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Good one! LOLComment
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Personally, I definitely feel there is merit to that question. For me, a "good" crash is one that is repairable & foamies definitely have an advantage. A "bad" crash is one that totally destroys & balsa is more likely to get destroyed far more with comparable crashes. Of course, both deserve the "walk-of-shame" that every pilot will do....eventually.
My worse crash was my Durafly 1100mm F4U on the maiden. I had it all pre-flighted to insure everything was perfect & had our club "test pilot" take it off & only a couple clicks of trim were necessary to get it cruising at half-throttle perfectly. He handed me the Tx & I took it around the field a few laps to get the feel. Loved the way it performed & handled, although my "senior moment" engaged as I was going over the cornfield I realized I forgot to click on the Tx timer. I knew I was getting low on power & as I tried to gently bank to the right & climb slightly to get back to the field, the plane lost power & stalled. YUP! Nosed over & straight down into the corn from an altitude of approx. 30'. The corn was only waist high so no problem finding it.
The starboard wing broke off at the fuse line right at the wing bolts, both LG were hanging off, both ailerons & starboard flap were hanging off, & the vert. stab. was bent & almost broken off. & the APC prop was broken. Picked it all up gently & carried it back to the work stations & a couple fellows asked if I was going to strip it & salvage the parts. Said: "Nope...gonna fix it". I noticed in flight that the dark Navy blue wasn't easy to see for my senior eyes & I decided to give it a contrasting paint job for an easier visual. A week later, I had it all back together, reinforced all the break joints, did a more forward rake on the LG, all new hinges, new APC prop, & easy-to-see paint job. Had Callie make me new graphics. A couple weeks after that, I took it back to the club field & re-maidened it. The new modified forward rake w/ 1/4" larger dia. tires definitely made a difference with TO's & Ldgs.. The fellows really liked the new look & couldn't believe how well it came back to life. If it would have been a balsa plane, it would have been firewood. I've had several very minor encounters with trees or poor landings with my other foamies, although nothing with any major damage & easy, simple repairs. So far, my large balsa planes are free of any accidents/pilot mistakes & I am pleased with that. Here's a pic of the repaired "worse crash". I didn't take any pics of the wreckage.
Denny
*** \"A man\'s word is his honor....without honor there is nothing.\" ***
*** I have no hesitation to kill nor reservation to die for the Flag & Constitution of the USA. ***Comment
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The only thing worse than a crash is sitting on a plane! I actually did that once!!! DocComment
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As a certified duct tape consultant I can assure you that is un-ductable.Comment
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Thank you, and you are so right! DocComment
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If I remember from the dictionary, a good crash is your crash, a bad crash is mineLOL
One bit of advice that I'd like you to consider is this. When you crash, mark the place with some rocks or something visible for reference. I know when I'm gathering up the pieces, I'm not really focused on the exact crash site. Then I get home and and notice something missing that I might be able to find. Of course, I can't relocate the exact spot as one sage brush looks pretty much like another:Confused:
Grossman56Team Gross!Comment
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OUCH!! Just came across this video of a F-86 80mm crash. Had to share.Lon
EFlite F-16 80mm, EFite DRACO, EFlite Night Radian, E-Flite P51 1.5m
Freewing A-10 80mm, F-86 80mm, F-15 90mm, F-16 90mm. Avanti. FMS DHC-2 Beaver, Fliteline P-38L ,HSD HME-262, HSD F86.Comment
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That was bitter reminiscence of how my Seagull Skyraider went in at NEFI last year and Cap'n Mike made the quite ride with me on that hopped up AMA golf cart with chrome mags to the smoking hole to gather the refuse :Crying:Warbird Charlie
HSD Skyraider FlightLine OV-10 FMS 1400: P-40B, P-51, F4U, F6F, T-28, P-40E, Pitts, 1700 F4U & F7F, FOX glider Freewing A-6, T-33, P-51 Dynam ME-262, Waco TF Giant P-47; ESM F7F-3 LX PBJ-1 EFL CZ T-28, C-150, 1500 P-51 & FW-190Comment
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Grossman... I've done that. Marking your crash spot is a good idea. I fly on a soccer field. They might frown on a pile of rocks. I'll have to keep a yellow cloth or something in my poket and hope I don't have to use it. DocComment
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I've spent hours trying to find a small piece at a crash site, all the while not sure if it was here or over here or......
What the heck happened to the F-86?? At first, I thought I saw a puff of smoke come from it just before the crash but couldn't see it in slow motion. Heartbreaking!
What would make an elevator go into full down mode? Or did the battery slide so far forward?? He was in level flight, so I assume the rx either died or a servo failed or, he didn't check his control surface directions before takeoff. You'd have thought he'd noticed that long before the crash though.
Makes you wonder.:Thinking:
Grossman56Team Gross!Comment
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OK Gman, I know your thinking but put your logic thinking hat on now..........that would of never even got off the ground in the first place with reverse elevator control. ;)
I would bet on the servo but I also remember that signal drop I had on the Skyraider last year and how it rolled over into the fence post hole drilling routine. Damn NEFI Triangle :Confused::Angry:Warbird Charlie
HSD Skyraider FlightLine OV-10 FMS 1400: P-40B, P-51, F4U, F6F, T-28, P-40E, Pitts, 1700 F4U & F7F, FOX glider Freewing A-6, T-33, P-51 Dynam ME-262, Waco TF Giant P-47; ESM F7F-3 LX PBJ-1 EFL CZ T-28, C-150, 1500 P-51 & FW-190Comment
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Yeah I realize that, just putting forward all the possibilities that would cause that. As I said, he would have noticed that long before the crash.
