coltech

This is just for fun but, illustrates how stupid you can get when frustration takes over.
I'd only had my Dragonfly for about a week and was struggling to control it on the floor. It was nice and calm outside so I decided to try giving it full throttle, get it in the air and maybe this would give me more time to learn to control it than my cramped space inside allowed. (Was I nuts or what?)
Well the heli flew up into the air like a dream, for a moment I was totally in awe of the sight and watched as it veered round to face me and flew over my head. As I turned to follow it's flight path I realised it was still climbing and heading straight for the roof of my bungalow. (What nutcase was flying this thing?) In desparation I finally decided to take control and gained it. For one beautiful moment I had control and the heli did the most gorgeous right hand banked turn across the roof (A truly beautiful sight I'll never forget!). Then things took a turn for the worse. the heli turned to face me, the steepness of the turn had put it into a steep descent and the fleeting moment of control was gone. In a PANIC I turned the power off and watched in facinated horror as it nose-dived into the lawn missing the concrete path by inches and "exploded" (so it seemed) into a thousand pieces. Bye Bye heli!!!
Actually the most damage was done to the canopy. (Which was fixed with copious amounts of selotape) All the rest of the bits I simply picked up and reasembled. Within an hour I was practising again. (Firmly on the ground this time!)
Are these helis strong or what?
Come on guys give us a laugh and tell us what daft insane things you've done in the pursuit of that first flight.

deadbench

seems like thats what newbie like us like to do...i was flying my thunderbird the same way like u..lost patience and full throttle it out of frustration ..but i was lucky..i send it up up and away ..can't gauge how high..but its really high!...then i panicked and tried to bring it down..but it seems more interested in goin left and right and finally after a tough fight..it dropped to about 15 feet real fast..prayed to god ,played the controls senselessly and presto!..it gained a little brake in the air..went to about 4 feet and crashed safely..
it happened just 2 days ago...and i did this act coz i feel that my controls are just too sensitive..dunno how to correct it and in a fit..just gave it a full throttle..kids don't try this at home.

by the way...whenever i move my controls..say slightly to the left,the heli would hardly barge..i tried to moved more left and the whole heli would sway extremely to the left then i would try to balance it by moving the stick to the right then the right would be too much and after a while it'll crash...any solutions?

coltech

deadbench
What heli you trying to fly. Has it stock controller/radio transmitter.
If you're struggling to control it take my advice open the transmitter and remove the aileron spring and adjust the for and aft spring until it feels real smooth to operate. It's the only way you're going to develop a "real feel" for the controls!
Circular movements are a breeze now!!!!

coltech

'scuse me my sides are splitting.
come on guys we all do crazy stuff!!
So share the gen guys.!!!!!!!!!!!

HenRam

First time I flew a heli it was the Concept 30 DX about 15 years ago... Had the gyro set backwards and lifted the heli off the ground... If you're experienced, you know what happens when the gyro is reversed.... The heli spinned at something like 50 rpm. I brought it back down on the asfault and it continuted to spin for a few more seconds before it stopped... Took it to the hobby shop and found the problem...

Took it back to the roof of my building, to keep it away from people, cars and personal proptery... Remember, this was 15 years ago, I was only 15, didn't know what the AMA was and didn't have a worry in mind??? Pretty much the good ole days. Anyways... I lifted it off the ground and immediate got it into forward flight, made a turn and had it coming back towards me.... It passed right by me and smashed into a chimmy sticking up from the roof... I didn't know how to stop the thing... I was lucky enough that it laned on the roof and didn't go down the 7 stories to the street... Back then the blades were made of a light plastic/foam material, so when this thing hit, it looked like an explosion of white plastic going everywhere... Needless to say, I got training gear and learned to hover before I attempted forward flight again.

coltech

I almost hate to admit this, as at this age I should know better.


AARRGH............................................ .................................................. .............................................
OK...OK I ADMIT IT I WAS/AM 45 YEARS OLD!!!!!!


Who says you get more sensible the older you get!!

MORE PLEASE THIS THREAD IS KILLING ME

Banished Outside

Yep been there!

