So how often do you crash?

[Mysterious]

I was curious how often you guys actually crash. Obviously this is affected by experience/skill level, what you're doing at the time (going inverted vs just hovering), and the conditions (wind).

So to satisfy curiousity, and for discussion sake, (which might help newbies gauge the difficulty of this hobby) can people chime in on the following...


1)My experience level is... (newbie/beginner/experienced/heli-god)
2)I've been flying helis for ?? years (months if less than a year)
3)The heli (or helis) I fly are... **Please note if the are coaxial, FP or CP and if you use training gear.
4)I crash XX% (10%) of the time, or every XX flights (ie: 1 out of 20)
5)When I crash I'm usually doing... (simple tricks/going inverted/pushing extremes/simple flying/just hovering/etc)
6)The conditions are ideal/windy/NA
7)The damage I usually sustain is... (none/minimal/moderate/severe) **Feel free to note the $$ fix cost if you like
8.)Replacement parts I (a)have on hand (b)order as needed


:)

[mtpenguin]

1)My experience level is... (newbie/beginner/experienced/heli-god)
flew over 100 packs in my CX/2, over 40 hours on SIM (FMS), then 15 or so packs through my B400.

2)I've been flying helis for ?? years (months if less than a year)
CX/2 in the fall of last year. B400 beginning of this year.

3)The heli (or helis) I fly are... **Please note if the are coaxial, FP or CP and if you use training gear.
I use TG on everything for first flight after purchase or setup change / repair
See above and sig for heli list.

4)I crash XX% (10%) of the time, or every XX flights (ie: 1 out of 20)
3 of 15 on my B400

5)When I crash I'm usually doing... (simple tricks/going inverted/pushing extremes/simple flying/just hovering/etc)
I crash mostly when I feel comfortable. I start to relax, flying get really fun, and then I try new stuff.

6)The conditions are ideal/windy/NA
Its more mental that physical for me. When I am nervous or stressed or recovering from $$$$ spent on repairs, I'm pretty cautious. When I've got time it to be comfortable, and start branching out, testing the skills, is when I crash. Even to the point of missing building, so the loss of a flying bird isn't so scary, because it will give me a chance to rebuild. Not to mention, if people are watching and your wanting to show off.......

7)The damage I usually sustain is... (none/minimal/moderate/severe) **Feel free to note the $$ fix cost if you like
Blades, MS, FS, TS, canopy, flybar.
On my B400, if no servo gets stripped, I'd say average cost of repair between $30 / $50.

8.)Replacement parts I (a)have on hand (b)order as needed
See above.


B-)

[Mark _australia]

I have been flying a Blade CX2 for a month, the first 2 weeks was only in the house in a small room (with furniture) so I didn't do much but learn to hover. Interestingly... no crashes. I think it was because if the heli started to drift, I'd put it down before something was hit. Mostly hard landings but only from 3ft up and on carpet so don't count as crashes.
However now I'm flying in a basketball stadium I have realised that bigger area mean faster flight and me trying silly moves. Yesterday I hit the wall nose first at full speed forward (20mph??). Throttled off a bit too late so lost 3 blades, cracked body., one winglet came off which is annoying as it won't balance and they're hard to glue back on, bent the steel bar with the counterweights on it (flybar??), broke a skid.
All up only about a $30 crash I guess, but annoying.

Anyone know, can I successfully straighten that steel bar with the counterweights on it?

[swatson144]

1)My experience level is experienced but not very freaking good

2)I've been flying helis for going on 4yrs

3)The heli (or helis) I fly are Hurrican 550 and Swift 16 in electric with 550mm blades, A BT freestyle wearing 380mm, a pair of x400 minis. and a Corona FP. I don't use training gear as they are of the devil.

4)I crash when I get bored. When I get bored I move onto learning other things and crash. Some months I can tally up 3 crashes and some months I can get more hours and no crashes.

5)When I crash I'm usually absolutely astounded at my stupidity and poor piloting skills.

6)The conditions are however they are when I fly. If I haven't flown in a while I'll give it a go as long as the heli don't blow over when I set it down. If I got several flights in in a couple days I may pass on marginal days.

7)The damage I usually sustain is pretty light for the quality of my crashes. Lot's of practice getting TH on time. A big deciding factor on buying a heli is parts cost because you can bet it'll till a patch a few times a year.

