Your first crash? I want to hear about it...
 

Alright guys, This is an anything goes thread for you to post your first crash, or maybe even your first solo. Perhaps it was a little hairy, and we want to hear it. Pictures would be cool also.



I will start by telling you about my first crash. I was about 6 years old at this point. I was throwing a motor glider into the air by hand launch. I gave it a good toss, but i failed to realize that as i did so, i switched the RX switch off. The glider climbed for a good ten seconds, and slowly did a stall turn. Another couple seconds of heading directly at the ground and "SMACK". Right into my nieghbors orange orchard. That plane was rebuilt and flown again by my dad. And actually, it happened to him also with that plane, but he wedjed it into a tree. The plane was again rebuilt, and we finally got smart and turned the switch around.
I still have that plane 10 years later.

Rusty

RE: Your first crash? I want to hear about it...
 

Alright, my first crash. It was actually last weekend. It was a nice sunny day here in beautiful Florida and I had my Extra300 out. It was flying great so I decided to do a little hotdoggin. It was all going great and on my final manuever and also my first ever attempt- a flatspin. It started great and I was surprised at that, but when it came time to get out of the flatspin... I choked and forgot what to do. SPLAT![X(] The plane hit the ground. It wasnt traveling that fast (or it was just slo-mo for me) but crunch! It cracked the fuse in half and the only thing holding the nose to the fuse was the throttle pushrod. It was a great plane that I miss very much now. but now I have a sportster on the way. Ill post some pics shortly.

RE: Your first crash? I want to hear about it...
 

Doing touch and goes with my trainer. I had just soloed and was doing great at making the centerline of the runway every time. Then, one time, as my planes wheels were about the touch, one of the set-up tables just rolled right out onto the runwat and in front of my airplane causing my trainer to be strained through it.

Honest!

Yup, thats my story:)


Well, I left out the 10 mph cross wind and how I allowed my plane to drift just a little out of approach, and I was watching my plane, not ahead of it:(

RE: Your first crash? I want to hear about it...
 

It was a year ago last August. I had just bought my first plane - an LT-40. I go out to the field, and decided to wait for someone to show up to take it up, trim it out, etc. Well, after an hour of twidling my thumbs, I said 'screw it', and decided to taxi around. Well, being inexperienced and all, I ended up with my idle setting a tad to high. The LT takes off at a little more than an idle with a K&B 40. I didn't panic, but I started to sweat. I immediatly chop the throttle with it 20 feet in the air. I curve it around, and it disappears over an irrigation ditch. I start the dreaded walk. I find the plane, intact, and safe. It landed in a stubble field 100 yards away from me.

Sos I get on the phone. I call a friend who flys. He shows up, trims it out, and hands the controller to me. I buzz around for a while, and (with my friend close by) come in for a landing approach. I land it. I fuel up, my friend leaves, and I take off. I flew all day, probably doing 100 take offs and landings. I caught on right away, and that's the story of my first solo.

RE: Your first crash? I want to hear about it...
 

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RE: Your first crash? I want to hear about it...
 

I have been flying park flyer's for a few months before i went to nitro,I went with the hanger 9 trainer and decided that I would try semi symmetrical wing with just a little dihedral. I was a little concerned about how different it would be than electric. I was excited when my first take off was excellent no problems and I loved the extra power. I got so comfortable at dead stick , touch n goes, and axial rolls so I decide that I will work on inverted flight. well about 4 tanks later I was really comfortable doing circles and figure 8's that I let my guard down.Instead of axial roll I did the end of a loop to make a long story short , not enough air between me and the ground.

RE: Your first crash? I want to hear about it...
 

First crash .......

well, I was trying to get my trainer (PT-40, with OS46LA on the nose to do outside loops, starting from inverted flight. The inverted flight needed so much elevator that there was not much left to fgo for the loop. Anyways, I had been trying, and trying, and trying, The plane would almost get there, and on occasion, it would fall the "right" way on the stall at the top, so that it could be almost considered a "loop". In a bout of frustration, I continued straiht down out of the stall, did a nice 90degree level off from the vertical, and landed (a little hot), but perfect 3-point, no bounce, "grease". My pre-solo instuctor (who happens to be at the field) says to me, if you can get lucky with a grease landing like that, you can get luck with the outside loop.

So, I simply go to full throttle, take off, at 50' I roll inverted, and then I pull back on the stick.... The instant I did, I realised my mistake, and held the stick back knowing that my only hope was that the plane would loop through before connecting the ground. It was all so fast that even though I also immediately cut throttle, there was no time for it to have any effect.

I got lucky. A bush caught the plane. A 1 inch diameter vertical branch caught the left wing about 6" from the fuse. Spun the plane out like a frisbee. Put a golf-ball size dent in the wing, damaged the wing where it sits in the wing saddle, damaged the saddle itself. Another branch pushed through the underside of the right wing, trashed three ribs, and a bit of the cover. Took 1 day to fix, with CA, water and heat, and cut-offs of Monocote.

Really lucky.

It was my second crash that was the real crash though.

