CafeenMan

How on earth do you get mold to grow on an engine? I've never even seent that before. That takes a really talented individual!

Cactus.

My Feedback: (1)

i took some video of him "flying" today and also some very intresting pics of a "visitor" found on the field after a midnight prank. stay tuned for a laugh when i get time to upload

steve-kerry

On the subject of model flying and safety...

Girl killed by model plane
A 13-year-old girl was killed after being struck on the head by a model aeroplane while she was out walking with her mother in a park.
They were walking across Dartford Heath in Kent at about 1700 BST on Tuesday when the incident happened.
Police say the radio-controlled plane appears to have flown out of control, for reasons as yet unknown, and hit the girl, who has not been named.
She was badly injured and taken to Darent Valley Hospital in Dartford where she died at about 2000 BST.
The plane was being flown by a 55-year-old man from south London who was spoken to at the scene by officers from Kent Police.
'Tragic accident'
An investigation is being carried out into the circumstances of the incident, but police say early indications suggest it was "a very tragic accident".
They have not yet confirmed where the incident happened in relation to the designated area for flying.
The owner and operator of the model plane were both in shock after the incident, according to one witness.
John Lee, 53, was walking his three dogs when he came across the two men.
A guy said 'my aeroplane just hit a little girl in the head'
Witness John Lee
He spotted police cars and an ambulance - and asked a man walking towards him what was going on.
Mr Lee said: "A guy said 'my aeroplane just hit a little girl in the head'.
"The guy was in a bit of a state and I advised him to sit down. He looked very shocked."
Mr Lee said the man told him he had a heart condition.
A second man, who the owner said was a friend who had been flying his plane, also appeared to be in shock, Mr Lee said.
'Infinitesimal chance'
Mr Lee, a model aeroplane enthusiast for 40 years, said about 30 people regularly flew planes on the 130-hectare heath but there should not be more than four in the air together.
He said: "The chances of anyone being hit by an out-of-control or damaged aircraft must be infinitesimal but it has happened.
"It's the first time I've heard of an accident involving an aircraft here."
A police spokesman later confirmed that the model was an Acrowot petrol-powered aircraft.
He said: "We have got the plane. We will need to examine it and may have to get some expert outside opinion on it."
A post mortem examination is due to be carried out on Thursday, after which an inquest is expected to be opened.

Trombe

My Feedback: (1)

Whats the date on that?

steve-kerry

Last week, Wednesday I think.

CafeenMan

http://www.news.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=5995387

Cactus.

My Feedback: (1)

we are asked to fly alot of public displays, one every weekend this july i think, at some of the show grounds we visit there can be thousands of people in other fields.. i've been thinking the past few days how easily one of our planes could loose control and go in without warning in these other fields in the unsuspecting groups, we fly very fast planes too at the larger events. We've never had this happen, even tho we've had the normal type dumb thumbs crashes, but none of the planes that fly could be considered so well looked after they cant fail, can any plane?
I may have to raise the issue and at these events we be extra careful over what planes can fly and no flying towards the other fields or flight line, all turns to be made away from people. it might be over kill with the low risks, but it can happen.

splatt

There's a disaster waiting to happen. That Pic of the yellow models insides are a hoot.

Bruno Stachel

My Feedback: (4)

Phillybaby,

In the pic you posted, it looks like brass eyelets were used to crimp the pull-pull cable.

Cactus.

My Feedback: (1)

their very long eyelets if they are, i think its just how it looks
wow... something he did right!

Jim D

My Feedback: (8)

That grungy servo pit in that yellow plane takes the cake. Bad modelers like that actually make me somewhat angry. They take needless risks with not only their equipment, but other peoples safety. And when something bad does happen, the whole hobby takes the hit. Yes terrible and unforseeable accidents do happen. But stupid, thoughtless and utterly avoidable accidents happen as well.

I have been in this hobby three years, and in that short time I have seen:

-A 1/4 scale gas powered cub failing motor running range check. The pilot hit the Tx on the back until the surfaces quit jittering and then he FLEW.

-A Model covered in cellophane translucent Christmas wrapping paper to save money. Of course it started to 'shed' it's skin on the first flight. It made it back, barely.

-New models flown, CG's never checked, occasionally with predictably bad results.

-A 40 sized fun fly with the wing servos installed in the bottom of the wing using 1/16 balsa hatches. After a couple of good tight loops, one let go and the rest is history.

-A pilot who was later found out to be at his limits with a Cub, taking off a 1/4 scale Cap232 in 20MPH winds at a FLY-IN. After buzzing the spectator grandstands and scaring the general S*&T out of everyone present he did manage to get it down in one piece. Every wish really badly to see a model go in out in the field for the sake of safety???