8.)Replacement parts are mostly a few perfectly ready to fly helis. I do seem to wind up having a crash kit for each anyway, though. I'll fly something else until the parts come in and the heli repaired unless I happen to have the parts on hand.:doubt: Usually I break something I don't have like a paddle or mixing arm or frame etc.

Steve

[Fireant]

I've been fairly lucky. When I was learning, my HB was in constant repair. Once into i.c, I bent my hawk sport once and had an unsuccessful auto with the raven 50. The last time I had a serious bend was Easter last year when I put my pred 90 in. Finger trouble with that one. A minor one late last year when the rudder servo went on my second pred.

I've also bent a couple of friends models. I was testing a raptor 50 when the tail servo locked up. Then, just recently, a club member asked me to auto his Trex 600E. At 8ft, I knew the HS was too low and flicked out of hold to discover the ESC did not re-initialise. Broke one skid. Not too bad over four years.

[ranger306ci]

I have been crashing for over 2 years now, so you could say my experiance level is near pro quality on that front.
I have a couple of hb fp's, a compy 300, a mx450, and a blade400. Couple of helis have come and gone.
I wreck when I am flying in wind that is too much for the bird, or when I get a little crazy with the fp's. I am still trying to loop my honeybee's, just need more speed! I crash them almost every time I fly them, because I fly 'em hard.
I have had very little crash time with my cp helis, I respect them MUCH more, so I take it pretty easy, flying piros, stall turns, stuff like that. despite my best efforts, no major crashes on my 450's so far. I also don't use training gear, I did not like it.
The first( an last so far)time I tried to go inverted, my esc died mid air(burned up), and my compy had a high altitude drop. Didn't have anything to do with going inverted, just failed. It took some time to rebuild it , because I was farting with other stuff. Side note, even if it had not failed, I would not have gotten upside down. I forgot I had the flat bottom blades on!

Mostly, I have little mishaps. I might be hovering low, into the wind, and get too close to a tree. Nick a blade, bend a fs.
I have alot of parts for the compy, because I was trying all sorts of things on it.
My fp's have a pretty good parts stock of head parts.
I keep bulk supplies too; carbon rod, some g-10 sheets, ss tubing, lots o'screws, stuff like that.
My cp helis, I have a couple of ms, a pack of fs, and a couple sets of blades.
I will pick up a 2 pack of tail booms on occasion, Have some spare links, a spare set of landing gear, some pinions, just a grab bag of stuff.

I find, when I order a part I NEED, I pick up a couple of other parts I WANT, just to have them on hand. I will get a bag of hardware, or some link balls, or a set of blades to have handy.
I have a couple extra esc's and gyros I used for helis that are scrap. Some extra servos and gear sets.
I keep most of my busted parts, to reuse as other things.
I think that after you have been doing this for a couple of years, you will build up a whole pile of "stuff"
I am trying to stick with helis that can use trex parts, due to the fact parts can be shared between my helis.

[beeblebrux]

1)My experience level is... (newbie/beginner/experienced/heli-god)
I'm a newbie.

2)I've been flying helis for ?? years (months if less than a year)
Been flying for about 3 months

3)The heli (or helis) I fly are... **Please note if the are coaxial, FP or CP and if you use training gear.
I have a Honeybee CP2 (naturally a CP heli). I started with training gear and had a lot of trouble. installed a set of SuperSkids and never looked back.

4)I crash XX% (10%) of the time, or every XX flights (ie: 1 out of 20)
I still crash fairly often. I don't get very many opportunities to fly, so I have a total of maybe 20 flights. I have crashed (in the sense that repair was necessary) at least 5 times. I have crashed more than that, but result was very minor and did not require repair.

5)When I crash I'm usually doing... (simple tricks/going inverted/pushing extremes/simple flying/just hovering/etc)
Simple hovering. I'm still not great at it and the heli just seems to get away from my control and I hit the ground at a bad angle and tip the blades into the ground or a nearby object.

