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Help! Is it normal to crash 4 planes in a row after having a great year last year?

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  • Help! Is it normal to crash 4 planes in a row after having a great year last year?

    This is year 3 for me in this hobby. At the end of last year I had mastered warbirds, including landings, float planes, and the Me262. It was a long winter with little flying and this year my normal routine of flying floats first before getting into the harder stuff was put on hold due to unusual weather and flooding problems where I live. I have had 6 flights in the last 2 weeks and 2 resulted in a near total loss of a 55 inch warbird and one large float plane. The other 2 flights required repairs after but not too serious, just humiliating.
    Still, I know how to fly this stuff but I'm having no luck this year. My P40 got too far away too fast as I forced myself to relax and I lost orientation. My float plane popped up into the sun as soon as I put in full flap for landing. I had forgotten to increase the down elevator for full flap. It happened so fast and I couldn't see it until it dove into the lake at 50% power.

    I'm not sure now whether to go back to the field tomorrow and try again or take a break and do something less challenging.

    Is it normal to regress off the learning curve like this? Please tell me I'll be ok again!!

  • #2
    Doesn't sound like a skill issue rather it sounds like a focus issue, you've got to stay focused on the bird ;)
    TiredIron Aviation
    Tired Iron Military Vehicles

    Comment


    • #3
      Go back to the field and keep flying, just make small adjustments so these things don't happen again. I generally adjust my flying time so that the sun is at my back or above me if possible. Much less risky than trying to track a model back and forth through the sun all the time. I also suggest slowing down flap deployment if possible. Gives you more time to react, and the change is much more smooth.

      That said, there are just times when your luck catches up with you. In about February, everything was going fantastic. It had been a loong time since I had put something in the dirt, and I was pretty confident. Then, I had a series of failures within a couple of weeks. An aileron servo locked in the full-up position on my Bearcat and sent it into a tree. My FMS P-47's firewall ripped out and exploded on a high speed pass. I stalled my beloved FSK Mosquito while filming air-to-air footage with a quadcopter. I lost my Avios Sea Fury while trying to avoid a mid air with another plane at a warbird fly. And, the ESC on my 90mm F-16 died and I had to perform an emergency belly landing.

      All of these except the Mosquito are repairable without excessive work, and will fly again soon. Bottom line is, it's always a risk, just have to get out the foam tac and keep going. And no matter what, do a very thorough preflight. It will at least help mitigate the risk of doing something stupid.

      Comment


      • #4
        Thank you guys for the words of encouragement. Yes I am in a hurry these days and sometimes impatient. Doing a better preflight and staying focused should help a lot. F106 Delta Dart you had quite a run of bad luck there. Good on you for pressing forward.!
        Cheers! Bluebird

        Comment


        • #5
          "Aviation in itself is not inherently dangerous. But to an even greater degree than the sea, it is terribly unforgiving of any carelessness, incapacity or neglect."

          — Captain A. G. Lamplugh, British Aviation Insurance Group, London. c. early 1930's.


          "The readiness to blame a dead pilot for an accident is nauseating, but it has been the tendency ever since I can remember. What pilot has not been in positions where he was in danger and where perfect judgment would have advised against going? But when a man is caught in such a position he is judged only by his error and seldom given credit for the times he has extricated himself from worse situations. Worst of all, blame is heaped upon him by other pilots, all of whom have been in parallel situations themselves, but without being caught in them. If one took no chances, one would not fly at all. Safety lies in the judgment of the chances one takes."

          — Charles Lindbergh, journal entry 26 August 1938

          -----------------------------

          As TI has said, sometimes one needs to step back and take a break. Make sure your mind (attitude, awareness, focus..etc.) is right before you fly. Having all your nuts and bolts just so is not enough. Being mentally prepared is just as important.

          BB

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          • #6
            Well said Beeg. In the full scale world, we have a thing called a safety mangament system that forces you to take all of that into account. Just ask yourself a couple of quick questions, if you start seeing multiple issues, you might want to stand back and give flying a second thought. Consider pilot health, weather conditions, how difficult the plane is to fly, and the condition of the aircraft. Everything has to be in order for success!

