Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/17/84; site opus.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!cbosgd!ihnp4!zehntel!hplabs!hao!cires!nbires!opus!scott From: scott@opus.UUCP (Scott Wiesner) Newsgroups: net.aviation Subject: Re: Control surface failure Message-ID: <966@opus.UUCP> Date: Tue, 4-Dec-84 15:22:13 EST Article-I.D.: opus.966 Posted: Tue Dec 4 15:22:13 1984 Date-Received: Thu, 6-Dec-84 06:30:45 EST References: <108@decwrl.UUCP> Organization: NBI,Inc, Boulder CO Lines: 18 > > The worst failure would be the elevator. I have experienced aileron > failure on my R/C models and ( if I figured out what was happening before > it augered in) you can control it with prudent use of the rudder and > LOOOOOOONG turns. I'm not sure I'd agree with this completely. I have seen models fly that have no elevator, and rely on throttle for control of altitude. I suspect the big problem in the origonal article is that if you have a failure, it's fairly unlikely that your control surface will "weathervane" into the wind and stay stable. As Al Irwin pointed out in his posting about the J-3 crash he witnessed, flutter will probably take over, putting you and your plane on the ground fairly quickly. -- Scott Wiesner {allegra, ucbvax, cornell}!nbires!scott