Well after flying for 2 months I had my firts real crash yesterday, but what hurts the most is how it happened!. I accidently moved the aileron trim all the way to the left before take off and didn't realize it until the plane was down on the ground and the fuselage broken in three parts... oh well,

There is at least a happy ending cause I took the plane to a friend who helps me rebuild and he has a brand new fuselage of my same plane, a Somethin' Extra...

Bad reason to crash. Hope the rebuild goes well.

I have a student that did almost the same thing. I keep telling him you have to fly the plane! No matter where the trims are. Get it up and then fix it. If it is rolling, move the stick to stop it and hold it there and treat that as center till you fix it.

Good learning experience for you, bad outcome though. Tuition is expensive isn't it.

Flyboy,

I guess that would doubly apply to Maidens on new A/C.

Applies to everything flying. I have watched so many people just give up and watch a plane crash that could have been landed.

I tell my students the same thing my instructor told me.

Don't quit flying it till about 5 seconds after it hits the ground.

FLYBOY, I tried!... I don't think it was possible FOR ME to save it... the aileron trim was so far to the left that my plane did a roll one feet from the ground right after take off...

Someone at the field told me that I should have controled the plane until it was high enough to fix the trim but I guess I'm not that experienced, I didn't even know what was going on!.

Don't worry about it. You will know the next time. That is what experience does for you. Now that you have had it happen, the next time you will react without thinking about it probably. That is what I meant by tuition is expensive. You lost a plane, but you learned a lot. Keep a positive attitude about it and chock it up to experience. You will have fun flying the next one, or this one if you can get it fixed.

FLYBOY... the plane will be ready tomorrow!, I just spoke with my friend who is fixing it and he told me he will have it for me tomorrow afternoon.
That is so perfect cause I'm leaving for the beach tomorrow at after work(2:00PM) and he lives one hour away from me and his house is on the way to my place at the beach... This is just so perfect, I'm even happy about the fact that know I will have a new fuselage and that this one is going to be better covered than the last cause this guy's is really great appying monokote.
Tomorrow we'll see.
GPV

Let us know how you make out! Good luck!

Have a good time with it. Sounds like it worked out awsome.

Gina it happens, don't fret to much, As my name applies" Check List" don't leave the ground without running your check list and this applies to all radio controls. My checklst has never let me down in 23 years of flying the R/C airplanes. I now have a computer radio that takes care of the trim position for me, so I dropped the trim switch from that list ,but it has been replaced with about 8 others as the computer radio have lots more switches to make sure are in the right position, not to mention am I on the right model!!!!!!! The Computer radio made model set up easier, but added to the complexity of the check list before flight line takeoff.

Get your self into a (Check list PROCEDURE ) and you will find this and about 20 other possible flight line mistakes will never bite you again. Good luck on the rebuild and sorry to hear about you mishap

I agree with checklst, I was taught to do a ground check on every flight. Not just looking at the aelerons for movement, but the right movement. Checking the rudder, elevator, and even throttle for proper movement and neutral setting. The only time I missed one, I had the rudder misaligned, but was able to get the plane back after doing some inflight trimming. I learned not to ever do a half check, do everything every time.

You must have had something else besides your trim all the way over. I don't know what radio you have, but my trim has been all the way over many times, sometimes rudder and elevator are messed up too. Yes the plane starts turning and going up and what not. But you have alot more control with the stick than you do with the trim.
If the plane is that far ahead of you, on take off, that you don't have time to compensate for slipped trims.... ....You might want to look into a slightly less agile plane.

You start flying the plane from the time you start the engine, until you are back on the ground with the engine dead. If at any point inbetween the plane is to much for you to keep in control, you realy need to rethink your abilities, and get a plane you can keep in control. Only takes a second (as you now well know) to put the plane somewhere it doesn't belong. Including into someone elses property or god forbid, into someone else.

Once you've been flying for a while you won't have a problem with this. You develop a sort of Zen relationship with flying, and you correct for things like bad trim without even thinking about it.
Dennis-

CHassan, I know I haven't been flying for long but I beleive I'm capable of flying this airplane. This is the only mistake I've made, I fly in a safe place which is completly isolated AND the plane flew for about ten feet at the end of the land strip which will never have anybody there(obiously).
Point is ILOVE this plane, if I ever loose it I will buy one just like it!, I love the way it handles and the way it lands and specialy how it maneuvers.

The check list is an EXCELENT idea, thanks.

Don't let it get you down.

Things happen, they just do, for whatever reason.

I remember putting one in the ground cause after I took off I realized I hadn't extended my radio antenna, I still had control over the airplane. but instead of just circling back around and landing I decided to extend it while I was flying, a very dumb move, but it was just one of those reactive type things.


I'd imagine, if the range is 1 - 2 miles with the antenna extended I probably could of flown normally with it retracted, but I was thinking with the antenna down I'd lose control and CRASH, LMAO. At least I can look back and laugh at myself for a lesson well learned.

A typical range check with antenna down is good if you get 100 or more feet without the surfaces jittering.

Antenna down while in the air might get you 400 to 500 feet. So keep the plane close and land ASAP if you notice your antenna's not extended.
Dennis-

I'm not saying you can't fly it, I'm thinking more along the lines of something else wrong. My trims have been moved over on my SE and the roll was easily corrected.
My trims do not cause a violent, or rapid roll when moved all the way to the edge. It is easily caught and corrected.

I will agree with you, the SE is a very fun plane. I just started flying mine this spring (maybe 12 flights on it) and if something should ever happen, I will replace it with another one.

Hope you get everything back together and keep it that way.