            Comment


            • #7
              All good advice. I would like to add that you are not alone in having this happen. Myself with 30 plus years experience had a year where I thought I just lost my touch and was wondering if I would ever get it back, plus I was running out of planes. I also took a step back and grabbed a High Wing plane and shot Touch N Go's all day long until I burned thru a couple gallons of Nitro over the course of about 2 weeks. For you that would be about 30-40 Battery Charges maybe a few more but the point being just go back to the basics and get your full confidence back. You will be just fine.

              Comment


              • #8
                I think that Wayne@MotionRC makes a good point. I also have over 30 plus years doing this and have "rekitted" my share of aircraft. One in particular that still stands out in my memory was my old Top Flite F4UCorsair. I had painstakingly built it over the winter with a build time of around 75 hours and on my maiden flight, I got a 37 second flight out of it before it turned into a memory making mound of blue confetti. It was a total loss!! However, I moved on and swallowed my pride and continued with this wonderful and exciting hobby.
                Getting back to Wayne@MotionRC's advice, just this morning, I went out to our flying field and simply taxied and did take-offs and landings - nothing else. I used up all of my batteries, but it was a good morning.
                I tend to go to the field with something in mind that I want to do or get better at or just practice. I call this my mental flight plan. It keeps me focused and thinking. And please do not worry, every individual, no matter what one does, goes through the proverbial "slump." Yes, it can be "demoralizing." But it is also very rewarding when one gets back into the swing of things again. Good luck to you!
                Jim :corsair

                Comment


                • #9
                  Wow, it's so great to have such a wonderful community of individuals who understand what I'm going through at the present time. I've read everyone's blog and you each have valuable input for me. I now see that others have been down this road before me. You all give me hope and consolation like no one else can who hasn't been here.

                  I realize now that I have been getting sloppy in my rush to start flying. My season this year is literally 2 months behind schedule for various reasons. In addition there are presently other things in my life distracting me from focusing fully on my flying.

                  From a practical sense I will begin to keep a log book on each airplane. That would have saved the loss of my Titan float plane this morning. If I had noted 2 months ago in the log book when I last flew it that the flap elevator mix needed adjustment, I could have fixed that today before flying or least remembered not to use full flap until it was adjusted. As suggested earlier the flap deployment could have been slowed down also, something I normally do with all my planes.

                  Yes I realize that a successful flight, even for our models requires a whole bunch of little details to all come together successfully. This where patience and focus must come together.
                  Time for me to regroup and make a fresh start.

                  Thank you so much my fellow flyers!!!!

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Hello Bluebird.

                    Thank you - very much for your "Thank you" to everyone that responded to your posting here. That was very nice to see!! It appears to me that you have the proper sticktoitiveness that is sometimes needed to enjoy this hobby for a lifetime. Good for you.:Cool:I am happy for you that you are taking the time to regroup and make a fresh start. I guess that is sort of like recharging your mental batteries. And I do like your idea of keeping a logbook for each aircraft. That is a smart thing to do. Take good care.

                    Jim :corsair

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                    • #11
                      G'day BB,
                      I have near 200 flights on my favorite FMS Mustang Shangri La as well as a similar number on my other two Mustangs [BBD & DA]. This is not counting the other fourteen FMS birds in the shed.
                      Over the last few months I have done more damage and replaced more parts on SL then at any other time with all my models combined. I am just lucky to have her in one piece.
                      It is just a phase of things. As others have said, step back, smell the roses and take your time during your setting up. Get used to doing everything twice. It will save you $$$$ one day.
                      Take time to look at the orientation of the sun and do not be in a rush to fly, fly fly on the day. I like to fly and then relax for half an hour or so. [often much longer when I am talking:)]
                      Our, must fly now:Silly:, club member wrecks more models then anyone else in our club because he does not take the time to 'reset' the grey matter. And that is as important as letting the ESC cool down in a model!
                      You will be OK!
                      Regards and respect
                      Daryl
                      PS, even the best prang sooner or later!

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Thank you Wrongroad! That's an impressive amount of flights you have put on your Mustangs. If I can do as well with my Warbirds I'll be happy.

                        Yes I think the last few times out I've been that guy that has to fly NOW. I've been so frustrated this year with the lack of opportunities I've had due to our field being flooded for 2 months and the lake I fly on off limits, also because of flooding.

                        I hope your "phase" is behind you finally and you are moving ahead for another great season.

