I fly only SPAD planes. They rarely get damaged. I break a prop about once per year and crash/total a plane about every 5 years. When I total a plane I am very happy because then I can build something different.

I agree. Once a new pilot gets past the high-risk learning phase, most crashes are caused either by pushing the limits or by the occasional freak occurance such as a mid-air collision or a servo failure. In my opinion, if you're not pushing the limits your not having enough fun.

Not very often. When I do it is something like a bad RX, once last year, bad antenna. I lost my Kaos this year, my bad, I shouldn't have been flying after eye surgery, I was doing a high risk stunt, the header broke off the engine and the engine flamed out all too low to the ground. Just one of those things. One hard landing, my bad, I just made a mistake.

I fly 3-4 times a week. Some of my planes fly well over 100mph. every time I go to fly, I try to do something new or accomplish a manuever I have been working on. Hence.....

I crash on average about every 4-6 weeks.

If I flew like a lot of the older guys at my club, 40mph, about 2-3 a month, I could go 8 months to a year no problem.

If you aren't crashing you're not flying.

Obviously you are more careful with more expensive planes

It doesnt take alot of skill to crash.

You fly at Scobee?

Crashing is part of the game! [] I don't crash too often, but more than I'd like for whatever the reason.

I have been flying for a little over 3 years I have lost 2 planes. One was a scratch built OS 10LA I lost into a tree about 3 months after I started flying. The other was a Tribute 36PNP that had a bad servo and disabled my receiver immediatly after takeoff, again in a tree.

I broke 5-10 props, most of those were on my smaller electrics and GWS SlowStick cause I tend to fly them in more in bad weather.

I repaired 3 sets of landing gear. One I was a Pheonix models Sonic I had too much down trim on its first flight and when I got it into the air I let up on the elevator and it went right back into the ground. Another was a Pheonix model Laser that I had a deadstick on it's first flight. As soon as the engine quit I realized it was tailheavy, so I set it down as easy as I could. The third gear reapair was a Tower Trainer I was doing some landing practice with and on one of the takeoffs the wind caught it and it started heading for the pits. I probably could have cleared it but I chose to roll it over into the ground to be safe. All of them were ready to fly again within a day.

Now as for servos I have never had to replace one in any of my larger planes. But as for submicro's I probably ruined about 5 of those last year. I decided this year I aint buying any more weak servo's for my small planes. They have plenty of power but the gears and other components just can't take alot of stick jamming. I am hoping the metal geared ones will solve my problem.

I have had some other crashes but those are like the scratch built, pink foam, 4oz twin 12 watt 12" span Delta I flew a few times.

I probably spent $80 on repairs last year including servos, glue(already had), covering(already had) and wood(already had). So, if you don't count my existing supplies, all I paid for was servos and props which would cut that in half. And if I quit buying cheap servos that should go down also.

The worst crash I saw last year was a Pheonix Models Sonic an older guy was flying when he plowed vertically into the ground at full throttle 20 ft in front of another guy flying. It sounded like a lawnmower hitting a gopher mound.
That was very surreal to say the least.-BW

Haven't crashed much lately,

and usually it happens when I'm being dumb. My MX-400 did go down a few months ago due to RF interferance (Ham Operator) since then I've went to 2.4ghz. This weekend I was dumb wondering how low my MX400 could get to the standing water in my back yard this weekend. Would not have been a problem but I recently installed running lights on it attached to the skids, I found out my helo it does not like water! The helo shot up out of control as I throttled down, only damage was a bent rod for my blade grips, and broken skid. Oh well>

Steve

[&o]

That's the first time I have seen someone post something that silly in a very long time!!!!!!!!!

They are not crashes they are reasons to build more stuff. I have been flying for about 2 years. Have one nose dive with my trainer when I soloed but was able to fix it. I have minor damage almost every time I fly but try not to stress it is hobby and I try not to upset myself. I have seen some awesome pilots crash some very expensive planes. Just have fun. I noticed that people who fly 3D are at a higher risk.

I try to crash three a year. At that rate I will be out of planes at about age 74...unless I see something I really need between now and then.

I think I made 50 flights one time without a crash after I took the landing gear off my edf foamy. then this year I got a FA18 EDF and on the fourth flight Depth perception failure and clipped a tree top Ripped off the left wing and broke the fuselage in half but new wing and some glue and patching and its back in the air.

I started flying RC in 1966 and the radio gear has improved to the point that crashing is mostly pilot error nowadays or ARFs that fall apart. The last crash I had was a midair in 89 and although my aircraft was not damaged much and landed with the engine running the other aircraft was totaled. I fly classic ballistic pattern aircraft and build them from scratch or kits so that might be the key.

I took 20 years off due to demanding marriages, before that and can't remember what I did! In the last 9 years:

I flew almost every day for a year, then about two days a week since. 2009 I rarely ever flew due to business. I go through a 4 gallon case of fuel every 6-7 months.
I fly in an open field, so it goes like this:

I was shot down on channel 52, 7 years back, flying a Senior Telemaster kit built trainer modified with a flat dihedral wing and it would do the best flat spins of anything in my hangar. I miss that giant plane. It was unrecognizable and actually hard to find, all 96" of wing turned into splinters.

