Quote:
You think *you* had problems:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fpsvgv_BtJs

Poor bird!

Hope someone finds this funny, at the time i didnt but upon reflection it is quite funny...
When I was a newbie (some may say I still am) in 4th form at high school I was a member of the end of year model camp (otheres went diving and surfing but I wanted to make models)I didnt have much experience flying but I though that what I had done was quite easy, I mean last week I managed a barrel roll and a loop on the club trainer over buddy box! So I promised that I would fly my RC plane at the end of the camp (the camp was making static models). So the end of the camp came I took my plane out (a cessna) and fired it up and hand launched... all was going well and I was making laps of the field when while approaching a tree in the middle of some class rooms I noticed that I was alittle close but thought I would clear the tree, boy was I wrong... the plane hit the tree and scattered into little pieces while the engine (still running) continued the initial flight path. Cost me one plane and 3 years of shame but cost the school 3 windows as the more solid fragments rained upon the class rooms below (engine, fuel tank, and landing gear) thank goodness that the rooms were empty on account of it being the end of the year

Hope this bring a smile to someones face, it sure does for me... now

And I thought that I had some pretty bad experiences with trees!!!

Had a similar experience when flying at Barrys Point on the North Shore over 20 years ago.

We were flying from the soccer fields behind the industrial area and I was doing a long-low approach -- then suddenly the plane disappeared and there were two loud thuds.

The first was the plane hitting a big building (I think it was a school), the second was it hitting the concrete below.

Fortunately it missed the two windows and hit the concrete bit right between them. If it had gone in the window we'd have been stuffed because it was right in the middle of the school holidays.

Worst part of all -- it wasn't my plane. I was trimming it out for a mate.

He took it well though ;)

I hate it when buildings (or trees) rush out in front of you.

I feel in the sharing mood so I will unleash my final but first crash story.
The real shame about this story is not that it was my first plane, nor that it was its first flight, or even that it only lasted 30 seconds (dispite taking a good 10min to get my new engine running (so new not even run in really)) the real tradgedy in the story was that the club expert at the field was flying it (I use the term fly loosely), I didnt even get to touch the controller, he said "I will get it in the air for you and the pass it over" - it still brings a tear to the eye

Love the stories so far.

The only funny moment I can recall is a few months ago, flying my Foamy Komet ME162 at my local airfield. After a few circuits, I pulled up hard after a low pass along the runway just to have my battery pack eject from the bottom of the model like some unguided missile. This would normally be a disaster, but by some amazing chance, the control surfaces where stopped in such a position that the model did a slow turn, and touched down gracefully next to the runway unharmed.

It was a best landing it ever did, and my fellow flyers let me know about it too

oh yea, I've got one to share. Now u see and then it's gone.

It was my very first heli a clone 450, copterX. Almost every night after work (11pm-midnight), I'd go thru 2-3 packs of batts learning hovering on my backyard. One night while hovering, I felt for a need for a drag. So I land the copter, went in to get my cigi. As I bend over to pick my pack, I heard the sound of my copter blade. A quick look at the tx, which is hanging on a neck strap, I realised that I'd hit the throttle stick accidently. So I quickly lower the stick and rush out and ... it's gone, lol. I was very sad then as it's my very first RC toys. A quick search with torch-lights and ladder with no results. Anyway, my neighbour found it on their backyard the next morning. Phew lucky eh, best of all, .... almost no damage, except for the ecs which was left in the rain, lol yes, it did rain later that night, lol. Well that's it, so no smoking in between flights anymore, lol.

hehe same thing happened with my Lama although I don't smoke I bent down to adjust something and it caught the throttle on my top next thing I see the lama flying up toward the ceiling so I grab the tail and it just shatters the blades against the ceiling.

So moral of the story I keep my thumb holding the throttle button down even when the throttle hold is on.

Is this still open?
I got shot down by someone turning on a radio up at Orewa. Plane went down head first about 100 yards away behind a tree and the horrendous crashing sound was clearly audible from where we were. So much for my 100% scratch built 15 size Cap232. Much shaking of heads and woeful condolences. The funny side?
You should have seen the looks on faces when I calmly walked back, started it up and flew it 100% undamaged. The noise was it slamming through a flax bush

Not strictly parkflyer related, but I was sore from laughing for days a few years back where at a Slope Soaring competition day at Mt Wellington a well respected member of our club took a few paces forward to the edge of the hill and proceeded to give his Transmitter a firm toss off the edge while holding firmly onto his plane with the other hand......oops!