CARF Rebel Max Flight Two - Catastrophic Turbine Failure

This is the second flight of my CARF Rebel Max. My turbine went from 106,000 RPM to 0 in miliseconds. Little did I know what really happened.....
I give a profound and heartfelt THANKS to Dirk from Pacific RC Jets and Kingtech turbines for excellent customer service. Things go wrong and equipment fails but it's the customer service that makes it OK. Watch the video all the way through.

[@iflylow6224]

Dirk is amazing!!!!! I’ve worked with him on several projects and his genuine care and concern for the people in this hobby is unmatched!!!

[@stevemull2002]

That deadstick landing after that noise was sublime, ive yet to do one so nicely with power available !!

[@tomheetderks9997]

Emergency handled like a pro! My friend just assembled the smaller rebel, looking forward to seeing it fly in person, beautiful jets -:)

[@RCPlaneAddict]

Nicely done, and I’m shocked by how much damage was done. It looked like nothing happened upon landing. Crazy!

[@Nitzz97]

Thanks. I didn't see the damage until I walked up to retrieve the plane. All the bits exited on the right side of the plane and it all occurred when the rear turbine wheel broke/shattered. New turbine arrived from Kingtech yesterday (no cost to me). Paint arrived from CARF as well so I hope to have the damage to the airframe repaired and painted within the next month.

[@philiplewis957]

It was really good that you put that acknowledgement in, that's when customer service is tested, things go wrong, we all know that, but it's what they do to put it right that counts. This was one of the best dead stick landings I have seen on here, slightly long which is exactly what you want to be, because for sure you really don't want to be short and the airspeed you bleed off in a turn is generally underestimated. Unlike most flights on here I think that was a very smooth very well controlled flight (I'm a pattern pilot), without trying to find the design limits of the airframe, exactly what an initial/early flight should be, shows great piloting skills and could not have been done better, congratulations, very well done..

[@Nitzz97]

Phillip, you're very kind. The plane is back together. I tried to remaiden yesterday but need to do some tuning on the new turbine. I'll try again this coming weekend. I truly appreciate you watching and commenting. It made my day.

[@markdavis7397]

Nice job on the emergency landing!

[@sidlines7049]

Hi hi

[@stevestonrcguy5393]

That is awesome Customer Service👍 and great landing by the way👍👍👍

[@garys3418]

Dirk at pacific jets if top notch. never seen one let go like that. thanks for sharing!

[@chuckyde]

Love The The 4K High Definition Camer Shots 🤓🤠🥳🥸🧐🥺

[@Nitzz97]

Yeah, we were on the struggle bus for sure. We'll work on quality for future catastrophic events that were unplanned. LOL

[@frankleonard6291]

Great customer service, nice save.

[@maxun1]

What a pilot, keep his cool and landed the aircraft in one piece, love it, excellent pilot.

[@Nitzz97]

Thank you

[@RCnurse]

Great save!!

[@jordancoleman2402]

Wow great job getting it down👍👍 major props👍👍

[@Nitzz97]

Thank you so much, Jordan

[@michaellipousky9143]

Awesome save! 👍Thank God that didn’t happen when you were leaning over it and starting it up. 😳 The cameraman sucks and I was worried he wasn’t going to get the Landing.

[@Nitzz97]

Hi Michael, thanks man! I agree. Always keep folks in front of the turbine, not to the sides or behind. You probably didn't get to see the maiden flight (video before this one) but the camera man was my young son trying to learn how to shoot with his new phone. Auto focus is a terrible thing! Maybe one day I can get Rommel Shumpert (Desert Fox Productions) to come shoot for me. He said when it happened it scared him and forgot he was shooting and then remembered he had to finish the flight.

[@michaellipousky9143]

@@Nitzz97 That explains it. Thanks for sharing! That jet looks like it glides real well, slows down and lands like a baby.

[@zydecbro]

your landing was straight up perfection

[@Nitzz97]

Thank you!

[@SpruceSculptures]

Scott, as a retired turbine waiver CD, you just flew some of the smoothest and most consistent flight I have seen in a jet. Your takeoff was stupendous. Loved the way you let it take off and climb without yanking it into the air. Your dead stick landing also was impressive. My thoughts are the airframe damage was from the turbine doing a RUD, not from the landing. How did the nose gear fair from the end of the runway? That would be the only damage I would expect from that landing, again, the airframe was from pieces from the RUD. Great job. Good for you telling of the customer service experience too.

[@Nitzz97]

@SpruceSculptures you're very kind. Indeed, all of the damage was from the rear turbine wheel failing. Somehow, the airplane stopped inches before the end of the runway. There was no damage to the landing gear or anything else. I appreciate your feedback and the compliments. You noticed exactly what I hoped an experienced person would notice and that's the smoothness of the flight. It's one thing to yank and bank but it's harder than some think to actually be smooth. Thank you for watching!

[@mrbmp09]

@@Nitzz97 That was a smooth flight. I can't remember seeing a model jet with as short of a take off roll. It did look "pitchy" with elevator up controls, a little more expo might help?