6)The conditions are ideal/windy/NA
Mostly indoors

7)The damage I usually sustain is... (none/minimal/moderate/severe) **Feel free to note the $$ fix cost if you like
Broken parts of the rotor head. The ball links seem to have a tendency to break off rather easily, but they can be glued. I had a part that I glued 4 times before I had to replace it. Other than that, it's usually bent main or feathering shaft, broken blade grips, or broken/lost pitch control links. That's the usual replacements I have had to do. Have also had to replace the tail boom, tail rotor housing (when I had the tail strike the ground). That's about it I think. I don't think a crash has cost me more than $20 yet, but I also use plastic blades that take hits very well. If I have a crash that causes me to have to replace those blades, it will add about $15 to the repair cost, but I have wooden blades laying around I can use as well. Parts on this heli are very cheap and I think the only way a crash will cost more than 20 is if it's a bad one (which I don't fly aggressively enough for that to happen) or if some major happens like a motor burning out, servo going bad, or the 4-1 burning up (which is like $50 in itself).

8.)Replacement parts I (a)have on hand (b)order as needed
I have just about every part available in my stock minus the major ones like the 4-1, servos, battery, etc. I have spares of all the small parts, extra blades (tail and main), a few extra motors (main and tail), wires, and more. But that's just me. I hate waiting for parts to come, so I stocked up all at once. That way, when I do crash (and I know I will!) I have the parts to work on it without the wait.

[wa0zog]

I suppose, just for the sake of argument (agreement?), and information, I'll chime in as well...

1)My experience level is... newbie with some basic understanding of how these little critters work.
2)I've been flying helis for about 6 months. I've owned helis for a whole lot longer, though. I've had a couple of Raptors for nearly 6 years, and didn't have the location, funds, or guts to get them in the air. Finally sold them, though, to fund the current fleet.
3)The helis I fly are CP. If you notice my sig, I've got a HB CP2 and a T-Rex 450SE, which are both CP birds. The 450 is almost ready to hit the air, and the CP2 has hit the ground a bunch of times. ;)
4)I crash about 20% of the time on the CP2, but I'm still working on getting it truly airborne. I'm working on getting it trimmed up, and it's being really stubborn, so I'm not getting it high enough to really do any damage. I have in the past, though.
5)When I crash I'm usually doing simple training. I've not progressed any further than that. Give me time, and I'll really booger things up good, though. :D
6)Since I've moved indoors for the winter, conditions are ideal...except for the curious animals, that I have to control. They're harder to manage than the wind, sometimes.
7)The damage I usually sustain is minimal to moderate. I've had some moderate crashes, when I was trying to take it up higher outside than my skill level warranted. I was being a little too overconfident, and I should have taken it slower. I know better now, though, and am taking it slower. Things aren't so expensive now.
8.)Replacement parts I have on hand in most cases. I'm using plastic blades as well, which tends to lower the need for as many parts (as long as I work at not hitting the tail boom with them).

As soon as I get the T-Rex finished (gotta watch all of the Finless Bob videos and get it trimmed out), then I'll give it a shot...I think it'll be a better bird to fly by far. I can fly the sims well enough to feel like it's not me, but the bird itself. And I think the belt tail will make a big difference over the motor tail of the CP2, but that's my opinion.

We'll see what happens.

[Mysterious]

1)I started with training gear and had a lot of trouble. installed a set of SuperSkids and never looked back.


What are Superskids? (the marks left in your underwear after an expensive crash? LOL)

[beeblebrux]

What are Superskids? (the marks left in your underwear after an expensive crash? LOL)

Funny.

Google it, you'll see what they are. I found that once I got these installed, training gear just wasn't necessary. These made the heli much less twitchy due to the added weight (I think?), and provide a much more solid landing base. I would recommend anyone with a micro heli to use these. But keep in mind, using training gear is still possible with these (though I can't imagine why you would want to), but the stock training gear will not fit on the superskids. You would have to find a different set that does fit.

[Mysterious]

ahhhhh, how do u find them affecting battery life? any diff?

[ranger306ci]

They are heavier, so battery life is shortened. I liked using them at first, because they put a lot of weight down low, made the heli more docile. here is a link to them:
http://www.super-skids.com/
Ken

[Gordon Lyndsay]

I am flying since August2007 my fist heli being a Medivac then followed by a V3 Lama both helis took serious abuse . When I started flying I crashed just about every time I took the Medivac out and when it was replaced with the V3 several months later things were a lot better and now 7 months on I feel very comfortable with the little V3 and would really have to crash on purpose.
But sadly the cycle has started again with a Ripmax Sabre,man what a dog, every time I take this thing out I wreck it and just about every thing short of the motor has been replaced along the way.So I bought a HoneyBee King and boy is it weird I have to balance the heli with a big lump of blue tack on the battery and by the time I have got it into a reasonable state of hover the battery goes flat.
Thinking all I had to do now was go out and buy a Blade 400 and I would have this flying lark finally cracked , wrong again ,this thing just jumps of the ground into a mega hover and with the noise of the motor and the speed of the blades it aint going anywhere because I have a feeling when I star FF in this thing and it crashes ,which it no doubt will ,it will be a big one so in the meantime this thing is just going to hover untill the piggy bank swells.
Believe it or not I have just bought a brand new Caliber30 which has been sitting in my LHS for as long as I can remember it came my way at very small money and I am sure I read somewhere that they are very stable and easy to learn on!!

