TehMaxwell
Tales of a Rookie
I will start off by saying that, those of you looking for actual fireballs, the title is admittedly slightly misleading. Thankfully there were no actual fireballs in this particular tale. However there was an explosion of foam!
Lets set the scene. I was down at the local horse racing course, the wind was low and I was confident. Strangely there was someone else flying there who I had never seen before. He was very interested in the wing, and it performed well on the first flight. I had expected this, as only two days earlier I had maidened the Blunt Nosed Versa and it had flew perfectly, if a tad nose heavy. I had tried putting in more reflex, but this didn't really help much, the plane definitely needed it's CofG moving back a touch.
It would be poignant at this point to mention the Velcro I was using inside the plane to hold my batteries in place, it was good apart from one thing. The adhesive that stuck the Velcro down onto the material you were using was not very strong at all. I had to reglue the velcro down using hot glue several times, and even this could fail after a few uses. I didn't have big enough Velcro straps to hold down the batteries I was using ( 2 2200mah 3s Packs in Parallel and a 1000mah 3s FPV Pack). You can see where this is going can't you.
I was having too hold up elevator to keep the plane flying straight and level, but apart from that it was flying great. The controls were very responsive, it was nice and fast and a quite efficient flyer. However, about 4 minutes into my second flight, something went horribly wrong. The plane darted for the ground, much like a homesick brick does when it falls off a high roof. From about one hundred feet up or so, the wing went full throttle vertically into the ground. I new it was bad when the right half of the wing flew up into the air, no longer attached to the left. In hindsight I should have throttled back, but I think that would not have saved much of the pain the wing was destined to endure. The plane had a battle with Terra Firma, and the plane lost....
When I got to the scene of the accident, I saw an explosion radius of about 12 feet in front of me, there were pieces strewn everywhere. Instantly I could see there was no way the airframe could be repaired. I must say it did an admirable job, and took the impact very well. But it was a huge impact, so very well wasn't really good enough.
All in all it cost me 3 Batteries and an FPV Transmitter. I still don't know if the camera is alive, however it's casing should have protected it. 2 servos also died, but at £2.00 they don't mean so much.
Moral of the story, secure your batteries better. I shall not be so trusting of the Velcro next time. My bank account was hit hard, but my mind was hit harder. The hours spent all wasted. Still I am not too bitter. For one it improved my building skills and I now know how to safely dispose of Lipo's. Plus, I now feel somewhat part of the club, like I have been initiated through a sacrificial ritual. Shamefully I didn't get it on video, it would have been nice to watch it over and over again at half speed.
I hope you enjoyed my story!
Lets set the scene. I was down at the local horse racing course, the wind was low and I was confident. Strangely there was someone else flying there who I had never seen before. He was very interested in the wing, and it performed well on the first flight. I had expected this, as only two days earlier I had maidened the Blunt Nosed Versa and it had flew perfectly, if a tad nose heavy. I had tried putting in more reflex, but this didn't really help much, the plane definitely needed it's CofG moving back a touch.
It would be poignant at this point to mention the Velcro I was using inside the plane to hold my batteries in place, it was good apart from one thing. The adhesive that stuck the Velcro down onto the material you were using was not very strong at all. I had to reglue the velcro down using hot glue several times, and even this could fail after a few uses. I didn't have big enough Velcro straps to hold down the batteries I was using ( 2 2200mah 3s Packs in Parallel and a 1000mah 3s FPV Pack). You can see where this is going can't you.
I was having too hold up elevator to keep the plane flying straight and level, but apart from that it was flying great. The controls were very responsive, it was nice and fast and a quite efficient flyer. However, about 4 minutes into my second flight, something went horribly wrong. The plane darted for the ground, much like a homesick brick does when it falls off a high roof. From about one hundred feet up or so, the wing went full throttle vertically into the ground. I new it was bad when the right half of the wing flew up into the air, no longer attached to the left. In hindsight I should have throttled back, but I think that would not have saved much of the pain the wing was destined to endure. The plane had a battle with Terra Firma, and the plane lost....
When I got to the scene of the accident, I saw an explosion radius of about 12 feet in front of me, there were pieces strewn everywhere. Instantly I could see there was no way the airframe could be repaired. I must say it did an admirable job, and took the impact very well. But it was a huge impact, so very well wasn't really good enough.
All in all it cost me 3 Batteries and an FPV Transmitter. I still don't know if the camera is alive, however it's casing should have protected it. 2 servos also died, but at £2.00 they don't mean so much.
Moral of the story, secure your batteries better. I shall not be so trusting of the Velcro next time. My bank account was hit hard, but my mind was hit harder. The hours spent all wasted. Still I am not too bitter. For one it improved my building skills and I now know how to safely dispose of Lipo's. Plus, I now feel somewhat part of the club, like I have been initiated through a sacrificial ritual. Shamefully I didn't get it on video, it would have been nice to watch it over and over again at half speed.
I hope you enjoyed my story!
