What did you crash today

rockyboy

Skill Collector
Mentor
Hmmm, looks just like the TT. I might consider this for a quick replacement after Xmas. The TT actually is hard to scratch build with all the cuts, but this DAS looks a little easier.

The DAS does go together very easily, and with a smaller wingspan than the TT it's a much more nimble plane in the air. At FFE15 when the winds were high, it was the only plane I was willing to put in the air. Pointed into the wind I could hover at about 3/4 throttle! :) Very stable compared to the larger things I had with me.
 

sprzout

Knower of useless information
Mentor
Took my Versa Wing out on Christmas Eve, after making some weight changes to it to balance it out a bit better.

My dad hand launched it, it took off and immediately went nose up - and STAYED nose up. I kept trying to trim it out, get it to come back to level, and it started stalling and looping. I did everything I possibly could to try and save it, but I ended up nosing her into a mesquite bush on the side of the hill.

Sadly, she died. Wing split about 2 inches to the left of the center line, ripped right open, snapped the spar that goes across the entire wing for strength. Electronics, servos, even the battery were completely untouched; the wing was dead, however. My dad looks and goes, "Oh no..I'm so sorry, son..I'm bummed. Maybe you can repair it, put some new spars in, use some bamboo skewers and strengthen it to fly better."

"Dad...If i do that, I'm gonna have to go out and buy some more bamboo skewers and tape/glue it all together, praying it holds. Or, I can go to Dollar Tree, spend $2, and buy the foamboard to rebuild it as a brand new wing."

"Wait...$2 to build a new one?"

"Yeah. I've got all of the electronics, extreme packing tape, even a couple of spare paint sticks and glue sticks at home...I'll just build a new one. It'll take me less time, and it'll probably fly better now that I know what I'm doing. This was the first Versa Wing I've ever built. Besides, dad, what's my mantra?"

"Build - Fly - Crash - Repeat."

"Exactly!"
 

PsyBorg

Wake up! Time to fly!
Should strip it down for the electronics then wrap it in led's and tinsel in good holiday spirits. Keep making those memories with your dad mate. Happy Holidays!
 

sprzout

Knower of useless information
Mentor
Should strip it down for the electronics then wrap it in led's and tinsel in good holiday spirits. Keep making those memories with your dad mate. Happy Holidays!

Already stripped down, and my dad was upset that I was just throwing away the original body.

I finally showed him I could make it out of 2 sheets of foamboard by printing out the Versa Wing plans, cutting and pasting them together onto the two sheets, and he went, "Oh. Now I understand your $2 rebuild."

LOL

He's finally getting to where he realizes that for me, crashing is something that happens and you learn from it, move on, and keep flying. He's so afraid to fly because he's afraid of crashing, and I think seeing me having a very nonchalant attitude about it is helping him to get past that hump.
 

nhk750

Aviation Enthusiast
TAYLORCRAFT DOWN!!!!!

It's a sad day in America, I crashed the Great Planes Taylorcraft and it is pretty much totaled. Had a tip stall (this thing tip stalls pretty bad at low speeds) and my battery was low as I was coming in for a landing, then when i tried to correct I think it browned out or I just didn't have enough altitude to save it. It went straight down and smashed full blast into the dirt and pretty much broke up like you see in the picture. I learned from this to keep my speed up when low to ground and low on battery. I also was practicing stalls and I should not have been doing that either in that condition. I will gut the electronics and retire this one as it's not worth trying to repair because you can buy a new kit for $100. Lessons learned and now time to move on...I need to cry now...

IMG_3745.JPG
 

rockyboy

Skill Collector
Mentor
Ouch!

Gotta say, the wing looks like a pretty clean break. And the tail section looks fine too. Might be a fun future project to chop off the nose and scratch build something unique to the front and see if you have a flying bird again.
 

nhk750

Aviation Enthusiast
The wing is un-repairable as it is broken and shattered past the midsection on one side, the front of the fuse is destroyed, but the tail did survive. I purchased a Tower Hobbies Sport EP 60" ARF for $89 delivered with coupons and discounts! I'm going to gut the Tcraft and put it all in this one. The Tcraft served it's purpose to teach me how to build, now I'm going to tear it apart to see where it failed on impact to learn how my glue joints held up.

I was never impressed with this kit, but it was ok for a learning experience. I don't usually purchase ARF's, but I'm depressed and need something to fill the void until I finish the Hog Bipe.
 

nhk750

Aviation Enthusiast
Removed all the electronics last night, inspected glue joints and found all my mods and glue joints held up great. The failures occurred in the firewall and wing where the wood quality was really bad. I mentioned this while building it also in my build video and thread, as the plywood was crumbling and the balsa was super soft and super hard. It might have been ok if never crashed, but the poor wood quality in this kit really contributed to all the damage. My Sig Hog Bipe has extremely good wood compared to this Great Planes T-Craft kit.
 

Akurion

New member
Tiny Trainer. Second day flying -- first day of actual success. Apparently all the mistakes of the first day soaked in overnight and I had it all figured out today!

Then, while trying to turn around to reverse my orbit, I put it nose-first into a concrete stadium light pole. Like, dead-on, tip of the spinner straight into the concrete. Fortunately Tiny Trainers don't mass much, so the sudden stop didn't wreck it, but it crumpled the foam portion of the powerpod and knocked off the motor's alignment to the plane body (though the motor itself seems undamaged -- propeller wasn't even scratched).

After two days of crashes, though, the Tiny Trainer is still looking good. The wing has a few bites I've managed to fix up, and the nose has taken a few hits, but it still flies just fine. Looking forward to next weekend already!
 

jack10525

Active member
Yep I crashed today. Lost the plane and it ended up in a tree. Took a while to find and then get down. Lost a f#$ken action cam!!!! First pic is how I found it when I walked up. Took time to see it in the tree. Damage assesment: broken tail and wing dinged up pretty good. Should be able to fix.
 

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Forster

Slow, low and dirty.
Crashed my first simple cub (finally beyond repair) then immediately crashed my second simple cub. I guess tomorrow is a build day.
 

Damig

Member
If you didnt crash you are not trying hard enough

Yep I crashed today. Lost the plane and it ended up in a tree. Took a while to find and then get down. Lost a f#$ken action cam!!!! First pic is how I found it when I walked up. Took time to see it in the tree. Damage assesment: broken tail and wing dinged up pretty good. Should be able to fix.

<Salute>!!!!!!
 

HilldaFlyer

Well-known member
Here is the my most recent crash. I haven't flown this MiniWing since last year. I don't recall having any problems with it... so why not fly it?