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Author Topic: Bad things do come in threes  (Read 3927 times)

Offline Rodney Kirstine

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Bad things do come in threes
« on: March 25, 2013, 09:29:58 AM »
Well, I hadn't had a crash in over three months so I guess I was due, but crud...

Last week, flying my E5, showing some co-workers my flying for the first time.  I was doing a bunch of fast rolls, too close to the ground and dumb-thumbed it right in.  Damage is not too bad, main rotor blades, tail boom, torque tube shaft, and landing struts.

A couple days later I was hovering my N5c in my driveway, just hovering to run the engine and burn up the last of some fuel in the tank.  Apparently, having not learned from my burnt E7 ESC and motor fiasco, I hadn't used Shoe Goo on the connectors into the SK540 yet.  As it's hovering, the power glitches enough to reset the SK540.  The heli goes into the concrete and destroys my brand new Rail main rotor and tail blades.  Luckily, that's the extent of the damage.

Saturday, I'm flying my E7.  I had been chasing a problem with the tail not holding and also "pausing" during piros during FFF.  I found that the tail pitch slider bushing had a groove worn in it and the tail pitch slider was wobbling badly.  Anyway, first flight out after replacing that bushing and while doing some rolls the heli just stops rolling while it's at about a 30 degree angle and I can't get it to roll at all.  So... I stand there and watch it just go in.  It ended up with almost the same exact damage the E5 did, plus taking some huge chunks of the gel coat off of my Sick Canopy  :(.  It looks like the servo horn screw on one of the cyclic servos worked its way loose and when the servo reached its maximum travel, it just stuck there.  I can't find the E7 TT in stock anywhere so at least I don't have to worry about crashing it again for a while.  Oh, and on top of the crash, I was still having the problem where the tail would only rotate about 30 to 40 degrees while doing a right piro during FFF and then when the heli slowed down enough it would whip around.

Just had to vent...
Rodney

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Offline Chris Sexton

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Re: Bad things do come in threes
« Reply #1 on: March 25, 2013, 09:33:16 AM »
Man Rodney, that is a bad couple of weeks.  Been there man, sucks!

Parts are coming back in stock. Still recovering from Chinese New Year! Synergy is so hot right now!
Chris Sexton
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Offline Rodney Kirstine

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Re: Bad things do come in threes
« Reply #2 on: March 25, 2013, 11:02:51 AM »
Yeah, it's probably not a bad thing that I can't put my E7 back together right now anyway, LOL.
Rodney

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Offline Brandon Bartolomucci

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Bad things do come in threes
« Reply #3 on: March 25, 2013, 11:18:39 AM »
Whew that is a streak of crap there! Good thing you have perseverance in your mind as I think all that would make most people quit! Hope things turn around for you soon. 


Regards,
Brandon Bartolomucci
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« Last Edit: March 25, 2013, 01:24:44 PM by Brandon Bartolomucci »
Regards,
Brandon Bartolomucci
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Offline BrianE

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Re: Bad things do come in threes
« Reply #4 on: March 25, 2013, 11:57:58 AM »
Wow - that's some bad luck knuckle.  Where is the "unlike" button.  Cool thing about helis is that a few new parts and it'll be better than before the crash(es).
E7SE, Sliverline VBar, Edge 160HVf, Scorpion HKIII 4530, Futaba BLS, OptiGuard and BEC Guards

E5-626, Vbar NEO, Edge 120HV, Scorpion HKIII 4035, MKS 950/980 OptiGuard and BEC Guards

Offline Barry Tilson

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Bad things do come in threes
« Reply #5 on: March 25, 2013, 05:52:41 PM »
Dude!
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Offline Rodney Kirstine

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Re: Bad things do come in threes
« Reply #6 on: March 25, 2013, 08:42:11 PM »
This is actually pretty typical for how my luck has been running over the last year.  Every time I feel that I've maybe really made progress and am heading for some smooth running, it turns out there's a cliff for me to fall off of once I reach the plateau.
Rodney

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Offline Kevin Dalrymple

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Bad things do come in threes
« Reply #7 on: March 26, 2013, 07:35:09 PM »
I hear you, and I have been there. It is part of the learning process. A year from now you will realize that you gained a new confidence and small skills that will keep your helis from having problems. It is like being more in tune with your Heli.

Sorry to hear about the damage, but it will get better and anyone who gets better at this hobby goes through these teething problems. Feel free to vent, it helps and come fly with us. We would love to see your fleet.

