One of the older modelers I fly with said to gather all the parts of the crash you can leave it for a week or two then start cutting the covering back and see what you have got. Most of the time its not that bad. A little balsa ca and covering its ready to fly again. Some of the ARF flyers are really quick to strip out their stuff and head for the trash.

This is a neat thread. I've been on both sides of this program. I've found that if I take the crashed plane and all the pieces home, let them sit for a while, somehow, eventurally, I get the energy to start cutting away covering, repair/replace a firewall, rib or two, leading edge, etc. etc. and pretty soon it starts looking fixable. It's amazing how easy and successful it is. When I think back on the planes I trashed, kind of wish I'd brought them home. Who knows? My wife thinks if she drives around on a flat tire for a while, it will re-inflate. Maybe my planes will fix themselves if I keep 'em around long enough. LOL

Last year, a club member that deals with ARF or RTF only trashed his Nexstar. He kept in the garage, and I've been bugging him about repairing it. Finally he gave it to me. I stripped it down completely, rebuilt the nose, repaired the tail feathers, recovered it, and now use it for demo flights. It made its debut at our last fun fly. It was fun to rebuild. The landing gear is slightly shorter than stock, and now its affectionately referred to as the "low rider". The third picture shows me giving a demo flight to a potential new member with this plane.

The smiles are what its all about!

bkdavy,

That Nexstar looks better than the original. It actually does look really good. Nice job repairing that Nexstar, man.

BTW, Do you have any more pics of that field? It looks neat from the view you are standing at.


S40

If you go to our club [link=http://www.frederickmodelaircraftclub.org]website[/link], there's a whole bunch of pictures from our September 30 Fun fly. I've also attached the aerial view (from MSN). We just opened this field last April, but its been a Godsend to for the club. I'm working on an article for MA in the flying site development column. Unfortunately, its only leased, and since the land is zoned agricultural, the owner doesn't want us to put up a pavillion (no power or water either). But its only 6 miles from the center of town, so everyone in the club has easy access.

Brad

Great Pics, man!

I have had several experiences with crashed planes too. I have had a club member give me his H-9 P-51 Mustang after he nosed it in from 40 ft. Split the wing and demolished the front fuse. It has been since fixed with a glassed wing (mid section) and a brand new front half fuse installed. Just recently a member gave me his H-9 P-47 after crashing it into the ground. The wing is still intact with a some broken sheeting, but the firewall and bootom front of the fuse is none existant. He does however have the pieces to the firewall and the former that holds the wing in place is still intact. So all I have to do is build a new firewall, reinstall the old wing holding former, put new stringers in, resheet it, and whalla new H-9 p-47. I told the guy to let me hold onto it until I have time to work on it and I will give it bakc to him good as new. He said ah just keep it. He is going to install all of his stuff in his new H-9 Hellcat. It really is a different challenge than kit or scratch building. It also teaches you what you need to reinforce. I have repaired retract blocks with very little epoxy and still stay in after crashing again. The repair job was so strong that when my friend crash landed his plane again it broke the landing gear strut. No Joke!!

I have rebuilt several crashed and "wrecked" planes before as well. A buddy of mine has taken planes that I considered toast, that were really bad off and next thing you know its ready to cover. I guess it depends on how much you want to do. It's also nice on a college budget/ time schedual. Works great. I always like to throw a little kit bashing in there as well, like taking an ugly stick and making well... not so ugly : )

My flying buddy and I went out to the field the other day and saw an airplane. It was a U-Can-Do 46. The UCD was sitting on the ground with a damaged fuse and wing. My buddy just happened to have a Saito .70 Surpass he bought at a swap meet. He WAS going to buy a Seagull Harrier .46, but he decided to take the UCD home and fix it. We put it in my trailer and flew other planes for a couple of hours. We loaded up my trailer and left.

We stopped by his house to drop off his planes, including his newly "arrived" UCD .46. He is currently working on the rebuild and will have the airframe ready in the next month or so.

Rush 7.... VERY cool! Your buddy is a true buddy. Good to have freinds like that huh!

I've got a freind like that. One day I as over his house helping him cleanup his garage and noticed a plane I liked and told him it was a cool plane. Later that week he brought it over to me and said it was now mine! Finally a freind that appreciates a hand now and then.

