Luchnia

My Feedback: (21)

I probably have not seen anything as you have, but I am pretty calm about my planes and I totally agree with your post. I don't want to crash one, yet if I do, then so be it. I found that I was somewhat nervous early on, but now, nothing really. I have flown a lot and built up my confidence to the point I rarely even think about it and just do what I need to. The only time I have had any issues with my planes was when something mechanical failed, or I did something really dumb.

I have heard guys say, "Oh you will crash" and I don't buy into that mentality one bit. If you keep good equipment, check it over well and keep yourself "skilled" you should do fine. I do remember my most serious crash and it was because I had reversed the ailerons. It was a 40cc Extra and I toasted it on take off before I could mentaly realize the ailerons were reversed. I totalled it. I just walked over picked it up, laughe a bit, and said that I made a stupid mistake. As you implied putting a model in the ground won't upset me. I won't like it, but I press right on and enjoy myself.

foodstick

There comes a time when a crash just free's up room for a new build ! hahahha

A friend and I have the GP 1/4 Gee Bee R2, sometimes he calls me up and says

"I need to make room in the shop, lets take the Gee Bees out."

abufletcher

Like I said, some people have a lot more of it!

abufletcher

In terms of "risking" those precious scale models that we spend years building, I like to keep it philosophical. I like to compare it to the Tibetan sand mandala which is meticulously created and then ritualistically destroyed...in keeping with the Buddhist ideal of impermanence.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GA3su0ECdPc Another example of this are the Tibetan (yak) butter sculptures, which are works of art which begin to melt and rot almost as soon as they are finished. The lesson for scale modelers is this: It's not the model that matters; it's the path getting there, grasshopper!

Joe Westrich

My Feedback: (95)

It's like gambling. You put your money out there and if you crash, you loose your money. If you win, you get the satisfaction of another awesome flight on your airplane of choice. The more money you throw out there, the more you sweat it. Some people can cope with the stress of it, some have a hard time.

You got the guys that will tell you that every airplane has an expiration date. That may be true but there are some guys that always expire sooner than the rest of us. If you take a bit of time to logically evaluate your aircraft, you can take a big hunk of risk out..... not all, I know.

For me, now flying mostly jets but had in the past flown just about anything with wings, I like to take an approach grabbing the low sitting fruit. Batteries and switches are what I consider No.1 on a list of most likely to fail first. Backing them up is simple today... especially the switches. You can go as far as redundant Rx's which I have done on some airplanes. However it gets to a point where you look at it and say, yes I have redundant receivers though my Powerbox Royal but I only have one Powerbox..... what if that fails. Am I adding safety or just throwing another $600 on the fire? You got to draw the line somewhere and the are a few inexpensive ways to cover a good portion of risk.

Having a qualified person to do the maiden is a good idea but having a qualified person to inspect your build and install is equally a good idea. I have picked up aircraft from long time modelers and found the install to be down right crazy like unsupported flex push rods just to name one. It would have expired within a flight or two if I didn't fix it.

A little bit of effort to reduce risk doesn't mean you don't have the money to fly and shouldn't be in the hobby. It just means you value your money and the safety of others around you.

BTW. I have lost only one of my model in 10 years of heavy flying. Almost everything gets sold after I get bored with it. I hope I didn't just jinx myself.

nitrosportsandrunner

you get the vastly differing views, cause the hobby appeals to people of low income and people with lots of disposable income. those with lots to spend think nothing of buying the "best" (often most expensive) gear and having the best tools ect.

those who cant afford to spend as much often look for the "most bang for your buck" or "most fun for your money"

Those who don't struggle to pay their bills and can by most any RC or part they want without emptying their wallet wont ever understand how those of us living week to week see their spending habits as odd.

my 1st 4 channel plane was a mere $150 (RTF dynam cub) and I was scared to death I would crash it. why was I scared...cause I couldn't afford to replace it any time soon. I could walk away from a crash calmly if I knew I could easily replace the plane. but if I knew it would be months...possibly next year before I could afford another I would be pissed.
with they dynam, I did crash many times, but it was a plane that was easy to repair and I learned to fly a 4ch pretty well.

sometimes I do have people say to me (when they see my plane or fast brushless truck) "that sure must cost a lot". I say "not as much as the real thing"
and that is true...I get to drive fast truck and cars, race them, fly planes, and build rock crawlers....in 1/10 scale. I couldn't afford to do even one of those things in real life. thank goodness for RC!

mattnew

My Feedback: (2)

My motorcycle instructor long ago had an interesting quote on risk: He said "Risk is like a step ladder. You should only climb as high as your willing to fall, but you should also realize that other people won't necessarily be as comfortable as you would be at a certain step. Some people will get to the bottom of the ladder and say "yep I'm good", others will climb right up to the top and balance on the top step. The key is to understand what your comfortable doing and what you aren't comfortable doing, and then always operating within your comfort zone."

