Freewing 64mm EDF - Banshee - CRASH - 21 April 2024

The Last flight of my Freewing Banshee - the flight did not last long , let me know what you think -
Information you should know:
As a club we have now had 4 aircraft crash in exactly the same area over the past two weeks, all using Spektrum RX/TX - although, Tx's and RX's were different models. ..
Lost two of my onboard camera units - DOH !!! - thats £160.00 of camera sitting in a farmers field !! - I might pop over to the location every time I am at the field and keep looking for them - the camera's will become trash but the SD card will hold some good footage.....

[@airhammer6203]

Although this does happen to us all, I'm glad you are still smiling Martyn. If the wind was a doctor, it certainly messed up the nose job (you know, "do no harm"). An unfortunate hapinstance, my friend. Using the parts for sharky is an awkward convenience but a great idea. Edit: terrible thing about the cameras. S.I.P. little banshee... AirHammer out!!

[@FlankerTanker]

Hi Airhammer - I really do appreciate your comment , If it was just this one I would not be too concerned about the crash but this make the crash total 4 in two weeks at the club in the very same area of the field !!.. could be a coincident but on the other hand it might not be , It really was a Ericka moment when the light bulb came on about doner parts for sharky...I will keep looking in that overall area and even if the camera's are trashed the SD card should have good video.. two replacement cameras have been ordered, I did like the Banshee - it is inevitable that everything comes to an end the good (my Banshee) and the Bad (my house mortgage) LOL... Martyn OUT !

[@seanbarrie8713]

Gutted for you Martyn, not only for losing the plane but also your expensive cameras 😢

[@FlankerTanker]

Hi Sean - guess that's the way to cookie crumbles as they say - I am sure plenty of fun will be coming out way over the next few months and may the gods forbid anything untowards happening too soon... LOL... Hope all is well with you , Cheers Martyn

[@ModelAV8RChannel]

Sometimes its hard to remember to do this, but anytime you have crash with a Spektrum TX, after the crash, scroll the wheel over to the flight log information. If you see a high number of holds...you lost signal. If you don't, you didn't.

[@FlankerTanker]

You can do what now !!! - LOL - Hi Adam - for me its not a matter of remembering , I DID NOT KNOW - I guess this is a clear case of RTFM !!! - but very good and as always useful information - thanks lets hope there will be a long period of not having to do that until "the next time" - Hope you are all well - Cheers Martyn

[@DadsRCHangar]

That sux, hope you get to the bottom of what happened. Wind must had been a factor. Always good to have spare parts 👍🏻

[@FlankerTanker]

You win some and you lose some Chris and this one was LOST ..LOL along with those two Cameras !! I think it was a mix of Me, wind, cameras who knows..still on the bright side battery was OK, one camera was saved, and the parts are going to be used to upgrade Sharky McSharkface... It all part of the Hobby - Cheers Chris - Martyn

[@ironmover5800]

Wow , that was something to see through the “eyes” of the camera …… i hate crashing …….i hate crashing and not knowing why more ….. thanks for making the vid anyway

[@FlankerTanker]

Hi Ironmover - it happens, for many reasons , so thought I would have some fun with the video..LOL... still I have parts to upgrade Sharky for the summer and also the battery is good.. I have a replacement for it in the process of being Assembled.. Cheers - Martyn

[@erikvandenberg934]

Love your after flight review 😂😂

[@FlankerTanker]

thanks 😄 - I had to do something LOL....