See http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/When...1188099/tm.htm

gus

RE: Your first crash? I want to hear about it...
 

Well, Madd Dogg, your plane is only the second I have seen where the CA Hinges popped out ..... Your rudder and elevator both look like the CA Hinges just were not CA'd.

Is it just me that finds this wierd. I always thought that CA Hinges should pull balsa out with them when they pop, not just themselves.

Is this an example of the ARF Fears people have?

gus

RE: Your first crash? I want to hear about it...
 

my first crash was about 6 months into my training. i was at the infamous sepulveda basin and it spiraled into the field of doom.

RE: Your first crash? I want to hear about it...
 

I've crashed about Five planes into that field, and one into a tree above the pits. That is absolutely the best field i have flown at though, just because it is truly a mini airport. I bet the number of planes that have crashed there in total is in the thousands.
Great field
Rusty

RE: Your first crash? I want to hear about it...
 

Nothing really exciting. It was with my 1st trainer and I had all of a few minutes time on the buddy box. I got to the field and nobody else was there. Why should I let that stop me right? I take off climb out, fly the racetrack pattern, knees are knocking but I’m doing ok all in all. I try to land with the wind, abort several approaches, and finally lose control and spiral in a hundred yards or so from the runway. I remember seeing the impact and hearing it a split second later. I stuffed the plane in a trashcan and didn’t fly again for 3-4 years. Knowing what I know now, it could have been repaired fairly easy. (It was an ARF and I had no clue how to build/repair)

RE: Your first crash? I want to hear about it...
 

My first crash was my 2nd or third solo flight. I told my wife (who was there for my solo) I am going to make "one more flight" Well, I made one more flight. My beloved Kadet Lt-40 went Death Spiral directly into the ground. Pilot error...yes. Learned not to take things too fast...yes. I have since enjoyed a few more airplanes. I love to fly!!!

RE: Your first crash? I want to hear about it...
 

first solo flight I had the ailerons reversed and thunk it went [sm=bananahead.gif]

RE: Your first crash? I want to hear about it...
 

Today - I hit a tree. I was doing circuits on my second flight forthe day and concentrating so hard on the aircraft across base, descending and turning final that I didn't see the tree. It hit about 5 meters above ground and fortunately at low speed. The total damage was the elevator and one side of the tail were broken and a couple of skin punctures under the wing. Total repair time has been about an hour and I should be flying again in a couple of days when the glue cures.

Those jet crashes in SA were pretty spectacular.

RE: Your first crash? I want to hear about it...
 

I was flying at a contest where we were flying at an angle to the pits.....i was landing at the closets flight line tho the pits........i came in a little fast and wam i ran into the pit fence and cracked the fuse in half.:(

RE: Your first crash? I want to hear about it...
 

I had my first small crash the 3rd time I went flying my wingo (beginner electric plane). There was a lot of wind, but I was so excited to fly it since I was making good progress and I started to love the feeling of being in control of that thing up there in the sky. I threw it in the air, but its really a bad idea to try and fly in those bad weather conditions! It went straight up and then you know immediately its going down bad. I let loose of the sticks and it did recover a little bit, but still hit the ground hard. Result was a broken wing and a crack in the front. Also my landing gear didnt completely survive. I guess some things you cant force...1 has to be prepared to wait when the weather is too bad. (now I've got a flight sim, so I can fly anytime. No matter what the weather condition is :D)

I glued the wingo back together and its been flying as good as ever. I crashed it 1 more time and with even more damage than the first time, but some epoxy got the plane together again and its back in the air. Great first plane I must say :)

I'm thinking about moving on to fuel powered planes, but I'm getting an instructor for that. Crashing 1 of those isnt that harmless for the safety and its not that easy to put it back together. In the mean time I'm crashing them on my flight sim.

RE: Your first crash? I want to hear about it...
 

My first crash was with my 4*40 shortly after takeoff my engine died because I was too anxious to fly and didn't adjust the needle after a temperature drop. There was enough wind I didn't want to try to turn around and risk landing with the wind but the plane had more speed than I thought and kept floating til it went down behind some brush. I went to get it and couldn't find it at first, the plane is yellow and it went down in a field of some kind of plants that have yellow leaves. I was about to give up and go back to get some help but one more look revealed the tail of the plane standing up at a seemingly impossible distance. When I finally got to it it was standing straight up and down on the nose. I couldn't find any structural damage but I had to re-cover the wing because it had pinholes everywhere and only on the wing. Didn't even break a propeller. On the next flight I noticed it pulling to the left on acceleration. I asked one of the senior flyers about it and he looked at the firewall, sure enough it had left thrust. The whole thing seems weird now. Must have been a botched alien abduction, they got my plane and stuck a bunch of needles through it before they realized it was not a living thing and then put the firewall back in crooked.

