Disaster! My own stupid fault.

[Adrian Smith 1]

I lost my treasured 3DHS Extreme Flight 60cc electric because of my own stupidity. The main wings are secured by two bolts per wing once slung on to the CF spar. Guess what? I forgot to bolt the port side! as a result one minute into the flight (surprised it lasted that long) the wing parted with the fuz and gracefully floated down while the rest of the plane smashed into the ground from height. ?

The result is shown below. No rescue here I think. I can hardly bear to look at it. Fortunately nobody was in the vicinity. What utter idiot.

[Don Fry]

Not a disaster, pilot’s OK. Life sucks sometimes. Game of blood, that’s why we do it I reckon.

[SIMON CRAGG]

Adrian, I can feel your pain!.

 

Back in the Summer I did exactly the same with my 3D model. But I did better than you!.

 

Left out both wing bolts, both wings slid off the carbon spar and were held on by the servo leads. Made like an ungainly sycamore leaf with the inevitable micky taking from the lads!.

 

My excuse? So used to flying one piece models, that I totally forgot about the bolts. My bad!.

 

Hope this makes you feel a tiny bit better!.

[kevin b]

Did it trash the wing as well ?

If not the fuselage could be repairable if you can get a new cowl.

I have repaired worse (but only because of my Yorkshire heritage).

Edited November 8, 2021 by kevin b
Gammar !

[Don Fry]

Kevin, I do love your optimism.
Back in the day, I had a mate. Now, just bear in mind, 2 socialists, hunting nice ladies in the Con club. Nice looking ladies. His idea, didn’t end well.

That airframe is broken.

Mind, it does allow the breaker to create a new treasured airframe.

And so, invest a bit more of his soul, into a fragile thing launched off the strip. His hobby choice.

[Peter Jenkins]

Thanks for sharing Adrian.  I'm sure that you are not the first to omit to secure the wing bolts.  I share your pain.?

[EvilC57]

18 hours ago, Don Fry said:

Not a disaster, pilot’s OK. Life sucks sometimes. Game of blood, that’s why we do it I reckon.

He's badly shaken up though ?!

[kc]

Most planes are repairable and if the wings are reasonably OK then it would be worth trying to repair.   If you don't fancy repairing it yourself I suggest you offer it to clubmates as a project.   Balsa and other materials are so expensive that the canopy, tail parts and wings alone would go a long way to making an everyday hack model even if perfect restoration is not practical.

[Jonathan M]

Me, I'd just recover usable components (RX, servos, those parts of the power-train that weren't totalled) and fit them in a new model.

 

The wing that fluttered down, I'd mount above the door as an aide-memoire...

[Don Fry]

For years, I had a very broken OS Surpass 120, nailed to the workshop wall, next to the clock, as a reminder to check, check, and check again that the correct model memory is engaged.

[ken anderson.]

commiserations from me Adrian.....a long time ago when starting out on the RC road i came to the conclusion that what went up had to come down...somehow. Over the years i've lost a few(some on a maiden flight) and accept it as part of the hobby....... it is a little worse when we realise its something we have done that's caused the wreckage..

 

ken anderson...ne..1....gravity dept.

[Peter Jenkins]

That's only half the story Don.  You need to check that the right memory bank in the brain has been selected as well - not so easy!

 

I have been using JR radio since 2010 and their use of model match, adopted from their Spektrum agreement pending the release of their own DMSS solution, has been a god send.

[ken anderson.]

i have wrote off two DB Dracons in two years by selecting the wrong model in the TX(Hitec A9)while busy talking/distracted...and not paying enough attention....i find that we become a little complacent sometimes... 

 

ken anderson...ne...1..distracted dept.

[Peter Jenkins]

That's the biggest cause of accidents Ken.  DISTRACTION!

[Adrian Smith 1]

Yes Simon, pain shared is welcome!

Kc, one wing is ok, but the other is a bit bashed up.  I will look at the mess every time I go up the work shop and see if I can summon the enthusiasm to see if a rebuild is possible.

Jonathan M , all servos, switches have been tested and are ok (given the cost of the servos originally they should be bullet proof). I have range tested the Futaba RX and seems to be fine although I am a bit cautious on that. The OPTO ESC is a wipe out and the motor looks ok but grinds slightly when turned by hand. I think the gear will go in a 20-30cc size electric  as I have the right motor/ESC on the shelf, but my only problem is the shortage of stock everywhere.