[@SlowFlyer85]

wow sorry to see that happen and the loss of the cameras that hurts 😦

[@FlankerTanker]

Hi Frank - its like when the doctor say "tell me where it hurts" - my answer is "Everywhere" LOL... Yep £160 lost and thats just the camera's !! - still onwards and upwards... it happens to us all - hope all is well with you.. cheers Martyn

[@SlowFlyer85]

@@FlankerTanker lol i know what your saying as you watch your $350 brand new plane go down on a maiden we move on new toy lol

[@tructran8783]

Wow that is a very scary explosion there. How can it be that scary? Really 😢😢😢😢😢

[@bigglesrc5077]

Loosing a plane like that is awful but I had a similar experience recently flying an Arrows Bar Hawk. For some reason before the flight I had set the RSSI reports to be called out on my NX10, during the flight the signal strength was being reported as low as 15% so I planned to land but on the approach the plane did much the same as your in that it banked hard and nosed into the ground with no control. After recovery and review I checked the frame loses which were recorded at 913 with no frame holds! The rx was the same as yours an AR630. On returning home I did some further tests and compared the difference between an AR637T and the AR630 in the same aircraft and there was a big difference in the RSSI and frames being lost at different distances with the plane on a stand, so much so that I am now reluctant to use the AR630 receivers. If you still have the rx check what the failsafe was set to, they are set by default to hold last. If you are in a bank when it looses signal it will simply spiral into the ground.

[@FlankerTanker]

WOW - now this is really interesting info - thanks for the share, Could it be to do with the Wireless RX's - Mine was as you know, but so was another one that crashed on this same day (AR620) as for the other two crashes that took place last week, I will find out, I might start using AR631's or as you say even AR637T - Yes the Failsafe was set as default !! I will ensure that I make good use of the information you have provide - thanks a lot for it, much appreciated, Martyn

[@bigglesrc5077]

@@FlankerTanker Hi Martyn, I am convinced that the Antenna-less Rx's are the issue especially on a lot of models as they are buried in small battery bays surrounded by the battery and associated Rx wiring. Some do not always pass a range test, I will definitely be using the AR637T's from now on as they also give the option of a remote rx. The only downside is the additional cost but considering the cost of some models today it is a small price to pay. The other point to mention is the BNF Elite models are all fitted with an RX that has an antenna which must say something. Thanks Marty for all your great video's.

[@FlankerTanker]

@@bigglesrc5077 I might well be joining you soon with the AR637's or even the AR631's

[@mikewilson5944]

Sorry to see you craah. I removed ar630 receivers from my planes as had lots of fades and more than a few holds with them that seemed to leed to crashes.

[@FlankerTanker]

Interesting - I use them a lot - I will have to keep an eye on the Fades and holds and if it continues to be bad I will do the same. Cheers Martyn

[@Theskyislistening]

That many cameras creating unusual aerodynamic tendencies on such a small wing doesn’t seem like a great idea to me.

[@FlankerTanker]

I know what you mean, but I have flown the Banshee with this camera configuration since the Maiden+1 , that's over 30 flights , I can see that the extra strong winds combined with the camera's might have caused the issues, howeve Interestingly, our club has had 4 crashes in the same spot over the past week, and later on the same day I crashed, another member of the club crashed in exactly the same spot..they contacted me about it as they felt that they lost signal...and down it went...

[@smokeymountainrctravisThompson]

Sorry about the crash Martyn, im with you though, i think a gust of wind hit it and caused a stall, or the signal faded somewhat.

[@FlankerTanker]

Hi Travis, I guess we will never really know - and Hay this happens all I hope is that It is not something that become more frequent .. Love the T-33 - in fact so much so I went and purchased one from Motion RC Europe...

[@purcellrcaviationchannel]

Ugh! One horrid crash, Martyn. Good to see you smiling about it... I know I'd be down in the dumps for a day after. Maybe one of the cameras fell off after take off leaving the plane unbalanced? Or a high speed stall? Or the Rx coming loose if you had SAFE deployed? You'll likely never get to find out, sadly 😞

[@FlankerTanker]

Hi Gina, yer I know what you mean, my approach is well sh*t happens, the cameras a light and low profile, we had the same thought as you checked the field but found nothing...also this same day another went down in the very same spot !, no really the very same....I think It was signal loss, yes I had switched to safe, earlier as I thought it would help but it did nothing to restrict the bank angle 9n the turn, no control ., as you say, you are not likely to ever find out, but I am sure to see many different opinions. It's all part of the fun......lol... and at least I have no sanding to do.....hope all is well, fly safe..Martyn

[@purcellrcaviationchannel]

@@FlankerTanker 😄 ...anyway... back to the sanding...

