A Bad Day Gets Worse
02-05-2006, 08:23 PM
#1
A Bad Day Gets Worse
This is copied from an email that I sent out to some members of NSRCA Ditrict 7. The incident is posted on the website and you can get to it following the below link. My only reason in posting this here is to hopefully prevent somebody from doing something as stupid as what I did today. I know there is the saying of "There are those that have, and those that will..." but I hope nobody makes the stupid mastakes that I made.
In case any of you haven't read what happened earlier today, check out the District Website : http://www.nsrca.org/d7/ (check out the first story on the page regarding my Focus on SuperBowl Sunday)
It wasn't pretty, and I fully own up to all of it. Just a dumb move, and I did one thing, or rather didn't do one thing... that I never have before... not check the controls before takeoff. It cost me an absolutely wonderful airplane, and as it turns out, the contest at Hollister next weekend. Not saying I was going to win, far from it, but I could have gone and had fun with all that showed. Instead, I'm pondering my next move.
Why not get the ol' Impact going? Funny you should think that... it's toast too. I got home, fixed a couple of things that needed fixing on it prepping it for getting programmed in my back up radio (primary radio is at Radio South), and I start the programming session. For some reason getting the dual elevator servos working properly is becomming a problem... Okay, pull out the manual... while doing that, one of the servos is full deflection... no biggie... next thing I hear is a constant whine of the servo motor on said servo... The gears stripped... No big deal, i just happen to have a half dozen 9650s laying around doing nothing now... It go to pull the detachable stabs apart... No movement, and I mean NONE! Screws are out, nothing should be holding it back... no movement... push one way gently, pull the other gently... nothing. The damned thing will not budge. It's impossible to cut the servo out because of it's orientation (located in the stab sideways so the horn protrudes vertically out the bottom) and the direction of the screws... in from the root. So I progressively pull and push, and pry harder. Finally it cracks and it's all over. Paint, thread lock, glue... something got on that rod/tube and is preventing the stabs from coming off. The tail is cracked and ruined, and the plane is done. I am now without a pattern plane at all... lost two in a day. Since it was done and final, I tried with all my might to get the stabs apart, and the carbon fiber tube simply shredded... ends are still in the stabs.
Moral of the story? Be sure to "Focus" on your airplane assembly, do not get destracted and always, always, ALWAYS!, do a pre takeoff control check... i don't care if it's the first, or seventh flight of the day. How long does it take to move everything and check the direction? I always did it myself... except for this morning because I got distracted. The fact that i got distracted is my fault, and I own up to it... So in the coming months, and various contests, if you talk to me while I am putting my plane together in the morning, or getting ready for flight... and I don't talk back or respond in anyway, please do not take it personally... I am trying to make sure I don't pull a 'Messer'.
What next? I have an old Eclipse that is primed for an electric conversion, and an Abbra due in a few weeks. I will also be selling my back up radio the 9C probably, and purchasing something new. Eclipse could be flying in a couple weeks, and the Abbra will be ready for the Richmond contest. But Lancaster is not to be...
Hope all your planes are well, and you have enjoyed this Super Bowl weekend.
Rum is killing the pain.
Sincerely,
Tom Messer
In case any of you haven't read what happened earlier today, check out the District Website : http://www.nsrca.org/d7/ (check out the first story on the page regarding my Focus on SuperBowl Sunday)
It wasn't pretty, and I fully own up to all of it. Just a dumb move, and I did one thing, or rather didn't do one thing... that I never have before... not check the controls before takeoff. It cost me an absolutely wonderful airplane, and as it turns out, the contest at Hollister next weekend. Not saying I was going to win, far from it, but I could have gone and had fun with all that showed. Instead, I'm pondering my next move.
Why not get the ol' Impact going? Funny you should think that... it's toast too. I got home, fixed a couple of things that needed fixing on it prepping it for getting programmed in my back up radio (primary radio is at Radio South), and I start the programming session. For some reason getting the dual elevator servos working properly is becomming a problem... Okay, pull out the manual... while doing that, one of the servos is full deflection... no biggie... next thing I hear is a constant whine of the servo motor on said servo... The gears stripped... No big deal, i just happen to have a half dozen 9650s laying around doing nothing now... It go to pull the detachable stabs apart... No movement, and I mean NONE! Screws are out, nothing should be holding it back... no movement... push one way gently, pull the other gently... nothing. The damned thing will not budge. It's impossible to cut the servo out because of it's orientation (located in the stab sideways so the horn protrudes vertically out the bottom) and the direction of the screws... in from the root. So I progressively pull and push, and pry harder. Finally it cracks and it's all over. Paint, thread lock, glue... something got on that rod/tube and is preventing the stabs from coming off. The tail is cracked and ruined, and the plane is done. I am now without a pattern plane at all... lost two in a day. Since it was done and final, I tried with all my might to get the stabs apart, and the carbon fiber tube simply shredded... ends are still in the stabs.
