What Went Wrong?!?!

Josh Scott

Member
Here at Flite Test we know that accidents happen and things hardly ever go the way we expect them to. We've never tried to cover it up or make it look like we have flawless flights and all you "normal people" will just have to learn from our perfection...quite the opposite!
So I thought it would be fun/informative to start a thread to talk about everything that has gone wrong - on screen or behind the scenes - that has caused our episodes to be nothing like (although sometimes more entertaining than) what we had originally conjured up.
From technical failures, bad weather, inexplicable physics freakouts or just flat out dumb-thumbs... nothing is off limits.
 

FlyingMonkey

Bought Another Trailer
Staff member
Admin
Here at Flite Test we know that accidents happen and things hardly ever go the way we expect them to. We've never tried to cover it up or make it look like we have flawless flights and all you "normal people" will just have to learn from our perfection...quite the opposite!
So I thought it would be fun/informative to start a thread to talk about everything that has gone wrong - on screen or behind the scenes - that has caused our episodes to be nothing like (although sometimes more entertaining than) what we had originally conjured up.
From technical failures, bad weather, inexplicable physics freakouts or just flat out dumb-thumbs... nothing is off limits.

I find it odd that Chad would let you author this thread. If I remember correctly, the number of in flight mishaps are slightly more numerous while Mr. Bixler was at the controls. I recall a certain glider in the desert.


I know there's more crashes that Josh B has done, but I can't think of them at the moment...
 
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FlyingMonkey

Bought Another Trailer
Staff member
Admin
Which episode(s) was that?

I remember a certain cliff in California where the owner of HobbyKing was chopped to bits by a runaway propeller.

And people think that FT is all about HK. I think that episode was proof that they were trying to do away with HobbyKing.
 

Josh Scott

Member
Josh B has more crashes because he is brave and pushes the limits for your enjoyment. At least that's usually the reason.

From what I can remember from the California trip, canopies were lost on the Pitts and the Alpha ...and the Fox, but pretty much everything was lost on that one.
 

colorex

Rotor Riot!
Mentor
When I finished watching the HK 500 CMT review I thought it was a whole episode gone wrong... It might have cost HobbyKing some sales, but it earned FliteTest trustworthiness! (Which in turn is also good for HK)
 

Josh Scott

Member
When I finished watching the HK 500 CMT review I thought it was a whole episode gone wrong... It might have cost HobbyKing some sales, but it earned FliteTest trustworthiness! (Which in turn is also good for HK)

Yeah most of us felt like it was an episode gone wrong (and except for being a good setup for a later episode where we could revisit, reevaluate, and have success... IT WAS!)
It was cold, getting dark, and since we only have a few shoot days a month to produce two episodes a week - we were hard-pressed for time!
But Chad in all his wisdom decided to go ahead and air it anyway, and show that sometimes things don't work out the way you want, and you just have to "try, try again" until you get it right. And if that means suggesting your sponsor (and creator of the aircraft) make improvements...then so be it!
 

earthsciteach

Moderator
Moderator
It is great that you feel free to suggest improvements to sponsors' equipment. Please don't ever stop doing that. If you were to, you would definitely lose legitimacy. Besides, it does benefit the manufacturer to make improvements, in the long run.
 

earthsciteach

Moderator
Moderator
F/A-18 vs gravity

So, what went wrong? In this case, the question is rhetorical. I have a 50% success rate with this 50mm F/A-18. If I can keep it in the air for two seconds, the thing is a joy to fly. However, it often crashes before gaining enough airspeed. I'm really tired of rebuilding it.

crash.jpg
 

earthsciteach

Moderator
Moderator
Yeah. Its that damned gravity, again. I wish someone would, once and for all, figure out what this gravity force is all about.

Fg=G(M1*M2/R^2). Sure, easy enough. But WHY DOES IT EXIST? HOW DOES IT EXIST? Stupid gravity.
 

Josh Scott

Member
So, what went wrong?


I don't know if we ever really figured it out. We haven't had a chance to revisit this yet. But Bixler would be the guy to hit up for theories. But perhaps pulling too many negative G's? (did I say that right?) Cause I stand by my guns that saw the wings fold off BEFORE the plane hit the ground. Unfortunately there is no evidence on film because - as luck would have it - it happened in the split second that the Fox was out of frame.
 

JimCR120

Got Lobstah?
Site Moderator
Not negative G's. You are experiencing 1 G of force as you sit in your chair. 0 G's you would hover without ascending or descending. Negative G's push you upward. All of these are stated in reference to the body or the aircraft.

I would be interested in seeing the fox revisited, either through a repair episode or one that explains and tries again. Are we to learning that fiberglass is just to difficult to fix?

Funny thing gravity, we can't see it or hear it yet we can definitely feel its effects. Magnetism is funny in the same way. There is still a lot about the world we live in that is wondrous.
 

FlyingMonkey

Bought Another Trailer
Staff member
Admin
Stolen from wikipedia...

A classic example of negative g-force is in a fully inverted roller coaster which is accelerating (changing velocity) toward the ground. In this case, the roller coaster riders are accelerated toward the ground faster than gravity would accelerate them, and are thus pinned upside down in their seats. In this case, the mechanical force exerted by the seat causes the g-force by altering the path of the passenger downward in a way that differs from gravitational acceleration. The difference in downward motion, now faster than gravity would provide, is caused by the push of the seat, and it results in a g-force toward the ground.

I agree, this doesn't seem to apply in this case. The plane wasn't fully inverted yet. This can be problematic for aircraft not designed to withstand the forces associated with inverted flight though.