[@Nitzz97]

@@mrbmp09 Agreed 100%. That was only the 2nd flight and I definitely need to add Expo on the elevator. I have the CG pretty far aft so I was concentrating on that, for sure. That was the purpose of the inverted 45-degree up line to see if the plane pulled to the canopy. It did not. Expo coming with the next few flights as soon as she's back together! I reinstalled the new turbine last night so she'll be re-maidened in the next few weeks I hope.

[@CZorzellaYT]

Amazing emergency landing!!!

[@tenajnodmot]

I have had similar service from Kingtec. They are awesome!

[@damienmilk3025]

I just had a Jetcat p100RX shed a blade from the compressor and totally destroy the engine. I don't think it is worth trying for a warranty claim as the engine is 7 years old but with only 4 hrs 7 minutes (45 starts) of total run time. I feel your pain. Nice landing under pressure.

[@cesarcastillorc]

Great flight! Do u think the video helped as a prove to the engine fail?

[@Nitzz97]

Hello. This video was made after everything was worked out with Kingtech. I wasn't going to post this until I knew what they were going to do. They took me for my word and, also, when I sent the engine back, it was blatantly obvious. I'm very impressed with the level of customer service. I've been in this hobby for 33 years and have experienced both good and bad. The level of support is possibly some of the best. Note - I am not at all sponsored by Kingtech or Pacific RC Jets.

[@julesviolin]

Very cool indeed. When I've finished flying real planes I'll be getting into this sport !!!

[@Nitzz97]

It's even more fun when you do both at the same time!

[@rFlightFPV]

Good example of why not allowing people to stand next to a running model turbine makes a lot of sense. If this happened on the ground the outcome could have been really bad.

[@Nitzz97]

💯

[@rFlightFPV]

@@Nitzz97 I forgot to mention you performed an absolutely excellent dead stick landing!

[@Nitzz97]

@@rFlightFPV Thank you sir. The negative lead on the rudder servo was destroyed so I couldn't get it completely on the runway. So fortunate it wasn't an elevator wire!

[@rFlightFPV]

@@Nitzz97 makes the landing even more impressive! Hope you‘ll have her back in the air soon.

[@tonywilson4713]

Actually its a very good example of why you don't let ANYONE who doesn't understand from standing next to ANY FORM of rotating machinery. And I mean lathes, mills, grass cutters, chainsaws, circular saws, etc. Some of the battery powered tools these days are unbelievably powerful. I have a collection of Milwaukee 18V and that stuff can remove body parts in a blink. *Its good to see you be safety conscious because I've all but given up on trying to talk to people about safety in industry.* I'm Australian but did my degree in aerospace at U. Illinois and have been around model aeroplanes off and on for decades. I work in industrial automation and control systems. I also have a pilots license with an aerobatics endorsement. I feel safer doing a spin in a real plane than I do on most industrial sites. I love this technology *BUT* just like in industry or with normal flying its not the people who know what they are doing who ever concern me, *EXCEPT* if they get distracted. Its the people who don't know what they are doing and they usually are the distraction. I hope they workout why it let go. It sounds like from other comments the turbine itself has mechanically failed. That's not unusual for turbines and its why turbines for civilian aircraft have extra qualifications for containing shrapnel if a turbine lets go. It became big news after the QANTAS A380 incident out of Singapore when the turbine let go and parts did fly out and do further damage.

[@WickedMoto]

That’s why I stick with swiwin..tried and true and never does stuff like that to beautiful planes..happened to my buddy twice with his 85 and 120 in his carf ultra flash. As well as a few other guys at the field having pumps randomly take a dump (swiwins are brushless starters and pumps), flame outs (in the now 20+ club members that switched we’re still going if you get my drift) etc…aside from by blatant hating on kingtech, awesome job handling that!! Beautiful landing as well! If you don’t mind me asking what’s the weight of the max ready for take off? I’m really thinking of getting one

[@Nitzz97]

Sup. I get your point. I think we are all loyal to the brands we know and trust. While this is only my 3rd Kingtech, I must say I can't ask for better customer support and, to me, that means something for sure. This is the first issue of any kind I've had running Kingtech. If there are more then we will see. I considered Swiwinn for a bit but I'll be loyal to Kingtech as long as they are loyal to me. In today's world and in this sport of ours, loyalty is rare on both sides. As far as the weight goes, if I fill the 1.3 gallon tank, I'm right at 54 lbs (no lie). 1.3 gallons of Jet A is 9 lbs so my weight with full UAT ready to go minus fuel is 45 lbs. I'm very happy with that. I think I could add another 10 lbs and the plane wouldn't even know it. The wing loading is exceptional. If anything happens to this plane, I would not hesitate to buy another. I did a build thread on RCU if you get bored. FYI, small world. I use to watch your moto vlogs back in the day. I was wondering what happened to you. I have 2 Aprilia's.

