ORIGINAL: Loopman
Okay here goes! When I was learning and for about two years after my field nickname was ''Shredder''! Seems I had a penchant for trying to fly limbo through the landlords barbed wire fences. A few things I've learnt over the years:
a. NEVER say out loud that you're gonna fly one more flight before you head for the barn - guaranteed crash.
b. Never applaud yourself (or your plane) too much before flying a new plane or flying it for the first time at a new field. ( I belong to two clubs). If someone asks ''how's it fly?'' just answer ''hopefully up in the air!''
c. Always use fresh fuel (gas or glow) it's amazing how a sputtering engine will konk out always at the wrong moment!
d. Always make sure your prop nut is secure (been there done that).
e. If something ain't right on the ground it sure won't fix itself in the air, re-kitting excepted!
f. Don't do something stupid like stuff a plastic garbage bag in the fuse (I'll let you guess why). This ain't the Boy Scouts so you don't need to get that prepared!
g. For heavens sake grab the frequency pin (and make sure it's the right one). My age is showing, yes I still fly FM/PCM.
h. Never laugh at anyone who crashes, the gods have a way of remembering the snickering!
i. When you do crash just remember not to cry openly, it ain't manly!
j. As Clint Eastwood said in ''High Plains Drifter'', ''A man should know his limitations'', know yours and stay within them! (Easier said than done).
k. NEVER let you significant other know you've crashed, they seem to know that means a new plane.
Hope these thoughts help!
Happy Flying!
Loopman
One more thing! Every landing is a controlled crash! So have fun!
l. never say, while flying "watch this"
m. if you know your going to crash yell "watch this" most flyers hate to see a plane crash, but if its going to they want to watch it.
n. when you do crash take everything home, most of the time its repairable
i have crashed my glow's 4 times. my "crash" is when i have to do covering and balsa repair.
spad HOR, was just flying low and the plane dove into the ground, i think my rubber bands were to old and flexed enough (right after a dive) to loose most of my lift.
spad trainer, had the aileron's on low rates, tried to do a quick roll above the runway but on low rates i hardly made it half way, new fuse was all it needed
great planes rapture, was showing off (i said "watch this") got the plane in a very flat spin when i realized i was to low, it was to late spirled into the ground, fixed it in 3 weeks
tower fun-51, again dumb thumbs, i rolled upside down then when the nose dropped suddenly i flipped and pulled instead of rolled (imac got me into bad habits, but i learnt my lesson) the gear took most of the impact, but bent into the wing breaking the spar and sheeting, flying again in 4 hours. it should have been worse.
thats in 15 gallons of fuel on 30-55 sized engines (about 64 hours of flight time, 4 oz of fuel for a 8 min flight 128/4*8*15) id guess it more time than that though, i have flown on 8oz for 47min 15sec with my gp rapture, engine gms.47.
i cant complain to much.