Danos Posted April 23, 2013 Share Posted April 23, 2013 Today is the day i lost my first plane after almost 2 years since buying it. It's had many weird and wonderful crashes ive enjoyed fixing her up but now i feel gutted gutted ive lost my reciever gutted i lost my plane. Now i feel like giving the hobby up all together after a disasterous month of flying anything and everything has happened to me this month. Has anyone lost a plane? Did you feel how i feel? Man i feel so stupid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon B Posted April 23, 2013 Share Posted April 23, 2013 Not quite sure i'm clear - was this a plane that flew away after loss of radio response, or did you crash? If it's the latter, pick yourself and dust yourself off, if it's the former, try and work out what caused it. I'd certainly not give up because of either situation. 2 years for a plane isn't a terrible amount of time. Plenty of people have lost planes on the first flight! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Hargreaves - Moderator Posted April 23, 2013 Share Posted April 23, 2013 Man up Danos..... Crashes are sadly a part of the hobby.....even the best pilots have them. You can pour your heart & soul into a model, spend many many hours building the thing only to have it completely destroyed in the first flight. My own worst experience was losing three models on consecutive flights....my Beloved Pitts Special flew through a tree after servo failure & came down as matchwood....next flight my Sukhoi wing let go at about 200 feet & it came down like an excocet....we had to dig that one out & the next flight I looped out of an inverted pass with my Wot 4 but was 6 feet too low...... So in three flights I suffered radio failure, structural failure & pilot failure..... Shed a tear......learn the lessons......move on. As someone once said to me "If you can't stand to see your pride & joy smashed into a hundred pieces, take up golf" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roy Mundy Posted April 23, 2013 Share Posted April 23, 2013 Danos, I'm sorry that you have lost your plane mate Let us know what happened and hopefully you can learn from it. Unfortunately it's the nature of this hobby, Planes crash and things can go wrong, But when things go right it's fantastic, just think of the amount of fun you have had in the last 2 years, You say that you have had fun fixing her up ................have you had a go at building a plane from a kit or depron etc, this hobby can be as cheap or as expensive as you can make it. I have had so much fun making and flying combat planes from depron which work out so cheap. And one of the best parts of this hobby is meeting and learning from other club members. Put this behind you, learn from it , but most of all dont give up. Best regards Roy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danos Posted April 23, 2013 Author Share Posted April 23, 2013 I know you guys are right im just sore atm i dont mind crashing so much its jus that its gone cant find it anywhere Not sure what happened felt as tho it didnt repsond to any input i was at some height enuff to be able get my self out of trouble but it jus kept goin lol Sounded to me as if motor was still at full throttle even tho id eased of throttle all together i could hear the motor still going . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Mackey Posted April 23, 2013 Share Posted April 23, 2013 Posted by Steve Hargreaves - Moderator on 23/04/2013 15:10:38: Man up Danos..... Crashes are sadly a part of the hobby.....even the best pilots have them. You can pour your heart & soul into a model, spend many many hours building the thing only to have it completely destroyed in the first flight. My own worst experience was losing three models on consecutive flights....my Beloved Pitts Special flew through a tree after servo failure & came down as matchwood....next flight my Sukhoi wing let go at about 200 feet & it came down like an excocet....we had to dig that one out & the next flight I looped out of an inverted pass with my Wot 4 but was 6 feet too low...... So in three flights I suffered radio failure, structural failure & pilot failure..... Shed a tear......learn the lessons......move on. As someone once said to me "If you can't stand to see your pride & joy smashed into a hundred pieces, take up golf" That would have been me I suspect Steve It was said to me a looong time ago by my Instructor Bob Arnold of WMAC. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danos Posted April 23, 2013 Author Share Posted April 23, 2013 I have built 5 planes in all ive flew 2 of them some have been kit form my pride and joy i built from scratch out of balsa and depron shes 1.5 mtr but ive not flown her yet havent the balls Ive got plenty of depron i have had lots of fun in years your right. I couldnt control the plane it was stuck in a circling motion climbinglsightly with each turn i cut the motor completly but i could cud still here it running what sounded as full throttle? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martyn K Posted April 23, 2013 Share Posted April 23, 2013 Did you have a failsafe set? Sounds like a receiver or radio link problem. I am assuming your transmitter was healthy after the flight? Don't give up though. I put my pride and joy through a tree last September while being watched by over 100 people. Trust me, I was well gutted. Put it down to experience. One thing you can do of course, is to go and look for it. Work out the wind strength and direction and how long the motor would run for. You can then work out where it is likely to have come down and go for a walk. It wont glide far but its woirth a look. Put an ad in the local free papers offering a small reward for its return. Contact your local Microlight club and ask them to take a look. You may get it back. Martyn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Handyman Posted April 23, 2013 Share Posted April 23, 2013 Hey Danos. Bad news that, but may I ask whether you placed your name and phone number in an easily accessible spot on your aircraft offering a reward for its return. I am 72 years old and never actually lost an aircraft using this simple idea, but I was without one of my aircracft that flew away for about 243 hrs until I got the call saying that it had been found. It's worth considering. Sorry to hear about your loss, but just accept it as part of this great hobby and get flying again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Handyman Posted April 23, 2013 Share Posted April 23, 2013 Sorry Danos, jumpy finger. I meant to say.....24 hrs not 243 hrs. Its my age you know!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danos Posted April 23, 2013 Author Share Posted April 23, 2013 Sadly i hadnt even thought of putting in a contact number with an offer of a reward Ive spent 5 hours looking for it with no joy wind direction would of sent it over by some wooded area also a school which ive contacted and seached as much as i can. Thanks for all replying after weighing up the pros n cons ive decided flyings not for me i enjoy it when its goin well i enjoy fixing them but when it comes to failed servos n radio/receiver issuses it drives me mad i cant bare losing money its gonna cost me half a weeks wages to replace my plane and then i need to buy a new reciever they aitn cheap either Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biggles' Elder Brother - Moderator Posted April 23, 2013 Share Posted April 23, 2013 OK Danos you feel blue - I can understand that - as can every modeller. Believe much worse things have happened. A mate of mine built a DB Sopwith Pup - 18 months work. The wing struts came detachted from their magnetic holders on the maiden flight - result matchwood. Yeah, he was gutted, but he's still flying. Nothing really worth while in life is free - flying model aeroplanes gives enormous excitement and pleasure - but sometimes we have to "balance the books" and pay for that pleasure with a little bit of heartache! You say the model is lost. But you know in all the years I've been doing this I don't think I've ever heard of a model truely being lost! Missing for a while (sometimes quite a while!) - yes - lost perminantly - no. So you know where is is - approximately. Go and walk around again - remember to look up in the trees not just on the ground. Take your transmitter with you and waggle the sticks as you go. The battery may not be able to operate the motor anymore - cos its flat! - but it will probably have enough juice to move the controls. So listen carefully for servo movements - I've know many a missing model found this way. One more thing - if this is your first plane and it's lasted 2 years you have done really well with it - believe me I've known people go through half a dozen (and more) in that time! So, chin up, get back in the saddle and get on with the search. Even if the model is wrecked you want the receiver, the servos and the battery back! BEB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Miller Posted April 23, 2013 Share Posted April 23, 2013 OK Danos. Lets see if we can help you get it back. What sort of model, did it fly away under full power and was it stable. I have lost a couple of planes due to not switching on. One went 13 miles. If it is likely to be in a local field contact all local farmers etc. and keep walking the area. It is probably a bit further than you think. If it could have gone a few miles do the following, Phone Police. Contact your local TV news programs and local radio stations. Drive round all local shops in villages down wind and put notices on the noticeboards. Contact any local model shops with details. Offer a reward. The TV compnay will often give a small plug. As will the radio station. My first went 4 miles. A policeman found it while checking round the back of some houses. The About Anglia TV station plugged the loss. The second one went 13 miles. It was found by a farmer. The local model shop got the colours wrong which delayed getting it back. Eventually the farmer rang the radio station who promptly put him in contact with me. I was very lucky, I got a flight in a Tiger Moth to look for the model. Didn't find it because we flew in the wrong direction but I had got the distance right. Got it back in the end. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkippyUK Posted April 23, 2013 Share Posted April 23, 2013 Danos, if you have Depron and a TX then you have 3/4 of a new plane - take the positives - you might get it back or the next scratch depron creation might be just what you need now after 2 years flying. Onward and Upward. Skippy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fly boy3 Posted April 23, 2013 Share Posted April 23, 2013 Hi Danos, we all know how you feel, we have all crashed our models cried a few tears and carried on. This, as was said above, is the very nature of this wonder full hobby. Skippy is right you must carry on. You have been flying for 2 years now, you are hooked pal. Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danos Posted April 23, 2013 Author Share Posted April 23, 2013 13 miles? Jeeze i doubt mine went that far it was climbing and goin around in circles at full speed and was very very close to massive trees so its probably stuck in one of those there so tall n bushy its like tryin to find a needle in a haystack. Ive given my numbers to peoplel that live near by i contacted 2 schools incase it ended up in one of there fields. Im now looking at radio controlled cars at least they cant get lost Id rather spend 200 quid on a car than a plane that has a chance of crashing or getting lost due to equipment failure or ultimately pilot error. For instance this month ive had a wing detach, servo broke in flight, prop fly off, nose ripped off, plane snapped in half, wing split , esc blown out, Motor stopped working, brought new motor that was dead on arrival theres more n now this all this in one month ok ive had harldy any bad luck in the 2 years jus minor crashes while learning and not as bad as BEBS mate who spent 18mths working on his plane to crash 1st flight BUT maYBE im juzt not meant to fly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich too Posted April 23, 2013 Share Posted April 23, 2013 I lost one similar to Peter, I sent my glider up the bungee and forgot to switch on the receiver - did a lovely freeflight though! I got it back because I always put contact details in gliders..I don't want to discourage you Danos but you have to be prepared for these things. I accept that all my models will end up in a black bag one day. And I had a friend that fancied getting into when I was a teenager and he spent days/weeks building a glider (made a great job of it) and the first flight ended in disaster - literally dived from a great height into tarmac - total write off and he never touch a model again, he was extremely angry about the whole thing. Horses for courses...Rich Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danos Posted April 23, 2013 Author Share Posted April 23, 2013 Thats just it tho guys i dont care about crashing because im damned good at repairing them its losing them thats narked me i did nothing wrong for me to lose this plane. If it had crashed at my feet into a millions pieces then fine i salvage what i can but its all gone meh i wont keep goin on about it ive had enuff. Danos Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr.B. Posted April 23, 2013 Share Posted April 23, 2013 Hi Danos. Going home with no plane feels so much worse than going home with a pile of bits. 3 years ago I lost my trainer in trees and felt like giving up exactly like you do now. A couple of weeks later there was a storm and the plane shifted lower down the tree to where I could find it and climb and get it. The next day it was fixed and back in the air. You feel bad now, but in a few days you will miss the stick twidling. You just don't get the same enjoyment from cars. It's the lows that make the highs (man) or something like that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danos Posted April 23, 2013 Author Share Posted April 23, 2013 Im already getting withdrawal symptoms Mr.B suppose i need to buy another reciever 30 quid a pop is harsh they shud sell them for a tenner. Its sad but all i think about is flying i check weather reports everyday its become an obsession mayb thats why ive taken it so bad today ANyone know if these cheap chinese recievers will work with my optic5 Spectrum DX7s? Thks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr.B. Posted April 23, 2013 Share Posted April 23, 2013 I use Orange DSM2 Rx in small planes with DX5e, DX6i and DX8. and save the speky RXs for the higher value stuff. No problems so far. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WolstonFlyer Posted April 23, 2013 Share Posted April 23, 2013 The Orange RX "Spektrum" receivers work very well in smaller parkfly sized and foamy models. For bigger and IC models I would get the new version with two aerial wires and add the optional satellite unit. Still a very reasonable cost.Also the original Spektrum AR400-x is a very good full range 4 channel receiver for about 25 pounds.Edited By WolstonFlyer on 23/04/2013 21:54:15 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon B Posted April 23, 2013 Share Posted April 23, 2013 Have a look on Ebay and BMFA Classifieds for second hand official Spektrum receivers too. You can pick them up cheap enough. I've got an AR500 you can have for £15 + £2 postage if you want it. Plenty of people have got ones to get shot of. Horizon will sort them out if you get problems too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich too Posted April 24, 2013 Share Posted April 24, 2013 Ah, in that case get back on the saddle. Losing a plane is a pretty rare event in my experience. Stick your name/number inside the plane in future - and in the old days you could buy a buzzer that went inside the plane to help locate it in corn fields etc - not sure they're available these days? I have the Orange RX's and they are fine by all accounts - I just wouldn't trust them in anything expensive or that means that much to me. Rich Edited By Dickster on 24/04/2013 06:49:59 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danos Posted April 24, 2013 Author Share Posted April 24, 2013 Yeah you can still buy locators i might get one my choice of flyin location added to me losing it. Ive been told today that they saw someone walking along canal path with a rc plane but he wasnt sure if it was me holding it or was someone else. I dont have much faith in mankind its probably been sold to someone lol ive put som elost cardsd in lo9cal shops with a reward offer. Either way im over it now if it comes bk then bonus if not well i will be reordering everything i lost yesterday n shud have it by saturday along with a wot3 or was it wot4 meh Tantrum over LOL Dan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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