I crashed a Raven profile after letting someone use my radio as a buddy box and I didn't know they changed my aileron and rudder reversing switches. Before I realized it, it was too late. Since then, I practice on a simulator such scenarios.
I was shot down again flying a kit built Ultra Sport 40, a total loss, channel 34. Came in hot too, OS AX 46 broke in 3 pieces, even the throttle servo was stripped. Unrecognizable.
I crashed a SIG Kavalier because of a clevis failure and lost elevator.
My cell phone rang while I was flying a ME-109 Global ARF, and my kids ran to me right across the runway on a busy Sunday! I had to ditch the plane to get them safe.
I had a bad battery destroy an Avistar on a maiden flight.

6 planes, in the last 9 years. I break a prop on one particular plane pretty often because it likes to nose over having retractable landing gear too far back. As soon as it touches down, I have to give it full up elevator to avoid the roll over. I'm slowly adding tail weight until it behaves badly. I'm sure it's next!

Self taught in '81 and only destroyed one in the learning process. Since then I have had many A/C destroyed doing "watch this" stunts, and a few brain dumps. My two most spectacular were the result of control rod failures. I did have one structural failure, I lost the left wing on a Talon and it turned into a homesick lawn dart. I have never seen such a small light A/C accelerate that quickly. In all these years I have only lost 5 A/C to crashes, and only a dozen or so major repairs. I was always flying the edge of the envelope, but I just got really lucky on many occasions. I do all the things with the models that I am to smart to do in full scale A/C.

Once you quit counting the knots in the rubber bands things did get a lot better!!! As a kid I used to leave the free flight area at the SPLV Dam and go watch the big money fall from the sky. That was around 1960 or 61. Those push button TXs were way cool but somehow lacking something!! Things really have gotten a lot better and it seemed like it happened over night.

i love pushing the limits with spads/foamies and sometimes my mojo.40. i just built a pbf (pizza box flyer) and its a ton of fun to see how low you can go and when i screw up its only a prop that gets busted. (if that useing mas which are hard to break on soft grass) some of the most risky days is flying in 35 mph winds, it really keeps you on your toes, espically the landings, if the wind gusts at the wrong time or your engine dies your in trouble. i have a few planes designated as windy day flyers so i can get out and not worry about the weather.

I have a spectacular "balsa rain" type crash about every other year with a glow model. One was a mid-air and that was so freak it can't be counted. Usually because I am trying something high speed and low altitude. A rebuildable crash about the same. Our field is treeless and this winter I was visiting a small field with jumping trees. Out of practice near such things. The first landing the skis allowed me too much roll-out so I tried bringing it in further out. Smack!

I have gone years with no required rebuilding - maybe a prop strike or two. But when if I go to the field I usually fly regardless of wind and I also like to push my own limits. I could fly high racetrack patterns all day and never crash, but I'd be bored stiff from lack of adrenaline and also stagnate in my skills development. I'm always trying for one more flat spin or a low snap roll. But I must say I fly my gassers with a little more care and less daring-do. An $1,800 smoking crater can ruin your whole day.

Do not believe I have ever had an equipment failure in flight or even a radio glitch. My crashes are ALL my fault, but my ground checks and equipment installs are careful and thorough.

My first flight was in 1968. I brake a few props every year, at one point I had so many planes i adopted the mantra “fly’em all and let good sort them out “. That ended when I lost my Zerroli Corsair when I flew it when it was not right and I new better. That was in 2002 just broken props since then 2 or 3 a year. I fly 250 flights a year, last year 325. I’m moderately risky (haha, ask Charlie) to the plane with my flying.

Prior to them I was flying 1/12 scale combat and chalked up 12 mid-airs in 4 years. I just could not get that miss the plane but get the streamer thing down. I flew low, figured the odds were in my favor if the other guy has to miss my plane, get my streamer, and miss the ground. If he flew past me after overtaking me on his attack run I would bank and turn into him. SMACK! or ribbon.

While I don’t personally customize planes to much any more I still do a lot of required maintenance. I keep a log for each plane that gets comments every time it flys, and some times when it does not. In this log I have to write something constructive about the way the plane performed and not all maintenance done. After a while the trends start to jump out of the page at you, if I’m not to dense to miss it. I also keep a needs immediate attention log in my radio boxes so it stays with the planes so I can write things down that need to be looked into. Also prevents me from taking a plane with a unrepaired problem back to the field.

