My (maybe not so) Epic FT Flyer Crashes
ok so now i am going to tell about the first time i tried to get into this hobby. it was about 5 or 6 years ago. i was like 10 years old. i saw these people in youtube videos flying planes. it looked fun. this was about the first time i watched a ft video. i had no clue how the controls worked or anything. saved up and bought a $100 pusher trainer foam plane at the local hobby shop with some birthday money.
i couldn't wait to fly it! on the first not so windy day (so like 8mph winds) i took it to my grandparents house because they have a field. i couldn't get it to fly. finally i get it in the air with an underhand toss and it just goes up and up and it all happened so fast i don't remember if i actually flew it for a second or not but it went up and up and the wind took it over the trees and far away until it was just a tiny dot in the sky then disappeared. i was traumatized.
i got a crawler for christmas a few years later. that cant fly away. i watched ground vehicle videos then halfway through 2016 i started watching plane videos again. i watched a lot of flitetest. started watching regularly around the time of the start of the vlog.
february vacation of 2017 i build the airframe part of the ft flyer while recovering from having my wisdom teeth out. april vacation i build the sparrow as a chuck glider and have tons of fun with that. for my birthday i get money for buying power pack b. i then get the wrong batteries from ft and send them back and they dont have the right ones in stock. get the right ones from hk.
late september 2017:
now for the maiden.
here is the video if you want to watch it. i would appreciate some tips on what i did wrong.
well. clamest day i had. 10mph winds. first time flying. luckily i have practiced on a simulator so i feel like a pro. lol.
here is what happens.
i have a bunch of friends around plus my mom who you will hear throughout the video.
first clip: i takeoff from the ground. goes well. i fly a little bit. come land ON THE PAVEMENT. wheel falls off. broken prop.
next clip: i try to take off with the unattached wheel which falls off.
third clip: notice i still am using the broken prop which is way off balance because half of each blade is shattered off because it hit pavement. hand launch. severe lack of power. i fly a bit then try to land ON THE GRASS THIS TIME which ends in my stalling just above the ground and landing nose first and flipping over.
fourth clip: new prop. this is now the 10x4.5 instead of the 9x4.5 i had before. much more thrust. i decide to try a loop or something. apparently the, lets see, march, april, may, june, july, august, september, 7 month old low temp hot glue didnt want to hold. wings fold. boom into ground. bent the new prop. i bend it back a bit.
next clip: prop sounds a bit funny bc its bent back and off balance. i also have a stick taped between the wings to keep them down. almost strikes the ground on takeoff. going fine then i guess i didnt have enough elevator authority and when i took a steep turn into downwind i went full throttle trying to recover- straight into the ground. now the prop is REALLY bent.
sixth and final clip: i think this is my longest flight. i crash because i was flying downwind towards myself and turn towards the field and away from my body and again, not enough levator or maybe too much rudder and bam into the ground. if you look closely in the slomo you can see the power pod rid off and the wing bend and yeah it was a mess.
here was the damage:
conclusion: i flew five times. i need to not land as much. i need to fly higher. i need to not go so fast into corners. i need to not do loops in a 3ch trainer. i need to remember that there is less lift on downwind. please let me know if there is anything else.
i have since reglued the wings and made adjustments to the elevator and glued a bbq skewer between the wings for strength.
for anyone building the ft flyer. i recommend a support between wings and dont do loops.
