Worlds record established w/ showtime 4D!!
 

Hi all,

Well here it is! The worlds record for shortest lifespan of a model! Or, Quickest maiden flight ever, or DUMBEST rookie mistake I ever made! I think I will choose the last one!

First before you view the video, I must defend myself a little. I have been flying for 10 years or so and had 25 or so models. Most of my models get retired without much damage except wear and tear, and the occasional dead stick landing mishap. Monday was the day to maiden my new Showtime. Spent the holiday weekend gettin her ready, making sure everything was perfect. Mounted the YS110 FZ and got her running sweet!

We took her to the field Monday afternoon and after spending an hour or so with my son and his trainer, we were told the field was going to close and I had 10 min. to fly the Showtime and pack up, or risk getting locked in the gates. Note* this should have been the omen telling me today wasn't the day for this. Anyways, I quickly assembled the plane and did a quick radio check, fired her up and taxied to the runway. The result you can see in the video!

I have learned a valueable lesson (one I should have automatically known, by the way) that I will never forget. Always check your control surfaces for proper deflection before each flight, no matter how much stick time you got under your belt!!!!


BK

http://www.nitrodynesystems.com/imag...deo%20ever.wmv


p.s. On the bright side, Only the airframe was totalled, and my wife told me to get another one so we can try again next weekend! My wife rocks!!!

RE: Worlds record established w/ showtime 4D!!
 

BK - that is one big OUCH!!!

I took my WM CAP 232 40R for its maiden, checked everything 'properly' ... she taxied out and I put in the gas .. she lifted off nicely and then immediately crashed. Oh wow! I realised that when I checked the ailerons I was looking over my shoulder a bit, it was reversed. I believe that my plane lasted about 3 secs!

RE: Worlds record established w/ showtime 4D!!
 

Ouch!! Was it a matter of wrong deflection or too large throws?

RE: Worlds record established w/ showtime 4D!!
 

Two problems... Your field closes too early! The sun was still up....

and if your wife told you to get another.... you never told her how much the first one cost!:D:D:D


Sorry about the loss!

Last thing I do now before EVERY flight is slowly check surface deflaection..... been there, done that

RE: Worlds record established w/ showtime 4D!!
 

Been there, done it, now seen the video!

I realised immediately what I'd done with my harrier 90 when it rolled on take-off (looked really good - a nice axial roll with the wingtips missing the ground by two inches). I managed to recover and fly it round a circuit without anyone noticing until it started coming towards me on landing approach. Then I got all tied up and ditched it.

...and this was after many pre-flight checks(?). Still, after thirty years of flying I suppose there's room for anything once...

RE: Worlds record established w/ showtime 4D!!
 

That's too bad. You should post this in the crash forum though.

Woops:D

RE: Worlds record established w/ showtime 4D!!
 

Why?

The models were 3D fliers before they crashed.

RE: Worlds record established w/ showtime 4D!!
 

I have seen this happen 2x before on maiden. It is one of the oldest tricks in the book.

Another big one(not on maiden) is not extending the TX antenna and running out of radio range. Or having the wrong model on in your transmitter. There is so much that can bite you. Sorry for your loss. When it is something so simple it is all the worse.[:'(]

I put a plane up once for one quick flight before the field closed for the day low on gas and ran her dry about 20 feet off the deck in a TR.[:o] Stupid Stupid[:@]

Oh ya, congratulations on the world record!![X(] Was it worth it in the end though?[:-]

RE: Worlds record established w/ showtime 4D!!
 

hey MX , that hurts, i m relly sorry
but i ve noticed somethig very awfull, why in your club the sun is in front of the pilots???
who build it must have think on that , might be very stressfull flying there

PD: nice airplane man, despite the accident, you shoould be happy for the machine you ve bought

RE: Worlds record established w/ showtime 4D!!
 

:)Wow. Sorry about your loss. Man, who hasn't done that. I've hooked the ailerons backwards several times but always somehow noticed it before takeoff. What a bite. Sorry
Thanks
Barry

RE: Worlds record established w/ showtime 4D!!
 

Don't feel too bad. I've seen that mistake done dozens of times. I did it when I was a kid on my brand new pattern plane decked out with a pipe that I spent the whole winter airbrushing. Ouch. Now I check before each flight.

A few weeks back somebody at my field has an EF Yak and he was doing a maiden. I looked the plane over but didn't check his directions for him but did ask him. His flight was shorter than yours.

The worst one though was about 2 weeks ago at our fields electric fun fly. My buddy just finished his Tensor and was going for the maiden. I was going to hand launch it. I said "did you check everything?" He said "Yup". So I said just for grins let me do the idiot check and proceeded to check elevator, rudder and aileron. Well the elev and rudder I used my brain on and consciously acknowledge their direction. On the ailerons I spaced and just acknowledged them wiggling. Yup...we both got it wrong. The Tensor lasted about 7 seconds until it punched in. Walking over to the plane we checked the ailerons and sure enough they were backwards. That is why "idiot check" was actually so fitting in this case.

RE: Worlds record established w/ showtime 4D!!
 

Talking about not extending the antenna ... I got a pal at the flying site who has done it 7 times! He is a good pilot but just forgetful on that front!!! Hehehe ... he is an Aussie, maybe its because he came from Down Under.

RE: Worlds record established w/ showtime 4D!!
 

Hi MX,
I'm not able to see the video.
Where do You fiy?
Sorry for Your loss. H.

RE: Worlds record established w/ showtime 4D!!
 

Good friend of mine was doing the maiden on a 1/3 scale Godfrey Ultimate. After flying around close (within 200 yds) for a circuit or rwo he was flying out to the edge of the field & I asked him "you gonna put that antenna Up? Here's your sign." I walked over and pulled it out for him & all was well. How it never went in amazes me but he has that kind of luck.