                        With your help and the other wonderful folks who've sent messages I've learned a lot and will return soon to the field with renewed energy and a return to the more thorough approach I used to have. I guess there is always the danger of being overconfident once we get a good run of success. I won't fall into that trap again.

                        Thanks again Wrongroad for sharing your experience and wisdom. Cheers! Bluebird

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Bluebird,
                          I was feeling much like you were after going a few years without a single accident and then having crashed my E-Flite P-47 twice this spring. I felt gutted since the last crash I had was in my second year of flying my HZ Super Cub, I went a solid 3 years without a single mishap, except for an emergency landing of my J3 when an aileron jammed. No damage and she landed pretty good on the water given the mechanical issue, so I don't consider that a crash. Having crashed my P-47 really bothered me and it took time to reflect on what had happened and how to prevent it. In both cases, I was in such a hurry to fly this season that I flew the P-47 when I probably shouldn't have. Both times were windy and I didn't take time to warm up on the easier planes after not flying over the winter. I just got rusty on the sticks and was in too big of a hurry to fly. For me, the best thing was to just get back into it, but go back to the easier planes to get used to the feel of flying again and don't fly when that little voice says it is better to pack up and try another day.

                          Stick with it and I am sure you will be fine. That is what I am doing, not giving up after two minor crashes, but instead learn from them and apply those lessons moving forward. I completely understand the frustrations of not being able to fly due to weather. For some reason, it seems to be windy (15-25mph) every day, except when I am sitting at work. Wednesday night it was dead calm and as soon as my night class wrapped up, I headed to the field and had a wonderful evening of flying until it was just too dark to fly. Getting back out there really improves confidence and makes me love the hobby all over again.

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            G'day BB,
                            I like to help as much as possible so here is a beauty of a story for you.
                            Our club has the presence of a multiple Australian scale and F3A champion. I have never seen anyone who can fly better. He has a model with wheels on both the top and bottom and he can take off and land inverted. That is just to keep his eye in!
                            He crashed fifteen models in a week! And yet we all give up our models if he asks for a quick fly.
                            I was a bit down after putting my FMS 1400 V3 Corsair into the deck [six weeks later I one best foam war bird with it at my first show] and he told me that he had crashed over two hundred models getting as good as he is.
                            I was stoked to find out that he had flown a 1/6 scale Spitfire that I had built to his first scale win. It was the first scale war bird that I had built and I sold her to go into motor racing. I never saw it fly but it must have been OK.
                            The bottom line is....it is OK to crash. Just learn something from it:)
                            Now, I will remind myself of that advice next time! And there will be a next time!
                            Regards and respect
                            Daryl

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Bluebird you are now an RC blood brother to many of us it seems.;) I started a new flight log this year; I burned it yesterday after not even filling in the first page of flights, minutes, planes, etc. Lots of reasons this year for low flight time, but still a ridiculously huge number of injuries per hours flown ratio. Started a vacation this morning and was thinking of not doing anything RC, and then I read this thread.

                              "RC flight Confessions" might be an apt title for a sticky, or maybe something non-denominational , like 'What did you crash today?" -maybe not. I have a personal "dead bird" list for 2017; the Audubon Society would want to lock me up if published.

                              The advice and reassuring tone found here is good and should help some of us in the same boat. While I am in such a remedial state, I have changed that ratio back to injuries per minutes flown, as well as other adjustments to other flight records. I hope I don't revert back to more repair time then flight time like part of the rookie year. Hang in there Bluebird.:Cool:

                              Comment


                              • #16
                                Hey guys, have ever noticed at your club that as soon as you start flying all of a sudden the conversation behind you stops? It's funny really! Are they watching to see a highly skilled pilot in action, or are they waiting for the inevitable crash? ha ha Anyway I think today I disappointed them on both counts, but I was happy with my flights.

                                Thanks for your input BRGT350, Westsider and Daryl. Daryl, an inspiring story about an expert pilot, and you're right, as long as you learn something from each crash then you are on your way to a higher skill set. Great story about the Spitfire. Must have made you proud! Building one myself, 81inch TopRC

                                BRGT350 it sounds like you must be a highly accomplished pilot to fly so much with few crashes. Your crash must have been even tougher to take then for those of us who crash more often. Yes, getting back to basics and not rushing is the key after any kind of failure in this hobby. Yes the weather can be frustrating. It seems to me that the days I'm too busy to fly seem like the best ones to be out there. Good old Murphy's law again sometimes.