RE: Your first crash? I want to hear about it...
 

first crash, today, about 2 hrs ago, it was awesome. i bought a low wing trainer from my friend a month or so ago, taught my self to fly (month ago) and today my friend and i were out, beautiful day, i had a new prop so i was going faster and the engine was running really nice, i was starting to get cocky cause i have no trouble keeping it int he air and im even doing inside snap rolls, loops, 1/2 cubans, hammer turns...the simpler manuvers...anyway i was going full throttle and decending so i figure it was about 60+ mph on impact, i was getting cocky and goofing off at this point and bam it shatters in pieces in front of me, i looked at my friend and then jsut started cracking up, it was so funny to see part flying everywhere..lol..my electronics are fine and im gonna need to so some cleaning work on the engine, if i rebuild the palne it wont be right away cause it needs a lot of work

for my first crash it was really cool to see and the only thing im upset about is that i have nothing to fly right now, maybe ill get some pics later

dan

RE: Your first crash? I want to hear about it...
 

here they are

RE: Your first crash? I want to hear about it...
 

more

RE: Your first crash? I want to hear about it...
 

Famous last words of my tiger 2 " you thought that inverted pass was low :D" I rolled inverted at about 40' and realized I had no forward stick control. I pushed Full forward stick but I never thought to try and roll out and recover somehow. Not much left of the plane or OS 60 4 stroke. Ah well I'm 99% sure I'm getting our clubs best crash award this year. :D

RE: Your first crash? I want to hear about it...
 

Last month, was at the club field without my ususal Instructor, and I didn't have a buddy box at the time. One of the other club members (a pattern pilot) helps me out the first 3 flights getting my Avistar up and I'm doing racetrack patterns with no problems. The 4th time the guy asks me if I want to take off myself, (I haven't done this before) so I tell him okay and luckly get it off the ground w/no problems.

Comming in on final approach I do a right turn into the down wind leg, I think I've got a good sink rate and all of a sudden the right wing just drops like a rock! Throttle is at 1/4 and I have absolutely no time to react as it is only abt 50 ft from the ground. Thwack! I can see the hit in the deep weeds and go running to get it. get there and find out that the engine and firewall have been ripped out, right side of fuse is destroyed from where firewall used to be back to rear radio compartment bulkhead and wing has a 6 inch chunk taken out of the left leading edge. wing has separated at the main center joint and the main spar was snapped in half.

Get it back to the pits and the pattern guy looks at me and says, "So, could you show that to me again?" Grrrr! Take it home and show the Wife. I vanish into my workshop to repair the wing, and while I'm doing that I buy a new fuse and clean the dirt out of the engine. Two weeks later she's flying fine now! Since then I have taken the partially destroyed fuse and repaired it and have recently completed a new set of wings and stabs for it by copying the originals. Voila! Second plane in hangar! Hopefully I won't have to go through that again soon..........

And I still haven't solo'd yet![:o]

RE: Your first crash? I want to hear about it...
 

I originally posted this in the beginners section. I'm new here and didn't know about the crash forum. This happened last sunday. I was buddy boxing with my instructor for the second time and lost my plane. It was a very calm day. My instructor took off and checked the trims again and said he thought there was some sort of radio interference. The plane would loop very tight as if someone had applied full elevator. This didn't happen in the next 2 or so minutes of flying and he gave it to me. I made one gentle turn and was headed back in the opposite direction when it did it again. He immediately took it but had no control over it. I watched it spiral to the ground from way up. He said he had no control at all. The battery showed almost a full charge (tx and rx) and all the servos are working. After we brought the plane back, we watched the servos for interference but didn't see anything. The rubber grommets were in place, the receiver was wrapped in foam as was the receiver battery. There was no fuel near the receiver.
My engine is ruined. I took it apart and the bell housing is cracked, needle valve broken off, the crankshaft rubs the bellhousing, and the front crankshaft bearing is rough.
This plane flew fine 4 days earlier on a much more windy day.

RE: Your first crash? I want to hear about it...
 

The Fuse of your plane is repairable. I dont know about the wing though.(If you still have it)
Sorry about the loss
Rusty

RE: Your first crash? I want to hear about it...
 

My first crash was last weekend.
Because I started on RC too late this year, there was no trainning classes anymore in the club and I decided to go for it.
I flew already twice before the crash, but never landed. Some good soul landed for me so far. I'm using FMS simulator with my real radio and interface to USB that I felt confident enouth to try to land.
Well, I took my trainner to the field and was cold, aroud 32F. The engine stated showing problems, real bad on full throttle.
I spend 3 hours trying to make it work properly but went home without flying
Spend the rest of the day adjusting here and there, checking fuel tank for air leak, adjust the high-speed needle and it seemed to be better.
Went back next day to the field,a little warmer, stated the engine and moved to the runway to take of. Full throttle and after couple feet I notice the power was not right, but brought it up anyway.
It went up but the engine stated oscilating between high and very low rpm every two seconds and the plane didn't get much altitude until the engine went dead.
Well, besides being a very beginner, I kept calm. There was not altidude enouth to try to bring it back closer to the runway, so I just flew it as slow as possible until it pass some brushes and reach a better place. I couldn't see where exactly it was landing because it was already far and the brushes was obstructing.
Spend 10min trying to find the plane and just the propeler was broken! What a beginner luck!

Now I know, "if the engine is not 150% good, don't do it".

Nilo