Joe

Timing of this post just made me laugh. I started 3 years ago and was on a buddy box with my instructor and totally destroyed a Sig Kadet Senior due to a battery failure. I had let my instructor know I didnt have control of the plane right away so I guess you can say he had the controlls for the last 15 seconds or so. Other than a few harder lanings, I have been good until yesterday (hence the timing of this post). Just got stupid on takeoff in the wind, tried to take off and did not have enough speed. The wind blew the plane to the side so it was heading toward the edge of the runway instead of down the runway. I knew it probably wouldnt make it but thought I would try to get it up anyway. It cartwheeled on the edge of the runway. First roll, the engine and cowl came flying off, 2nd roll the main landing gear flew off. Came to a stop and the wings fell off the fuselage, this is a biplane I was flying. All I could do is ask myself "why did you try that". We live and we learn and now I have about a week or two of repairs and it will be back in action.

almost everytime ineed to learn to land

I ADMIRE THAT KIND OF ATTITUDE !!! I FLY MY BEST WHEN I DON'T WORRY ABOUT CRASHING, AND I CRASH THE BEST WHEN I'M TRYING NOT TO. JUNE 09'- A HARD CROSSWIND GUST, ON LANDING, GOT ME TO DITCH MY NEXSTAR TRAINER. INSTEAD OF TAKING A CHANCE OF LANDING TOO CLOSE TO A GROUP OF CLUB MEMBERS, I HIT THE STICKS HARD RIGHT, WITH THE WIND, AND DID A BIG LAZY CARTWHEEL. BENT ONE SIDE OF THE LANDING GEAR 10 DEGREES AND THE PROP NEEDED REBALANCING. THE CRASH ANGELS SHOWED MERCY. SEPT 09'- A BAD RECEIVER BOARD MADE MY TIGER 60 DO A QUICK, SPIRALING SNAP ROLL INTO THE GROUND AT A LOW PASS. THAT PLANE WAS ONE GALLON OF FUEL OLD... OUTTA HERE !!! I'VE DONE 3 MILD STALL LANDINGS...2 ON TWIST 40 TRYING TO SET C.G., LAST ONE ON NEXSTAR WHILE TRYING SNOW SKI'S FOR FIRST TIME ON NEW YEARS DAY 2010. 2 OUT OF 6 DEADSTICKS INTO TALL GRASS AND NO DAMAGE... I PRACTICE FORCED LANDINGS ON MY G5 SIMULATOR ALL THE TIME. GREAT INVESTMENT !!
I STARTED FLYING MID-MAY 09'. STARTED CRASHING IN JUNE 09'. TOOK ALL OF AUGUST 09' OFF, AND THE FLYING SEASON STOPPED AT THE END OF NOVEMBER 09'. WHAT A AWESOME YEAR !!! I'M BUILDING MY U CAN DO 60 RIGHT NOW AND THE WEATHER IS TAKING A TURN FOR THE GOOD.... LOWER TO MID 40'S SOUND WARM ENOUGH FOR ME !!!

Been flying since June 09 and have completely demolished 4 balsa planes. 1st was part of the learning process, can't remember exactly what I did wrong, finally got my wings after about 12 months. 2 days later demolished my second plane, I was flying two mistakes high and made about four. Main problem was I couldn't find the trim lever and instead of going higher and looking again, I took my eyes off the plane to look at the receiver and wasn't high enough to stay flying. 3rd crash I have no idea why / what / etc. 4th crash was because I didn't accelerate strongly after aborting a landing and tail wind pushed my plane into the ground.

I've had a number of smaller crashes that have done minimal or no damage, for example I landed a low wing sport plane and cartwheeled it at the very end of the landing thus bending the tail plane over (fixed in 10 minutes).

I've since bought an EPP foam wing (S & B Models Komet). I've crashed it many times and broken it in half a number of times. This is because the plane is so indestructible (and easy to fix when it finally breaks) that I try all sorts of things I wouldn't dare try with a balsa. I'm learning heaps from the process and having fun.

Except for the 3rd crash, I'm getting at least 50 and usually more like 100 flights before a plane is demolished.

How often do I crash?...every night when I go to bed.

My first crash was just after I got my Edge - came in for landing from the side where you need to pass trees (STUPID[:@]) - thought I could judge distance - oh boy was I in for a surprise...Just heard a BANG!!!. I hit the tree head on...luckily missed all the branches except one which made a whole in the wings covering. After it hit it just dropped the nose and went straight down...BANG! as you just saw dust flying. The cowl was smashed up right to the fuse and the firewall was no more. I didn't even have to pick up pieces only the plane...the cowl kept everything together even in it's smashed state. Other than that landing gear failures 3 sessions in a row.

Then I got myself a mini stick (bought it from a local guy who builds them). On the day we went to the field and the wind was terrible, but that urge you get when you have a plane infront of you and want to fly so bad took over. This was the planes maiden voyage. Oh dear it only took 4-5 feet (if it was that much) to take off...before I knew it the plane was so far away from me I couldn't make out where is what (this comes from overpowering the thing). I tried to bring it back, but the wind was knocking this little thing around like you wouldn't believe. When cutting the throttle the wind just took it. Got it back (with very hard concentration) for the last turn to final and when I cut the throttle it just dived (dont know if it stalled or what) and I couldn't see what was up or what was down anymore...well up wasn't up and it smashed into the ground. The wing broke (the guy is building a new wing for me). The fuse only knocked out at some of the joints, but easy fix. This was one huge pilot error even before I took the plane up. I have never lost orientation...but this was the first.

Other crashes happened with my Stryker...got into a small little whirlwind once...lol couldn't control it one bit - that was funny. But the Stryker is there for stupid things to do with so doesn't surprise me that it needs a bit of epoxy every once in a while