Crashed due to utter stupidity!

[EtheAv8r]

Flying the G5 and the TX battery alarm goes off. I know from experience that I can finish the flight OK. I land early because I still have 4 fully charged LiPos and therefore want to run them down a bit as they will now not be used for a week at least, and it is getting cold so don’t want to leave them fully charged.
Quick change over of battery, and hover the G5 for a minute or so…. Land, swap over to the next and hover for a minute or so… Land , swap over battery and hover…. You know what is coming…. Yup TX cuts off, and G5 winds itself down into the ground. All for that sake of being stupid and lazy – cost a set of Radix carbons and a tail boom, possibly main shaft and other bits… so disgusted with myself I didn’t look.
Lesson learned – in future land off the TX low battery alert and discharge LiPos with the charger .....

[rachel]

EEEEEEEEEEEEKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK

Welcome to the worls of Stupid Crashes

I am proud to say I am a founder member

's X Rachel

[callum]

Doh

It happens, Times when you think you can get away with it and it jumps up and bites you.

Hope you get it fixed soon!

[tiddler]

Don't be too harsh on yourself Edmund. I doubt its the first daft thing you've ever done, and I doubt it'll be the last. Lets face it, we all do stupid from time to time

[EtheAv8r]

Don't be too harsh on yourself Edmund. I doubt its the first daft thing you've ever done, and I doubt it'll be the last. Lets face it, we all do stupid from time to time

Yeah... but.... this was just sooooooo unneccessary! I am flabbergasted at just how dumb I was being.....

[Paulice]

and it is getting cold so don’t want to leave them fully charged.

Oh dear, Lesson learnt then, Unfortunately the hard way!
A fully charged lipo will discharge with cold and can over charge with heat. A storage charge of 50% allows for heat changes in both directions.

[trillian]

I had a worse thing happen a while back that I could just kick myself for.

This was an RX NiMh battery and I checked it with a meter before putting it on the heli and it read something like 4.9 volts and I thought it was fully charged. But not long after it had some load on it the voltage must have plummeted because the RX browned-out and I had no control. Even though the heli was stationary and only about 8 feet off the ground it went down quite roughly and there was a lot of damage. Way more than your G5 and not a heli where parts are readily available to buy.

At first I thought it was an RX issue or some kind of radio glitch but when I investigated later it was obvious the RX pack simply wasn't charged anywhere near what I thought.

[alex]

Ooh- not good Edmund- you can only kick yourself so hard though before you fall over

[Si_B]

I had a big 30cc Giles 202. It was fitted with a Fromco DC-UP which keeps power to the receiver for say 5-6 seconds after you have powered down. Just had a successful maiden. Walked out to the strip, and for some reason (never done this in 30 years of flying) I switched off the receiver, then the tranny whilst the motor was ticking over. The model then went into failsafe (remember the DC-up still powering receiver), full throttle (hadn't set up failsafe properly), straight through the flight line, off into the field, smack. All i could do was stand there and pray it didn't get airborne.

Apart from the mistake with the failsafe (was new to 2.4 then), I was so embarassed, I packed up the bits, apologised to everyone I nearly killed and went home.

Everyone makes mistakes, as long as no one got hurt you will get over it. Hope the damage isn't too bad.

[EtheAv8r]

Now this is beginning to make me feel a bit better.... lets have more "tales of stupidity" - makes me feel like I am in a (fair sized?) club, and may serve as cautionary tail(s) for others to avoid.....

Oh yes, everyone makes mistakes.... I always say people who don't make mistakes, don't make (or do) anything.

[Mart61]

Sorry to read that Edmund. So you installed a battery you'd already flown?

[3Dheliflyer]

Leaving your lipos fully charged for a week isn't bad in my opinion

[EtheAv8r]

Sorry to read that Edmund. So you installed a battery you'd already flown?

No; LiPo was fully charged..... Tx was not and I tried my luck for too long taking the 'fullness' off the charge for 4 batteries I would not be using 'cos the Tx batteries were down....

[Mart61]

No; LiPo was fully charged..... Tx was not and I tried my luck for too long taking the 'fullness' off the charge for 4 batteries I would not be using 'cos the Tx batteries were down....

Doh! My word blindness musta kicked in again and I read Rx for Tx.

[ChrisB]

Doh! My word blindness musta kicked in again and I read Rx for Tx.

Get some Trucking glasses then