Post by 60buick on Jul 16, 2007 4:24:22 GMT 1
I have just had the worst flight of my "model avaition career". I got the new HobbicoTwinstar ready to fly today and went to my usual flying field/construction site. I got the maiden flight in and it was perfect. I kept things straight and level with gentle turns. The landing was perfect as well but tricky since I am landing on the street and it is surrounded by telephone poles, trees and post. The second flight was also perfect. I got pretty aggresive with the plane and pulled some loops, inverted flight, immelman turns, splits s's, wing overs and snap rolls. The landing was again tricky because of the narrow runway and the speed at which this plane lands. It started to rain some so I waited it out and when it stopped I unpacked for my last flight before dark. I took off and all was good until I noticed my glasses were starting to fog up. I tried to wipe them on my shirt but it was on the inside and I was all alone and blind with out my glasses. I started to make some circuits to get on the ground since my glasses were getting worse by the minute. I tried to move my head and walk fast to get some fresh air behind them to clear out the steam but nothing worked. I got low enough to fly my pattern and land when on my base leg the #2 spinner shattered and killed the engine. The plane started to pich up and yaw toward the dead engine. I immediatly put in some left rudder and dived while adding some throttle to get my airspeed back and aborted the landing.
This is my situation, I have a difficult runway surrounded by "plane killing" obstructions, a plane with one dead engine and a blind pilot. I reversed my circuits so I was not turning into the dead engine and started to walk toward the field about a 100 yards away with the plane circling above. By now my glasses are almost white and I am almost completely blind. I am flying more by sound and what I "think" the plane is doing than by sight. If that is not bad enough the low fuel timer on my transmitter is beeping. I need to get down quick before I loose the good engine and the new plane. The filed is short and covered in rocks, wooden stakes and there is a big pile of conctete waiting at the end incase I come in to hot. I fly a pattern and come in low over the trees at the far end of the field. When I did the I could not tell the plane from the trees. It came back into view once I was over the field so I pointed the nose down and brought the good engine to idle and when I got low to the ground. I hit the ground with no flair and killed the engine then prayed I did not hit any invisable stakes in the ground or rocks. The plane stopped about 10 feet from the pile of concrete which is the end of the field and there is some minor damage to the sheeting on the right wing tip from a rock.
Amazingly the plane is in one piece and with a small piece of balsa sheeting and monocote the plane will be like new again.
This is my situation, I have a difficult runway surrounded by "plane killing" obstructions, a plane with one dead engine and a blind pilot. I reversed my circuits so I was not turning into the dead engine and started to walk toward the field about a 100 yards away with the plane circling above. By now my glasses are almost white and I am almost completely blind. I am flying more by sound and what I "think" the plane is doing than by sight. If that is not bad enough the low fuel timer on my transmitter is beeping. I need to get down quick before I loose the good engine and the new plane. The filed is short and covered in rocks, wooden stakes and there is a big pile of conctete waiting at the end incase I come in to hot. I fly a pattern and come in low over the trees at the far end of the field. When I did the I could not tell the plane from the trees. It came back into view once I was over the field so I pointed the nose down and brought the good engine to idle and when I got low to the ground. I hit the ground with no flair and killed the engine then prayed I did not hit any invisable stakes in the ground or rocks. The plane stopped about 10 feet from the pile of concrete which is the end of the field and there is some minor damage to the sheeting on the right wing tip from a rock.
Amazingly the plane is in one piece and with a small piece of balsa sheeting and monocote the plane will be like new again.
Theres nothing worse than destroying a new plane on day one. I am getting yet another twinstar in a few weeks so I will try to avoid any horror stories with that one.