That almost happened to me...

Flying my great planes FW190 arf equipped with a bomb drop...

Some buddies of mine also had rigged bomb drops on their planes (one was a cub...imagine a cub dropping vortac flour bombs)

My FW had a 61 in it and was super fast

We put a coffee can in the middle of the field (guess we thought we were good enough to hit that or something) and began our bomb runs.... my buddy with his Cub, I think a friend had one on a sukhoi or some kind of aerobatic plane. I put my FW in a power dive at a 45 degree angle to where I THOUGHT the coffee can would be (hard to glance quickly at that thing and watch your plane). It was really boogie-ing.

I had retrimmed the plane a little earlier to have a SLIGHT nose up in the dive...I let the bomb go about 100 feet above the field at what I thought was the correct trajectory. I literally watched the bomb fly all of the way to the ground and explode just in front of the can by a few feet. I looked back up to the plane and it was 2 feet (HONEST) from the ground, though level. Yanked hard and just missed the dirt.

My ol' knees were a-knockin' that day!!!

If I hadn't retrimmed, it would have hit, I am certain. It was trying to pull itself out without me, but still wouldn't have made it.

the really best tip I ever got was --when its coming at you and you have a low wing , move the sticks to the low wing to level it out and do the opposite when its going away from you , himmm or do I have that backwards ??? I know it was a good tip at the time

On the beer issues you are correct , but I plan on a light beer , so I dont forsee crashing and destroying the can , after all the way I build and fly that beer is the most valuable thing in the air

Best tip I give to new fliers is simple.

When flying always keep the antenna pointed in the direction the airplane is headed. You kind of have to look over your shoulder a bit more but it works. The controls are never "Reversed" this way.

If the nose is pointed down point the antenna up.

Best tip I ever got was from an old flyer down in New Paltz. He said "If you want to absolutely guarantee two flights, then you better bring two airplanes. [sm=50_50.gif]

I always keep a pack of Handi Bags in my flight box to take to the crash site. They are like walmart bags that come folded in a little pouch. Last year a friend crashed his Seagull Extra in a cornfield and I grabbed a couple and helped him look for it. When we finally found the plane 30 minutes or so later I pulled one of the bags out of my pocket and offered it to him. He thought I was giving him a handkerchief to cry on and said "No thanks, I don't need that, I am just glad I found it". After I opened the bag and told him that it was a bag to put the pieces in we both laughed our butts off.

Another tip, when someone tell me that my plane is flying good I always say, "I never brag on it while it is still in the air"! That is a sure way to jinks a plane!.....Tony

Here is another great tip...When you drill a hole through the Fuselage for mounting the switch, or whatever, and you want to put CA in the hole to harden the wood always put your finger over the hole to prevent CA from running onto the cover. Then instead of having CA on your cover you will end up with a big CA fingerprint on the side of the plane. This will help if you ever need to prove that it is your plane, plus you will probably have enough skin from your finger for a DNA sample as well..

Seriously, now I always soak the wood with CA BEFORE I drill the hole. I also put CA in the belly pan bolt holes before I cut the covering away. It hardens the wood and glues the cover to the belly pan preventing oil from getting under the cover around the screw holes.

I have a few tips.

When using a straight edge and an X-acto, always make sure about 1/8" of your finger is hanging over the straight edge so you can slice a nice hunk of flesh from you finger. Makes great graphics on your Monokote too!

When enlarging the prop openings in a plastic spinner, always look directly into the cone when blowing the chips out, (never turn it over and tap it on the table) that way you get to drive yourself 12 miles to the eye doctor to the have them removed. Great way to improve you one-eyed driving skills... and by the way, always make sure no one else is home when you try this.

Never test a new fuel tank for leaks before installing it into a new plane, the leaking tank causes soaking of the balsa and is a great lung and vocal box exercise. Always make sure you young children are in ear shot so they can learn from you experience.

Green River RC,
When testing a tank with fuel in it you should pinch off the line from the muffler and blow real hard into the carb line. This will increase the pressure inside the tank and let you see if it is leaking. Of course when you quit blowing you will have enough fuel in your mouth to hydo lock a Hummer!

Tip...If you do this you will not forget to pinch the line, before you quit blowing, the second time you do it!

Don't become too attached to any plane that you fly! Every RC plane has an expiration date, some are just a lot further down the road than others.

And I've built a couple that took so long that they had passed their expiration date prior to the first flight resulting in needing the aforementioned garbage bags on the attempted first flight.

Never say "If I have a second mid-air today I'll eat the wreakage".

well, i hope this one last a while then! (see pic)

Although, I'm not usually superstitious, i find that i don't take pictures of a FULLY completed plane until after the first flight. I take many progression pics, but not any when the plane is 100% done.

Back on topic, the best advice i have gotten for RC flying is "Don't think too hard while you are flying, it's easier to just 'fly' the plane without over-analyzing every maneuver" - if found this to be good advice especially when the plane becomes a silhouette due to the sunlight, it can often play orientation tricks on your mind...

[quote]ORIGINAL: cphoto

Here is another great tip...When you drill a hole through the Fuselage for mounting the switch, or whatever, and you want to put CA in the hole to harden the wood always put your finger over the hole to prevent CA from running onto the cover. Then instead of having CA on your cover you will end up with a big CA fingerprint on the side of the plane. This will help if you ever need to prove that it is your plane, plus you will probably have enough skin from your finger for a DNA sample as well..









That's The best one yet!!!

Here mine. "Don't ever argue over who was at the flight line first. When you win, you'll lose the plane and they get to laugh at you."

Had this happen once. Seen it happen twice.

JCMacG...that's the BEST one yet. I actually saw that happen in Wisconsin. The same guy lost a .75 P-51 in a head-on.... and within half an hour lost a UltraSport to Another head-on..... Oh, the agony of defeat!!

ALWAYS ,ALWAYS ,ALWAYS Glue a small peice of balsa or scrap ply to the handel of your hobbie knife!!!(to keep it from rolling off your building surface) I figured this out the hard way, that # 11 blade is like a freak'n' harpoon!!! I would be less[sm=red_smile.gif] imbarassed to say that it landed in my foot But it did'nt ,I was seated at my work table at the time ...and .. well ... just use your imagination[&:]

And 99 times out of 100 it will land pointed down. I have dropped my knife off the table many times and it sticks in the red oak hardwood floor every single time one making a perfect slice right between two of my toes and sticking my slipper to the floor. I now wear my steel toe work boots whenever I'm at the building table.

Yea, and dont ever try to catch it while it's falling. It just makes matters worst. Just jump out of the way and hope for the best.