CRASH!!!! Share Your Worst Feeling but Best Learning Experiences

Tench745

Master member
that first one OUCH!!!
the second one iepes! right in the muck!
third one surprised those geese didnt rip it to shreds!

very cool plane! been looking at building a biplane sometime. plans anywhere or still in the prototype stage?

I have a set of plans here http://forum.flitetest.com/showthread.php?13126-Foam-Board-Jenny/page4 One change I might make to them is adding a lower surface to the top wing.
The struts were foam on the prototype but weren't strong enough in a hard landing. I would take a BBQ skewer for the leading edge of each strut and drive it all the way through both top and bottom surfaces of both wings to give the whole thing some extra rigidity.
The Jenny flew well, but was a 0 wind plane because it was so light and had so much lift from the undercambered airfoil. Making the wings both double surface should reduce the lift, and add weight making it a little more wind-friendly. The lower drag airfoil would theoretically increase the top speed too. This plane is a scale flyer and doesn't like to be over-powered.
 

Nate J

Member
The second plane I flew was a custom-built Cessna 172. It flew amazingly, until one evening I took off and it wouldn't turn and kept stalling... I tried to bring it back down but it drifted away over the ~80' tall woods and lost radio contact.

After about 30 minutes of searching I found the plane! It had miraculously fallen into a bush, somehow missing the huge trees. While examining the plane I found out that I had never put the flaps back up! *sigh*

Lesson learned: always go through your mental checklist of what needs to be done BEFORE taking off!
 
Way back in the 80's I built a Sig Kadet and learned to fly R/C with some guys in the neighborhood. They taught me with the "pass the transmitter" method and slowly but surely I was getting pretty proficient with my Kadet. Although the Kadet is a trainer it is surprisingly aerobatic and soon I was doing loops and rolls and spending more time with the throttle more or less fully open. Like many balsa stick built planes of the day, the Kadet has wooden pushrods. Who knew you could snap the elevator push rod if you pulled out of a loop too aggressively? Turns out it doesn't fly real well with no elevator. It eventually nosed into the ground. I subsequently learned to make stronger pushrods.
 

Daniel Kezar

Ultimate Cheap Skate
I have a set of plans here http://forum.flitetest.com/showthread.php?13126-Foam-Board-Jenny/page4 One change I might make to them is adding a lower surface to the top wing.
The struts were foam on the prototype but weren't strong enough in a hard landing. I would take a BBQ skewer for the leading edge of each strut and drive it all the way through both top and bottom surfaces of both wings to give the whole thing some extra rigidity.
The Jenny flew well, but was a 0 wind plane because it was so light and had so much lift from the undercambered airfoil. Making the wings both double surface should reduce the lift, and add weight making it a little more wind-friendly. The lower drag airfoil would theoretically increase the top speed too. This plane is a scale flyer and doesn't like to be over-powered.

thank you i checked out the build thread. what motor and prop are recommended?
 

Daniel Kezar

Ultimate Cheap Skate
The second plane I flew was a custom-built Cessna 172. It flew amazingly, until one evening I took off and it wouldn't turn and kept stalling... I tried to bring it back down but it drifted away over the ~80' tall woods and lost radio contact.

After about 30 minutes of searching I found the plane! It had miraculously fallen into a bush, somehow missing the huge trees. While examining the plane I found out that I had never put the flaps back up! *sigh*

Lesson learned: always go through your mental checklist of what needs to be done BEFORE taking off!

well at least it wasn't in the trees! that's all you can hope for! haha.
 