Moral of the story? Be sure to "Focus" on your airplane assembly, do not get destracted and always, always, ALWAYS!, do a pre takeoff control check... i don't care if it's the first, or seventh flight of the day. How long does it take to move everything and check the direction? I always did it myself... except for this morning because I got distracted. The fact that i got distracted is my fault, and I own up to it... So in the coming months, and various contests, if you talk to me while I am putting my plane together in the morning, or getting ready for flight... and I don't talk back or respond in anyway, please do not take it personally... I am trying to make sure I don't pull a 'Messer'.
What next? I have an old Eclipse that is primed for an electric conversion, and an Abbra due in a few weeks. I will also be selling my back up radio the 9C probably, and purchasing something new. Eclipse could be flying in a couple weeks, and the Abbra will be ready for the Richmond contest. But Lancaster is not to be...
Hope all your planes are well, and you have enjoyed this Super Bowl weekend.
Rum is killing the pain.
Sincerely,
Tom Messer
02-05-2006, 09:18 PM
#2
RE: A Bad Day Gets Worse
Tom,
Very good advice. Sorry that happened to you.
I would say in the big scheme of things that can go wrong, this was a cheap lesson. I watched in horror one month ago a guy get chopped in the face and arm by the blades of his Raptor 50 heli. I am still somewhat haunted by that incident. The guy lives, but he has a nasty scar after 3 hours of plastic surgery. If he would have had (edited) carbon blades instead of (end edit) wooden blades, I believe he would have lost his arm at the bicep. It was a very bad accident.
At least in your case, nobody was physically hurt.
I mention this, not to one-up your story, but as a reminder to all to be very careful with this hobby. A prop or a moving airplane is incredibly dangerous. You never want to get struck by either. You never want your electric motor to come to life in the pits when you don't expect it. I have seen that occur also.
David
Very good advice. Sorry that happened to you.
I would say in the big scheme of things that can go wrong, this was a cheap lesson. I watched in horror one month ago a guy get chopped in the face and arm by the blades of his Raptor 50 heli. I am still somewhat haunted by that incident. The guy lives, but he has a nasty scar after 3 hours of plastic surgery. If he would have had (edited) carbon blades instead of (end edit) wooden blades, I believe he would have lost his arm at the bicep. It was a very bad accident.
At least in your case, nobody was physically hurt.
I mention this, not to one-up your story, but as a reminder to all to be very careful with this hobby. A prop or a moving airplane is incredibly dangerous. You never want to get struck by either. You never want your electric motor to come to life in the pits when you don't expect it. I have seen that occur also.
David
02-05-2006, 10:03 PM
#3
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: oakland,
CA
Posts: 1,081
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
RE: A Bad Day Gets Worse
Same here, I saw it happened to a veteran pattern pilot at my club a few months ago. Luckiy, it was a small electric plane, but his thumb was cut pretty badly.
Do not get careless and complacent, an electric is more dangerous than a glow or gas sometime.
Adrian
Do not get careless and complacent, an electric is more dangerous than a glow or gas sometime.
Adrian
02-05-2006, 10:27 PM
#5
RE: A Bad Day Gets Worse
Complacency is dangerous, no doubt. In this case it a total case of complacency. The plane had been flying so well for so many flights, no squawks, and I just got distracted and BAM! No more airplane. Not the first time, nor the last... but it doesn't hurt any less.
The actual impact was not very severe. The airplane cartwheeled and the only damage, as severe as it was, was the fuselage. The wings are repairable, and so far all of the electronics are okay. I'll do some testing in the coming days and will send out for repair what needs it. The elevator servo for the Impact (now I REALLY hate that name LOL) is surely going out and maybe a receiver or two for good measure.
Chad, the batteries are fine so far. I watched them all morning and no puffing or anything. I think they made it. Funny how things have changed. The only truly expensive part of this airplane were the batteries for the motor! And they seemed to come out fine. The impact was not very hard anyway.
The actual impact was not very severe. The airplane cartwheeled and the only damage, as severe as it was, was the fuselage. The wings are repairable, and so far all of the electronics are okay. I'll do some testing in the coming days and will send out for repair what needs it. The elevator servo for the Impact (now I REALLY hate that name LOL) is surely going out and maybe a receiver or two for good measure.
Chad, the batteries are fine so far. I watched them all morning and no puffing or anything. I think they made it. Funny how things have changed. The only truly expensive part of this airplane were the batteries for the motor! And they seemed to come out fine. The impact was not very hard anyway.
02-05-2006, 10:29 PM
#6
RE: A Bad Day Gets Worse
Adrian and David...
You are absolutely right, luckily nobody got hurt, and luckily there was not any significant damage other than my airplane. If I'm going to have a crash, as long as it's just my property that suffers damage, I'm okay with it. Still hurts... but it's better than the alternative.
