Jetdesign

My Feedback: (8)

I maidened my Decathlon today. I hated it the moment it left the earth. I guess it flew like it should: scale, maybe a bit sporty. I thought I heard someone say something about a school bus when I was flying it, or maybe it was just my imagination but I felt like I was flying a red school bus. The engine ran fine, I had no problem getting it up, didn't need any trim at all, and landed it perfectly. I was totally disappointed; not so much the money, but the time and the let down (I don't know why but I was expecting something much more agile). Second flight I got so discouraged I figured I'd at least see how it did on my basic pattern moves. I killed it doing an Immelmann turn. Not much climb, and when I went to roll it back from inverted it went into a downward spiral. I wasn't nervous, and don't think I was too low - I tried calmly, twice at least, to recover the plane and couldn't, so I know I was at least 2 mistakes high. I didn't even care that much until I realized that the $350+ worth of brand new gear was in the plane, and the plane was now buried in a huge corn field, 5' high, with water up to my waist. A crew and I looked until the sun went down and found nothing. Weeks of anticipation for the plane, the 55AX, finally the opportunity to fly a cool looking plane. All gone.

I've lost my motivation for this hobby, and all I have to blame is myself. I decided to get this plane when I was just starting to fly my Dolphin. The Dolphin felt sporty, fast, not terribly stable, so I wanted something a bit more calm. Since the Decathlon is an 'aerobatic trainer' in real-life, I figured it would be a bit of a challenge, which I guess it was in some way. But since then the Dolphin now feels like a trainer, and I want something with speed and precision but now have no more money and no 55AX and no new set of radio gear to put in (a pattern plane).

When I was flying the plane I thought about selling it (actually I tried to after the maiden, and was almost successful) and keeping the radio gear and engine for a new plane, but I don't have any more money to blow on planes (even if I still had the engine and radio gear) nor do I have the time to assemble another arf, nor the room in my apartment to tie up all over again.

My Dolphin is so crooked I don't even like flying it, which I know is my fault too. You can see it from a mile away in the air how crooked and twisted the tail is, and I just want to fly a plane that is sweet looking and precise, without a ton of dihedral.

I think I'm gonna forget about this hobby for a while. I know I read earlier on in the summer about how some people progress so fast and this stuff happens to them. I never thought it was going to happen to me. I feel pretty let down since I've been wanting to do this for 20 years, finally got into it, and went out like this.

Oh well.[&o]

ChuckW

Sorry to her about the crash. Trust me, I know the feeling and I'm sure I will feel it again one of these days.

So did the plane stall? As others pointed out before, the Decathalon can bite you. I'm surprised you didn't find it maneuverable though, they are a pretty agile plane.

I wouldn't get too discouraged though. sure you might have gotten a little overly confident and bitten off more than you can chew. The RC gods decided to kick you in the a**, it happens to everyone at some point. And yes, watching $400 explode into pile of toothpicks can be pretty depressing. Just learn from it and do it better next time. Your other plane may be crooked but it is still a flyable plane. The engine and radio gear in it are OK right? Fly it until it falls apart then find a nice simple little ARF to put the engine and radio gear in. Better yet, pick up a kit for a winter project. Just make sure it is a plane in line with your experience.

You may end up finding your Decathalon too. A had a plane crash into a vineyard on a foggy day once (don't ask why I was flying that day in the first place). The rows had just been disked so the ground was soft, wet and cold. I walked up and down for hours and almost gave up when I finally found the wreckage(You'd be shocked at what tangled vines can do to a balsa wood structure at 70MPH). Your plane may turn up. If you are lucky there might not be much physical damage to the engine. Who knows, a little cleaning up and some oil may bring it back to life.

combatpigg

My Feedback: (3)

Never forget that the point is to have fun. Too many guys turn it into a quest driven ego trip and they aren't in it for the love of the sport.

iron eagel

Don't give up because you crashed your new airplane. It happens sometimes to ones that it takes years to build, you just have to accept that it happens, and move on.
Sorry to hear about the crash hope you can find the plane and salvage something out of it.

Sadly it happens to all of us.
And some of the planes are ones that you are really attached to.

n19htmare

My Feedback: (1)

Before people start telling me that we need to go easy on him... I'm sorry... I've read enough posts by Garc to realize and see his cockiness. And that's what's killing his planes. So Garc, I apologize in advance because what I'm about to say is not really a sympathy note.

