What did you crash today

Aireal Anarchist

Elite member
Is it normal to be crashing a drone this much?
not saying this is your issue but...
One of my my drones will randomly fall out of the sky 95% of the time...... if I arm it in line of sight of my wifi router....never happens if I arm the drone with NO line of sight to the wifi router.....go figure

this made me nuts breaking parts while I was attempting to diagnose the problem and turned out I had to recognize a pattern

edit: oh yeah and fly it low till you sort this out
 
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PsyBorg

Wake up! Time to fly!
Sorry about the crash mate but they do happen a lot for various reasons.

From what I saw it was not a failsafe as the quad did not tumble it fell flat. That was pure loss of power. I believe this because it was un powered when you picked it up and did not reboot until you messed with the battery plug. My guess is you will find an open solder joint at the connector on the FC side. I have got several pre made pig tails do that. Which is why I cut mine open, resolder them and reshrink tube them before using.

When it did finally get power I am pretty sure you smoked a motor and here is why. You mentioned the bells had slipped and were down probably against the base plate. this in turn stopped them from turning and when the esc's booted making the motors twitch and they could not move thus producing a huge current draw.

Check the motor windings for any sign of burned coating if you see brown or black then the motor is dead or if not dead not really safe to use. thus the second issue. More then likely if the motor smoked that made a direct short and you can be sure the phase that shorted also took out that phase on the esc.

Post crash advice from experience. Replace any of those motors where the bell has slipped. Once they move they never stay in place again even after pushing them back up. every not perfect landing or tumble will make them move and could possibly cause the same issue frying an esc and motor because it wont spin with the bell out of alignment.

BEFORE powering up take a mutli meter and test continuity on each output phase to ground and positive on each esc
If any phase beeps between ground or positive that esc is shorted and no good.

We have all been there and I tell you from experiencing these exact same issues at some point or other over time. Crashing takes a toll on these things which is why maintenance checks are needed Prior to EVERY session no matter how well the last one went.

That said... how did the rate changes go for you. Did the quad seem more controllable?
 

Innaviation

Well-known member
Thanks, when I did a quick check over the quad there wan't any problems like what you were describing. I am using a really cheap receiver and controller so I think it may have been a brown out. I checked the esc and everything on that fine so my guess is some of the wires on the motors crossed and therefore shorted, they were pretty cheap motors so I may end up upgrading all of motor.

The rates did feel nice the only real problem with control at this point is the gimbals on my FS-i6 are a bit loose but hopefully I can switch to my DX6e soon.

Thanks again.
 

PsyBorg

Wake up! Time to fly!
Usually a brown out or fails safe will make the quad roll back to the left as thats the procedure for free fall fail safe to stop momentum and drop the quad as fast as possible. You fell straight down and flat with no roll so that tells me the props freewheeled without an esc signal like a brown out or fails safe condition with power.
 

bwarz

Master member
Slapped together a mini bloody zero at suggestions of some that me and my kids may be able to fly it in my narrow yard. Didn't work out so well:Do_O In my rush I decided not to bother with lacquer, and somehow forgot to reinforce the hinges with hot glue! I'd have to say that it is quite maneuverable and really likes to nose into the ground :D Although that also might be me trying to fly it slower and then drop into a turn without enough thrust, only to have a miserable stall:ROFLMAO::LOL: Pretty much peeled the hstab and vstab half off - make for interesting flying when you can't do much to control it lol. So it's either some glue or a quick 1 hour rebuild. Still having fun tho!!!!
 

mayan

Legendary member
I crashed the Mini Mustang, Simple Scout, Edge 540 and KFM Wing but I am happy about it knowing I was pushing my flying skills to the limit :).

Broke the Mini Mustang into 3 pieces, and the Edge 540 wings in half, rest had only minor power fire wall breaks all repairable though :).
 

JasonK

Participation Award Recipient
3 "Crashed" planes today:

Crashed Plane #1: F-22 -> multiple crashes, was field repairable each time, but the sum total means it would be best served by cutting the nose section off and rebuilding it (would be the second time doing this) - crashes were all my son flying this plane.
F22Crashed.png

Crashed Plane #2: Not Crashed, But grounded and in need of repair -> FT Dart -> right motor came off of its mount and twisted the motor wires so hard as to pull one right out of the motor (not fixable, and there is a solder joint that would need to be redone to swap the motor inside the wing... so repair might mean a full rebuild). I actually managed to cut the throttle and glide the wing across the airfield back to my feet.
FTDartBrokenMotor.png

Crashed Plane #3: and the last crash of the day... flew out multiple batteries on this plane through the day, got it trimmed to almost perfect. Was flying at full speed 2ish meters off the ground (possibly only 1) doing low passes... my phone rang and before the end of the first ring my plane made a rapid deceleration (my finger twitched the wrong way and there wasn't any room for the mistake).... and this is what it looks like now (after removing the battery)
VTailCrashed.png
 

Hoomi

Master member
I crashed the FT Mustang on Sunday morning. Right after take off, I turned to circle into the pattern, and suddenly was going all over the place. I tried to recover, but she ended up going down in the desert across the road from the field. My first thought was either the battery had slipped loose and messed up the CG, a control horn had come loose, or maybe I hadn't given it enough throttle and my airspeed was too low. I fully expected to find her smashed and in pieces, but instead, she was sitting on her belly, with just the landing gear sheared off. It didn't even break the prop. I rechecked the CG (still good), looked at all the control horns (still solid), and, on reviewing the video, from the sound of the prop, I had plenty of throttle. The only thing I can figure is, I just happened into a developing dust-devil (kind of like a mini-tornado), and the weird winds threw her around.

