I almost died yesterday
6-3-09 by: bubble
Apparently RC airplanes are like Piper Cubs...they can just barely kill you.
About a month ago I took a friend Buzey along on a flight to California so he could test drive a car. Nice car, went fast, sounded awesome...but I didn't get to drive it and the owner was a complete tool so that's all I'm going to say about that. We then proceeded up to Oregon to race go-karts on a slick track and everyone involved was laughing in tears around every lap. The signs said no bumping or reckless driving but that rule went completely unenforced. After that was over and my side hurt from laughing so hard, we flew back to Nevada for a drink or two.
The next day I took Buzey out to go fly radio controlled (RC) airplanes, and by "fly RC airplanes" I really mean "shoot down RC airplanes." I fly the target drone and my friends shoot at it with .22's, .17's, shotguns, .223's, AR-15's, you name it. During this time we discussed the hobby shop in Reno where someone got some airplane parts and decided that the guy who runs it is a really funny guy and we needed to go in there for more funny stories.
This event set two things in motion. 1: Buzey needed an RC airplane. 2: Bubble and Buzey needed to go hear stories first hand from Mr. Hobby Shop Owner.
Fast forward two weeks to Monday when me and Buzey decided to go see this guy at the hobby store and find out how nuts he really is about RC airplanes - yes, he really was as funny as advertised. While there, Mr. Hobby proceeded to tell stories about there being no excuse to ever "dead stick" land an RC airplane (well over half my RC takeoffs end in dead stick landings where the engine is quit for some reason or another), and that if you can fly an RC airplane, you can fly a real airplane. Need proof? He was taking flying lessons once and on final approach the flight instructor pulled the nose straight up and they stalled at 30 feet above the runway. The airplane stalled and sharply broke to the right and Mr. Hobby saved the day by adding throttle while pushing the nose down and recovering with no altitude loss. Oh, and he knows everything about real piloted airplanes because he is currently building a light sport airplane in his garage (because by God if you can build an RC airplane you can build a real one too!), has friends that are G-V pilots, and has 18 hours in Cessna's...his last logged hour was in 1984 when he had to save his life from the crazy instructor.
Five minutes after I walked into the store I was entranced by the RC airplane flight simulator and proceeded to fly every model RC airplane and helicopter in the game's database until I found the A-10 Warthog. I flew the A-10 incessantly and ignored everything including Mr. Hobby's instructions on breaking in the motor while Buzey bought a ready-to-fly gas powered RC "Alpha Trainer 40" and the necessary fuel and accessories. I figured the motor would be well broke in by the time we got done with it anyway.
Buzey was now the proud new owner of an Alpha Trainer 40 so he took it home to charge it up and get it airworthy.
Fast forward again to Wednesday afternoon. After I got done flying passengers to Las Vegas and back I met Buzey at his house to figure out our plans for flying this little beast. Buzey informed me that the best place to fly it was at the ranch where there is plenty of room to fly the thing if I didn't mind a few obstacles. I agreed because the little plane needed a lot of space to safely fly it.
On the way to the ranch we decided to stop at a Chevron station to get some liquid refreshments for our adventure. We walked out of the store with an Icee and an 18-pack of Bud Light. I enjoyed my Icee while Buzey opened beer #1.
What Buzey didn't tell me was that this "ranch" was a 20 acre piece of ground with other lots (and houses) on two sides, a major highway on the third side, and a big wide open alfalfa field on the fourth. Unfortunately the alfalfa field was not his, the plants were much too big to take off or land in, and there was a large set of sprinklers in the middle of the field that was on and watering the field. What he also didn't tell me was that the obstacles were large 50 foot tall trees throughout the property, a power line that ran through the middle of it, two ponds with tall trees and bushes around them, three two-story houses, several outbuildings, a couple small 15 foot tall dirt mounds, and several fences throughout. Did I mention that the wind was blowing around 15 mph at the time as well? To calm my nerves, I opened beer #1 while Buzey started on beer #2.
Not to be discouraged, I took a walk through the property looking for a suitable takeoff and landing area. None found. I opened beer #2 and took another walk through the property to look for ANYTHING that resembles flat ground. BINGO! I don't know why I didn't see it before, but the obvious best spot for a takeoff was in the middle of a horse pen. My game plan was to set the airplane down in one corner, advance the throttle to full military power while Buzey held on to it, and when he let go the plane would take off diagonally across the pen to maximize available runway and obstacle clearance distance. This direction allowed me to take off with only a 20 degree crosswind component into the gusty winds. Upon liftoff the goal was to clear the fence but not by too much because above it was the power line that bisected the property, and immediately after passing the power line I had to make a sharp climbing right turn so as not to fly over the highway or hit any trees. Buzey polished off beer #2 and opened beer #3.
