First (and Last) Flight Yesterday

That was unfortunate. Always sad to lose an airplane.

Reminds me of the last time a certain frind 'flew my plane' How he managed to get it INTO the avenue of trees was beyond me, as was getting it OUT again.

Then he spoilt it all by flying straight into a paddock fence ;-)

Sorry to hear about your plane's demise. I put a foamie in for a goal.... into one of our soccer nets last month. I was lucky that it grabbed and held the lightweight plane...gently ....probably the best landing I made that day...rich (also) richg99

On Fri, 7 Mar 2008 07:37:03 -0800 (PST), rich wrote in :

I hate when that happens.

BTDT--not with soccer goals, but trees & baseball backstops & bleachers ...

Condolences.

Marty

Many, many moons ago, I dunked a CL Cessna through a basketball hoop....left the wing sitting on top the basket, splattering the fuse, & related parts across the asphalt a few yards downrange....while I stood there with the lines running over my shoulder, wondering wth happened...lol.

Rich, two items that you need to work on:

1) Situational awareness -- knowing what is where and where your plane is in relation to them. 2) Sounds like you're not in a club or decided not to go out to the club field.

I highly recommend that you join a local club if you're not a member already. Fewer obstacles, people with similar interests, all that good fun stuff!

Lots of municipalities are really cranking down on "rogue" flyers using parks to fly model airplanes, and enforcement officers are not a friendly crowd.

I'm not saying that you're a bad flyer and an inconsiderate oaf. However, if something happens, it gets splashed all over the news, towns start getting totally cranked and by-laws are created that make life miserable for everyone.

Case in point (possibly an urban myth): King City Ontario passed a by- law that banned all model flying in region owned parks and all schoolyards. Said by-law was also used as the reason why local land- owners would not consider model aircraft clubs renting their property.

byrocat,

I do belong to the AMA, 2008, and did belong to a local club before I moved. I did run across another pilot that day, and he told me they fly at the local airport. No formal club, just a group of guys. Besides a better field, it will be nice to be able to talk with other pilots, exchange info, and tell lies.

Regards the park, it's kind of a rural area here, much more tolerante than Illinois was! But you do raise a good point there.

And as to chain link fences: One fent is stronger than a bag of balsa!

Thanks for the input, Regards.....

Another consideration is that when flying on your own in a public park there are insurance considerations. Clubs in Canada join the Model Aeronautics Association of Canada (MAAC) and they have group insurance that covers you while flying at sanctioned flying sites.

It would be devastating to be sued by someone that you hit while flying in a public park.

Rich, sounds like a perfect opportunity to get a club started, AMA from your viewpoint. The airport crowd is probably large enough to get a chartered club started and formalize arrangements with the local airport. I'll admit that the main reason for people joining AMA and MAAC is "insurance" but there are additional benefits from the body of knowledge in assisting you get set up and to obtain a proper field.

I'll admit that the AMA insurance coverage is a different kettle of fish from the MAAC version (AMA is secondary to your own household insurance and is self-insured, while MAAC is primary and through THAT Lloyd's.

I'll also admit that I've never been a "lone wolf" (the scouting term) but have always been a club member, so thinking of flying on my own is against all my habits.

Just thought that I'd let you know where I'm coming from and am not casting anything in your direction (stones, aspersions, etc.)

Bruce

I realise this thread is ancient. I just thought some new flyers would get a chuckle out of this. Got permission to fly my Hobbico ? with a 47 OS motor. This was a farm field short grass a few small bushes spread wide apart. Took off flew and landed. Everything fine till I hit a 3 foot piece of rebar used to hold an electric cattle wire years before. This damaged a wing but nothing to get upset over. I had laid the trucks spare against the side of the shell to dump some grass clippings in a plastic tub (yes I had permission) . Put plane in started to drive off and heard a thud.Spare tire had fallen over and finished off the plane. Just balsa spinters. Somedays fate will get you one way or another. Concentrate , concentrate etc. I can look back at all the things I should have, could have done, but the plane is still in pieces.

Lee

So so sorry! mk

On Wed, 26 Jan 2011 19:03:19 -0600, walkermsg wrote in :

Commiserations! Thanks for sharing your story--that helps to get some extra mileage out of the damage done. :o)

Marty

"walkermsg" wrote

I have a similar story.

It took a long time to learn to fly, due to being busy, and the flying club a good distance away. I finally got to fly solo all day long, and return with a plane ready to fly again.

I was a building contractor. About 2 blocks from home, my 20 gallon 220V air compressor fell over onto my plane.

Hi

A couple of stories I am fairly certain I must have mentioned in the distant past, but possibly worth repeating.

Many years ago here in the UK I owned a hobby store, where I also stored my own planes. I also had a large dog (a not very bright chow) who always came to work with me, travelling in the back of my van.

One Sunday, I had been flying but didn't have time to take the models back to the shop, so took them home with the intention of returning them the next day when I opened the store. Come Monday morning, I set off for the shop with my planes still in the back of the van but, because of the airframes, the dog unusually was in the front passenger seat. I arrived at the store, unlocked the door, let the dog out of the front of the van then opened the back of the van to take the models into the store.

Yippee" thought the dog, "We are off for a drive", jumping into the back of the van onto the airframes. The more I yelled and tried to grab him, the more he knew he had done something wrong and dodged out of reach, running round the back of the van destroying three planes in the process. The final straw was when I finally caught him and, holding him at arm's length by his throat (and he was a big dog) screaming at him, a little old lady who was passing threatened to report me for cruelty to animals!!!!!

The other incident was when I built the fuselage of a semi-scale WW1 Sopwith in my loft at home (the loft was accessed by ladder through a hatch). Having built the fuselage I got distracted onto other projects and the fuselage sat for around three years carefully preserved in a corner of the loft until I felt inspired to complete it.

Eventually I decided to complete the Sopwith, blew the dust off the fuselage and picked it up to carry it to my building board. Unfortunately I wasn't concentrating and stepped straight down the loft access, arriving with a crash on the passageway floor below holding an armful of matchwood.

Regards p.s. The dog soon forgave me for trying to strangle him after the first incident!!! 8^)

KGB

On Sun, 30 Jan 2011 20:33:27 GMT, "KGB" (KGB) wrote in :

Very worth repeating--thanks for sharing them!

Marty

Thanks for the laugh! Pretty much the same thing happened to me about ten years ago! A complete comedy of errors for the entire day. All you can do is laugh and pick up the pieces (literally!) It's fun to be so human sometimes. 8^)

Geezer