Unpredictable flight with Hobbyzone Planes...

...can be caused by a number of things. But here are some things to look for and think about.

1. Loose Circuit Board - On Hobbyzone planes that have the servos embedded in the fuselage circuit board be aware that it often breaks free from its two screw mounts in a crash or really rough landing. That causes the circuit board to shift when apply steering. It's a good habit to stick your finger in the fuselage and try to move the circuit board around every time you are about to put a battery in.

If it moves more than a few millimeters in any direction look closely for cracks where the board attaches to the mounting plate. They may not be visible or viewable so you may end up removing the 4 screws from the bottom of the plane and easing out the circuit board through the canopy as much as possible. Use a generous amount of super glue or Gorilla glue on the connection points. I use both types for good measure. Let it totally dry before attempting to reinstall the circuit board into the fuselage.

2. Incorrect COG - This can be the source of much frustration and unpredictable flight. Ideally, when you bought your plane you assembled it, installed the battery and then balanced the pristine stock plane on your two fingertips under the main wing and marked the COG points with a Sharpie. Then from there you had many wrecks, made giant tape and glue repairs, installed batteries of different weights. Knowing the COG from the beginning will allow you to make adjustments by sticking quarters inside the nose cone, etc.

Here are some general guidelines for Hobbyzone COG's:

Aerobird Challenger, Firebird Freedom, Aerobird 3 & Swift:

1 7/8" to 2" back from the leading edge of the main wing.

Aerobird Xtreme:

2 to 2 1/2" back from the leading edge of the main wing.

It's easier to diagnose a nose heavy plane as its flight characteristics will be that it seems to need more up elevator to climb or fly level whereas a tail heavy plane will stall easily or act underpowered or other things including blaming yourself for bad piloting.

We'd love to hear your feedback or ideas on these topics or others. ~ Scott

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