[mtpenguin]

Don't be so scared of that B400. It is what I learned on after my CX/2. That and a SIM. And crashes really aren't that expensive. I'd say (without upgrading) that they are between $30 and $50. The first one costs more, but the second is a breeze as most of the parts come in 2's when you buy them. One for now, and one for the next one. LOL


B-)

[rileym65]

1) My experience level is probably between beginner and experienced, probably closer to beginner. I can hover in all orientations, can do fast forward flight and stall turns.. Can do loops, rolls, and flips on the simulator, but been too scared to do them on my real machines!! eheh

2) I have been flying helis for approximately 2 years, kinda go in spurts tho. Will fly a lot for a month or so and then hardly fly it all for a few months.

3) I fly an Eco-8, Blade CX, and Blade CP+. I have ordered a Raptor 50 which will be added to the helis I fly very soon...hopefully!! :) I do not currently use training gear on any of my helis. I used TG on my Eco-8 when I was first learning to hover. Once I was able to hover well and take off and land without too much lateral movement I removed the TG.

4) I have not crashed in about the last 20 flights with my Eco. I crashed about 10 flights back on my BCP when the tail motor failed.

5) Most of my crashes that were my fault were during learning to hover. I have had a few crashes since then while learning forward flight but these were mainly due to mechanical failures. I did have 2 crashes tho while learning how to transition from forward flight back to a hover, because I had too much back elevator and did not level the heli soon enough.

6) I try to fly when there is no wind. I will fly my Eco-8 in up to about 5mph of wind. I will only fly my BCP in no wind or just a whisper of wind.

7) Damage I usually susatain is rotor blades, main shaft, feathering shaft and usually a bent flybar. A couple times i came down tail first (in aforementioned forward flight to hover transitions) and took out the tail rotor blades and tail shaft. Twice I have broken the landing gear struts. and twice I have had a boom strike. Cost of fixing my Eco when I crash is usually between $75 and $100 (that darned thing has expensive parts). My BCP crashes are usually $15 to $25.

8) I keep on hand spare blades, all shafts (main, feathering, tail), spare landing gear, flybar and paddles, tail blades, and tail booms. All of these items i typically order 5 at a time and will order more when my stock falls below 2. I also normally will have a complete rotor head and additional swashplate. Only once have I had to replace a swashplate when it cracked after a crash (plastic swash). I have had to replace a blade grip once after it broke in a crash.

[G-MRM]

I too have been lucky. First bad crash was my Sceadu EVO 50, 2nd was my T Rex 600e both because for a split few seconds I could not see/workout the angle of the heli and what I was doing.

The third crash, qtr 3 last year, was to write off my Cougar, a plane, by flying too far away in bad light.

That's my 3 in the last 4 years, but every time I come home with the planes and helis in the same condition as I took them out in I consider I have been lucky!

Martin

[marc_maf]

Hay I am new to this forum.. ehhh actually this is my first forum ever..
hmmm, welcome to the age of the internet ;)

1)My experience level is... (newbie/beginner/experienced/heli-god)
I guess I am a beginner newbie

2)I've been flying helis for ?? years (months if less than a year)
about 1 month

3)The heli (or helis) I fly are... **Please note if the are coaxial, FP or CP and if you use training gear.

So, I got a CX2 a month back but have a B400 on order which should arrive in the next three weeks or so.

4)I crash XX% (10%) of the time, or every XX flights (ie: 1 out of 20)
mmmmm, hard to say really, I have done about 15 bat on the CX2 and crashed about half of the time sofar. but.. better better lately.

5)When I crash I'm usually doing... (simple tricks/going inverted/pushing extremes/simple flying/just hovering/etc)
hovering, nose in sometimes

6)The conditions are ideal/windy/NA
@ home for now.. but that's quite small so all the mroe reason to upgrade to the B400.

