muppet
Misanthrope
So, thanks to Trump I've entered the world of radio control aviation.
I had a few uneventful test runs (although I'm still treating this heli like an elevator. It goes up, it goes down, I have very little to say otherwise) and I was gradually starting to get a grasp of how to control this amazing helicopter I got in exchange for not very much, to be honest. :celeb1:
So.. after a few days I get brave and my little daughter and my wife ask if they can come out and watch me fly. "Sure," I say with a swagger and a glint of sunlight off my teeth...
I carry the chopper out to the paved driveway for a smooth takeoff (the landing skids can sometimes hook on grass) and rev up the engine quickly (fast takeoffs are cleaner) and everything looks great. My three year old shouts "Whoa!" and the chopper is hovering above the driveway at about 18 feet up, looking smooth, and I start playing around with the rotation controls just to get a feel for it again.
...and then a sudden gust of wind blows the thing straight for the power lines, and in a panic, I cut the throttle. In my mind's eye I'm picturing this smooth evasive maneuver wherein the chopper dips below the power lines just in time and I ease the throttle back up to resume level flight, then take a bow for my appreciative and wildly applauding audience.
...what actually happened, of course, is that the heli pitched nose down and dropped like a rock with the full force of gravity straight onto the driveway from 18 feet up, demolishing one of the landing skids, the body shell, and two rotors. :headwalls:
A week or so later my replacement parts arrive from Amazon, and everything is shiny again:
...but I'm a little afraid to fly it.
I had a few uneventful test runs (although I'm still treating this heli like an elevator. It goes up, it goes down, I have very little to say otherwise) and I was gradually starting to get a grasp of how to control this amazing helicopter I got in exchange for not very much, to be honest. :celeb1:
So.. after a few days I get brave and my little daughter and my wife ask if they can come out and watch me fly. "Sure," I say with a swagger and a glint of sunlight off my teeth...
I carry the chopper out to the paved driveway for a smooth takeoff (the landing skids can sometimes hook on grass) and rev up the engine quickly (fast takeoffs are cleaner) and everything looks great. My three year old shouts "Whoa!" and the chopper is hovering above the driveway at about 18 feet up, looking smooth, and I start playing around with the rotation controls just to get a feel for it again.
...and then a sudden gust of wind blows the thing straight for the power lines, and in a panic, I cut the throttle. In my mind's eye I'm picturing this smooth evasive maneuver wherein the chopper dips below the power lines just in time and I ease the throttle back up to resume level flight, then take a bow for my appreciative and wildly applauding audience.
...what actually happened, of course, is that the heli pitched nose down and dropped like a rock with the full force of gravity straight onto the driveway from 18 feet up, demolishing one of the landing skids, the body shell, and two rotors. :headwalls:
A week or so later my replacement parts arrive from Amazon, and everything is shiny again:
...but I'm a little afraid to fly it.