[@a10nmw]

Looked like it was a stall and it nearly went in on takeoff. Never too late to learn how to fly without a gyro. Happy flying.

[@FlankerTanker]

Nice observation -FYI - regarding a GYRO - I do not fly with a gyro in what is know as safe mode, I use AS3X only to help when windy , thanks anyway - I do have happy flying - thanks

[@paullepine4765]

Martyn - I feel your pain! Always a sickener. As an aside - does anyone have a real bank manager any more? Is there such a relationship? I'm out of the game for a few months so look forward to seeing more videos with better outcomes!

[@FlankerTanker]

Hi Paul, LOL - I can remember sitting in my Bank managers office cap in hand..LOL, those were the days... makes me smile looking back - good luck with whatever your doing over the next few months - I will endeavor to make some entertaining videos for everyone - and do my best to make them Crashless... Cheers Paul.. Martyn

[@paullepine4765]

​@@FlankerTankerNo drama, stress less videos please. Just had open heart surgery......

[@TheLostSquadron]

It sounds like the motor was running all the way up to impact. It has been 6+ years since I've flown Spektrum, but if you lost signal wouldn't the motor stop? Tough break, that was a sweet looking plane but also looked sketchy from the second it left the ground!

[@FlankerTanker]

It did - and my AR630 was set to Default failsafe which is "Last Hold" so I guess that might have had something to do with it, I will look into it, thanks for the suggestion, as it was doing the takeoff run, I can remember thinking - Ummm strange it seems to be taking a long time to lift off..... much longer than normal - but I checked the CG at least three times as can be seen in the video, It was a nice looker (a little small) - but I guess it happens at some time to most of us, Cheers

[@jonathanland2218]

Martyn that Banshee seemed to be really unstable as soon as it became airborne- I know it was windy but there appeared to be some control issues that were exasperated by the high wind. Furthermore there appears to be some issues with flyers losing models who operate Spektum. Five models have been lost in recent weeks due to complete loss of control. Ben had the same problem this afternoon (21 April) who also uses Spektum. So is it a Spektum issue with the recent software update to their OS - or is it an issue at the Warboys field and potential interference.

[@FlankerTanker]

Hi Jon, It is worrying that regarding the number of losses over the past few weeks and also that Ben had the same issue , he tells me it was in the same area also ?, i have been using the Antenless RX's , It would be interesting to know if the others were also using them..

[@IansRCExploits]

Aww no what a shame!! I hate to see a crash, because I know how crap it makes me feel after!! What caused it Martyn any ideas?

[@FlankerTanker]

Hi Ian, I do not think we will ever really know - a combination of events, It was very Windy, with strong gusts , I had loaded three cameras onto it but even though I had done this in the past - I had never flown like this in such strong winds, it could have been the TX/RX signal loss - we have had 4 crashes in the same area over the last two weeks...just know that I should have listened to that little voice (gut feeling) not to take off and fly - but very few of us pay attention to it.. oh well Onwards and upward - ROOM FOR ONE MORE, as they say ... Cheers Ian be safe, Martyn

[@gazza4230]

Gutted for you buddy it’s such a shame about the cameras , have you checked the servo on the wing the side you were banking it seemed to go wrong from when you banked right, as you say it’s part of the hobby but it’s never nice when it happens, G🇬🇧

[@FlankerTanker]

Hi Gazza, No did not check anything - as they say SH*T happens , and as my father would have said - Suck it up and move on..LOL... replacement already being assembled (and its not another Banshee) - Cheers Martyn

[@apexaero]

You Stalled it plane and simple

[@FlankerTanker]

I like the Pun 🙂

[@Rc-Skymaster]

dont worry i crashed mine on the first takeoff

[@FlankerTanker]

I had this one for a little while - and liked it - I might get another but if I do it will be the 6S version and so I might as well get something bigger for a 6S than a Banshee - They are nice aircraft...