How many flights until you retire a model?

flyinsparky

Member
I have 84 flights on my Tiny Trainer, it has been such a fun progression from the dihedral wing to the aileron wing (basically an entirely different plane) putting an APC 6x4 prop on it (amazing performance difference) and then from 2S to 3S (another huge jump). With more speed and capability comes the possibility and likelihood of harder crashes. Last week, I stripped my elevator servo and drilled it straight into the ground. Although it wasn't the worst crash it has sustained, the damage assessment report shows significant history of structural damage and it looks like a retirement for the airframe and a full rebuild is the answer. It seems like the belly landings also take their toll over time as well.

I was planning on upgrading to a 2204 size motor and making a couple changes to the wing for a bit more acrobatic ability and to keep the bands from slipping into the aileron slot, so it's not a bad time for a replacement.

I absolutely love the Tiny Trainer, I'll always have one in the hangar.

How many flights do you usually get out of a model before you retire it?
 

skymaster

Elite member
I have 84 flights on my Tiny Trainer, it has been such a fun progression from the dihedral wing to the aileron wing (basically an entirely different plane) putting an APC 6x4 prop on it (amazing performance difference) and then from 2S to 3S (another huge jump). With more speed and capability comes the possibility and likelihood of harder crashes. Last week, I stripped my elevator servo and drilled it straight into the ground. Although it wasn't the worst crash it has sustained, the damage assessment report shows significant history of structural damage and it looks like a retirement for the airframe and a full rebuild is the answer. It seems like the belly landings also take their toll over time as well.

I was planning on upgrading to a 2204 size motor and making a couple changes to the wing for a bit more acrobatic ability and to keep the bands from slipping into the aileron slot, so it's not a bad time for a replacement.

I absolutely love the Tiny Trainer, I'll always have one in the hangar.

How many flights do you usually get out of a model before you retire it?
for as long as i can remember I still have the very first one that i built, i had to build the nose a couple of times but it is still in good shape.
 

Flying Monkey fab

Elite member
How many flights do you usually get out of a model before you retire it?

This just varies so much from person to person. I fly on the edge, so I think my max has been 25 or so. If you want the next one to last almost forever, there are lots of tips scattered in the build videos that make these were only a crash does them in. Do all the hinges right etc, and I think you could get 200+ baring a crash.
 

Aslansmonkey

Well-known member
I don't even count. If I like a plane enough, it stays. If I don't like it enough, it's electronics get sacrificed for the next plane I want to try (and there is ALWAYS one I want to try). If I REALLY like it, I'll either keep repairing it or build a new one. But for me it's never about how many flights I have on it, it's about how I feel about flying it and how much I want to make something else.

I'll probably always have a scout. It's my favorite and I'm on my second one. I have a pretty bashed up Bravo that likely will get replaced by another Bravo, because I love flying that plane. My tutor, on the other hand, though it's a fine plane, doesn't thrill me enough to stay and it's gear will be donated to another plane, even though I don't have a lot of flites in.

On average, I bet I'm less than 5 flights per plane, though I've more probably more than 20 on a scout.

I have like 10 or more flyable planes at the moment, though, so they all get turns.
 

Mr NCT

Site Moderator
I currently have seven flight worthy, three waiting repairs, two in the process of construction and one on the drawing board. Of the flight worthy ones three of them have lasted over a year. I have no idea how that happened! 🤪
 
I'm a newbie, so bear with me.....

My Tiny Trainer is officially dead after about 10 minutes in the air. A few crashes and I was building new noses (both power and glider) for it. A few more crashes and the fuse was so wobbly that it was next. It was my very first plane.

I had a little spare cash came my way so I bought an Aeroscout. I've flown it for about an hour now and am getting more and more comfortable with flying in general. So Sunday afternoon I figured I would revisit the Tiny Trainer and see if it sucked or I sucked. It sucked.:D Could barely get altitude, the turns were sloppy, and it was totally uninspiring. To be fair, I had beaten the absolute crap out of it. I came home salvaged the servos and the motor and will now build something else. Not much else uses that powerpack so I'm not sure what that next one will be.
 

flyinsparky

Member
I'm a newbie, so bear with me.....

My Tiny Trainer is officially dead after about 10 minutes in the air. A few crashes and I was building new noses (both power and glider) for it. A few more crashes and the fuse was so wobbly that it was next. It was my very first plane.