The Matecam video showed her doing a complete rollover on her way down, and then just about leveling out before impact. She bounced once, hard, and then skidded to a stop. This shot is from right before the first impact. She'll live to fly another day. Another lucky break, is that she came down in a clear spot, instead of into one of the mesquite trees that are abundant in the area.

MustangCrash.jpg
 

"Corpse"

Legendary member
I crashed the FT Mustang on Sunday morning. Right after take off, I turned to circle into the pattern, and suddenly was going all over the place. I tried to recover, but she ended up going down in the desert across the road from the field. My first thought was either the battery had slipped loose and messed up the CG, a control horn had come loose, or maybe I hadn't given it enough throttle and my airspeed was too low. I fully expected to find her smashed and in pieces, but instead, she was sitting on her belly, with just the landing gear sheared off. It didn't even break the prop. I rechecked the CG (still good), looked at all the control horns (still solid), and, on reviewing the video, from the sound of the prop, I had plenty of throttle. The only thing I can figure is, I just happened into a developing dust-devil (kind of like a mini-tornado), and the weird winds threw her around.

The Matecam video showed her doing a complete rollover on her way down, and then just about leveling out before impact. She bounced once, hard, and then skidded to a stop. This shot is from right before the first impact. She'll live to fly another day. Another lucky break, is that she came down in a clear spot, instead of into one of the mesquite trees that are abundant in the area.

View attachment 175747
Thank goodness! That mustang rocks!

I was flying the quad in too small of a space, and spiked an arm in the dirt lol. Only damages are a broken racedayquads battery strap. I got some FT ones so that'll look better lol. These things are solid!
 

bwarz

Master member
One plane, 3 batteries, and a narrow flight window. Three minutes into the first battery she came in hot "for a landing". For some reason I thought the P51 had VTOL capabilites....perpendicular to the ground :ROFLMAO::LOL::ROFLMAO: I had just told @BATTLEAXE that I need to take more risks... lol
20200806_182201.jpg

I didn't break the prop! So I pulled the power pod 1/2" forward, squished the front of the fuselage together and checked my CRAP. I had two and a half batteries to go... Broke the rudder servo arm. I do love the rudder, but it was time to settle for back and yank! Flew what was left of the first battery and had a hard landing (had the damage not already been done it would have been a non- issue). Change batteries, very loose connector. Not sure how that happened, but risked it for one more battery.

At least I got about 15 minutes of fly time in! I've gotta fix this one, the FT Mini Mustang really flew well for my novice skills! Plus I really liked the paint! 15967533343855493123562100900464.jpg
 

Hai-Lee

Old and Bold RC PILOT
Well it wasn't actually my crash but my Otter was destroyed today. It was attacked viciously from behind, (in a cowardly fashion), by a tundra!

The tail boom was removed just behind the motor pylon and the fuselage was slit through to the nose. It fluttered down in pieces and the tide brought the pieces in for me.

Must remember to check the Rx and ESC before putting them back into service!

Time for a new Otter I think!

Have fun!
 

PsyBorg

Wake up! Time to fly!
Well it wasn't actually my crash but my Otter was destroyed today. It was attacked viciously from behind, (in a cowardly fashion), by a tundra!

The tail boom was removed just behind the motor pylon and the fuselage was slit through to the nose. It fluttered down in pieces and the tide brought the pieces in for me.

Must remember to check the Rx and ESC before putting them back into service!

Time for a new Otter I think!

Have fun!
Gives a whole new meaning to gettin yer butt kicked huh.

I would check the electronics now as once you move on one or two builds past the crash you wont remember it took the hit on that particular gear.
 

bwarz

Master member
in a word..."everything"! Had a picnic at my brother-in-law's today. He's got a nice property... pond, gentle sloping hill... relatively wide open. or so I thought. In fairness it is pretty big. Trees down one side by the house, a good swath of open grass, and a bit windy today. But as I was quick to find out, it wasn't an obstacleless open field, and the winds with the sloping land and the various breaks in the trees quickly made it interesting to say the least! My P51 mini will fly no more. There isn't a glue light enough. I did manage to tape it up...three times. But the last "landing" did it in. It'd be easier to rebuild anyways! I didn't come short-planed today! Out came the mini corsair between the P51 carnage. A quick crash, a broken prop. Only post-crash inspection showed that my last repair had the power pod with an obscene upward pitch angle that made control interesting to say the least. Plane #2 to become a wall hanger. Out came the simple cub. Easier flying, but the wind and the obstacles got me to panic. Just a broken prop thankfully, but I didn't have a spare to continue flying. Finally to the mini scout. several rough landings and a broken prop. thankfully that's it... I wasn't going to come home with everything destroyed...I flew it a few more times and it came home ready to fly another day. I wish I could say that about the other three!
15970259465812605044800514872782.jpg

Not looking bad at quick glance, but the thrust angle on the corsair is going to be a problem, and the overall fuselage damage on the P51 is extreme. :cry: I'll probably attempt repairs but they aren't going to fly the same:cry::cry: So what should I build now!?:D