When is it time to let an old plane die?

earthsciteach

Moderator
Moderator
I have a few foam planes that I have flown, crashed, modified and abused. I've repaired them all multiple times. Their performance has been deteriorating with every altercation. Heres my list:
HZ Super Cub: Currently the fuse is in multiple pieces. I haven't been able to muster the strength to repair it.
Wild Hawk: I found this plane in a pile of trash someone had placed on the curb. It has endured much abuse. The lovely performance has dropped dramatically.
50 mm Mig-15: Finally shoe-horned a 4 cell battery in her. She flew like a thrust-vectored jet with the nozzle stuck on full back stick. Before I could sort it out, she blew another set of fan blades out her back end as if she had explosive diarrhea.

I'm tired of repairing airplanes. Right now, I just want to pick something up and go out for a flight without having to troubleshoot anything. I know this won't last, but do I let those sit for a while, or put them out of my misery and move on? Sigh.
 

jetpackninja

More combat please...
Mentor
Hahahaha- I'm in the same boat almost. The Supercub is still one of my best flyers though.
I still have the second slow stick that I ever flew- I think it's going to the trash can today.
I wish I had that crash on film, always good for a laugh.

So here's my answer:
if you are still having fun with them, keep 'em.

I have an old beat up GWS Corsair that is absolutely a blast to fly.
I've had to fix it almost every time out but it is still rewarding and fun to fly.
I have one flying wing that I've repaired wayyyy to many times, it's not fun anymore, flexes and snap rolls all over the place. Headed for the can

A poor flying plane is not fun to fly. It's like a crash that never happens...

The big Reaper (the one on fire) was also fixed a ton of times but was still a blast to fly, I may still fix that one.

Bottom line- no fun anymore toss it.
Still fun? sit on it until you get the energy to fix it.


Another reason I like keeping the EPP wings around. Fly a lot more, fix a lot less ;)
 

sandblaster

Senior Member
My first AXN, the one I learned to fly with, has been hot glued many times. With certain turns it wants to fall out of the sky. Need two mistakes high or more, to recover. Decided to start over with a new AXN and keep the old for the grand boys to learn on. When I picked up the new and then the old, I was very surprised to feel how much weight difference there is from all the hot glue used in repairs. Understanding dawned on why it looses lift and dives in a sprial at times.
 

Ak Flyer

Fly the wings off
Mentor
Put a new fuse in the cub for 20 bucks and let er rip again. I'm on my second fuse mid mods. Working on a new wing with flaps and a bomb drop. Never stop having fun with the cub. As far as the others, I'll pretty much agree that if you aren't having fun with them, junk them, or get them in half decent flying shape again and donate them to your students.
 

teflyer

Full Circle
Yeah, like AkFlyer said, just replace the fuselage for the Supercub. I would say keep all of them and take a little break from flying RC and just spend a little time watching other flights. Once you get dreamy or pumped up enough for flight, repair the planes. Also, try taking up scratchbuilding. New planes can be pumped out from a few hours to a couple of days, the simple ones, like mine, taking a few hours. There is a certain sense of pride of making your own plane and makes making repairs easier or making a completely new plane easily. If you are not having any fun with them, keep all the useful stuff and put away the rest. You can use it on other planes, or scratchbuilds.
 

earthsciteach

Moderator
Moderator
Thanks, guys. I would NEVER be able to toss the Cub. Its my first plane. The only issue with a new fuse is that I'll have to give it another L-4 paint job. My creative juices are drained at the moment.

The Hawk is a great platform to teach kids to fly. I've crashed it, repaired it, replaced all the control surfaces, almost set it on fire (that's on video posted on FT), flown in off of snow, grass, skimmed water, and raced it around a gym floor. I couldn't throw that away, either.

The Mig has always been a pain in the ass to fly. But, that is what made it interesting. Maybe there is something to be said for leaving well enough alone and not trying to squeeze a bit of extra speed out of it. Hell, I can't throw it away, either. I am too attached to all of them.

On a more positive note, I flew that A-10 that I rebuilt for someone else, yesterday. It was AWESOME! Had a blast with it!
 

teflyer

Full Circle
Good to hear that you will be keeping all the planes and had fun with the A-10! Maybe you just need a new, simple, relaxing flier to get over that tiredness, like the slowstick.
 

Ak Flyer

Fly the wings off
Mentor
The new Twist 480. Cheap to set up and looks like a blast. I'm trying to choose between it and the E-flite Edge 540 BP.
 

teflyer

Full Circle
Or you could go with the CrashTestHobbies' EPP wings. Seems to be pretty aerobatic planes that can take quite a beating without breaking or minimal damage.
 

Ak Flyer

Fly the wings off
Mentor
I have found that I'm a bit tired of the crash and bash type of flying. I've improved my flying ability to the point where I go out and expect not to crash. I'm starting to enjoy more precision flying and gravitating towards models that allow me to do that. The Galaxy was a huge step for me and my new 4Site as well. I was out practicing knife edge by doing laps around the gym while in knife edge.

Sounds like you may be ready for that type of new challenge as well. I have found that the indoor foamies are awesome when you get a precision plane, but I have serious doubts that a foamie is going to work for me outside. I want to have a precise flyer that will handle precise flying when I become capable of it, and a larger balsa model seems to fit the bill the best.

The Carbon Z yak might be the exception, but I'm leaning towards an Erratix or Addiction X or Twist 480 or the like. These sort of models work with my existing power setups, especially the twist which uses the same 480 and battery as my super cub.
 

jetpackninja

More combat please...
Mentor
+1 on the CrashTestHobby flying wings.
I just got disoriented and piled in hard- looked brutal no damage.
Pick it up do it again :)