I have this little story on my website. Some guys think it's kind of funny, so I'll post it here.



The following took place about 3 years ago. It is a funny story, though I certainly didn't see the humor in it at the time, but I still get the occasional ribbing about it from my family: My first plane was a Duraplane Trainer 40. I purchased the Duraplane because I was determined to learn how to fly on my own, after being dismissed rather rudely by a couple of the local flyers when I asked a couple of newbie type questions. So a package arrives from Tower, with the plane, O.S. 40LA, and assorted other goodies. Putting it together was straight forward enough, the toughest time I had was drilling the engine mount holes properly (I still have trouble with this sometimes) and covering the wing. I hate iron on coverings. Hate 'em, hate 'em, hate 'e.m. Okay, anyway, 3 or 4 days later a Duraplane rolls out of my garage. After cutting my finger deeply on the prop because I didn't yet have a starter stick, or the common sense to find a substitute, not to mention a few other mishaps and snafus, I was ready (I thought) for my maiden flight. I took the plane to my brother's house which at the time was on a seldom used road in front of a strawberry field, and both he and my wife were there to witness this spectacle. I fired the plane up and taxied it around a bit. I was really good at taxiing, let me tell you. I had done it up and down my cul-de-sac for hours. I was the Taxi King. I was sweating and nervous, I had a lot of time and money invested in this homely looking rig, and an audience to boot. I lined her up and punched it, and suprisingly enough I did something that I didn't do again for quite awhile, I ran a very straight takeoff roll for about 200 ft., it was very impressive, but it had to be blind luck. I pulled back on the stick, and sure enough it was too much back, I didn't know jack about how much authority just a little bit of stick movement has, with predictable results. The Duraplane shot straight up like a rocket for about 60 ft., then straight down like a missile for 61 ft. Ha Ha, get it, 61 ft.? Being my first flight, I didn't have the presense of mind to manage the throttle, or anything else for that matter, so all this happened at full blast. The Duraplane did not have anywhere near the "Dura" it needed to survive this fateful turn of events, and it was a total loss. Even the engine was toast. I was furious. I was seething. I don't think I've ever been so angry or frustrated in my life. I had spent hours practicing maneuvers in my head, reading books on the subject, making a nuisance of myself on about a dozen different message boards and newsgroups, etc., only to completely destroy my first creation within 3 bats of an eyelash. Very unfair. What happened next is the funny part I guess. It would make for excellent "America's Funniest Home Videos" material. I'm glad there were no cameras rolling though. I marched up to the wreckage like a man with a purpose. I picked the carcass up by the tail boom and proceeded to pound the whole works against the pavement as hard as I possibly could, over and over, like a little boy throwing a full fledged tantrum with a toy bat. I said a few things too. Things I couldn't repeat here obviously. Things that would make a Las Vegas prostitute blush. I wrenched the dangling engine off it's mount and threw into said strawberry field as hard as I could, with a primal roar. If anyone had been standing next to me, they would have gotton punched, I'm sure of it. It was quite a sight. I'm usually a well mannered guy by the way. This was my first experience with R/C airplanes. Obviously I got passed it and managed to learn how to fly, but still, I almost gave up, just like I believe many folks DO give up after similar, though maybe not quite so spectacular, incidents. If any beginners are reading this, maybe this will scare them off of going it alone.

you should have posted this in the beginners board

They'll never to think to look here for advice since a crash is the last thing that will happen to them if they try it alone!!!!


By the way I'm dumber then you it took me 6 eaglet 50's 1 falcon 56 MKII and 1 piece-o-cake before I "realized" that help is a must.

True,
This is a good beginners experence.
Can I post this on my website?

Sure!

I had bought a extra easy from Hangar Nine.
Well I did find a instructor for one flight but he had to go to work so he did a trim flight and left me to clean it up. So I cleaned up and went home the more I thought about it the easier he made it look. I thought he had no problems it flew great I think I can do it also. So I filled her up lined her up on the street in front of my house, taxied up and down the street a few times every thing looked good. Then with my wife, my friend and my five kids standing looking and cheering me on I slamed the throttle forward the plane leapt up about as high as a light pole and was flying level away from me for about a block. I some how managed to turn it around coming back at me that is where it started going up and down as if were on roller coaster rails. It came so close to the ground once that it had to cut the tall grass, I yanked back on the stick and up she went then pushed and down she came right in my front yard. My wife was on the telephone describing the carnage to her sister and said it blew in to a hundred pieces but I proved her wrong after collecting them all it was only thirty eight. I have a pretty good builder and he only took a week to scratch build me another fuse and repair the wing.
I tryed to blame the unstable flight on the bandages on my index finger that I had cut while starting it up with out a chicken stick but hind sight tells me it was just ment to be that we all have to learn the hard way that there is no substitute for a good trainer.

Consider it done.
For what it is worth, you are now published!
http://www.geistware.com/rcmodeling/...d_beginner.htm

I would like to put a link from your name to your email address.
If you don't mind, could you send it to me.
Too bad, you didn't have pictures!
Again, thanks!

My goodness this stuff is hilarious. I can only laugh as I am sad to report that indeed my first try ended in splinters as well.

Well, I didn't crash on my first flight, I've only been flying a month and witnessed my first mid air crash. It's amazing how long it takes the pieces to fall. Half of the pieces were mine, maybe thats why. I still cant believe, there was only 2 of us in the air,one to many I suppose.

My first flights, I managed to get an instructor and learned to take off, land, and do some patterns. The people who watched and taught me were really impressed with my flying ability which, of course, made me think I can do anything, so I decided to turn my trainer into a float plane and fly it on my own (I have a really big lake in my back yard). I built the floats, attached them practiced a little on the pond, then took off. When it was time to land, I lined her up and slowly lowered her to the pond, decided I wouldn't make it so throttled up, and began banking over our field, then BANG!, the plane just stopped mid-air. I couldn't figure it out until I looked closer and saw that the plane had stuck in a 50 foot pine tree at the very top. I didn't see the tree because it had no leaves left (it was dead). The plane did not look too bad but did have a broken wing tip and a broken float, no problem. The problem was that the plane was in the very top of the tree and there was no way to climb the tree. The people that were with me tried flinging a rope up, getting high enough with a ladder to do the same and shaking the tree but the plane was just not coming down, so, the tree had to. My dad brought out the chain saw and cut down the tree. I knew that the tree would destroy my plane, but what a sight! When the tree hit the ground, the plane bounced out of the tree about 10 feet then hit the ground. There was NOTHING left of the plane after that. The wing was busted or smashed in about 50 different places, the only thing left of the fuselage was the rudder and rudder support. The engine was toasted, cracked and busted in many places. Only one servo wasn't spit in half, the fuel take was in about 3 pieces, and all the push-rods were bent.
I learned that day, that just because I could fly a trainer on the ground without an instructor anymore, did not mean that I could teach myself to float fly .

Can it still be classified as a flight if you crashed!!

When I tried to learn without an instructor I found I was repairing and replacing planes about once a flight (flight in the loosest sense)....

did wonders for my building repairing skills

So which is better.
TO be an expert Flyer or Builder?