Same thing can be said with modeling. If you can afford to break a $100 dollar prop and your willing to take the chance at doing that for the enjoyment of the hobby then that is fine. But they should also understand there are others that cringe at breaking their $10 prop and should respect those people and there choices as well. There are a million different ways to enjoy this hobby, expensive equipment can help some people, but is by no means required.

Hinckley Bill

My Feedback: (569)

The dear departed buddy of mine, Jerry Z, who taught me how to fly 35 years ago pretty much laid it on the line when he told me , "If you're not ready to crash you're not ready to fly."

Whatever the cause may be, and unfortunately more often than not it's 'operator error', one must be always be cognizant of the inevitable and enjoy flying what you have up until then

blhollo2

My Feedback: (278)

Every time you go the airfield and fly, there is a 50/50 chance you might not come home with that airplane. That's just the facts. You can minimize the risk by checking your plane,equipment,ect and just remember this hobby is supposed to be FUN!!

abufletcher

If it really were a 50/50 proposition each and every time I flew, I don't think I'd stay in the RC hobby very long.

radfordc

My Feedback: (14)

Question: is terrible spelling online a sign of ignorance or apathy?

sensei

I road raced motorcycles and sponsored a racing team for a good number of years, now I did considered that as a risk every time we were on the track, but have never considered flying one of my models as a risk. I have also never really cared about the money spent on them either, it's a hobby and I also agree that if you are worried about the money, it's probably not the hobby for you because being worried about the costs during flight can and will cause you to freeze up on the sticks at the wrong time and.........

Bob

Uncas

My Feedback: (1)

A salesman once told me this:

It is always about money.

abufletcher

And capitalization. Let's not forget capitalization.

valleyk

Gentlemen Its not about the money and I do not want to create a class warfare here on who is lucky to afford the hobby and who is just scrapping buy. The point is we all love the hobby because we put the time and effort into a build projecting our creativity, pride and piloting skills. The risk factor is truly subjective and no one answer here fits all on how to coupe. I guess the best answer in its simplistic form is, " If you not ready to crash it your not ready to fly it".

abufletcher

Up to now most of my RC stuff has been "cheap." I don't really count the money I spend building over several years because that really is cheap when divided by the time spent. If figure I spent the money on entertainment. And even if I were to crash on the first flight, I still would have gotten to enjoy all of that entertainment. I might feel very differently if I just plunked down $500 (or even way more) for a model built by someone else (either another hobbyist of some worker in a factory in China) and then had it auger in on the first flight.

But, I have to admit that now that I've bought the $1,200 Seidel/UMS the thought of turning that engine into scrap metal is definitely something I'll be thinking about. At one point I had some remaining "assets" from another (mostly past) hobby. Specifically, I had a used Leica M6TTL rangefinder camera. I sold it to pay for the Seidel. I like to tell myself that it was just trading in one toy for another. But, the chances of the Leica hitting the ground from 100 feet up at 50+ mph were slim.

brockettman

A couple of quotes that strike me are:

"If you're not ready to crash it you're not ready to fly it".
"If it doesn't fly, it deserves to crash".

I have one of those planes that took hours and hours to build. It's been waiting in the hangar for several years... I think it's a little overweight and under powered, however I believe it's time to find out if the risk will yield a reward! Some guys I fly with keep asking if I've flown her yet, others say "You don't want to fly that beauty do ya?".

I'm going to fly her this season. I'm ready...

jack steward350

My Feedback: (7)

Yep check your stuff. As for a 50/50 chance of survival we must all be aware that 97.32% of all people make up statistics on the spot. The risk, the wheels breaking ground, that shot of adrenaline, is what keeps many of us coming back for more. Yep check your stuff and most of all take plenty of pictures.

abufletcher

I rarely wait more than a few weeks (weather permitting) to fly a new model. I futz around a lot getting ready for a maiden, but I never just let a model sit. Once it's been test flown, however, it could be months (or even years) before I fly it again. Typically, I've moved my attention on to the next build.

