First attempts at speed flying...

[AcidDrink]

Sorry to see this Mark, looks like quite spectacular crash.
I've done 2 or 3 trial speed runs at 1650 and I couldn't believe how fast I've ran out of the field. Will be a while before I attempt 1900 run.

Extreme speed flying is imo much more taxing on pilot and the machine than 3D.

[smsodhi]

Sorry to see your crash. Well done on trying to push yourself.
Get it fixed and get back in the air. You will improve.

+1 on not using those lipo's, get your crash warranty. Not worth the risk.

[mkovalcson]

I just checked my Skookum log files

70% throttle = almost exactly 1800 rpm
Collective during the runs 70-90% of 13.6 collective pitch.

It doesn't look like I was holding that pitch for much over 5 seconds at a time before I dropped it substantially. That 5 seconds felt like forever though!

So what I see is a double hump at each end of the field.

High collective, and elevator, stall turn, then high collective and up to negative elevator to keep the nose down.

Interesting readings...

[Groucho_]

Oh no!

I'm probably going into specifics here, but I think that the biggest pain in the neck is the removal of that mother-of-all-heatsinks from the Jive...

I know that if I were in your position I'd scrap that heli, keep whatever metal parts I can salvage for spare parts, and build the second kit from scratch transferring the electronics over.

Put it behind you and move on. It's not worth dwelling upon.

[mkovalcson]

Groucho,

I'm not dwelling on anything negative. This is all just a learning experience.

After my initial oh shit moment when it went down, I was laughing about my stupidity on my way back with the wreckage. These are just toys!

What was sad though were that there were other people at the field who were already shaking there heads about how expensive this heli was before the crash, and after I wrecked it and got over it quickly they seemed a little stunned by my reaction. I think they considered it obscene that the amount of money involved didn't phase me.

One guy told me that I had no business flying this heli and that I should only fly cheap helis for a while. But I told him that I really enjoyed flying my TDR and I would put it back in the air.

[bart2546]

That crash does suck but as others have said, you have a positive attitude that we should all aspire to having when we crash a bird.

As far as the guy saying you have no business flying it, I wouldn't have been able to keep my mouth shut to stop from saying "You have no reason to be in my business or decide what I should and shouldn't fly."

Good luck on the rebuild and future flights !


Regards,
Brandon Bartolomucci
Sent from my iPhone

[mkovalcson]

Originally Posted by Groucho_

I think that the biggest pain in the neck is the removal of that mother-of-all-heatsinks from the Jive...

5 minutes with a screwdriver and needle nose pliers and it is almost straight.
I'll get it a bit straighter and then polish out the marks.

[heli-lover]

Respect for speed is only acquired when it is achieved. Most folks have no idea what our birds can do. When the day comes we "give it a whirl" we finally see for ourselves. Utter amazement was my first reaction. I had to stop flying, shake it off (literally, like a runner about to race), and get my sh1t together again. I had no idea.

My TDR wanted me to send best wishes to yours. We wish you and yours a speedy recovery.

[jointer]

I am sorry to see this.
I do not read the forum one weekend and this happens.
One warning about the packs, with your luck, i would be very careful about the damaged packs, i personally would never use them again, there should be fatal mechanical damage inside and they can burn in flight.
Just think about it.

[mkovalcson]

Originally Posted by jointer

I am sorry to see this.
I do not read the forum one weekend and this happens.
One warning about the packs, with your luck, i would be very careful about the damaged packs, i personally would never use them again, there should be fatal mechanical damage inside and they can burn in flight.
Just think about it.

They are in the refrigerator right now, but I agree it may be prudent to contact TP to see how the crash replacement service work. The last thing I would want is to have my TDR burn up! That would be a LOT more expensive than this was.

I did notice that the rear section was unharmed. Of course I knew when I got the long packs that they would be more likely to be injured together rather than just one at a time.