Here's a pic of a friends Big Stick 40 which he flew into a tree stump on landing! Totally wrecked the front of the plane and engine and part of the wing. He had it sitting in his garage for over a year and didn't want to fix it so he bought another Big Stick 40. I finally talked him out of the wrecked one which he let me have since he didn't think I could rebuild it! What do you guys think?

I got a "Used ta be" beautiful 1/5 Cub from a trash trip off a guy a my field. I repaired the
thing as best as practical and flew it for over two months before I too dumb thumbed it in
on a too aggressive takeoff. I had had enough fun with the Cub and it wasn't any loss as I got the plane out
of the trash. I stripped out the electronics and undamaged engine and
took the sad remains to the trash barrel.
It didn't last three minutes. Somebody else snatched it up from the trash like
it was the last plane on Earth. I mean WHOOOSH...it was gone.
I hope they repair it....

bzguy:
That' funny, because my flying buddy is exactly like that as well. I think we have owned each other's planes from either helping each other, or just crashing and swapping. I have another friend up the street from me who I just met this past spring, and he did a nose dive with an older P-51. I told him that I thought it could be fixed, and he said "go ahead, you can have it" It's currently back together, but I really think it's too old to fly, so my buddy came over and we converted it to a static model. When the guy up the street stopped by a month later, he saw it hanging in my shop, and asked me if it was ready, but I told him I was going to leave it as is, simply a display. He just smiled. Just by looked at this plane, you could see all of the laber this older guy put into this thing, so I use it as an inspiration rather than one of my flying models.

Brad,

I live near Catonsville(rt40/rt29) Nice looking field.

Andrew

Very nice job![sm=thumbup.gif][sm=thumbup.gif][sm=thumbup.gif][sm=thumbup.gif][sm=thumbup.gif][sm=thumbup.gif]

Yeah. I've got a 40 size Eindecker that's been kind of beat up. Planning on practicing me repair skills on it. Not a crash, no. The guy who used to own it had left it's wing laying on the ground in his work shop and stepped on the wing. Just some spars broken, no big deal. I'll get some balsa or basswood and just clean it up enough to recover it. BTW, the reason I got it is because unfortunately the previous owner developed vertigo and had to stop flying. He gave all of his planes, radios, and equipment to me. I was very lucky!

Personally I still have a funtana that was crashed and given to me, but at this point I don't have the time to fix it, and it is badly damaged, as well as one that was my own fault.

I have a Hyperion Yak 55e '10' size model that I crashed a while ago, and I always enjoy trying to fix the airplanes, but in this case it's laser cut lite ply throughout the structure(very slender with tons of weight reduction holes), and has several pieces that would require gluing at several different places at once. I'm at a loss what to do with it, I'll probably keep it around until I give rebuilding a try but I have no idea how to fix such a complex structure... does anyone have suggestions?

In the meantime keep the stories coming, there quite interesting.

My father's friend gave us 3 Stingers. One was the S40, another was the S1.20, and the last was the Giant S. He gave us the planes, radios, and engines. I personally like my S40, because it is small, it flys good, and it looks pretty good.

ill add to that one. i just recently learned to fly. in my learning curve i crashed my telemaster more times than i want to admit. master builder rapid robert martin put it back together . i flew it until i had dumb thumb and drove it into the weeds beyond even his repairs. that 150.00 plane was the best money i ever spent. went and bought another, had him remove all the dehidrel and added a larger motor and away again. dont trash them restore them!

Both of these beauties are TRASH CAN BIRDS!!! The Yellow Katana that I am holding..New pilot-reversed rons-BAD ATTITUDE!@!@!
I had it flying the next week!

The second bird my son is holding, is a combination of 3 different profiles 540 Edge- 330, and Goldberg!!!

I LOVE FLYING GARBAGE!!!

What would you call that second plane? An Ex-Treme Edge 330?

This is an interesting thread. I come from the "other side" - the guy who trashes planes at the slightest mishap. I'm the flyer who hates to build or repair anything. I buy ARF's and pay people to put them together for me. I don't have the time, patience, skills, etc. to build/repair planes. I'd rather be flying.

