Rcpilot

My Feedback: (78)

Airplanes have expiration dates. It's just not printed anywhere on them.

I used to be a volunteer instructor at the club. Every year, we'd have 6 or 10 flight instructors and 35 new guys/kids with new airplanes. I always asked the following question:

"How many of you guys don't think you could handle it if you crashed your planes today?"

Immediately 35 hands would go up.

My response:

"Then go home and hang it up in the garage. They all crash. Every one of them will crash. The only ones that never crash are the ones that have never been flown. They all crash. Some will crash on the maiden flight. Some will crash on the 6th flight. Some won't crash untill the 1000th flight. But, if you fly it-------you WILL crash it"

If you can't handle crashing--then this ain't the right hobby for you. Go get a car or a nitro truck. It's just part of the hobby. It's the sucky part, but if your addicted to flight, as I am--you don't care. Crashing is just an excuse to go buy a new one. Either get a new one and go fly it, or sell out before you invest anymore money. You'll never get good enough that you won't crash anymore.

Have you ever seen the video where Bill Hemple crashes his 50% Edge 540? That was a $15,000 airplane and he dumb-thumbed it. He's a pro, and he's still not good enough to avoid a brain fart. It just happens.

Get over it or get out, cause you'll never stop crashing.

Mike in DC

The fact that crashes becomes rarer may not matter to a person who is anxious about crashes, no matter how infrequent they occur (I am one of those people).

The answer for me was Spads. Spads answer two problems: 1) the planes are really cheap so you don't get financially or emotionally invested, and 2) they are mechanically very simple, so you can have great confidence in the reliability of the technology, since much of it is totally visible on the outside of the plane. For example, with my Spads, if I'm concerned about fuel level, I just do a low pass and look at the tank.

Steve Collins

My Feedback: (8)

Sounds to me like you may have been going a bit too slow because what you described sounds like a classic case of wingtip stall. If a wingtip loses lift, the plane will usually roll pretty hard in the direction of the wingtip that lost lift. Not likely that it was a radio problem.

chashint

when i started my instructor asked me if i liked the way my plane looked, i said yes, he asked if i had a picture of it, i said no ... why ?, he said i needed a picture so i would remember what it looked like because it might never look like this again .....

don't get me wrong i don't like to crash a plane, but it really is just a part of playing with these toys, if you can't emotionally or financially afford to lose the plane then you should not fly it

i would hate to lose my supersportster 60 because i built it from a kit and it is out of production, but i am going to fly the heck out of it and when it hits the expiration date then i will replace it with something else, really bad crashes are new plane opportunities

don't worry, be happy, fly like you will never crash, and when you do crash make it a good one

Mike in DC

The answer for me (like Kelly) was SPADs. For years I kept hoping that I'd get better and less nervous, but I finally had to face the truth: I just don't get out enough to ever get much better at flying, and I'm not sure I'd be all that much less nervous even if I did become a better flyer. With my balsa planes, I found the only thing I was comfortable doing was going up 2 mistakes high and flying lazy ovals. That just wasn't much fun, and it was still nerve-racking if the wind was really blowing.

I've had SPADs all along, but now I've pretty much stopped flying anything else. One nice thing about SPADs is that all the mechanicals are accessible from the outside of the plane, so many of the things that cause crashes on wood planes don't happen. The mechanicals tend to be much simpler as well, which also increases reliability. Think you're low on fuel? Just do a low pass and check! As a result, they don't crash as much, and when they do, they are very easy to repair. Mostly, they are just a blast to fly.

On the down side, SPADs over 4 feet wingspan are not that common, so if your vision isn't perfect, they are harder to see. Also, everything else being equal, SPADs are heavier than equivalent balsa planes, so in some ways, they are harder to fly, so you're not likely to be doing 3D with your garden-variety SPAD. There is a bit of a learning curve involved with learning to glue coroplast.

Good luck to you! Hobbies are supposed to be fun, not stressful. If I wanted to be totally stressed out in a beautiful environment, I would have continued playing golf!

Meschmidt

My Feedback: (15)

I tell the newbies that I train, "Don't fall in love with this trainer, it is only to teach you flying and will eventually crash it." Cause you know how it felt when you first flew it. You thought this plane was all you need. Paul

aimmaintenance

Fly combat awhile. You get really used to crashing!

submikester

My Feedback: (6)

Dude; I've been watching you fly from the start and you know how long I've been flying. I was there when you maidened the Cessna and I'm sorry to hear it went in. I rarely say this but it sounds like someone turned on - on you.

One of the things that always helps me out is regular inspections of the radio gear (plugs, mounting and general operation including range checks) as well as the structure of the airplane (hinges get particular attention, make sure nothing's loose).

I've learned this over the last 25 years of flying. I've had many many crashes, only a few were mechanically/radio related while the vast majority were pilot related.

The fact that you've done your duely diligent "NTSB" style crash investigation is a good thing, you've learned from it.

ANd yes, $200 is a lot of cash for an airplane so feeling that way is not out of line.

Everybody crashes, everybody makes mistakes. Being attached to the airplane isn't a mistake but it is a replacable thing. Sometimes I think I'm not attached enough...

Let me know the next time you're going out, maybe we can meet up there. It's always better to have someone to fly with. The hobby isn't just about the flying. If you're getting another Cessna maybe you should enter it in the fun scale competition in August (Bob and I are each entering a Corsair I think).

-Mike

submikester

My Feedback: (6)

No I don't.

sscherin

My Feedback: (1)

MSCIC-RCU

Ohh I remember doing that exact same maneuver with my telemaster.. about 1 foot to low..
Splat right into the runway... It hit hard enough to crack the wing clean in half.

It's one of those reality check days that reminds you there is still lots to learn.

IronCross

Regarding your GP Cessna.. I bought one a few years ago and love it... I am still flying it... I recently bought a second one, planning on adding flaps and floats etc... The second one is not nearly the quality of the first one... I have broken the vertical stab off it twice just bumping it in the shop... The wood is very soft... I have drilled a couple of vertical holes in the stab and fusalage and inserted dowls in it now to reinforce it.. You may very well have lost yours in flight... The covering on my second one is lousy also... All kinds of littlebubbles where the monocote overlaps... Looks like they used too much heat on it... Very disapointed in it after the nice job they did on my first one..

Tired Old Man

My Feedback: (1)

Everything you ever decide to invest your money in that flys in this hobby is going to crash. It's just a matter of when. Something that either I have overlooked in this thread or has not been mentioned yet is the conditionof the receiver after a crash. A darn good way to assist in the prevention of the next crash is to send the receiver back to the manufacturer after any crash.

Don't give up if you like flying, just learn to accept the inevitable. I remember a span of about 6 months where I lost 3 or 4 planes like bang, bang, bang. Painful, expensive, you bet but ya got to motor on.

suitcase

My Feedback: (1)

Interesting thread. I would have quit long ago had it not been for my wife, who continues to encourage me. I've spent over $4000 in this hobby so far and the crashes would be hard to list! My first SPAD DEB, VF X300, three US 120's, 3D Buddy, Exteme Flight Yak, Spad hell on rails. I'm still flying my Twist (cross fingers). My new 60 Mayhem 3D and my JBB. I have considered giving it up lately because I fly so seldom.