Nano CPx : flew into a pool.

[Servohead]

As title states I professionally piloted my nano into a swimming pool today. It was rescued out within seconds. Dried off and it flew actually perfectly for a minute or two, until the servos began to become inoperative.

After several hours in a bowl of rice, the helicopter is still 100% operational with exception of the aft pitch servo.. Still completely inop.

Would you guys suspect that the servo is at fault? Or the 3 in 1 board?

I'm hoping I can redeem the poor thing....

[Servohead]

So, another day in the rice and no change. Disassembled it a bit ,inspected, and fault traced some more. Found basically the pitch/aft servo is dead for sure. Plugged another servo into that terminal and it worked fine. Now to get a new servo!

[rcfanatic854]

Just wondering, how long did you let it dry after taking it out of the water? When I landed my v929 in the water, I let it dry off for a few hours (yes, I know they're different components) and it was fine.
Glad you found out what the problem was!

Happy Flying!
RC Fanatic

[cgibson20]

Awesome idea! I just always figured it would be game over if I landed my rig in water, NOT that I will be tempting fate now. Thanks!

[loftonharris]

I am so delighted to see this post! A month or so back I too successfully piloted my heli into a body of water. I can claim success because the landing spot happened to be my back yard goldfish pond, about 6 feet by 8 feet. This is much harder to do than land in a swimming pool!

The heli was my MSR, and up to the time of the landing I was doing pretty well. Then embarrassment set in with a splash.

I learned a couple of things: 1: MSRs don't float. 2: Having lots of pond plants slows the MSR's descent to the bottom of the pond, and 3: Goldfish are not easy to impress.

Upon snatching the helicopter from the water, I immediately unplugged the battery and removed the canopy. I then ran to the shop and grabbed my ever-handy can of WD-40.

Not time for a quiz: What does the "WD" stand for in WD-40? Luckily I had remembered this bit of trivia. It stands for Water Displacement. ("40" represents the formula number) WD-40 was developed to displace water from electronic and other components, replacing it with a solvent-based lubricant.

I drenched all the components of my MSR with WD-40. After a minute, I used compressed air to blow out any residual solvent, and set the helicopter aside for a couple of hours so I could recover. When I plugged it back in, it bound to the transmitter and flew as if nothing had happened. Success!

The rice trick works ok, but it is very slow. Water must first evaporate before being absorbed by the rice, during which time damage may occur.

You may want to park this WD-40 trick in the back of your brain for future use. If, however, you lack my piloting skills, never mind.

[felixthemaster]

Originally Posted by Servohead

As title states I professionally piloted my nano into a swimming pool today. It was rescued out within seconds. Dried off and it flew actually perfectly for a minute or two, until the servos began to become inoperative.

After several hours in a bowl of rice, the helicopter is still 100% operational with exception of the aft pitch servo.. Still completely inop.

Would you guys suspect that the servo is at fault? Or the 3 in 1 board?

I'm hoping I can redeem the poor thing....

That picture made me laugh, looks like the regular diet of the people in this forum.