But last summer I wrecked a plane (ran into a curb and tore the landing gear out) and a bunch of guys were watching. I was bummed because I didn't know how to fix it, but a guy said to me, "Hey, I'll fix it for you. I like building/fixing airplanes." I asked how much he would charge me and he said, "Nothing. I'll do it for free." I got his number but didn't ever call him back. I finally realized that if I'm going to be in this sport, I need to learn how to fix something. So I fixed the plane (it's kind of ugly) and it's flown many times since. I've hit the curb a couple of times too and the sturdy plane has never broken since.

Anyway, I told myself that I would never forget the kind gesture of the guy who offered to fix my plane and that "someday" I would try to do something for him. So eventually I saw this guy at the flying field again and he looked my repaired plane over and said I had done a good job. I learned his name and we flew a few times together. Well, I had an Edge 540 that was very mildly wrecked waiting for me to fix it and so I took it to the field one Saturday morning hoping this guy would be there. Luckily, he was there and I gave him the plane with the O.S. .61, servos, and everything in it. I said, "Remember that day when you offered to help me fix my plane for free, well, I really appreciated that and didn't ever forget it. Here's a plane for you. Enjoy." He was ecstatic - he always flew cardboard planes because he didn't have the money to buy a nice kit or ARF. Needless to say, now he builds/repairs planes for me. He has several new planes with motors that he has been able to buy with the money I've paid him. I'm more than happy to pay guys like this because they are generous and willing to do it for free.

I love reading this forum, its very insparational to hear all the storie and to know that Im not the only one who flys (opw's) other peoples wrecks. I have so many wrecked planes that need a few hours of work to make flyable again, Im not sure Ill ever get to all of them. I will probably never have to buy anothe plane again, I have several guys in my club that give me plane when they hit the ground. This is half of my fun my fun and is very rewarding to fly something that you have brought back from the can.

I like this thread too
Im pretty new to RC planes
I tought myself to fly at a park with allot of obsticles.
I cant seem to find a club near asheville NC I picked foam wings to beginn with because they are easy to repair & cheap to replace ... anyway
the first & second wings I had were both "totaled" many times over but Id get home & after the kids were asleep Id patch it back up & be ready to fly the next day
the second wing became my 3rd as when the center of the wing had too much glue & whatnot I just removed 8 inches from the root of the wing & put it back together & it was even more fun as a 40 inch wing then it was as a 48, after just a few flights I gave that one to my 15 year old & built a 36 inch wing for myself
I like fixing the plane almost as much as I like flying them honestly
I sure would like to fly at one of your parks where they give away nice planes :-) Id like to get a plane with a tail & fly that :-)
take care
JAK

I began flying RC in the 70s and did not have money for a new one every time I crashed. Therefore it never entered my mind to throw away a broken model.

Since that time I have had, I wouldn't try to count, numerous airplanes in various sizes. Of all the airplanes I have built and flown, all, and I mean literally every one of them, except for one 40 size Ultra Sport, has been crashed and repaired to fly many more hours. Usually they fly better after that first repair. I was always super careful with the Ultra, and still have it.
It's kind of funny, but there is sort of a pattern. I build a plane, work hard and long, take it out and fly, and within the first 5 or 6 flights end up breaking it one way or another. THen I repair it and it seems to last forever, even flying better, with the next crash being the last.

Like I say, when I began flying I had to plan and scrimp to buy a kit and motor, then worry where the money for glue or covering would come from, so I kept everything. To see someone trash a good airplane hurts, especially if they go out of their way to break it more.
I think the saddest thing I saw was on TV where some people were having an indoor 3D contest.
When they finished the contest, one of the boys hovered his near himself and kicked it into pieces. He actually got points from the judges (celebrities, not flyers) for being creative and daring.
Granted it was a foamy, and not that expensive, but I have always looked at my airplanes as one of my children, and could never destroy a perfectly good one just for 'kicks'.

Another problem is many people have only bought ARF, and don't know how to repair one. I'm not knocking ARFs, I have just bought a couple myself, but the feeling of accomplishment at putting something together in a day or two does not compair to spending weeks and months with a model.