Kevin
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Offline Rodney Kirstine

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Re: Bad things do come in threes
« Reply #8 on: March 27, 2013, 10:19:07 AM »
This hobby definitely has a steep learning curve and, being a mechanical engineer, learning all the things to look out for and keep an eye on is one of the things that really interests me about this hobby.  These are some amazing little machines.
Rodney

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Offline Rodney Kirstine

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Re: Bad things do come in threes
« Reply #9 on: April 18, 2013, 10:56:05 PM »
Okay, this is just getting ridiculous.  I got my E7 rebuilt and when I went out to test hover it, everything was looking good right up until my motor started smoking like a diesel.  The motor is nearly new and I'm not sure what happened.  I pulled it apart and, sure enough, I can see where there are shorted wires and burnt spots.  I'm about "this close" (imagine me holding my finger and thumb up with a very very tiny gap between them :D)  to just pulling the plug on this helicopter thing.  I cannot seem to catch a break.  Poor choice of words, I suppose, considering how many things have broken in the last couple of weeks on all of my helis.   :o
Rodney

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Offline litespeed

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Re: Bad things do come in threes
« Reply #10 on: April 19, 2013, 05:29:33 AM »
Know that everyone has a certain number of crashes on his or her way to mastering radio controlled helicopters. We don't know what this "number" is. We also don't know the number of hours it will take to master all the flight modes and orientations. What we do know is that you have to get through these crashes and still keep going with a stiff upper lip and all. It gets better, ask me how I know! Always fix the heli as fast as you can and it will keep you from dwelling on the mishap, at least that is how my mind works.

When building take your time and make sure you cross every "T" & dot every "I." When flying take a step back on your level and do some relaxing style of flying. Something where your not all stressed out in flight. Enjoy some stick time and then slowly start pushing yourself when it feels right to you.

Your supposed to enjoy the hobby so go back to doing just that. Can I get an "Amen" on that?

Tom

Offline Greg J

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Re: Bad things do come in threes
« Reply #11 on: April 19, 2013, 05:54:38 AM »
Amen

Offline Brandon Bartolomucci

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Bad things do come in threes
« Reply #12 on: April 19, 2013, 07:26:11 AM »
Agree on that note 100%. I myself am very guilty of rushing repairs or pushing too much. While patience is NOT my strong point when it comes to waiting for things the entire heli hobby has taught me to work on it a lot more.

I am still trying to master not over tightening things and letting Loctite and screws do their own job but it's a work in progress.


Regards,
Brandon Bartolomucci
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Regards,
Brandon Bartolomucci
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Offline Rodney Kirstine

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Re: Bad things do come in threes
« Reply #13 on: April 19, 2013, 09:09:44 AM »
Sorry if I wasn't clear on this, but this one wasn't a case of me rushing anything or crashing due to losing orientation. 

After examining the remains of the motor some more, it looks like a retaining clip inside the motor broke and then it got blended up by the stator and can and cut up some of the wires.  Just like the clutch exploding on my N5c last week, there was nothing to indicate any issue prior to flying it and no matter how thorough of a pre-flight I would have done, I wouldn't have seen anything before it broke.  Same scenario a few weeks before that when I test hovered my new N5c with a brand new SK540 in it that decided to reset itself on the first test hover, destroying my brand new Rail blades.

I can live with my screw-ups, like my dumb-thumb E5 crash last week.  It's this seemingly endless string of component failures that I've seen that's getting to me.  I've lost track of how many ESC, motor, and FBL controller failures I've had just in the last six months.  Just as an example, of the last four FBL controllers I bought, two failed right out of the box.  The failure didn't occur, though, until after the helicopter was in the air.  I was able to set them up just fine and everything seemed normal right up until they randomly reset in flight, causing a crash.
Rodney

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Offline Brandon Bartolomucci

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Bad things do come in threes
« Reply #14 on: April 19, 2013, 09:18:58 AM »
Oh I wasn't referring to your latest issues as rushing but only indicating that sometimes this string of luck makes you have to take your time and really puts the patience level through the grinder but you'll make it. I've had a rash of bad luck recently myself with some things I've done and some items just not working out so I'm really trying to take some deep breathing exercises and realize hey, I can't take money with me in the end haha.


Regards,
Brandon Bartolomucci
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Regards,
Brandon Bartolomucci
Team Synergy; Scorpion; & Bavarian Demon