Jump to content

Disaster! My own stupid fault.


Adrian Smith 1
 Share

Recommended Posts

I lost my treasured 3DHS Extreme Flight 60cc electric because of my own stupidity. The main wings are secured by two bolts per wing once slung on to the CF spar. Guess what? I forgot to bolt the port side! as a result one minute into the flight (surprised it lasted that long) the wing parted with the fuz and gracefully floated down while the rest of the plane smashed into the ground from height. ?

The result is shown below. No rescue here I think. I can hardly bear to look at it. Fortunately nobody was in the vicinity. What utter idiot.

IMG_0413.jpg

IMG_0414.jpg

  • Sad 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Adrian, I can feel your pain!.

 

Back in the Summer I did exactly the same with my 3D model. But I did better than you!.

 

Left out both wing bolts, both wings slid off the carbon spar and were held on by the servo leads. Made like an ungainly sycamore leaf with the inevitable micky taking from the lads!.

 

My excuse? So used to flying one piece models, that I totally forgot about the bolts. My bad!.

 

Hope this makes you feel a tiny bit better!.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Kevin, I do love your optimism.
Back in the day, I had a mate. Now, just bear in mind, 2 socialists, hunting nice ladies in the Con club. Nice looking ladies. His idea, didn’t end well.

That airframe is broken.

Mind, it does allow the breaker to create a new treasured airframe.

And so, invest a bit more of his soul, into a fragile thing launched off the strip. His hobby choice.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Most planes are repairable and if the wings are reasonably OK then it would be worth trying to repair.   If you don't fancy repairing it yourself I suggest you offer it to clubmates as a project.   Balsa and other materials are so expensive that the canopy, tail parts and wings alone would go a long way to making an everyday hack model even if perfect restoration is not practical.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

commiserations from me Adrian.....a long time ago when starting out on the RC road i came to the conclusion that what went up had to come down...somehow. Over the years i've lost a few(some on a maiden flight) and accept it as part of the hobby....... it is a little worse when we realise its something we have done that's caused the wreckage..

 

ken anderson...ne..1....gravity dept.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yes Simon, pain shared is welcome!

Kc, one wing is ok, but the other is a bit bashed up.  I will look at the mess every time I go up the work shop and see if I can summon the enthusiasm to see if a rebuild is possible.

Jonathan M , all servos, switches have been tested and are ok (given the cost of the servos originally they should be bullet proof). I have range tested the Futaba RX and seems to be fine although I am a bit cautious on that. The OPTO ESC is a wipe out and the motor looks ok but grinds slightly when turned by hand. I think the gear will go in a 20-30cc size electric  as I have the right motor/ESC on the shelf, but my only problem is the shortage of stock everywhere.

I like the idea of nailing one of the bits on the wall in my eye line as a reminder to check, check again. 

Peter, the annoying thing was I wasn't distracted I just got too blaise in my rigging routine.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have a routine based on my own previous mistakes where now I always fit the wing bolts before the aileron servo leads with the idea that if all else fails and I get to the flight line and it doesn't pass the full and free movement in the right direction check then I should not be flying!

 

Not sure about nailing anything to the workshop wall...I recall some work on the subject of human memory and it related to physical location. Ever thought of doing something and heading to a different room in the house and can't think of what you you wanted to do, then just go back to the original location! Same sort of thing have a routine of where and when you do checks and stick to it.

 

PS - On the subject of model match, don't really know why other manufacturers don't use it as its one very important thing I don't have to be troubled with.

 

Adrian - I feel your pain, but at least you didn't loose it on the way to the flying field ?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

DISTRACTION

My buddy took a phone call in the middle of rigging a model very very similar to yours Adrian, and folded the wings shortly after take off.

The wing tube was still sat by his flight box.

It still hurts when we do something daft, but stick to your routine as you realise Adrian, and don't keep looking at the mess, just give it a couple more days.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Very sorry to hear about that Adrian but it was a really kind and helpful gesture to all, for you to post it up on here .
 

We all make silly mistakes and this will help us all to try to keep them to a minimum. 

 

As others have said it’s alway best to keep it to one side before thinking about repairs as going straight in is very painful and can be disheartening. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 hours ago, Chris Walby said:

PS - On the subject of model match, don't really know why other manufacturers don't use it as its one very important thing I don't have to be troubled with.

I believe they patented it and won't permit other makers to use it.  However, many systems will alert you to an unexpected receiver GUID.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

36 minutes ago, jrman said:

I think it was developed by JR and adopted by Spektrum when JR/Spektrum were working together.

All current JR Tx's have model match.

I have to say that I thought it was a Spektrum idea since the solution that JR used was the Spektrum 2.4 GHz system as theirs was still a year away from being ready.  The deal was that Spektrum could use the JR Tx and sell in the up to 8 Ch market and JR did 9 Ch and above.  So, I was able to use the cheaper Spektrum Rxs although after I lost 2 aircraft to brown out I was told by MacGregor to only use JR made Rxs as they were made to higher standards - I quote their words but I have no idea if that claim was correct.  In the end when JR launched the XG series of Radios I bought the XG11 with an 11 Ch Rx and a voucher for a free 8 Ch Rx.  I found the speed with which the XG 11 Tx connected to the Rx, less than a sec, was far superior to the DSM9 speed of almost 3 secs.  To my delight, model match or whatever JR now call it, was still included.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

As footnote to my carrier bag incident which is a bit off topic, but draws a line under it, I decided to post this.

I was at the flying field the other afternoon after a session in the work shop and photographed a glorious sunset which seemed appropriate for my mangled Extra death throes!

 

Onwards and upwards then. As I have all the ancillary gear on the shelf looking for a home I decided to kit out a smaller aerobat with only an airframe required. I settled on this ........

https://www.kingslynnmodelshop.co.uk/product_info.php?cPath=17_993_1113&products_id=15243&osCsid=46kvp2p6jg66js3mt2giur9be3

 

Ordered on Friday morning and arrived courtesy of DPD on Saturday morning. Wow! well done KLM and the courier. I know there is a few youtube clips on the build and experience of the "Slick", but I have a couple of observations to make by way of small disagreements. IF there is an appetite for it here, I will create a new thread when I make a start on my build process for those interested

IMG_0415.jpg

IMG_0419.jpg

IMG_0420.jpg

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

×
×
  • Create New...