Gotta Love Crashes... :P

[Kimmers4Ever]

Here's one my husband hates talking about. It was a training morning. Had like 5 people training. One of the guy insisted that my husband take this other guy up with his trainer.

Well, they get up and start flying.. My husband askes the Trainee.. "You got it." The guy goes... "No you do."

Oh %@$&!

The Transmetter was dead. They had tested it before going up and it said it was fully charged.. Bad battery.. Good news.. The airplane was in a holding pattern. My husband decided to swap crystals fast. So they struggled to get the crystal out.. about the time he slammed it home, flipped on the new radio.. He looked up and the airplane was vertical and heading straight down. It had run out of fuel. ACK!

The following is the photos. It hit a road full bore... You can see the divit it left.. And it bounced the airplane off the road. We were amazed it wasn't worse. :P

BTW: That engine will be on our Broken prop award this year. LOL!

Almost forgot. .This is the crash that inspired the Happy crash cartoon.. The guy was so happy that he could buy a new one. LOL!

[Kimmers4Ever]

Let's see what else I have in my photo album....

Ah yes, the Straight Edge... Thank goodness they went to EPP...

This picture was of the 5th time it broke. It would break like this everytime it flopped into the ground. Hubby finally got fed up and trashed it..

[Flybyguy]

Too late now, but I would bet almost anything that if you had epoxied a CF tube down the length of the fuse on each side, it would never split like that again.

Had the same problem with a Split 280 (also EPP), where the fuse snapped right in front of the nose after every nose-in. Slapped some CF tubes on there, and it never happened again.

Brian

[ejett]

Too late now, but I would bet almost anything that if you had epoxied a CF tube down the length of the fuse on each side, it would never split like that again.

Had the same problem with a Split 280 (also EPP), where the fuse snapped right in front of the nose after every nose-in. Slapped some CF tubes on there, and it never happened again.

Brian

That Straight Edge looks like EPS instead of EPP. If so, no wonder it kept breaking!

EJ

[Hammer Head]

Amazing there was that much left. Quick thinking on changing crystals though (regardless of the end result).

HH

[Kimmers4Ever]

It was EPS.. This was one of the kits sold by Wing Warrior at the AMA Convention. My husband and two other guys (I call them the Three Amigos) bought it.. Hubby got it in the air first.. And let's just say the other two are still in thier boxes. :P

He had a blast with it either way. He loved it, just disapointed when it did that. It was his first airplane like that.. And he know understands CF. :) He has a Little Cobra and when he put the really thin flexible CF wire in that flexable wing... He came bursting into the house just to show me.. LOL! I was impressed, who thought so little CF could make a wing that strong. So It probebly would have helped some. :)

[ejett]

My sons each had F16 models by Combat Models made of molded EPS. We fiberglassed them as indicated in the construction video and still broke the nose off of one of them on a bad landing. EPP is much more durable.

[Kimmers4Ever]

LOVE EPP... You should see the abuse the Tufflight Terminators take from our guys. They have been pummeled on so many levels. And thier all still flying.

And my husbands Cobra has been beat up too and still going. :) I can't wait to get our Foam Cutter going.... Plenty of EPP airplanes.. I like EPP.. my checkbook like it too. LOL!

[Kimmers4Ever]

Speaking on the EEP and durability.. Here's a Photo of right before a crash. It was at a Fun Fly and this guy INSISTED on flying his Trainer with the 3 Terminators. There was a total of 2 Balsa planes against 3 EPP Terminators.. But the Trainer was the funniest as the Terminators were looping around it.

This picture ended up being snapped a second before these two collided. There was a Crack and the Terminator glided uninjured to the ground.. The Trainer was still flying! OMG! But then when it was him and another Terminator, one of the trainers wings disintergrated in the air and it went in hard.. Nothing but tooth picks. 15 mins are the collision it finally broke apart.. Amazing..

Amazing still was that the EEP Terminator was back up in the air in a matter of minutes.