When does the crashing stop?

[Agwagon]

A key component is reliability and redundancy. Buy good electronics, be wary of cheap off brand components including batteries, receivers, servos, etc. Sort of the like the old motorcycle saying "if you have a $50 head, but a $50 dollar helmet" For anything expensive I always use a Spektrum "powersafe" receiver with dual batteries. These have a soft switch that fails to the "ON" position. Switches are a common failure mode. I no longer use 4.8V components, at least 6V and higher. I've gone to gas engines as they are more reliable that glow. Just like electronics, GOOD engines are a must! Stick with the best brands. Do not fight cheap off brand garbage. I've seen many beautiful aircraft destroyed from using unreliable engines. There will be more

[Aros]

If you ain't crashin' you ain't flyin'.

I've been flying for over 25 years from micros to giant scale and I have both gone well over a year and hundreds of flights without a single crash to crashing several models within a small amount of time. They come in bunches for me. Lately it's been jets. I've crashed (for various reasons, some my fault, some not my fault) between 6-10 jets over the past 16 months. Ouch.

Sometimes it's just bad luck. Sometimes it's Dumb Thumbs, sometimes it's an electrical issue, or lack of thorough preflight check...On and on.