CrateCruncher, what an excellent post! While most of this may not be news, it perfectly sums up what we can do to crash less.
While flying in the real world, DO NOT DECIDE AEROBATIC MANEUVERS SPONTANEOUSLY!!
Guilty. And I've paid for it.
Maintaining a cushion of altitude and doing aerobatics that tend to absorb kinetic energy rather than add is safer too. (Example: stall turn vs. a spin)
I never thought of it that way. [sm=thumbs_up.gif]
I don't fly if I'm distracted by life or feeling "out of it" either.
Sometimes when I fly I'll experience something like a "mental glitch" when I know that at some level, the model has gotten away from me even if just for a second. No one watching would notice it, but I know I messed up. This is often a doubt about orientation. If I have more than one of these moments, I land the plane and pack it up for the day.
The ELEVATOR LINKAGE is the most critical part of the airplane - lose it and the plane is doomed - so always pay very, very, very close attention to it.
I almost lost my N17 the other day because I had a stripped servo arm and so during high speed maneuvers the elevator slipped into a permanent down position. You can bet I'll be checking that sort of stuff more carefully in the future!
In central Texas we often have calm mornings that build to 25 mph gusts in mid-afternoon calming down again near dark.
Similar pattern up on my "rice field." But at the same time, it's important to push your flying boundaries a little. I know some guys who won't fly in a breeze. A bit of wind is a good training tool. But yeah, don't be fool-hearty about it unless you have a nice junker you don't mind losing.
I keep a mental note of who is flying, what kind of airplane, radio and frequency they are using.
I don't fly if a heli's in the air. Too unpredicatable, too distracting, and I can't hear my engine.
If someone walks up to chat while I'm flying I simply ask them to keep questions to a minimum while I'm flying because "I'm a crappy pilot and need to concentrate".
This happens all the time at my field and to make matters worse, they're trying to talk to me in Japanese! Again, great post. Thanks for taking the time!