I told you this in almost every other thread, SLOW DOWN! Take a step back and accept the fact that you are not as good as you think you are. After destroying your trainer, and then your friend's trainer, damaging the dolphin to where it's not even fixed correctly and now destroying the decathlon, all in the last couple of months? I mean seriously? Did you realllllly do your research before getting the decathlon and expect it to do what your dolphin could do?

If you had spent a few days/weeks with an instructor along with atleast 2-3 months of flight time on the trainer, I guarantee you that your planes would be in your apartment right now. Not only would your reaction time have improved but you would have know how to recover from the spiral you want into. You would have learned how to judge the plane's capabilities and how to determine that you have stalled the plane. It sounds like you stalled the plane and it went into a downward spiral and due to the lack of experience and slow reaction time, you were unable to recover the plane.

Sorry for being harsh, it's not the first times I've had some harsh words for you but it's misfortune event that I'm doing it again.

I've been flying for 3 months now, still have my trainer and my 4-star. I'd say about 150 flights under my belt and I did too solo without an instructor and on my first day. But i have stayed in my limits and have followed the advice of fellow flyers and so far, i've come home with all my planes. I know my limits and I know the limits of my plane. If my plane can't do a hover, I'm not gonna try it. IF my plane CAN do a hover and I can't, again, I'm not gonna try it until I know that I can do it successfully.

So all in all... start over. Get a trainer.... get an instructor........ and redo. You're not loosing your planes because of mechanical error, you're losing them because of pilot error. It's not the plane's fault..........it's yours.

wings

Hey gaRCfield,


Just take a couple days off, and I gaurantee you will be feeling better. You can't quit! Even if you wanted, this is an additciton, lol.


I've crashed my fair share of planes. And I've seen guys at my club that have been flying for YEARS crash planes. It happens. It sucks, I mean really sucks! It makes ya feel like you just lost a love one...

Well, maybe not quite that bad, but it at least feels like you lost your pet dog when something like this happens.[] We all know that awful feeling in your gut when that much money is involved.


But, if it weren't for the possibility of something like this happening, flying wouldn't be nearly as exciting.


Nobody wants to crash a plan, but how else could you get that awesome rush of adreneline while flying if that possibility wasn't in the back of your mind?

I had a brand new CAP one type. I try to do a Knife edge on the second flight. I moved the rudder the wrong direction and planed it right into the ground. This was the Christmas present that I wanted months for...


It's not as bad as loosing the whole thing as in your case, but it is still enough to make me sick. I felt the same way you did, for about a week.

Next think you know, I was trying to figure out how to get the money for the next plane!

Hang in there buddy, it will be OK.

You've dreamed of flying RC for 20 years, you can't let this incident stop ya. You only live once. Learn from your mistakes and get back on the horse!

MikeL

My Feedback: (3)

This hobby is a curious thing. Where else can you spend your disposable income on objects that might not last five minutes, or might last fifteen years? There's a large element of risk involved. There are many unknowns.

That's part of what makes it fun. Everybody finds planes that are disappointments. Everybody also finds planes that are surprisingly delightful. There are models we can't wait to dispose of, and sometimes those seem to hang around for years. There are models we love, and those never seem to last long enough. Lots of stuff in between, too.

There are some lessons that come out of it all. If you can't afford to lose it, you shouldn't have bought it. The moment you load the model into the car for the first time the clock starts to run, and you never know when it'll run out. Consider anything you intend to put in the air already lost, and you'll enjoy each moment much more. The other big thing that comes out of it is that each and every crash that happens is 100% my fault. Some people need to blame silly things like radio hits, birds, the sun, wind, whatever. In the end, all the decisions were mine. All the precautions were my responsibility. All the crashes are my fault.

If it's not fun- -even the crashes- -don't do it. Nobody likes the guy at the field who isn't having fun, who is there just because he's bought it all and by golly he's going to use it.

And you're never as good (or bad) as you think you are. With experience you learn what you can and can't do, and what you do and don't enjoy.

Like most things, if you slow down and do it right you'll be both better at it and you'll get more enjoyment out of it. Immediate gratification isn't usually a component of success.