Whilst erratically hovering my Feda Dragonfly in the back garden (after complaints of little black marks everywhere indoors!) my neighbour comes round with his mate & goes WOW go on give it more power! Of course being a 33 year old adult I resisted his taunts NOT!, the result was it flew up to about 20' and it blew over the fence towards a neighbours bedroom window, in a state of PANIC I cut the throttle and it fell like a stone!!

Only broke the tail rotor..............................where's that super glue!

Feels good the re-live the shame in public

Steve

HenRam

I have stories about airplanes too... Actually started planes before helis....

First time we went to a park at night... Took off and smashed into a tree.... If it would have gotten any higher, we would have definately lost it... We learned that lesson the hard way..

Second time around we never knew how sensetive the control surfaces were, so when we applied the command, we thought it wasn't enough so got the ailerons and elevators to go about 1 inch or more... First time we took off it went straight up, then did several loops before it came back down and smashed into the ground... Mind you, we never did anything gently or smoothly, everything was extreem up or extreme down. You know the results of that one... it's amazing what 1/8 of an inch can do on these control surfaces...

gshoaf

That's the way I do it! I gave up on trying to hover the darn thing. I have to fly outdoors, my rooms are too small. (I need a place something like the Astrodome) Wind doesn't bother me! Throttle it up and go for it. Sometimes I get it down in one piece, sometimes I don't!

Graeme

My Feedback: (5)

I was well into my 40s, had never flown anything and had been wanting to fly helis for several years when I moved to southern IN and discovered a hobby shop - in my neighborhood, with a Concept 30DX on consignment. The only thing I needed to get it into the air was AMA membership, a flying site and fuel. Fortunately, the LHSs owner was kind enough to recommend someone to help me get started learning...

I managed to contact the gentleman: he had me play for a few minutes on Dave Brown's simulator, then took me to his club's field - where he made some adjustments to the bird and the radio, then giggled his back-side off at the training gear I'd made, and patiently monitored my feeble attempts to get it off the ground and control it!

The next time I tried it was in my back yard. I fired her up, took her out into the middle of the yard, sat her down and went back to my "safety" position - with the curious neighborhood young'uns gawkin' behind me.

Then I tried to put the radio's strap around my neck. (I should probably admit here that this was the second time I'd ever had a radio in my hands and I didn't know what all those buttons and switches were for - yet!!)

Just as I dropped the strap's loop over my head, something on the radio clicked - and the idle on that little thing shot way up there somewhere. But she sat right there on the ground!! Good! That gave me time to try to figure out what was goin' on here...

'Til she started lifting off!! That's when I yelled at the kids to get back under the carport, (they laughed at that for a few years, until I showed 'em a couple pics of what can happen!).

To somewhat shorten an already over-long story: she rose, regardless of my finagling the controls, right into a tree; she showered me with leaves and twigs 'til she'd cleared herself a path out of that tree...

Then she clipped the phone line on her way to the next tree, where she doused me in more leaves and twigs before she decided she'd had more'n enough of this excitement and planted herself about ten feet away from me.

All it cost was a tail boom, a set of blades, and a few years to get over the fear! Maybe the fear's the reason the Nexus I got last year hasn't even had a hard landing yet...

Yep: I now know what the throttle hold switch is - and how it really should be set! And you can bet yer bippy I'm a lot more careful when I'm puttin' that strap on nowadays, too!

coltech

As an addendum to this:
If you're still scooting around on the floor make sure you move any house plants out of the way.
These helis make superb strimmers. When you're on the ground it's all too easy to reduce them to stumps!!!!!!!!!!!



The wife is not impressed!!!!

deadbench

coltech
what do you mean by a stock controller/radio transmitter?
my package says that its a colco 6 channel transmitter.
mine is the colco thunderbird... could be hummingbird and feda's distant cousin..hehhe
does removing the springs helps?
i have 2 think twice abt it coz with knowledge like mine,i could end up fixing up the wrong way.

Graeme

My Feedback: (5)

Coltech: y'er right!

I was amazed at how fast the old girl still moves when my new hummer tried to trim her toenails one evenin' !

So far I've missed the plants, and - fortunately - the hummer ain't strong enough to hurt the bookshelf, doors, entertainment center, walls...