Daniel Kezar

Ultimate Cheap Skate
Way back in the 80's I built a Sig Kadet and learned to fly R/C with some guys in the neighborhood. They taught me with the "pass the transmitter" method and slowly but surely I was getting pretty proficient with my Kadet. Although the Kadet is a trainer it is surprisingly aerobatic and soon I was doing loops and rolls and spending more time with the throttle more or less fully open. Like many balsa stick built planes of the day, the Kadet has wooden pushrods. Who knew you could snap the elevator push rod if you pulled out of a loop too aggressively? Turns out it doesn't fly real well with no elevator. It eventually nosed into the ground. I subsequently learned to make stronger pushrods.

really? they used wooden push rods... huh. i did not know that before. interesting. thank you. what i use for push rods is this thin bendy wire that is about the worst possible thing for the job. i have to glue thin drinking straws the whole was so it wont bend. even then it still has slop which explains why i couldn't pull up very well with my ft flyer and consequently crashed. a lot.
 
A few weeks ago I was flying my mini scout, I guess the turn I made was a little to high G. The wings folded and the airplane spiraled into the ground. I had a small crash earlier in the day that i didnt think did any damage. The damage must have been worse than I thought. When it hit the ground I laughed really hard and some people running by were very entertained.
 

foamtest

Toothpick glider kid
A few weeks ago I was flying my mini scout, I guess the turn I made was a little to high G. The wings folded and the airplane spiraled into the ground. I had a small crash earlier in the day that i didnt think did any damage. The damage must have been worse than I thought. When it hit the ground I laughed really hard and some people running by were very entertained.

I'm glad you were able to laugh it off, some people can't just do that. I am fortunately one of the people who can laugh stuff like that off. I also think that if everything in this hobby went right and always went as planned then it wouldn't be nearly as fun as it is.
 

RMDC

Member
For me, I know that I'd have been terribly frustrated and grouchy with all my imperfect experiences so far if I hadn't had the FT crew as a model to introduce me to the hobby. They laid the groundwork in my brain to reflexively grin and laugh whenever I put my motor into the dirt. It makes even the worst session relaxing and enjoyable.
 

foamtest

Toothpick glider kid
Yeah I am pretty sure the communities attitude as a whole is reflective of the ft crew, not just when we crash, but in the desire to make the hobby grow, make friends online and in person, and just enjoy life through something as simple as model aviation.
 

Daniel Kezar

Ultimate Cheap Skate
A few weeks ago I was flying my mini scout, I guess the turn I made was a little to high G. The wings folded and the airplane spiraled into the ground. I had a small crash earlier in the day that i didnt think did any damage. The damage must have been worse than I thought. When it hit the ground I laughed really hard and some people running by were very entertained.

if you go back a few pages you will see my first crash story which includes a link to watch the video of my ft flyer maiden. i folded the wings as well. i taped a stick between them to keep them out and kept flying. lol.
 

Daniel Kezar

Ultimate Cheap Skate
I'm glad you were able to laugh it off, some people can't just do that. I am fortunately one of the people who can laugh stuff like that off. I also think that if everything in this hobby went right and always went as planned then it wouldn't be nearly as fun as it is.

well. said.
 

Daniel Kezar

Ultimate Cheap Skate
Yeah I am pretty sure the communities attitude as a whole is reflective of the ft crew, not just when we crash, but in the desire to make the hobby grow, make friends online and in person, and just enjoy life through something as simple as model aviation.

^^^^^ this kid gets it.
 

epsilon

Active member
My best crash so far was with my second viggen. First plane I ever took the time to paint. Found out with v.1 a plain white Itty bitty cross section is very difficult to maintain orientation with! Anyway, not only did I paint this one before flying it, I also showed it off to some friends on my way to the field. Naturally they all wanted to see it fly so suddenly I had half a dozen excited spectators. Mind you I've always flown alone up to this point. Thankfully I did get it in the air and made it around once before my nervousness got the best of me and after forgetting to throttle back after getting her in the air, lost orientation and sent her straight into the ground at about 75% throttle. Let's just say more than the nose crumpled lol. Thankfully everything else survived. Even the battery! Certainly a memorable experience.
 

Daniel Kezar

Ultimate Cheap Skate
well at least it survived! when i flew the first time with my ft Flyer, my response to almost crashing was to go 100% throttle and elevator lol. if i hadnt done that it might have actually now broken lol.