                                Westside I'm happy you were able to get some solace from the many kind folks who have responded to this blog. I also appreciated your sense of humour. At times like these a sense of humour really helps with the healing. I hope your vacation will allow you time to slow down a bit and reflect on your hobby.

                                Thanks very much fellow flyers! Have a great season.

                                Comment


                                • #17
                                  G'day BB,
                                  I actually have a huge grin on my face right now as I realize that the peanut gallery is the same the world over. They were obviously watching a very skilled pilot.:)
                                  We have a club rule that a pilot flying a maiden or a test flight [after repairs] can ask for the sky. In others words be the only aircraft in the sky.
                                  The draw back is....everyone is watching. And it is strange how you can tell that!:Confused:
                                  I will often ask the pilot, with a new model, if he or she would like me to spot for them. If they say yes, I do not stand too close to them in case they get into trouble and hand me the transmitter. Do not laugh, as a long gone [passed away] member of our club was notorious for doing just that. He would get into trouble and hand the transmitter to you with the model in a screaming full throttle vertical power dive about ten feet off the deck and turn to you and ask why you crashed his model. And he fully expected you to pay for it. Needless to say, he soon had to fly on his own all the time.:)
                                  Ahhh, we still get a grin and many miles out of old Charlie. He owned a very good hobby shop for modelers and when he passed, his upstairs living quarters were a treasure trove of unbuilt kits, rare engines, rare lots of things that he squirreled away over the years.
                                  The auction of these things attracted buyers from all over the world. Of course the prices matched the attraction and very little found its way into the hands of locals. Much the shame. But that is the way the world turns.
                                  I will tell you how stressed out I get. At the end of a maiden fright [yes, fright], once I have landed, taxied back and shut down, I get really bad back spasms that go right into the base of my skull. I have to sit down and take a few minutes. It is why I very rarely fly a maiden for someone else.
                                  I got these spasms in my back last Wednesday after my first flight in a month [after hand surgery for Carpal Tunnel, both hands] and I was flying like I was flying for the first time. I was very lucky to get back in one piece.
                                  It was so bad that I only flew one mission that day.
                                  Last Sunday I was back in the groove.:Cool::Cool:
                                  The Spitfire lived for twenty five years and was sold onto a pilot who let ambition outweigh ability and rolled it into the ground on his first flight with it. It was a shame as his arrogance was the sole cause of the Spitfire's demise. And I do not believe he learned anything from the experience.
                                  I draw cartoons on what happens at my club and I now have four volumes of forty 'toons in each volume. There are also many that are too local to mean anything to anyone else and they take up another six volumes.
                                  I have posted some on RCG's Australian section under cartoons, just for laughs. I might put a few up here as well. Keep an eye out.
                                  As you may have guessed, I try not to take life too seriously and I play what is in front of me all the time.
                                  I just want people to have fun and be as safe as we can be while doing it and if I can help out just a little bit, it is my good deed for the day!
                                  Regards and respect
                                  Daryl

                                  Comment


                                  • #18
                                    Hi Daryl I really enjoyed your message this morning. Some interesting stories and anecdotes. Thanks for the positive vibe that they were watching a skilled pilot. Actually I seem to be over the hump now as I recently spent the day at our field and flew about 9 (missions) with overall good success including some aerobatic manoeuvres and sweet landings. It's amazing what it does for ones confidence and overall happiness when you have a good day like that. This hobby is definitely an addiction; but as healthy an addiction as you'll find anywhere.

                                    I think your club rule about giving a pilot the sky to himself when on a maiden (fright) LOL, is a good one and offering to stand by incase they need assistance can be comforting to a new pilot especially. Pretty funny about the old timer in your club wanting to have someone else take over his flight when it was out of control. Takes all kinds I guess.

                                    Glad to hear you where back in the groove last Sunday after some surgery. Re first flights; I get stressed out too on a maiden flight, specially when the aircraft is a step up in skill level. I usually only fly one that day, then give myself time to assess the experience and what adjustments may be needed before I fly that plane again. The first flight takes so much intense concentration I'm not surprised you have physical manifestations afterward. I'm usually just very tired but relieved that it's behind me.

                                    I'd love to see your cartoons sometime. If you decide to post them please let me know.

                                    Cheers, Norm
                                    BC, Canada

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