Reminds me of My Little Gal I going in. Just about the same response as he got with the F-86.
Too bad
Grossman56Team Gross!Comment
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I've had a battery reposition itself in flight. Not a pretty picture! :Scared: DocComment
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Kinda strange how they kinda go up backwards and then jump a few times before they hit the deck. Been there Doc not fun. Bad thing is I've let it happen twice.:Confused:
Dewey lComment
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G'day Gman,
I thought I saw smoke in the first place as well but I can not detect it in the slow motion replays but I would lay money on an elevator servo failure.
Or a brown out with the fail safe on the elevator set to down.
Remember we both though we saw smoke. Smoke = Uh oh!
Or in this case, I do not think the pilot would have a chance to even react.
If I ever went to a club that had time limits on recovering a crashed model, what parts I recovered in the time allowed, might find a home in a certain place where the sun does not shine, of the person calling the time limit.
I have seen blokes make a lawn dart out of a few models over the years and one of these moments was at a meeting with around one hundred pilots. The pilot took a good look at the scattered pieces of model just off the runway and left it there until the meet was over as to not disturb any others who were flying. That was good sportsmanship.
Yet other times, I have seen blokes run out on the runway to collect tomorrows garbage and almost get hit by an approaching model. I, in fact, dumped a model and destroyed it when a couple of blokes darted out onto the runway and rather then hit them......they offered no apology and jumped in their car and left.
Our club has an unspoken rule that no one is to cheer a crash [even if you do not like the person;)] and we nearly always go out as a group to recover what is left. Flying also stops as a safety point.
One advantage of club flying is, if someone sees the model go down, we get that person to stay in place and help guide the rescue personnel to the site.
Our runway is on top of a ridge line and a model can disappear from the pilots sight well before it gets planted if it is too far away.
The post crash investigation should involve a couple of people who can give a sensible opinion of what happened.
The big thing is to remember that we will all crash, and many of us will crash multiple times. However, learn from these moments and all is not wasted.
Personally, I have never crashed the same way twice. I suppose finding a new way to crash each time means that each lesson has been absorbed by the grey matter!:)
CRASH ETIQUETTÉ.docx
Regards and respect
DarylComment
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I actually like to plan my crashes well in advance of the upcoming event. That way, when I arrive at the field, I already have my crash site strategically located and set to go. But I must digress a bit. When I get up in the morning - on flying day - I consider the layout of our club flying field and all of the places that I have actually crashed over my 30 plus years of flying r c aircraft. Ahhhhh, the memories abound............!!
Anyway......, considering the size of our field.........., I am estimating that I do not have much ground left as to where I can "spot land" a plane anymore. In hind site, I wish that I would have made a map of our field and then stuck in those little color coded push pins in all of the locations where those ground monsters chose to eat one of my planes! A map such as that would have been interesting to contemplate over the years. It would have looked good on the wall above the fireplace mantel next to where I have mounted all of my broken propellers. Those propellers always remind me of a trophy crash!!
And just when I thought that I was getting pretty good at crashing, I was totally dismayed to see and envious of the crashing skill that a fellow flyer displayed just the other day at our field.
First off, out of the vehicle came a non descript powered glider with flaps and ailerons. His hand launch was to die for and he was actually able to control the doomed craft for about a 13 second roller coaster climb an dive until the dive out lasted the climb and an ominous thud was heard as the craft transformed itself into a myriad of useless material.
But not to be deterred, the next craft to head to the slaughter house was a "used" glow engine powered Sig Astro Hog.
The take off started off very well until the plane left the ground. Then the nose pitched up to a very high angle - and...., a little bit of altitude was even gained. However, all was not good though when the right wing went up higher than the nose while the left wing descended and dropped underneath the fuselage, all the while the pilot was pushing and pulling on the sticks so much so that "the transmitter must have malfunctioned!"
Next and lastly, after vacuuming up the balsa, monokote, engine, servos, receiver, fuel tank and Amelia Earhart's map of her last known location, out comes a helicopter! Well, I thought to myself, what could go wrong here? But was I wrong. I was treated to a visual experience that shall remain with me for quite some time. After all, how often does one get to see the blades of a helicopter ultimately flying at a 90 degree angle and actually striking the earth, propelling the craft along like it was actually walking or running - for a brief moment - until it just gave up and died!!
All in all, I could not believe my great fortune. I was witness to three very interesting crashes and I had not even pulled a plane out of my own vehicle yet!! I felt so honored that I was able to partake of the show that he put on, combined with his descriptive comments just moments after his fortunate incidents that I asked the pilot for his autograph!
So I guess that when one feels that they are really beginning to get the hang of crashing......., one should not get too confident because....., just like in the "Old West," there is always a "faster" crasher out there just waiting to show you that they have "The Right Stuff!!" :wacky
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Oh my god that story was funny!
Those transmitters "malfunctioning" will get ya every time! LmaoComment
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Yeah, I think that those transmitters "malfunctioning" are all tied in with the aircraft manufacturers. I mean, the more "malfunctioning" transmitters that are manufactured equals more crashed planes which means that the airplane manufacturers manufacture more aircraft and then sell them to highly skilled crashers as replacements!!
Jim :corsairComment
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