RE: Worlds record established w/ showtime 4D!!
 

Hello again!

The problem was when I was setting it up, I was in a hurry and plugged the aileron servos into the wrong channels. Ie. 1 to 6 and 6 to 1. I realized it the instant I started to roll right. Then I tried to correct it and gave too much input (not having any feeling yet with this plane, and not wanting it to go into the parking lot!) and being 10 ft off the ground there was no time to re correct! I guess there was lots of things I should have done different. 1. Taken more time checking my set up there at the field, (but I checked the aileron deflection when I programmed the radio, so it was just hooked up wrong when I put the wings on at the field) 2. Made a longer straight climbout to 2 mistakes high before attempting rolling right, then maybe I could have brought her home and corrected the problem. I might have been able to make a circuit with just elevator and rudder. 3. Listened to my gut and packed her up and maidened her another day, but I had guests spectating and didn't want to disappoint.

The field is Whittier Narrows in LA county, I just moved here to Monterey Park and I am now only a few miles from this field, so I will be spending alot of time here in the future! The sun is only a problem here in the late afternoon. Most fly here in the morning, as I will also in the future. But it's not bad, I usually just fly over and under the sun if I'm flying in the afternoon.

The crash of the airplane wasn't a huge loss though, I never had a chance to get attached to her. The biggest bummer of the crash was it damaged one of the new 9411 elevator servos. All the other components of the plane were in tact, (engine, receiver, batteries, servos, etc.) Just the fuse and right wing took damage, and the fuse was destroyed.

On the bright side, I will have many spare parts to support my next Showtime (hopefully buying today!) She was such a beautiful plane!! I gotta have one in my hangar!!

The funny thing is my wife would rather me get a turbine jet instead. She thinks prop planes are for kids, and jets are for men! I think she just likes the way jets sound. I explained to her the cost in flying a jet, and she said she didn't care. She just thinks jets are awesome.

Thanks for all the sympathy, no big deal though, I enjoy building as much as flying. If this was a kit plane that I spent 200 hrs on then it surely would be a different story!
Next time I will lable the servo leads for all channels!

BK

OUHOZER: I'm sorry if you cant see the video, I just checked it and it seems ok. Try going to my website http://www.nitrodynesystems.com then click on our favorite links, then click the showime crash video link. That might work.

RE: Worlds record established w/ showtime 4D!!
 

Sorry for your loss. I've had that happen before on a buddies test flight, he promised everthing was fine. I should have checked myself. I did push down elevator and got it up high enough to get used to the ailerons backwards and was able to land it OK. Jim

RE: Worlds record established w/ showtime 4D!!
 

makes me feel sick[:'(]sorry!!
this weekend we took my sons ucd out to the field and after i flew and my other sons wing came off in flight(oil soaked rubber bands) he fired up his new saito 91 on the ucd and began toward the runway and started telling me the rudder was backwards, and since we just flew it the day before i said what? so he killed it and upon further inspection the ailerons and elevator were also backwards so i grabed the transmitter and it said AFP in the window and i said "oh *%^#!!!!! good thing you made a turn or we would be putting a new prop on at least[&:]

there are so many ways to screw up in this funnnnn:D

RE: Worlds record established w/ showtime 4D!!
 

That's why I always check the aileron deflection regardless of whether it's the 1st flight or the 300th. I use a simple trick my my thumb that I learned flying full scale. Also, take your wife out to a really nice dinner since she's letting you get another one.

RE: Worlds record established w/ showtime 4D!!
 

cstevec,

I used to do that all the time. I have done it at least three times with my US 40. I had a whole flight and she survived, no problem. I sure have learned my lesson. I haven't done it in the last five months now. Terrible Habit!!!

Regards,
Mike

RE: Worlds record established w/ showtime 4D!!
 

mxwrench...... WoW.... Bet you hate records huh.... Sorry for you loss!!
Man.... Get another..... Gotta Love the Wife!!

That haddened to me... But on a much slower rolling plane.... I must have
checked all over a 100 times... But............ Luckly I was able to see what
was going wrong and got her up high and rev. on my radio.... And brought
it back home... Now when I check controls.... I actually... lean in the
direction when moving the controls:) And this is done a few times... I always
get remarks from the peanut gallery watching me... But I had 2 "My problem"
things go wrong.. 1 made it back(rev. ail) and one did not(low battery)... And
I said... Never again........ So far so good......

Gates lock up.... No key... Another problem....

RE: Worlds record established w/ showtime 4D!!
 

Just got back from getting Showtime #2. I got this one $10 cheaper $249. The build should go quickly since It is all so fresh in my mind.

And yes the dinner is planned for tomorrow night!

Well, gotta get busy!

See ya

RE: Worlds record established w/ showtime 4D!!
 

thats a bite[>:]

i bet it didnt hurt the cowl:D

RE: Worlds record established w/ showtime 4D!!
 

It never hurts the cowl when it really wouldn't matter.

RE: Worlds record established w/ showtime 4D!!
 

It didn't hurt the cowl, because it was at home on the work bench! Actually the focus of the damage was at the front of the fuse and the right wing tip. The wing is easily repairable with a little balsa and some covering. In fact, due to the removable wings and stabs, I am only going to replace the fuse and rudder. No need to unpack the rest. I will save it for spare parts. I would attempt to repair the fuse, accept I have no idea where all the pieces went, and I would hate to have a heavy NEW model due to the loads of epoxy that would be needed for the repairs. I want it good as new for her 2nd maiden flight!

BK

RE: Worlds record established w/ showtime 4D!!
 

HE HE yea i noticed it was off in the video..


i would look up in the wing.. i crashed mine and the wings looks fine outside but if you look up in them from the end there is alot of rib damage way up in there.. It destroyed my fuse too