[AcidDrink]

Originally Posted by mkovalcson

One guy told me that I had no business flying this heli and that I should only fly cheap helis for a while. But I told him that I really enjoyed flying my TDR and I would put it back in the air.

Heh.. what a stupid thing to say.

[CyprusFlyer]

Nice work on the Heat Sink, looking recoverable, also note that the Capacitors on the ESC were not taken out, lets hope the power system is all OK.

[ZuvieleTeile]

Hey Mark,
congratulations on your speed run . . . .
It's all said already and I know your positive attitude.

But. . .
tell us what really happened.
Did the TDR rear up violently an you pushed it down or what else???

[mkovalcson]

I should have stopped before this when in an earlier run I was adding collective and holding the nose down and almost ran it into the end of the runway before I pulled it skyward. There were a few gasps around me and my hands were literally shaking, so I brought it in and landed it.

But I decided to have another go at it and after having issues maintaining control I got stupid. I was trying to work through it when I really needed to just take a break.

I just finished a run it was getting small in the sky and I turned it very hard on edge and had it coming back towards me and lost my orientation for a split second and dumb thumbed it into the ground. Basically I pulled up and gave it full collective when I needed to roll left. I should have flipped the bail out switch as soon as I realized I didn't have it right but I choked.

[Egroeg]

Sorry to see this.
This particular Helicopter, need to be handled with care.
It covers the sky in seconds, but it flies very true so overcontrolling is not necessary.
Especialy during fast forward speed runs it requires steadyness.
You ll have her back up...soon...

[jhunter]

Yes, you were very strong to bite your tongue. Nothing worse than useless comments from the peanut gallery! Fly what you want to fly!

[dxflyer]

Sorry for your loss.

It looks like your electronics survived pretty well. At least for you, you know what happened that caused the crash. On mine I will always be wondering what caused it. Oh my jive did not survive the crash, well it kind of works but I can not trust any heli with it. And since it can not be service then I am out of luck...

Please take advantage of the crash replacement of thunderpower. I have split pack and they both did not survive so last week I contacted them about the crash replacement warranty. It was pretty easy.

Happy rebuilding and hopefully soon you will be up in the air again..

[mkovalcson]

Originally Posted by jhunter

Yes, you were very strong to bite your tongue. Nothing worse than useless comments from the peanut gallery! Fly what you want to fly!

Unfortunately the peanut gallery seems more hurt when I crash a helicopter than I do.

What this really comes down to is $$$.

I can remember thinking that a family was STUPID for giving their son one really nice new car after another while he was in high school and getting into wrecks. Looking back on it I realize that they had plenty of money and were probably just trying to make sure their son was driving in something with all the latest safety features. But to someone who couldn't afford a car I thought this was ludicrous.

I think this is a similar situation. The guy was upset because he saw it as a senseless loss of something that he couldn't justify purchasing for himself.

I just ran into something similar with my relatives. I have a 10 year old cat that is in surgery as we speak. I could easily replace my complete TDR with charging system and transmitter for what I have spent in the last week on this very lovable cat.

He effectively crashed last week and we have been trying to get him flying again
Edit: And no this has nothing to do with that stupid quad cat-copter!

My relatives and my wife's relatives think it is ridiculous to spend this on a pet, mostly because for some of them this really is not an option. However what I am really spending this on is my wife who is heartbroken over this.

So I think that it is natural for some people to feel outrage when they see money being spent on something that they consider wasteful.

[heli-lover]

Well put. Interesting insight.

[Egroeg]

The value of things is always relevant.
You have it you enjoy it...TDR or what have you.
For others it might be other things.
Maybe I should tell you the story of the deaf frog lol who decided to go up the Eifel tower because he wanted to...even though the birds were asking him what on on earth a frog like him was doing on the Eifel tower?
Until the birds realized the frog was DEAF and decided to go up the tower cause he wanted to...regardless of what the birds thought of it.
TDR ...for those who want it...I want it ,have it ,love it and want more more more!!!
TDR...probably the best Helicopter in the universe...