TZflyer

Hey Garcfield,

Sorry to hear about your loss.
I have been flying for about a year now and a few months back bought a Showtime with a Saito .82 and everything else that went with it. A few weeks later I realised the airplane was beyond me and it would just be a matter of time before I killed it. I sold it and bought a 4 Star kit which I am still flying. I love it. It is stable, forgiving and does the Sportsman pattern routine better than a decathlon would (I may be wrong but I have seen this fly and they don't track as well as a 4 star (or dolphin) for that matter. Get a kit, build it yourself and when it dies you will at least have had the joy of building it!
A friend of mine lost his Funtana the other day. It flew into the woods and was never seen again. He had an OS .70 four stroke (the one with the fuel pump), a 2.4 ghz receiver, digital servos and 2400 mah battery pack. Talk about financial blow!!!!
Have faith. Build a plane. Start again.
Show us you are no quitter,

Ray

gunfighterII

RC,
Sorry about the crash, corn is a tough one to locate a plane in.
I did'nt think they grew corn up in Vermont.

When you take the crew out to search again, space the guys about 30 feet apart and go into the field perpendicular to the rows, you have to tell all the people to stop and look down each row in each direction, also at the ground and toward the top of the stalks, if you go in and just look around in a circle you will never find it. Also the plane will be much further out than you think, just go in a little deeper.
The good thing about corn is that it can save your plane if it hits at the correct angle. I've seen a plane resting on top of stalks in perfect condition.

Sourkraut

Dang, sorry to hear about the loss of your Decathlon,GaRCfield. I don't want to sound repetative or harsh but you maybe should have progressed a lot slower than you did. It sounds like you were driven to try and be the best pilot at the field. That does and will take time and money (lots of both).
You have to progress in baby steps, GaRC, and enjoy each plane in the manner for which it was meant to be flown. Pushing an airframe, and also your abilities, to the edge and beyond can be fun and exciting but can also be humbling and expensive. 4 planes in a couple months (3 gone and 1 barely flyable) should be setting off alarms.
Don't quit, just take a step back and reevaluate what you want to get out of this hobby. Most of us, me included, love this hobby for the comoradery at the field, the building of planes and being able to do something that some have only dreamed of.
I know the loss of all the gear is stinging right now, but you will get over it. I've only lost one airframe in the 4 years that I have been flying. I also have some planes that could humble me rather quickly if I didn't treat them with respect. I have 21 RTF airplanes in my hanger right now, so you can see that my addiction and love for this hobby isn't fictiscious. YUP. this hobby can get damn expensive but life is way to short to just sit back and watch.
Save up some cash, get yourself a 4 star, Pulse XT, TigerII, Sig SSE or any of the other sport funfly planes and start over slowly again and have fun taking your planes home every night and start building up your hanger insead of expiring them.
Here is a picture of my dearly departed Nitro Models Giles 202 3D. This was a real fun plane to fly but she took the dirt nap 2 years ago. (Dumb thumbs to close to the ground and not to proud to admit it)

Cheers and happy flying all

Curt

Steve Steinbring

Perhaps someone in your club has a camera on one of their airplanes and they can fly the area to locate the airplane. We have a member in our club that flies and photos. He has located several airplanes lost on the west side of our field which is very over grown with high cane grasses.

Organize a grid search going several corn rows at a time the entire length of the field. Downed airplanes are almost always out further than we think they are at the time.

Best of luck, if you put the time in you'll find the airplane.

HighPlains

My Feedback: (1)

Man up or wimp out.

Steve Steinbring

gaRCfield,

I should have added.............

Crashing in the cornfield filled with water might be to your advantage, the airplane may escape with a minimum amount of damage. I've put a few in the drink before flying off water.[&o] Dried the gear out and things were fine. You need to find the airplane pretty soon to minimize the exposure damage.

Villa

You may be looking for something in this hobby that it just does not have. That Decathlon has just about everything that would keep me excited challenged, and interested. Of course if you do not bother to learn how to fly it properly it will be a terrible disappointment. On that plane, recovering from a snap roll, or spiral, is child's play once you have the experience to do it. The stall turn is superb. I am always saddened when I see someone who wants to jump to the front of the line, as it were. Me, I was fortunate to have had a hard time learning to fly. I probably had 50 crashes with my trainer. Along the way I learned to handle a plane, or thought I did. Crashed my second plane on the first approach. All that was in 1972 before they had trainer cords. I still have my occasional crash. Afterwards I frequently smile because I can now build a different plane. I hope you find a hobby that interests you. I design and build my own now, which are all SPADS. Don't try these unless you are willing to take the time to learn to fly. SPADS of your own design have no instructions; only an expectation that they may fly if you can somehow figure out what to do. .