You are absolutely right, luckily nobody got hurt, and luckily there was not any significant damage other than my airplane. If I'm going to have a crash, as long as it's just my property that suffers damage, I'm okay with it. Still hurts... but it's better than the alternative.
02-06-2006, 12:02 AM
#7
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: Oakland,
CA
Posts: 796
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
RE: A Bad Day Gets Worse
ORIGINAL: ExFokkerFlyer
This is copied from an email that I sent out to some members of NSRCA Ditrict 7. The incident is posted on the website and you can get to it following the below link. My only reason in posting this here is to hopefully prevent somebody from doing something as stupid as what I did today. I know there is the saying of "There are those that have, and those that will..." but I hope nobody makes the stupid mastakes that I made.
This is copied from an email that I sent out to some members of NSRCA Ditrict 7. The incident is posted on the website and you can get to it following the below link. My only reason in posting this here is to hopefully prevent somebody from doing something as stupid as what I did today. I know there is the saying of "There are those that have, and those that will..." but I hope nobody makes the stupid mastakes that I made.
Sorry to hear about all the misfortune. I can remember being distracted many times assembling a plane - I've even flown one after forgetting to put the wing tube screw in and the only thing that prevented the wings from flying off were the retracts -when the wheels went up the rods kept the wings on. It was only on landing that I noticed the wings were "funny".
Or how about another veteran pilot that plugged his wings in and didn't make sure that the wing adjusters were actually plugged into his one wing - took off and thought he had lost it because his one wing had about 20 degrees of incidence - managed to land it though.
Hope to see you soon!
02-06-2006, 12:19 AM
#8
Senior Member
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: Winchester,
VA
Posts: 113
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
RE: A Bad Day Gets Worse
Tom,
I know this won't make it any better, but it happes to the best of us. At least there was no injury because of your oversight.
I did the same thing years ago, talking and setting up. Plugged my ailerons into the charge cord. Took off with a nice left bank...and more left...and more, and I realized I had no ailerons. I immediatly started flying this .40 sized Great Planes with rudder, but I did not have enough to compensate for the left roll. Power off, I did my best, and got her down, and had some fuselage damage. I felt lucky...and I will never do it again.
When flying full scale, and doing my pre-flights, I always think of this, and never do it with others walking around with me. I need to concentrate on the task at hand. Oversights could cost me more than some balsa.
I know this won't make it any better, but it happes to the best of us. At least there was no injury because of your oversight.
I did the same thing years ago, talking and setting up. Plugged my ailerons into the charge cord. Took off with a nice left bank...and more left...and more, and I realized I had no ailerons. I immediatly started flying this .40 sized Great Planes with rudder, but I did not have enough to compensate for the left roll. Power off, I did my best, and got her down, and had some fuselage damage. I felt lucky...and I will never do it again.
When flying full scale, and doing my pre-flights, I always think of this, and never do it with others walking around with me. I need to concentrate on the task at hand. Oversights could cost me more than some balsa.
02-06-2006, 01:05 AM
#9
RE: A Bad Day Gets Worse
ORIGINALWhen flying full scale, and doing my pre-flights, I always think of this, and never do it with others walking around with me. I need to concentrate on the task at hand. Oversights could cost me more than some balsa.
At least the Steelers won! the day wasn't a total loss!!! lol
Derek, thanks for your kind words. It is hard, but it's something we have all gone through as modelers. Even when i did something completely stupid... nobody at the field called me on it... everybody just said, "hey, we have all been there, sorry man... "
I'll be at your contest in April at the very least... congrats on the election!
02-06-2006, 02:17 AM
#10
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: oakland,
CA
Posts: 1,081
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
RE: A Bad Day Gets Worse
Tom,
No body is perfect.
The most important thing is, as long as we recognize the mistake, learned from it, and don't let it happen again.
It hurts, but the planes are replaceable.
Adrian
No body is perfect.
The most important thing is, as long as we recognize the mistake, learned from it, and don't let it happen again.
It hurts, but the planes are replaceable.
Adrian
02-15-2006, 01:57 AM
#11
RE: A Bad Day Gets Worse
Thanks Adrian... you are right and I'm not out quite yet... Coming soon to a District 7 contest near you... Goes to show that you can buy your way out of any mistake in RC! My credit is going to hurt for a while! 
Started working on it on Friday and could have had it ready this week had I had all my parts. Plan to fly it next week and make it to the Richmond contest in April. After a mistake like mine there is no excuse for not getting back on the horse except for a credit card with a low limit! lol Oh well... it's still cheaper than women, booze, and/or therapy!
Started working on it on Friday and could have had it ready this week had I had all my parts. Plan to fly it next week and make it to the Richmond contest in April. After a mistake like mine there is no excuse for not getting back on the horse except for a credit card with a low limit! lol Oh well... it's still cheaper than women, booze, and/or therapy!