That great! Be sure to re-check everything...and I mean everything. Models tend to get a certain amount of "hanger rash" from just sitting around. There was a spider living inside my Snipe.

Are there any ways to reduce the weight a bit and/or fit a larger engine?

CafeenMan

My whole outlook on possibly losing your plane is several things.

First, if I can't afford to crash it I can't afford to own it.

If I'm afraid to fly it then I shouldn't own it.

My emotional investment is as great as anyone's when you consider that almost all of my planes are hand built from kits or my own design and scratch built.

My Thwing! design is a good example. That plane had a lot of hours in building and it had a huge disadvantage on test flight. Planes with landing gear can give you some indication if they are really out of trim before they get into the air or when they just break ground. That gives you the opportunity to cut throttle and make adjustments.

Thwing! is just a "go for it" kind of plane. The only way to get it flying is to throw it and if something is severely out of whack then the pilot probably won't have time to save it.

But a couple things made it a no brainer to throw it and find out what happens. First, I don't care about the money at all. As I said, if I can't afford it I don't own it. So anything I do fly I can afford to replace. The investment is the time building.

We did all the math and the plane checked out. It had a light wing loading and plenty of power for the weight. I did run with it first to see how it was going to pull and it wanted to lift out of my hand. I've had planes that didn't do that so I would kill the engine and make an adjustment (CG or elevator trim).

Laslty, since I had just built it the whole thing was fresh on my mind and I would be able to build another faster and better if the prototype died during test flights.

Now I have a different outlook on "negativity". People tell me all the time that I'm negative but really they don't understand how I think. I don't have a negative outlook. But I do concentrate on what can go wrong. The reason for that is because I want to consider every possible thing that can happen and make sure I have it covered. It's not because I assume the worst is going to happen.

My planes don't fall apart and don't have mechanical failures and that's because of all the "negative" things I think about.

An example. I've had multiple incidents when I had to land a plane at high speed and then turn it sharply to avoid hitting something.

The last time was when I called "dead stick" and a guy decided that was a good time to walk out onto the run way with his plane so he could take off. I was already in a circuity bleeding airspeed and altitude but in order to avoid him I had to land sooner than the plane was ready for which was probably more than twice the airspeed necessary. I had turned the plane 180 so I was landing with less than half the runway left and trees about 25 yards off the end that I was heading toward at high speed. So once the plane was down I gave very sharp rudder and some aileron. The plane bounced along sideways which put a huge strain on the landing gear.

So to the point. Because I've had to land like that before it's one of the negative things I think about when building a plane - 'What if the plane skids sideways at high speed on the ground?' "Man... you are so negative!!!" No, I'm just considering something that actually happens and want to ensure the plane isn't destroyed by it.

TomCrump

I know exactly where you are coming from. You have reached the [point where the build isn't fresh in your mind. You have become a little less attached to the airframe.

It's not that you want to crash, but you have reached the point where you can accept the risk, and be at peace with the potential consequences.

I can easily identify with this, as I go through it with many of my builds.

Good luck with your maiden.

Now, if I could only reach that point with my Stuka.

Luchnia

My Feedback: (21)

I have a buddy that brought out a plane that had been sitting a long time and when he grabbed the wings out he said they seemed heavy and made the weirdest noise. Guess what! Mice had filled the wings with corn from a nearby corn field - they had also chewed some servo wires in half! Talk about a laugh, most of us out there that day could hardly fly from laughing

thailazer

I really could not live with myself if a hobby loss amounted to hundreds of dollars. I tend to keep my dollar investment low but fly as much as I can. Back when I built scale aircraft, my investment was mostly time so when the maiden flights came, all those peaceful building hours resulted in lots of nervousness for the first flights which I always find strangely enjoyable. Others don't mind losing the money, and a friend just had a crash which destroyed a turbine gearbox. He was fine with it as he has a lot more disposable cash than I do. All of us have to find our own operating point on the risk curve.

ARUP

Everything we do is in terms of 'risk management'! From chewing food to straining at the stool, always weigh your options!

abufletcher

This sums up why I will probably never have more than three functioning RC models at any one time. Plenty of fond memories, but I don't need 10 scale models occupying my house. Besides, I usually need the engine, Rx, and servos for the next project!