Send us your CRASH stories!!

[rockyboy]

Well, actually I'd love to send in a crash story I have, but I haven't been able to figure out where to send it yet.

I'm hoping a post with this title will attract an appropriate answer from Pat or Mike or one of the other loose screws associated with the FT Community or After Hours podcasts.

Thanks for a great weekly(ish) dose of RC fun in my morning commute to all the podcast teams!

 

[ofiesens2]

I'll start. The rest of you probably all have funnier stories but this one made me laugh when it happened.

I was visiting relatives in Toronto about a year ago and decided to go break a law by flying 7 kilometers from the major airport there (I think the legal distance is 10). But other than that it was safe; no cars, no people around. Anyway, I was flying in a parking lot with a beat up FT Flyer. I was actually having a good day, and had gone through a battery and a half with no mishaps. Anyway, I decided to do a loop and coming out of the loop, hit a lamp post about 30 feet off the ground.
The prop shattered (one piece actually disappeared into a sewage grate) and the battery flew off the velcro, but was still attached by the JST plug into the ESC. I was able to land the plane in (mostly) one piece with the battery dangling off the bottom.
Still remains to this day the only crash that I have been able to laugh at.

 

[Hai-Lee]

Sadly trying to select a special crash for this post is difficult as I have had so many but here is my selection.

I have a FB version of a Quick Trick, (originally a balsa 1/2A racer), and I had many hours of low power racing fun. Decided that I wanted to go faster so I fitted a HK Funfighter motor and ESC and it instantly became a rocket with wings, Unlimited vertical etc.

One day I noticed what appeared to be anhedral on the wings prior to flight but thought it must be a little sag in the FB which was about 6 months old at the time. Fitted the battery and took off. After a while climbing vertical rolling at ridiculous rates and otherwise showing off I decided I would try a few different demonstrations.

I started doing full power vertical dives and max elevator in inside loops, all was fine. Then I decided I would try the same pulling out into outside loops. The first few times were great but on the third time the wing joint inside the fuselage gave up and the wing tips slapped together. This caused the fuselage to distort madly and allow the battery hatch to come loose and fly off followed almost immediately by the battery and the voltage alarm.

The plane fluttered down like a wounded bird, wings flapping and unable to assume any stable attitude, I was still trying to operate the control surfaces even without the battery. After what seemed an eternity the plane landed softly on the ground on its landing gear in what was almost a perfect 3 point landing.

It took 3 fellow fliers and I about 30 minutes to find the battery which had traveled about 150 ft from the site of departure. Later I found that the wing joint on the top of the wing had been split for a long time, (hence the anhedral), and trying the high G outside loops was a few Gs too far.

Rejoined the wings and replaced the fuselage and I still have the plane today over 6 months since the incident. I did learn that preflight includes more than just does the radio work!