12 RC Plane Crashes Lessons Learned

[@etfavs9375]

Hi Tim, thank you for this very informative video. For the Deperdussin, I notice a lack of dihedral compared to the Blackburn. Perhaps this resulted in ineffectual rudder turns? Also I would be interested in how much nose weight you had to add for the Pietenpol. I built one and although it flies great, I had to put a hefty 130 grams of nose weight to get the CG right, so much so that the landing gear struts splay out when the model is just resting on its gear.

[@TimMcKay56]

ET: There was some dihedral in the Deperdussin, although I agree that I should have added more. I did add a lot of nose weight to my Pientenpol, about three large fishing sinkers. Tim

[@oddshot60]

@@TimMcKay56 I raced sports cars (MGBs) for about 12 years and was a big student/proponent of Lotus car builder/team owner, Colin Chapman, who was crazy for lightness. "Build lightness in" was his mantra. Also, when trying to solve a problem, look to remove weight instead of adding it in. When I watched your build vid on the Deper. I kept thinking ... try to remove as much weight from the tail (horizontal and vertical stabilizer) as you can before you add weight to the nose. I think weight is the enemy of a lot of model aircraft.

[@gordonmckay4523]

@@oddshot60 Fully agree! Tim

[@ianmyles9025]

Great share Tim - really appreciate you sharing - I learned so much !

[@TimMcKay56]

Ian: Glad you enjoyed it! Tim

[@scrappybobbarker5224]

Thanks for sharing your experience and knowledge. I'm a new rc flyer, 3 flights 3 crashes, But I like building balsa kits. All your models looked really good.

[@TimMcKay56]

Scrappy: Thanks for checking in and best of luck with your RC flying! Tim

[@WATCHMEGOBROKE]

I love this channel..tons of great info and no product placement 👍

[@TimMcKay56]

CO: I appreciate that! There is some product placement from time to time (see video on Gogo Birds Ornithopters). But I try to keep is straight, and if a really not good product, simply no video. Tim

[@emoryyoung352]

you can get the big foam plane from hobby lobby

[@TimMcKay56]

Thanks! Tim

[@davidquerry8869]

Great video Tim. It was nice to see I am not the only one, who has one of "those" days. Those days we wished we had an easier hobby.

[@TimMcKay56]

David: All good, thanks for checking in! Tim

[@oddshot60]

I LOVE the flight performance of your Rockettier. What a great looking plane in the air.

[@TimMcKay56]

Thanks! Tim

[@kenrobba5831]

Great ! Pioneering from a remote view very interesting and great experience without the stress on your skeleton 💀 structure.

[@TimMcKay56]

Enjoy!

[@funscalemodels9782]

Hi Tim, thanks for sharing your hard learned lessons. On the Deperdissian (sp?) it might be there was not enough dihedral for rudder only. From the vid the wing looked fairly flat, and usually rudder only models have a larger amount of dihedral. Keep up the videos. Would be great to see more Guillow’s conversations or “stick and tissue “ models

[@TimMcKay56]

Thanks for the tips! Tim

[@SeekingTheVerdants]

Good video, but I must say I really enjoyed that laughter I heard after the plane came down. Now that was a good chuckle 😃

[@TimMcKay56]

John: My lovely wife, keeping it real, “enjoyed” the crash. 😊👍🏻 Tim

[@ericwillis777]

Hi Tim, thank for sharing your experiences. You mention small flat wings. From an old magazine " below a chord of 3-31/2 ins all sections appear to give about the same lift, the only difference is on the drag, a flat plate produces the least drag, so below this chord a flat plate is probably superior to any other - however you can't take this to extremes, below 1/2 in the flat plate gjves up and just produces drag.

[@TimMcKay56]

Eric: Great insight, thanks for sharing! Tim

[@sempreagricola5839]

hi Tim, any suggestions for a simple build seaplane (float or hull)? thks

[@TimMcKay56]

Sempre: You bet. Google "Electric Kitten RC Plane Fred Reese" for a set of plans. Looks like a super easy build. If I am every near water to fly, this model would be it. Tim

[@userTJ39780]

Peter Sripol made a massive airplane with a circular wing (and the fuselage all the way UNDER the plane) that was a hit at Flite Fest as people flew their planes through the hoop-wing!

[@TimMcKay56]

Yes, I did see that! Tim

[@rayemigh3776]

very informative in the big picture when making your own planes from foam board. i want to make a flying lawnmower for a fly in day at my club so will be starting that soon

[@TimMcKay56]

Ray: Have fun! Tim

[@userTJ39780]

My FT Pietenpol was a great evening flyer, but I had very limited elevator throw. Tried to loop it once..........never flew again.