Things do happen. Pilot error, structure failure, radio failure many of which will get anyone. But too many things like those above do happen, and we all end up looking careless in the public eye.

Cactus.

My Feedback: (1)

its what he says when hes flying that worrys me more, lots of swearing "LOST THAT THEN!" not sure if he means radio or just orentation. but the truth is, hes good, and his planes have one of the lowest failure rates on the field, even tho he flys the most, most crashes are nothing more than knocking something off on a low pass. i dont remember his last full on crash or model failure
Tho i choose not to fly with him, our flying styles and what airspace we in fly clash. hes not picky about flying with me which can annoy me sometimes.
There is another heli flyer that is worse and both have been talked about with regards banning from the club, but the answer is, its safer to have them here rather then let them out in the wild to cause havoc and any incidents come back on us. at least here we can set limits

CafeenMan

There is a guy in our club whom I have never seen crash ever. He has the money to buy top end equipment, but as you know that doesn't mean it can't fail. But he's totally anal-retentive about his stuff in a good way and he's an excellent pilot.

Before entering any maneuver he knows what his bailouts are. I've seen him pull out of some really bizarre attitudes at low altitude and he never even broke a sweat. He's not a careless flyer, but sometimes a plane pulls out of a snap in a way you didn't expect.

Every time he gets to the field he inspects his planes from nose to tail to include everything. Then he performs a range check with engine running. In contrast to that, I see maybe one other person perform a range check in a week of the many who fly.

Back to this guy. I don't know this for a fact, but he told me (and I believe him simply because he's honest) that the last time he had a pilot error crash was in the 70's!

Mine was a couple months ago if you don't count some splattered landings. In that case it would be last week.

But the last time I had a crash caused by radio malfunction was in the early 80's (black-wire disease).

With equipment as reliable as it is today I would 98% of all crashes are caused by the pilot or preventable failure of a critical component on the aircraft.

tailskid

My Feedback: (34)

Getting back to the E-Z connectors...I've used them for over 20 years without a failure.....but that string may come to a close someday-oh well....

One reason for my success is installation - I only use soft pushrod material and when the connector is later removed there is a dent in the metal.

The second is pre-flight/post-flight check. I check for tightness after a day of flying and again before I go out.

Like I said, it hasn't bit me yet........

Jerry

CafeenMan

Tailskid - Anything will work if you know what you're doing and you're careful.

What really bugs me is that a lot of beginners don't know any better. They have no idea what kind of flight loads are on a model aircraft or the effects of vibration.

All those ARF's come with those things and almost any time there is a beginner at the field flying one something comes loose. Fortunately, those planes are very forgiving so they can come in even with a loose aileron. Also, the speeds are so low that flutter is generally not problem.

I'm a bad enough pilot that I lose a plane or two every year so I don't need any kind of equipment failure to help me out so I try not to take chances with anything that I don't trust 100%. Glad you've been successful though.

BillHarris

With most of the bARFs and many kits they really don't teach good linkage setup. It's adequate to get the new flyer in the air in an afternoon, but not for the long term.

I frequently use EZ connectors on the throttle, with stranded flex-cable soldered where the connector clamps. But generally EZ connectors are not used on control surfaces.

One exception is a 40" 3-channel Lazy Bee. It has removable tail feathers and they are easier to use with EZ connectors. A 2-pound aeroplane with micro servos has low control surface loading. Even then, I check the EZ connector tightness frequently.

esacjack

I see a lot of posts concerning "this guy did this and its stupid" or "this shouldnt have been done" but to the untrained newbie, it just seems like youre ready to bash someone for incorrect setups. So rather than do that, why not discuss some real tips and tricks as to what should be done? like pictures etc? I frankly didnt know that there was that many problems with EZ connectors till reading this thread. I personally would like to know how you "seasoned" veterans setup your control linkage. I understand using zbends and such, but does anyopne have any illustrations / pictures that may be more helpful to noobs? Making new people feel stupid to the sport/hobby doesnt help make them feel at ease. I know from personal experience that trying to get into the sport and warmed up to some of you guys is a chore. I personally have issues with certain flying fields in the city, as some of them seem somewhat arrogant, and get somewhat offended if you dont seem to know something.

CafeenMan

esacjack - From the same website:

http://www.airfieldmodels.com/model_building_tips.htm

Look over the site. There's a lot more there about what to do than what not to do. My intention isn't to bash anyone but to help people build better planes.