[@WickedMoto]

@@Nitzz97 sick!!! That’s perfect and a pound under LTMA certs then!! Definitely thinking about grabbing a Max here this fall/winter if I get the money for it.. HA! No kidding? Yea small world..started flying a little bit more than a year and a half ago and got my waiver at the end of the first year with my HSD L39, now I have a T1 mini sport jet that’s fast. Well fast to me anyway. Aprillias are sweet for sure! I miss riding every day been 5-6 years now since I last had a bike

[@Praendy]

Hi Scott, good save of your jet. Was it the first flight with the KT 250? I am concerned about the sound. Is it possible, that the intake area is a bit too small? When you go full throttle, there is a strange noise. It sounds like the air intake of the Avro Vulcan. If the turbine gets not enough air, your egt will rise and maybe this causes the turbine wheel to torn. Just an idea. Greatings from Germany! Andy

[@Nitzz97]

Howdy. That was the 2nd flight of the 235G4+. Others that have the same turbine say theirs makes that too. There are many of my friends that live in higher elevations and run 300's in theirs so I believe the intake to be sufficient. EGTs were actually lower than I expected. I feel this one was just a simple failure of the turbine wheel. Thanks for watching.

[@Praendy]

Yes, if a 300 work, then should not be any problem in air delivery. Please "try again" with a new turbine☺ Cheers Andy

[@RichieRich980215]

Nice dead stick landing!! Sorry for damage! A lot of Pilots would have panicked. 👏👏👏👍

[@peterlindstrom3798]

That was the most expensive slowflyer ive ever seen....

[@Nitzz97]

HA! It was expensive but definitely worth the repair. She's back and she's magnificent! :)

[@peterlindstrom3798]

@@Nitzz97 Yes, she's a beauty, kind of envy you;-)

[@ragzz17]

did the engine throw a blade or two?

[@Nitzz97]

The rear turbine wheel shattered which is why there wasn't as much containment. If it had of been one of the front inlet blades, all would have probably stayed inside the turbine or been spit out the thrust tube instead of through the side of the plane.

[@kasonfitzpatrick1022]

What failed? And at least you had some altitude.

[@Nitzz97]

The rear turbine wheel shattered. She's back up and ready to go again. Thanks for the comment.

[@gregoryh4601]

Sir. Very Nice Landing and I know you probably fix your Jet but Please Reach out to Jonathan at The Lighter Side Of RC. He is one of the Best at what he does and could help you out and switch to The Engine he Flys. Still one Also Landing 👍🏻 a new Fan if you care?

[@Nitzz97]

Hi Gregory. Jonathan and I speak frequently. Everything is coming together. Thanks for watching!

[@blitzu1725]

King tech should step...and fix the design fault.KT turbines are known for the impeller to touch the side of the housing under G's...the video even shows this when you pulled up semi hard and BOOM!

[@Nitzz97]

Agreed. I feel certain they are looking into this failure to try to prevent it in the future. It only costs them money (and potential business) not to do so.

[@blakjack3053]

Made in PRC

[@AN-ce1nd]

Jet central next time.

[@lamtuantutl]

lucky for you it not a scale jet , Rebel Max she is a glider and now you have to put a lot of work to make it look good and flying good like the new one , sorry man

[@Nitzz97]

Hey Tuan. It's all back like new. Remaiden hopefully this weekend. 👌

[@brianroberts5740]

Looks like FLAK damage.

[@Nitzz97]

That's exactly what I thought, Brian. It's all fixed now and I'll have a video soon with the repair and checkout flight (hopefully in focus this time). Thanks for watching!

[@brianroberts5740]

@@Nitzz97 Sweet aircraft. I currently have around 50 aircraft in my fleet. Most are FPV Quads, some with GPS, and Co-Axials, 5 or 6 fixed wing airplanes, and a VTOL. I think the most I ever spent was $200. Had one fly away, and broke some props, guards and fried some brushed motors. Cracked frame/body? on my SYMA X8C. I mod or upgrade some, swap cameras, add FPV to some that didn't have. I just today took my Hobby Zone Duet, cut 30mm off the nose, added a 5.8ghz AIO All In One camera/tx/antenna to the nose, ( 5.51 gms, ) LOL and now I have a twin motor, 3 channel, 2.4/5.8gHz foamie with FPV for $75. Huh? What? Yep. 9 min flights on 350 mAh 3.7v. LiPo. I may purchase a hey one day, or prolly ducted fan. But I gotta get rid of some. I used to have 4 bedrooms. Now I have 3 and a toy room. I cant walk across the floor. Cant stand up, or see the walks. 101 assorted RC vehicles and most still work. My HPI big block nitro 4 x 4 hardbody Rubicon launched 30 ft at 25 MPH and hit a rock. A kid or another person would be dead. It weighs about 20 lbs. So.....jets kinda scare me.

[@samiam5697]

Bruh!

[@bjornd.4805]

Good landing but this jet flys sooo boring like a Easystar from Multiplex in my opinion....

[@Nitzz97]

Thanks. This jet flies amazing. It may not be the case in the first 2 flights of it but it is a phenomenal jet capable of just about anything. 4-point rolls right off the ground, jogging-speed slow flight, precision aerobatics. Not everything must go 200+ to not be boring.

[@bjornd.4805]

@@Nitzz97 ok you are right. Good luck for many flight. Greets from Austria