[@TimMcKay56]

Thanks for this input! Tim

[@superdon1chw]

You had the prop on backwards I think just the way it sounded this will give you low thrust

[@TimMcKay56]

Could be. There was a ton of thrust, just zero roll control. Tim

[@chuco425]

I see the large foam gliders always in stock at Hobby Lobby (I buy foam board there since the dollar store near me is always out)

[@TimMcKay56]

Yup, and they can make great RC conversion projects. Tim

[@oddshot60]

As for the Guillows Free Flight kits: I have been digging around looking for Free Flight plans for R/C conversions. As I look over the plans, I note that the designers of these models enlarge the horizontal and vertical stabilizers to increase stability. Might be something to think about. Also, I think there is a bit of weight that can come out of the Guillows kits without sacrificing strength. Maybe replace some ribs with foam, drill holes in ribs, fuselage formers and bulkheads and replace horizontal and vertical stabilizers and ailerons with foam. Build Lightness In!

[@TimMcKay56]

TD: All great points! Tim

[@Razor-gx2dq]

Wonderful video, I'd like to chime in on my own lessons learned, (I was flying my UMX Timber X), add throttle when banking and use flaps when landing. The lack of those things caused me to crash twice. The plane is currently still airworthy (after a hot glue repair job) although it has a slight droop in the left wing I'll just have to adjust the trim to make it fly straight.

[@TimMcKay56]

Razor: Thanks for this update! Tim

[@markpatterson4917]

Good comments from ET favs. I think the phantom just needed a better launch. An over arm flat launch by another club member would have given you a better chance. As you said it never got airspeed. F22 far more forgiving as it has a much greater wing area. Fun to watch your annular winged plane. I just think it was a bit to floppy the popsicle supports just not up to the job. Fun experiment with and old plane. Entertaining video as always

[@TimMcKay56]

Mark: All good, thanks for checking in! Tim

[@shademe]

Yes! There is hope out there for me yet!! I am new to the hobby and have built and crashed on take of 3 of 3 planes lol with a immediate right roll and noise first inverted. I'm not exactly sure what is going on with my designs yet but I'm learning and having fun building. My wife is like not again, and I say I'm learning and having fun. I really appreciate you sharing and explaining what you believe happened it really is helpful so thank you sincerely!

[@TimMcKay56]

KS: Thanks for much for checking in, and best of luck with your future RC flights! Two ideas I can offer: If you have a new design, consider having someone else, more experienced, make the test flights. Also, invest in RealFlight computer simulator. The sims help a LOT with a new pilot learning to fly. Tim

[@antofagastaride]

In the case of f4 vs f22 it looks.like the distance betwenn cg and motor creates a big " rotational moment of inertia" in case of the f4 making it difficult to rotate the airplane around it's pitch axis. It's like having a light but long rod, even if it is light it is difficult to rotate it along a peperdicular axis. Very much like an acrobat in a cable using a rod to maintain equilibrium. Very interesting learning. Good video

[@TimMcKay56]

Jose: Appreciate your input! Tim

[@stevejones9044]

I like that you try new designs and that you share your results. I learned a lot just watching. One thing I learned was its pronounced "gw-ee-lows" and not "gi-lows" that I have been calling them for years! I've seen those kits for years and even built one some 40+ years ago with tissue and dope. It wasn't powered though. Never thought about RC'ing any of them but you are inspiring. Haven't tried foam board planes yet either but it looks like fun. There are a couple guys at the club that do.

[@TimMcKay56]

Steve: Do give it a shot, lots of fun! Tim

[@stevejones9044]

@@TimMcKay56 I remembered which plane I built many years ago. It was the Dauntless, .049 size. I'm thinking for old time sake to get it again. Do you have a video that goes over in detail the electronics (recommended servos, receiver, battery, motor, etc)?

[@TimMcKay56]

@@stevejones9044 A very close fit to the Dauntless would be the Guillows Hellcat. And yes, a super comprehensive video on that RC conversion, it flew great. Tim

[@jazldazl9193]

Pietenpol #2 seems tail heavy

[@TimMcKay56]

It balanced OK; had to add a fair amount of weight to nose. Tim

[@randall4411]

Interesting..... you experiment more than I would . I might try a cartoon looking fat plane they have a certain charm .

[@TimMcKay56]

Thanks! Tim

[@ezrarichardson279]

Hey! You probably already know this, but for rudder turning planes you need a lot of dihedral to actually get it to turn well and stuff. No dihedral and it doesn’t turn in a coordinated way.

[@TimMcKay56]

Ezra: Very good points! Tim

[@ezrarichardson279]

@@TimMcKay56 Yup!

[@patrickradcliffe3837]

If I were to posit your crashes with the Aircamper and the Deperdussin is washout in the wings. If you attempt a foam board annular wing again I suggest a five gallon bucket and use a heat gun to form the wing around the bucket.

[@TimMcKay56]

Patrick: Great points, thanks! Tim

[@tyesai]

Tim, you have that big field frequently with tall grass, but even short grass would be a better impact zone for the maiden's of some of these planes. Why not toss them over field instead of the hard runway? I love the videos so thank you for sharing.

[@TimMcKay56]

Good point, will think of that on next hand launch. 😁 Tim

[@dustinwilson492]

Unfortunately I don't think the Walmart sky rider is around anymore. Hobby lobby has a similar size foam glider but I don't like it as much...

[@TimMcKay56]

Yup, they come and go. Tim