hate to admit it, I think this repair was bigger than I could handle if for no other reason than I want it back to perfect. I can do small fiberglass repair and I can paint...a little. This plane needed some major repair and has to look like nothing ever happened. One of my buddies knew of a guy perfect for the job. His name is Larry Hultman and he is a master scale builder. This man agreed to take on my jet and I am forever grateful. It's not quite done yet but I wanted to share the progress with you. First, the before pictures:



Rear turbine wheel failed and shattered.


Damage to the motor mount but behind the structural portion


Front portion of the fuselage where the rear section attaches. One of the bolts completely ripped out.






Anyone need some scrap metal?




Bulkheads broke and detached from the fiberglass side due to the turbine going from 106,000 RPM to zero in milliseconds






Rear turbine wheel shot out a few pieces that embedded in the right wing.






Front portion of fuse damage


Canopy damage


Rear fuse connection area gone.

Txmustangflyer

Ouch

smcharg

My Feedback: (1)

Now, how he was able to do this, I wish I could share. Yesterday, Larry sent me some pictures of the progress. All structural repairs are complete (I actually didn't know he was going to do all of it and was planning on doing that myself but incredibly grateful that it's now done...professionally) and the plane is ready for paint. I ordered the 3 colors from the Infinity Scheme from CARF with the hardener. I will post the next pictures when I get them.

Txmustangflyer

It'll be strong and looks like he kept the repairs as light as he could. Doubt the cg moved more than a couple mm from the look of the repairs.

winter1

Hi guys, nice thread. I see I should build something again. Now we have a little different worries (1000km from here is a fight), but I believe that everything will turn out well. There is peace and quiet in the Czech Republic, it has hit us more economically. Supplies of oil, gas, 350000 refugees from Ukraine. When the war in Ukraine ends and everything calms down, I will have to decide: Mephisto, Rebel Max or Ares XL. I keep my fingers crossed for Scott to make the repair work. ***winter***

smcharg

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Thanks Winter.

The plane is in the paint booth. The orange from CARF/Ray's Hobby was way off. My guy is an incredible paint matcher and was able to run down to his paint store and match it properly. I will say that the metallic gray and metallic silver were spot on.



Here, you can see the orange mismatch. Larry is amazing and has corrected this.

winter1

Sometimes it's not easy to mix the right shade. If you succeed, you won't find a difference. ***winter***

smcharg

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Definitely. I remember you doing this fix on your T1. I guess I was just a little disappointed when you order the "matching" paint from the factory and it isn't even close. Not that it was a lot of money but still $19 plus shipping for a tiny amount of paint that will go unused.....unless you want to buy it

winter1

I believe it's annoying. The original color from the factory and instead of red is orange. Maybe they were wrong and sent the color to a model that has a different color scheme. I have a boy here who mixes PPG car paints. He is very handy and has a lot of experience. ***winter***
... I remember, you have a purple and white T1.

rbxbear44

My Feedback: (86)

Looks fantastic. Well done! Will be back in the air in no time flat!

Just got work from Ray, my Rebel Max has arrived and will clear customs at some point next week. I have had everything else for the bird for a few months now, so as soon as it gets to my door, will start the assembly.

AEROSHELDON

My Feedback: (99)

That is great news! Mine is on the same boat.