I also took the time to look for a suitable landing zone because there were too many trees and houses around to safely land Alpha Trainer back in the same place that the takeoff would be made from. I decided that my best chance for a successful landing was to take the plane out wide over the alfalfa field, turn it into the wind, maintain adequate sprinkler clearance, fly over the fence between a 20 foot gap between two trees, and touch down right after crossing the irrigation ditch so Alpha Trainer could roll to a stop before either running into a pile of rocks or into the pond. Simple.
We then put the airplane together, got it fueled, checked all the controls, and soon we were ready to fly. Before I knew it, there was a small crowd of about six people standing around who all showed up just to watch Buzey crash his plane. Buzey began drinking beer #4.
Alpha Trainer started beautifully, and with minimal fine tuning to the mixture it was ready to confront its destiny. Since I already had a lot of experience with crashing RC airplanes, Buzey made me fly it first.
I mentally briefed the takeoff procedure and what to do if it actually cleared the fence, and I was ready. Buzey set the airplane on the ground, I applied full power, nodded, and off it went. Alpha Trainer rolled about halfway through the pen and with the help of the fierce headwind it lifted off the ground. I threaded it between the fence and the power line, made the sharp climbing right turn, gained altitude, and prayed that the little engine stayed running.
I set the trims and flew it around for ten minutes doing loops and rolls with Buzey watching closely and the crowd on the edge of their seats waiting for a wreck, but it didn't happen…yet. After a few high speed low passes over the sprinklers and between the trees I was ready for a landing attempt before it ran out of fuel and I had no other choice. For my first approach I took it wide over the alfalfa field, above the sprinklers, over the fence, and between the trees but it didn't look quite right. I was too fast so I aborted and went around, easily out climbing the rock pile and the power line. On the second attempt everything looked great as I weaved between the trees. Alpha Trainer touched down just beyond the ditch and bounced back into the air. No problem; just kill the throttle, pull back a little more, and let it hit the ground wheels first and roll out. Not a smooth landing, but that wasn't important as it stopped before the rock pile and the pond, and Alpha Trainer was reusable. Flight #1 was successful!
We quickly refueled and restarted the poor, doomed airplane while Buzey popped open beer #5. I decided I was done drinking because I had to fly to Vegas again early the next morning and was at the point where another beer would lead to 15 more. This time I was to do the takeoff and then give Buzey the controls after it was up and away from the obstacles. Buzey asked me how long I thought he would keep his plane in the air. Buzey was able to make a couple flights on the RC flight simulator at the hobby store where he was doing a great job of not crashing too badly before I commandeered it from him, so I estimated that the airplane would last about 15 seconds with him at the controls.
I repeated the takeoff and climbed Alpha Trainer to a safe altitude before Buzey and I hiked over to the fence overlooking the alfalfa field where there were fewer obstacles to hit. While leaning over the fence Buzey set beer #5 on the ground as I lined up the airplane so it would fly over and away from us and handed him the radio. He roughly maintained the same altitude despite several severe pitch and roll oscillations and successfully made a left hand 180 degree turn and leveled out. Aside from the oscillations and over controlling, everything was looking great as he started to make his second 180 degree turn to the left that would take it away from us again (as well as directly overhead on the rollout).
What happened next was precision RC flying at its finest.
Buzey rolled into the turn a bit too sharply and did not pull back on the stick enough to maintain altitude. Soon Alpha Trainer was in a 90 degree left bank at an altitude twice as high as the trees (roughly 100 feet). The nose dropped through the horizon, I told Buzey to pull the nose up and got no response from him. I quickly calculated that on its current trajectory, Alpha Trainer was going to end up either on top of me or very close to where I was standing, and I happened to be standing right next to Buzey in case he lost control of the airplane. By this point the Buzey-guided RC bomb was in a 90 degree bank and a 70 degree nose dive three stories high and aimed right at us. I to make a decision, and make it RIGHT NOW! Should I try to take the radio from Buzey and save the airplane or do I figure out how to get out of its way instead?
I began to run.
I got two and a half strides away and looked back just in time to see Buzey duck and take one stride in my direction as a blur of orange and white went careening by his head just before airplane and fence shrapnel began flying everywhere.
He started yelling "Owwww My friend!" as apparently a piece of flying shrapnel had made human contact.
After pulling ourselves together and making sure nobody was wounded, we looked at the gaping hole in the metal fence that we had been leaning over and then at the pathetic little pile of splinters of what used to be Alpha Trainer. Believe it or not, Buzey had actually exceeded my expectations for the flight. The airplane lasted twice as long as I originally estimated at 30 seconds with him at the controls. After getting a couple pictures, Buzey climbed through the hole in the fence and picked up the pieces for our walk of shame back to the truck.
Upon throwing the wreckage in the truck, we looked at each other and I asked Buzey, "Well that was fun, now what?"
Buzey replied, "Tomorrow I'm going back to get a twin."