I had a little spare cash came my way so I bought an Aeroscout. I've flown it for about an hour now and am getting more and more comfortable with flying in general. So Sunday afternoon I figured I would revisit the Tiny Trainer and see if it sucked or I sucked. It sucked.:D Could barely get altitude, the turns were sloppy, and it was totally uninspiring. To be fair, I had beaten the absolute crap out of it. I came home salvaged the servos and the motor and will now build something else. Not much else uses that powerpack so I'm not sure what that next one will be.

Your experience with the Tiny Trainer surprises me. I started with a very overweight Simple Cub that I struggled with. The Tiny Trainer was just right and flew like I wanted it to. Being able to upgrade it as I learned more has made it even better and really kept my excitement with it going.
 

quorneng

Master member
It all comes down to your skill (and willingness) to repair it.
My oldest 'no balsa' plane is 10 years old, flown regularly and still is, however not much of the original remains.
 

luvmy40

Elite member
To date, 5 flights is the most I have gotten out of any one plane(all foamies) before it was destroyed beyond repair. I'm not a great pilot, obviously. My tiny Trainer is still in the repairable category with 3 flights, I just haven't gotten to the latest repair yet. No time to fly anyway, so...
 

JasonK

Participation Award Recipient
my planes get retired by pushing them to their limits and snapping them in two... or crashing them in a way that isn't easily fixed. I doubt any of my planes have made 50 packs. (but I do have one that might get scrapped for parts before it gets scrapped from damage..)
 

Tench745

Master member
I'm noticing a trend here. Some people get upwards of 50 flights on an airframe, which means those people have flown enough to get at least 50 flights on a single plane.
Others are lucky to get 5, these are usually the people who don't have 50 flights spread across their entire hangar.
It seems to me that experience is the deciding factor. If you fly a lot you tend to become a competent pilot and your planes survive a while.
If, like me, you don't have the ability/opportunity/motivation to fly a lot, then every time at the field you have to get all the rust off to be where you left off last time. Only then can you start back in on the learning. Planes belonging to pilots like this tend to survive for a long time chronologically, but not many flights.

For reference, I started flying in 2010, but began logging my RC flights back in March 2015. I have around 240 flights logged since then, averaging around 34 flights per year. Some of those flights lasted 30 minutes, and others weren't even 30 seconds, but it averages out to a little over 8 minutes per flight. I have logged 32.5 hrs of fixed-wing flight time and I still consider myself to be a low-level intermediate pilot. It's still noteworthy when I don't have to fix anything after a flying session.
At a quick glance it looks like my most long-lived aircraft was the FT Blunt-nose Versa with about 28 flights on it before I cracked the spar.
 

flyinsparky

Member
I am a nerd for stats so I thought it would be cool to log all my flights from the beginning. I started flying May 6th, since then I have 233 flights, totaling 27hrs, 40mins spread between 7 planes. (1 of which never really flew, and one that has been retired)
 

JasonK

Participation Award Recipient
I'm noticing a trend here.
there are also people like me... I am usually flying FPV and I keep pushing "can I hit that gap" type stuff, so my planes to tend to get into more collisions then if I was to just to fly calm circuits around the field. For example, I was flying through the quad gates with my 75% goblin at FF (did end up hitting a gate and got some minor damage - velcro for the battery came loose from the air frame).
 

navillus5

Member
My Tiny Trainer kept flying through liberal applications of hot glue, then packing tape and in its final iteration, duct tape. It was a bit of a FrankenPlane at the end. I think that you have a chance at repair up until the rear of the fuselage loses integrity- then it just becomes just a pain to keep readjusting the control rods. At that point it’s time to build another.
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luvmy40

Elite member
there are also people like me... I am usually flying FPV and I keep pushing "can I hit that gap" type stuff, so my planes to tend to get into more collisions then if I was to just to fly calm circuits around the field. For example, I was flying through the quad gates with my 75% goblin at FF (did end up hitting a gate and got some minor damage - velcro for the battery came loose from the air frame).
But you have a very happy fence post there!:p
 

Yankee2003

Well-known member
My Tiny Trainer kept flying through liberal applications of hot glue, then packing tape and in its final iteration, duct tape. It was a bit of a FrankenPlane at the end. I think that you have a chance at repair up until the rear of the fuselage loses integrity- then it just becomes just a pain to keep readjusting the control rods. At that point it’s time to build another.
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That is an inspiration if I have ever seen one.