TideFlyer

GaRCfield, I think you summed it up nicely in the title of this post, " Too much, too fast ". In doing so, perhaps you`ve indicated a self- realization. That`s a good thing. You`re disappointment at this stage is understandable and has been shared to one degree or another with EVERYBODY in this hobby. My instructor was sooo right when he told me several years ago, " This is a hobby where you break things " and " There`s only two kinds of RC pilots, those that have crashed and those that are waiting to. " The comments by n19htmare, while quite "direct", are probably also quite on point. Slow down. Take a deep breath. Learn from this. After a period of time ( it`ll probably be shorter than you think right now ) and when your finances and personal affairs allow you to, come back. Get a trainer and an instructor and fly that thing. When you think you`ve mastered it, fly it for another six months or so, THEN move on. THERE`S NO HURRY!

Rufcut

Sorry to hear you lost one. It has happened to me and I remember how disappointed and just plain pi$$ed off it made me. I'd definitely keep looking for the model because going down in a corn field gives you a better than even chance that the damage was minimal. You still have a plane that is operationally ready although it may not be the greatest looking or coolest one at the field. Take a few days or weeks off and then it will be time to cowboy up.
Good luck.

Nathan King

n19htmare,

I respectfully disagree. Perhaps gaRCfield is trying to progress a little too quickly, but I don't get the feeling he's cocky. I just think he's so excited that everything might have gotten away from him a bit.

gaRCfield,

I'm very sorry about the loss. I know just how excited you were about this airplane. I've totaled one airplane in this hobby, and luckily it was one of my least expensive models ($400). It was a Brio 10 - a little "pattern" electric model. I lost it when the battery ejected out the canopy during a snap roll on a 45 degree downline. The velcro strap holding the battery wasn't attached securely enough. I lost all engine power AND all servos (because the ESC had a BEC) and helplessly watched my beloved little electric nosedive straight into the ground. My fault, I should have tugged on the strap to check it before flying. There have been many times that I've seriously considered throwing in the towel because of large dissappointments. I'm glad I never did. You see, the more you progress through the hobby, the more satisfying and fulfilling it becomes. You really seem to have a genuine interest in the hobby and know where you want to go in it. That's great. Feed off of that in your times of disappointment.

You're airplane may have stalled, or possibly not - there are a dozen different possible reasons for your mishap. I'm not even going to give a guess on the cause as I was not there. I hope you find the airplane and figure out what happened. Treat this as a learning experience. The only reason the older guys at the club have the experience is because something like what happened to you happened to them. It happens. Don't sell your gear or aircraft. If you're sick of everything take some time off. Stay involved with the club, go to meetings, and watch flying events to gain knowledge while you take a break from flying. Remember the very first private message I sent you? I am paraphrasing myself, but it said something like: "Take your time and advance in small steps." I think you took this to heart, but the excitement of everything may have gotten the best of you. I think you may regret throwing in the towel so quickly. I know I would have.

ro347

My Feedback: (13)

Dont get dsicouraged. Last season I had built a Hanger 9 Showtime. After taking my time putting it together...my first saito and digital set up.... $700+ in the plane....It went down on the first flight! GRRRRR....I was soooooo dissappointed. I pulled everything out...sent the electronics back to hitec - they replaced them and took apart my saito to clean it(went down in a pond). Not too much later, I got another Showtime....put it all in. I let it sit for a while cause I was scared of it. Well this season I put her up after TRIPLE checking EVERYTHING...and now its my daily flier. I love it. Im still in the time comsuming process of trimming the plane for pattern flight(CG, Differential, thrust etc). Dont give up! These things happen. Im sure you've learned a lesson of some sort. With experience come less mistakes and mishaps! Ive heard the Deca are tough to fly because of their stall characteristics...but ive never flown one. Good luck!

safeTwire

My Feedback: (2)

Take Five...Relax...Regroup...Clean up and organize all you're stuff...Give it (and you) a rest. Hope to see you back at it soon!