7)The damage I usually sustain is... (none/minimal/moderate/severe) **Feel free to note the $$ fix cost if you like
when broke I upgraded to the Al parts form µheli or Eflight

8.)Replacement parts I (a)have on hand (b)order as needed
rotor blades (lots of them) :)

Marc_maf

[Firadiz]

1)My experience level is
newbee/beginer
2)I've been flying helis for ??
3 months
3)The heli (or helis) I fly are ...
Blade CX2 (coaxial), HBK2 (CP), Corona 120 (FP)
4)I crash XX% (10%) of the time, or every XX flights...
20% with CX2, and 80% with HBK2. ? with Corona.
5)When I crash I'm usually doing...
simple tricks, just hovering
6)The conditions are ideal/windy/NA ...
windy mainly (5-15 mph)
7)The damage I usually sustain is...
none to minimal on CX2, moderate on HBK2
8.)Replacement parts I (a)have on hand (b)order as needed
Spare blades, escpecially lower on CX2, lots of FS for HBK2. Blades, 1 set plastic head piece, occasional servo as needed for HBK2. Tail boom and Blades for Corona.

[xodarap1]

1)My experience level is... (newbie/beginner/experienced/heli-god)

Experienced

2)I've been flying helis for ?? years (months if less than a year)

6 months

3)The heli (or helis) I fly are... **Please note if the are coaxial, FP or CP and if you use training gear.

Learned on the Blade CX2 (coaxial - the others are all CP), never used training gear on any of my helis (also agree that training gear are of the devil..). Other helis are: Honey Bee King 2, Shark 450, Hurricane 550.

4)I crash XX% (10%) of the time, or every XX flights (ie: 1 out of 20)

Out of 523 total flights i've had 5 crashes. I think the main reason so few crashes is because i have crashed hundreds of times in the sim and i spend on average at least an hour a day on the sim. I also only usually fly about 75% of my ability doing flips, rolls, inverted hovers and flying, loops.. what i consider "light 3-D" out in the field and push 100% all the time during my sim flights (why not, right?). I've been blessed with a large flying field within walking distance of my house and I try to fly every day it isn't raining or wind over 13mph.

5)When I crash I'm usually doing... (simple tricks/going inverted/pushing extremes/simple flying/just hovering/etc)

I've had SEVERAL close calls due to losing orientation when the heli is flying slow and level, at dusk, at distance..but have always been able to use collective, roll and rudder to quickly get a better visual picture by banking the heli to save the day.

All crashes my stupid actions or decisions, not really bad stick input.. except the last one lol:

1. Not waiting for the gyro to adjust to temperature, take off and watch it spin into the ground lol.

2. Was stupid and put thread locker in my servo output shaft causing it to sheer off sending heli into dirt inverted heheh.

3. Flying blade cx2 in so much wind that it was blowing away and into the ground :)

4. Flying until battery power was too low to land causing heli to turn on it's side like a beached whale flopping to the ground. (all heli's except the cx2 now have li-po alarms - the H550, dual alarms)

5. Switching back to normal mode at high altitude, trying to come down too fast, flipping back to idle up before hitting the ground which caused heli to tail shake, flip over on it's lid and meet the dirt :)

6)The conditions are ideal/windy/NA

Usually some wind 1mph to 11mph.

7)The damage I usually sustain is... (none/minimal/moderate/severe) **Feel free to note the $$ fix cost if you like

Minimal

8.)Replacement parts I (a)have on hand (b)order as needed

a - have on hand most common parts for the helis except the shark and cx2.

[Mysterious]

4)I crash XX% (10%) of the time, or every XX flights...
20% with CX2, and 80% with HBK2. ? with Corona.



80% on the HBK2!? :( Now I'm scared how bad I'll be

[ranger306ci]

It all depends on how you fly it!
I only crashed my king once, flying at night, and I left my "lit area" on accident.

[G-MRM]

Good point, it depends on what you’re doing.

If you’re just hovering around, doing the things you always do and keeping in your 'safe' zone you will be less likely to crash. Trying out nose in turns in your fig of eight circuits (dirty eights they are called) or at the other end, trying your first few rolls or loops will put the risk of a crash a lot higher.

The more you fly the more chance of crashing BUT the more you fly the better you will become and then the risk is less.....

Martin