REALLY IMPORTANT ADVICE

[thevon]

IMPORTANT ADVICE: It’s important that you turn your plane ON before you launch it. If you don’t turn it on, it won’t respond to your inputs on your transmitter. The plane will not fly beautifully and it may crash in a random place. Also, the lost model alarm won’t beep if the plane is turned off, making it much harder to locate the area where the bits of the plane are spread. I learnt this lesson today and I plan to ensure in future that I always turn my plane ON when I launch it. It really makes a big difference. By the way I tried ESP and levitation etc to make the plane fly properly but it didn’t work well. Also cursing and yelling in a bitter and self critical manner had no effect on the plane’s trajectory.

[chamm37]

Andrew wat plane was it?

[bananaman]

I flew for 8 years without doing anything silly like launching with a model switched off. I did it with my second First at a comp. It flew up the winchline like a rocket slowly arcing left as I gently added right rudder. The gentle right rudder became full right rudder then up and down elevator, as the realisation hit. I placed the transmitter on the ground and watched as the model reached its apogee and began its high speed downward decent into the ground. Very graceful, very final. Oops #1

The next First (aka the third First) flew a few weeks later. The launcher grabbed the model, I got distracted and stood on the pedal. As the line tensioned up I realised the model wasn't on. I yelled "DON'T launch" but he just heard a noise he was expecting and let go. The dam thing was well setup, kited up the line and to top off launched itself into a thermal. It circled around until the thermal kicked it out which made it fly tilted circles. The circles gained speed until it screamed into the trees. The noise was amazing. I was sure it was destroyed. Oops #2
When found it only had a small ding in the LE. I still fly it with the ding unrepaired to remind me.

That little switch can stop a lot of grief!

What happened to the first First?? I killed it pushing its limits. It died an honourable death ;D

[thevon]

Still chuckling Bananaman. It's not funny really, but I have to laugh.

Chris it was the Bat. Nice curving accelerating dive, arcing back into the rocks of Wild Horse Mt. Not sure how fast it hit.

A guy I used to fly with had a lovely v-tail sailplane he flew a lot called a Vega. One day at Bald Knob by himself he launched it and realized it wasn't turned on. It was well trimmed. He watched it fly till it disappeared and he never saw it again.

[sean]

Ouch! Winching an uncontrolled glider, that's got to hurt.

I'm afraid I launched a foamie without switching it on once. Before you do it yourself you tend to think: "how could anyone ever throw a model off a hill without turning it on?" You have plenty of time to contemplate that thought as the model spirals faster and faster into the ground...

[jirvin4505]

Aug 16, 2008 21:38:33 GMT 10 bananaman said:

I...snip... It flew up the winchline like a rocket slowly arcing left as I gently added right rudder. The gentle right rudder became full right rudder then up and down elevator, as the realisation hit. I placed the transmitter on the ground and watched as the model reached its apogee and began its high speed downward decent into the ground. Very graceful, very final. Oops #1
...........

Yes i do recall i launched it - felt like I let you down by not asking have you checked the controls. Armidale expo?

I made sure to make the silly mistakes early - long time ago I didn't believe in clubs and was detertmined to teach myself to fly. I had slowly progressed to being able to crash my 2m glider in the same paddock I bungied from - saves a good walk to pick up the pieces.

Happy with my progress i invited my dad out to watch. I then bungied the Oly650 without the switch on. Reaaly something pathetic about a glider with broken wings flapping along the ground as the bungy does its job.

cheers jeff

[chamm37]

yer well i have bungeed my bevo on my bungee before without checking that my controller was on!!!!! the plane was on but not my controller

Well it went up and back down again HARD!!!!!!!!1but nothing broke on it, probally because of the exstansive carbon rods in it but hey.....i allways check everything before i launch it now (i did it everytime but just that one time i didnt do a pre-flight check, it went wrong. Shows to check it everytime, even when you have been doing it for 2 hrs or so)

Seems that all of us have made the mistake once or twice or three times ;D hahahahahahaha


You can only learn from your mistakes and hopefully not do them again

[bananaman]

Yes you launched it Jeff, but is wasn't any fault of yours. All me ;D

I smile as I remember the graceful flight path, but wince as I recall its sudden change of shape as it interfaced with the earth.

[zipper]

Many years ago, I use to fly 1\2A pylon racers. Back then we use to have the switch on the side of the fuse and on one launch I pushed the switch off, it flue large right hand circuits, getting higher and higher till the fuel ran out. It then continued to do nice large right hand circuits and landed perfectly about 20mt from the landing strip, the hole flight went for about 45 min. and all the time thinking that I would never see it again.

Some of the best flying I have seen has been with the plane turned off

[Pij]

My son twice launched his Electrafun with his Tx aerial down. Once he had just enough control to turn it back to us and land it. Good flying! The other time there was no response at all, and it went exactly straight, the throttle cut to zero, and it landed perfectly. At that point, it was his best ever landing.

There's something to be said for a beginner's plane that really CAN fly itself!

Regarding not switching on the gliders - I'd like to get some of that ribbon they use on full-size planes, with the bright colour and REMOVE BEFORE FLIGHT written on it. That might help when you use a headphone-jack charging switch with a dummy plug to turn it off.

[kymbo]

My daughter used to come with me up to SC when I was learning to fly. On many occasions I tried to convince her to have a go but she was too scared. The plane was a rudder, elevator precedent Hi Fly with about a six foot span.

One day she agreed to have a go so after some coaching on what to do I launched the plane off the cliff. It tracked straight out and I told her to start to turn it towards the cliff but the plane kept going. She was starting to get a distraught look on her face and trying to control the plane by using the aerial like a whip when I realised it wasn't turned on.

I walked up to her and took the control, turned it off and put it down all in the time the plane was still flying out into the bay. It made it out to the channel the fishing boats use and did a lovely landing for a sea plane. I waded/swam out to retrieve (It floated quiet well)

Needless to say my daughter never tried to fly again.

[thevon]

These stories are really excellent and have turned some of my tears of grief to tears of laughter. Definitely tragic comedy.

[portfox]

I have to add one here, the guys in the hobby for a while would remember the Multiplex Alpina when they first came onto the market. Everyone wanted one, including me, but being a teenager the funds didnt go my way on the good old Aus study.
Anyway at a comp in Newcastle i think it was, this guy was flying the first heat with his brand new alpina, what a beautiful plane. Back then the best everyone had was a fine tuned crunchie.
So he has turned it on tested and re-tested it to make sure all was good before his launch. He must have turned off the plane as force of habit as he placed it back on the ground after the test.
And, picking it up a 5 or so minutes later didnt check anything. This alpina has flown straight as a flag pole up the winch, he hasn't touch the controls until the thing popped off the line at the top of the launch.
My dad, uncle and me standing there with a few other flyers are just draw dropped on how lovely this thing ran up the line. The pilot has turned his head and said, "mmmmmm i dont think i turned on the plane"
Same thing as said above, she just kept slowly moving forward lifting with thermals, the slight right or left as a thermal would hit one wing. Gone!

Didnt find it.

What a loss.

S

[drcuzo]

My plane spirals into the ground/trees while turned ON. I might try flying turned OFF.

Steve