SWIFT, my worst crash ever

[thanhTran]

I was on the second pack when I was flying my swift yesterday. I then did multiple flips in a row. The first series was fine. I did it again. Now, not a good idea, the heli goes futher and futher and I couldn't see too well. I see it coming nose down fast. Since it's too fast and far, I tried to rescue it hopelessly. BAMP :x :shock:, the heli went straight to the ground in an inverted posistion. At the impact, I saw things flying away, main blades disappeared instantly, a piece of green flybar shoot straight at me. When I come near by, the head was sheered off, the bar and paddles were about 8 feet away. The blade grips and their spindle shaft were still attached together and was at another place. I went across the whole parking lot collecting pieces. ESC (HV45) stopped working (motor didn't sound when plugging power in). Many other little breaks here and there. Without the cost of the new ESC, the cost of parts to fix this is already at 106 bucks. The ESC seems fixable because I saw two component disallocated. I soldered them again and it seem working. I hope it fixes it for good. I hid my ESC in layer of foam and under the radio tray and it still got damage :roll:
Just to vent it. Thanks for reading...

Thanh

[Sleepstalker]

My condolences on your crash I lawn darted my Miss Hanger One Hydro a little while ago , busted her up pretty good now all the Electrics are going into a Tensor 4D . Anyways happy fixing!... 8)

[thanhTran]

Thanks Sleepstalker,
I hope that I don't have to transfer my electronics stuff to another heli :).
I wonder if the solid shaft I put in make the crash worst or not. It's never been this bad. I have to fix almost everything (like building a new heli)

Thanh

[Sleepstalker]

Unfortunately the better and lighter your frame the worse the damage as mass is suddenly shocked thru your frame if your bird comes down hard. There is no simple answer for this . Carbon and Aluminum frames are great but Carbon frames are prone to elec/RCVR glitches and Aluminum WILL bend if you tank your Heli. This all boils down to the ONE sweet thing about yer heli....IT"S YOUR OWN UNIQUE BUILD! and yes a solid shaft will help distribute a hard strike or land across the whole perimeter of your mainframe
...Sleepster... 8)

[swatson144]

Thanh, It's tough to even hear about anothers crash, I'm sorry to hear about yours.

However I know that you've been around long enough to say dang (or something) and get on with the upgrades.

Were you running Emolis? Or how bad did the bats take it? Tough crash what you described, about like running out of air in a low loop.

Steve

Oh no, that is THE awesome Swift. :( Thanh, I could feel the pain reading what you wrote. I posted one of your Swift pictures from HeliTown's Thanh Swift photo gallery just to keep it alive in the memory. That is why I like pictures very much. They always bring back what we don't have any more. I am glad you are safe. But RC heli pilots must move one like Steve said. Take it as an opportunity to get more upgrades or new heli.

Anybody wants to see the Thanh's Swift photo gallery, it is here
http://www.helitown.com/PictureGallerySwift.html

http://www.helitown.com/s_swiftAP_e_IMG_7017.jpg

[thanhTran]

Thanks for the condolence guys.
I messed up the move after many consecutive flips and also it drifted away from me while I was doing so.
Steve, yeah, I was flying with 7S emolies. The packs are still fine after the crash. No dent. It didn't get thrown out like any of the previous crashes. The lipo alarm was still strobing after the crash :). So far, the two packs of mine are still going strong.
Here is how it looks before the crash:
http://tjtrc.com/Pictures/swift/s_swift_raptor_IMG_8099.JPG
I got some upgrades for it now :) I hope the motor is still good. After my last crash, the 1907 1.5 had a slipping shaft and I didn't know until I tried to fly again after fixing the heli. I hope the same thing doesn't happen with this 1910 1.5 motor.

Thanh

[medtech]

****, this sucks. I'm new to flying and get scared reading stories like this. I know at some point I too will have a bad crash. I just hope that time will be a ways away. Hopefully you'll be back together and flying in no time!

[eddiemoth]

medtech,
The first time when I flew by MX400, my hands were shaking. I know the feelings but as they say flying, crashing, fixing, flying, crashing, fixing are part of this hobby. I would also add getting addicted as well.

[thanhTran]

Crashing on hard concrete caused it to damge more. Normally my swift crash cost is only $40- $50 bucks. It crashes less often than that of a Trex. Learning to Fly is almost like when we learn to ride a bike or playing some sport. We felt and make mistakes. It takes a while to get used to and to make it our nature. Sim sure helps a lot. MedTech, please don't get discouraged.

On the bright side, I got all the parts now. It probably takes me 3 days to get it back to the air again. I just hope the motor is still good.

Thanks


Thanh

[Sleepstalker]

Thanh...You're gonna do fine the flight will be sweet , and you're gonna go on pushin the envelope bro 'happy trails"...Sleepster... 8)

[medtech]

I'm certainly not discouraged. I'm just waiting on my new motor since the old motor brushes are completely worn out. I should have them tomorrow then I can get back to practicing hovering. Believe me, until the thing is in an unrepairable heap I'll keep flying. :twisted:

[swatson144]

Thahn knows where it's at. You rebuild and reset, test carefully, then say to yourself as you go to bed a couple hours too late, "Gird your loins and sharpen your steel, you will soon be tested".

The test flight goes well since after a while you get good at setting them up for a test flight :shock: .

Three flights later you have to reign in and say "remember your not invincible, flying is more fun than repairing"

A few more flights and your saying "Ah that won't happen again, besides it wasn't that bad"

Sometime in the future you get reacquainted with the fact that gravity is a constant and that means some flights end unexpectedly.

Steve

[thanhTran]

I got my swift rebuilt and flying now :). It now has a CNC head seesaw :D

http://www.tjtrc.com/Pictures/swift/s_swift_cncHead_IMG_8517.JPG
http://www.tjtrc.com/Pictures/swift/s_swift_rebuilt_IMG_8598.JPG

I'm thinking about trying some cheap CF blades now. Any recomendation guys?

Thanks

Thanh

[eddiemoth]

yeb, every time it recovers from the crash it has something new! The CNC seasaw looks very hot! You must be very busy between your Swift and Mini Zoom.

[thanhTran]

Not much. I take it easy nowaday so not really busy in fixing helicopters. At some times, I have all 4 helis grounded: a minizoom, a swift, and 2 trex'es. I only fix them when I have time, not try to find time to fix them any more :).

I've gotten some A123 M1 batteries on the way. Will see what it does to the Swift. The Emolies are a little heavy and doesn't give much current. I want my Swift climb faster.

Thanh