I had a problem with my JLCR last weekend. I had planned to use it on a cert flight but I thought I would build my confidence if I tested it on a smaller MPR rocket first. Note: the reason I was not confident was that the week before it had flown in another MPR but the chute became dis-attached from the rocket and the JLCR came off. It ended up in field by itself and amazingly my brother was able to find it among the weeds with his metal detector.
I put it in the new rocket with a Dino pouch on a 18" chute. I had tested it that morning before flying with it and it appeared to work just fine. Mind you I'm not sure the chute was large enough to enough tension on the rubber band. And the chute failed to open. When I retrieved the rocket the servo mechanism would absolutely not release the pin; NADA. I tried multiple times to release the pin and pulled on it with a lot of pressure but it would not release. Even the mechanism did not want to rotate without a lot of force. I then just dumped in my field case and told myself I would look at it when I got home. I would not use it on my certification flight.
Now the other day, I got it back out and put a couple of drops of WD-40 on it, thinking that if the mechanism is totally pooched then the addition of the WD-40 can't make it any worse. I worked it in the mechanism and voila! it came loose much to my surprise. Another drop and some compressed air to help clean it up and then I retested it. It seems to release the pin properly now and I don't have to pry open the case.
My guess is that I somehow got some dust/grit in the mechanism between testing and flying. Or perhaps it had dust in it from the week prior? Or perhaps it was grit from the ejection charge? (Not as likely since the rocket uses a baffle.) Note to self: when prepping rockets, always test the JLCR to ensure it is working correctly. And add WD-40 and compressed air to my field box. Also note: the price of a new JLCR has gone up in the last month - now $198 CDN.
I put it in the new rocket with a Dino pouch on a 18" chute. I had tested it that morning before flying with it and it appeared to work just fine. Mind you I'm not sure the chute was large enough to enough tension on the rubber band. And the chute failed to open. When I retrieved the rocket the servo mechanism would absolutely not release the pin; NADA. I tried multiple times to release the pin and pulled on it with a lot of pressure but it would not release. Even the mechanism did not want to rotate without a lot of force. I then just dumped in my field case and told myself I would look at it when I got home. I would not use it on my certification flight.
Now the other day, I got it back out and put a couple of drops of WD-40 on it, thinking that if the mechanism is totally pooched then the addition of the WD-40 can't make it any worse. I worked it in the mechanism and voila! it came loose much to my surprise. Another drop and some compressed air to help clean it up and then I retested it. It seems to release the pin properly now and I don't have to pry open the case.
My guess is that I somehow got some dust/grit in the mechanism between testing and flying. Or perhaps it had dust in it from the week prior? Or perhaps it was grit from the ejection charge? (Not as likely since the rocket uses a baffle.) Note to self: when prepping rockets, always test the JLCR to ensure it is working correctly. And add WD-40 and compressed air to my field box. Also note: the price of a new JLCR has gone up in the last month - now $198 CDN.