I like the idea of nailing one of the bits on the wall in my eye line as a reminder to check, check again. 

Peter, the annoying thing was I wasn't distracted I just got too blaise in my rigging routine.

[Chris Walby]

I have a routine based on my own previous mistakes where now I always fit the wing bolts before the aileron servo leads with the idea that if all else fails and I get to the flight line and it doesn't pass the full and free movement in the right direction check then I should not be flying!

 

Not sure about nailing anything to the workshop wall...I recall some work on the subject of human memory and it related to physical location. Ever thought of doing something and heading to a different room in the house and can't think of what you you wanted to do, then just go back to the original location! Same sort of thing have a routine of where and when you do checks and stick to it.

 

PS - On the subject of model match, don't really know why other manufacturers don't use it as its one very important thing I don't have to be troubled with.

 

Adrian - I feel your pain, but at least you didn't loose it on the way to the flying field ?

[Denis Watkins]

DISTRACTION

My buddy took a phone call in the middle of rigging a model very very similar to yours Adrian, and folded the wings shortly after take off.

The wing tube was still sat by his flight box.

It still hurts when we do something daft, but stick to your routine as you realise Adrian, and don't keep looking at the mess, just give it a couple more days.

[Adrian Smith 1]

I like your idea of doing the wing bolts first then connecting the leads, Chris. I am sure I used to do that, but for some reason I didn't on this occasion!!?

? Denis

[Tim Flyer]

Very sorry to hear about that Adrian but it was a really kind and helpful gesture to all, for you to post it up on here .
 

We all make silly mistakes and this will help us all to try to keep them to a minimum. 

 

As others have said it’s alway best to keep it to one side before thinking about repairs as going straight in is very painful and can be disheartening. 

[Martin Harris - Moderator]

6 hours ago, Chris Walby said:

PS - On the subject of model match, don't really know why other manufacturers don't use it as its one very important thing I don't have to be troubled with.

I believe they patented it and won't permit other makers to use it.  However, many systems will alert you to an unexpected receiver GUID.

[jrman]

I think it was developed by JR and adopted by Spektrum when JR/Spektrum were working together.

All current JR Tx's have model match.

[Peter Jenkins]

36 minutes ago, jrman said:

I think it was developed by JR and adopted by Spektrum when JR/Spektrum were working together.

All current JR Tx's have model match.

I have to say that I thought it was a Spektrum idea since the solution that JR used was the Spektrum 2.4 GHz system as theirs was still a year away from being ready.  The deal was that Spektrum could use the JR Tx and sell in the up to 8 Ch market and JR did 9 Ch and above.  So, I was able to use the cheaper Spektrum Rxs although after I lost 2 aircraft to brown out I was told by MacGregor to only use JR made Rxs as they were made to higher standards - I quote their words but I have no idea if that claim was correct.  In the end when JR launched the XG series of Radios I bought the XG11 with an 11 Ch Rx and a voucher for a free 8 Ch Rx.  I found the speed with which the XG 11 Tx connected to the Rx, less than a sec, was far superior to the DSM9 speed of almost 3 secs.  To my delight, model match or whatever JR now call it, was still included.

[Gary Manuel]

OpenTX has a form of model match. Is this allowed because it's open source and non-proprietry?

[Adrian Smith 1]

As footnote to my carrier bag incident which is a bit off topic, but draws a line under it, I decided to post this.

I was at the flying field the other afternoon after a session in the work shop and photographed a glorious sunset which seemed appropriate for my mangled Extra death throes!

 

Onwards and upwards then. As I have all the ancillary gear on the shelf looking for a home I decided to kit out a smaller aerobat with only an airframe required. I settled on this ........

https://www.kingslynnmodelshop.co.uk/product_info.php?cPath=17_993_1113&products_id=15243&osCsid=46kvp2p6jg66js3mt2giur9be3

 

Ordered on Friday morning and arrived courtesy of DPD on Saturday morning. Wow! well done KLM and the courier. I know there is a few youtube clips on the build and experience of the "Slick", but I have a couple of observations to make by way of small disagreements. IF there is an appetite for it here, I will create a new thread when I make a start on my build process for those interested

[GrumpyGnome]

Assembly thread? Yes please.