Gray Beard

My Feedback: (-1)

Chuck W can relate to this, we come from the same area in CA. Chuck, I was the safety officer for the club that held the IMAA events at Castle and our filed was A crop duster field in Merced smack in the middle of FARM!!!
Corn is A thrill to dump A plane in. Your engine and gear are all probably just fine. That plane is A total loss though. When A plane went out of control the club members watching would mark the area and in the search one guy would stay at the mark point and call or radio signals to the searchers. Yes we have lost some planes out there but also had some great luck too.
One crop duster pilot used to pull A search for us when he would chopper out after loading up, he would hover over the crash site if he saw the plane. That worked great.
A couple of times the field hands would bring in the rubble after they found the plane with the thrasher. In that case the plane was A complete loss but surprise, the engine and servos survive!!!
My point, get your dead ass back out there and look. Mark the spot and search!! Crying about your loss here isn't going to do you any good, we have all lost planes one way or another.
First RC lesson I was taught. If you can't stand to see it crash don't build it.
You may have gone at it A bit fast but I have one student that has gotten away with it, I figure if it works for him so it may work for you too. Go at your own pace.
Sorry for your loss, now go find it!!

ro347

My Feedback: (13)

Just another thought....I tried to progress to fast too soon! When it hit me that all this "stuff" costs alot of money if you dont take your time....I started looking at cheaper planes that filled my needs. I wasnt concerned with looks. I started w/ an electristar...and jumped to a Super Sportster which didnt last 2 weeks. Thats when I thought about it and got an Avistar followed by a Hanger 9 Pulse XT 40. Those two planes are the planes I learned the most with and really built my confidence. They were both inexpensive to build/Maintain....and were great for learning basic flight and aerobatics. Do your research before picking a plane to make sure its what you want in terms of flying characteristics/style. Good luck!

ro347

My Feedback: (13)

If you fly at a field where you are able to recover the plane but need to search for it....invest in a "beeper" device of some sort. Dont use the hobbico brand. The speaker is too small and not loud enough to hear. I know my LHS sells one that is white and about 1-2 inches wide. They go for about $25...but you can put them in the plane you are flying at the moment and will help you save possibly hours of searching or even recover the plane. When there isnt any transmitter input signal received by the plane the beeper starts to...well....BEEP! Just an idea.

ro347

My Feedback: (13)

Tideflyer is right.....When you think you have a plane mastered....FLY it like you stole it. When you can fly it up and down with your eyes closed, as if oyu wanted to shear the wings off in flight...then you might really be ready to step up! If your still learning or in the early stages....try and Avistar for high wing. I had one with a super tiger 45. POWERFULL engine....I was going CRAZY with it till I got tired of it. But I flew the HELL out of it. That was money well spent - looking at about 265 or so to build if you already have a TX, less if you have electronics and engine. If looking for a low wing...and you know FOR SURE you are ready....try the Pulse. Another great plane and gentle flyer on low rates. You could start with the avistar...then transfer all the gear over to the Pulse once ready. Thats where you can try and save money...start with planes of similar size, weight....where you can transfer gear/engines until you get to the more advanced stuff...WHEN YOU ARE READY!!! Its cheaper to take your time ....a club/instructor is priceless!!!!!

WMB

My Feedback: (1)

Sorry to hear of the loss, been there. New plane, not enough experience and getting ahead of the curve. One thing about this hobby for me, there is always something new to learn. Thats what keeps it so interesting for me.

"I hated it the moment it left the earth."- I have found that most of mine have needed tweeking in some way after the maiden flight. It's not that they flew poorly, but there is usually much more in them with some fine tuning.

The one that flew fantastic from the get-go was lost on it's second flight also. Having too much fun, ran out of fuel, altitude and experience at the same time. I was so bummed. Not so much for the loss but the realization that it would have been prevented had I had that much needed experience. My ego was unable to make the plane float.

That particular experience has saved a couple from getting planted.

Not a hobby of instant gratification, many opportunities to lighten the pocket and ego.

But it is FUN, MikeB

bingo field

You know what they say about ugly planes, they just don't go away. Keep flying the Dolphin, every time you take it up, remember what you started flying for. Keep fixing it, eventually you will completely re-cover it, and it won't look the same anymore.