How long will your models last?

I disagree about R/C models being more likely to crash due to equipment failure. Modern R/C gear is extremely reliable. But here's the difference: A control line airplane is flying REALLY close to the ground and normally the engine can't be shut off or throttled. So to me, flying at high speeds at low altitudes is more likely to see crashes. Besides, how many fliers get bored going around in circles and try a figure 8? Those never ended well for me!

Well, Jim, your assessment that modern RC gear are extremely reliable is to be seen in the context that I crashed more airplanes due to servo IC failures, poor servo plug connections, micro switch connectivity failures etc than due to my pilot error..those reliable RC gears - with the exception of my Futaba radio- are mainly made in a large Far Eastern country - name is not mentioned for pc reasons- from where I would not buy anything more complex than a can of apricot or a T-shirt, if I had alternate sources...and the RC gear quality from that origin more often sucks than not...just my experience, yours may differ

If the R/C is purchased brand name from a reliable source, then most likely one will have trouble free operation. However, have found that even if brand name but sold very cheap from an Internet auction, have received faulty equipment, especially in servos.

Brand name I bought, Futuba made in Japan, Ace R/C in US were extremelly reliable, even if their entry level electronics.

Back 40 years ago, I bought generic servos from Indy R/C. Even though cheap without labels, it was reliable.

But, as of late, buying cheap stuff off an auction site was basically taking a crap shoot. Some 6 years ago, a friend purchased 9 in.oz. servos that were labeled same as on Hobby King, but cheap from the Orient. All had bad electronics, would not maintain center. I offered to try out a few on my radio, same problem.

If you buy, buy from a decent hobby center. At least they will prescreen before they buy and stock, which helps to eliminate the bad stuff. Internet auction, even if a seller has a good rating doesn't mean what you get will be good stuff.

Are your toy planes worth the sacrifice on cheap radio equipment? I think not, but that is for you to decide.

Good question Jim, I like to think of mine as simple and cheap (relatively) so if we break them from time to time just a good excuse to repair and figure out the problem or build another…. If they happen to live a long life, that’s great….I try and do good maintenance in the shop to give best chance….. I enjoy flying and take the risks associated with it…. Keeps it exciting!!….

Mauricio posted some info on small, cheap servos weak points awhile back so I heeded that to try and eliminate failures in those areas…. The problem area was the lead connection to the driver board….These servos weren’t designed for the high frequency vibration our engines produce…. I open the cases and re-solder the cable to the lands, and also shorten the cable as necessary to reduce wire clutter….Put a glob of silicone on that area before putting it back together….. Gears are also inspected and lubed at this time if necessary …



Ace R/C servo kits recommended to “burn in”  a new servo by powering up and going thru multiple cycles…. Better yet was to buy their servo cycler and do it automatically…. This helped to seat the wipers in the feedback pot (potentiometer) properly…. Also, a current range was given to be expected as normal…

I still do similar today with a cheap servo cycler to help run in and test servos…. A current meter can be inserted between the alligator clips in the setup in the photo… An analog meter works best… The numbers on a digital meter jump around too much while it is cycling…. Current is noted and can be compared in the future to see if any trends are developing…If one servo is out of line with the others it’s suspect….The test set up can help see if control linkages are free as well…..Doesn’t mean there won’t be, but no cheapy servo failures yet in three 1/2A types I actively fly….

Yes, Robert, I agree, you should be sleeping on your toes with nowaday's servos, the brand-name means different quality today from what it meant in the past...just like with almost everything else in the modern consumer goods world where reliability and quality are compromised to price.

Answering George's question whether your airplane is worth the risk imposed by the el-cheepo radiogear, I have not too much choice from the very limited number of hobby shops still alive in my region, so I tend to go to ebay or similar, where most everything comes from China and maybe this tells you all...

This story is a bit off topic, but I figured I'd share it. I had been flying models for quite a few years when I came across a former WW2 pilot working at the local employment center. He asked if I was one of the kids flying C/L in the schoolyard close to his place. Told him yes and he said to drop over to his place that evening. (This was the summer of 1971) When I got there I could see he had been modelling for many years and he gave me a bunch of planes including a partially finished Berkeley Navion, a duel rotor autogyro, control line stunters free flights and more. When I got them home I realized that they didn't mean that much to me because I had never built them. I did fly a few of them and kept two of them in my mother's summer camp. One of them is there to this day and that must make it probably 60 years old. So they CAN last a long time. One of the C/L planes there looked sort of like a half size Nobler. I fitted it with an Enya 15 and flew it a couple of times, then hung it up next to the one mentioned earlier.

One spring some jerk broke into the summer camp and stole the plane.

Oh well..

Years later I was crawling under said summer camp to repair a leaking water line and I discovered.....

The remains of the yellow Nobler. The thief SMASHED the plane to pieces to get the engine.

Kind of like cutting the tongue out of a buffalo and leaving the rest to rot.

So in answer to the OP question, models can have a very short or very long life and this story just goes to show what life's experiences can bring.

Jim, that is a rather sad story, the thief was definitely destructive. Back in early 1970's, I remember thieves breaking into the Civil Defense Tunnel entrance next door to our Waianae Civil Air Patrol Squadron meeting area, a room in a WW2 concrete former naval gun implacement, facility located between Maile and Nanakuli villages. They set fire to some high voltage insulated cabling stored temporarily there in the tunnel by the state government. They were interested in selling the copper wiring, such an expensive waste.

Can't say reason, but could imagine the thief was interested in quick cash, like a lot of the thefts these days.

balogh wrote:Answering George's question whether your airplane is worth the risk imposed by the el-cheepo radiogear, I have not too much choice from the very limited  number of hobby shops still alive in my region, so I tend to go to ebay or similar, where most everything comes from China and maybe this tells you all...

András, you are your best advisor in your situation. I speak from where I am at, because those are the purchasing channels available to us. There are good dealers on Internet auctions, even our Cox International and Ex Model Engines do business there. Of the dealers you purchase from, I imagine you have found those whom you can trust.

You are correct, it is not like days prior. Prior to the Internet, I purchased from local dealers and from advertisers in the various modelling magazines. At least those seemed to be reliable.

How long? Back in the day, when I was a teen, my friend and I flew every week. Now these were 1/2A c/l planes. We flew on the weekends and spent the weekdays repairing what we broke. Not pretty, but they flew. Harold built a few made with hot glue (before Superglue existed). I built a flying coffee can. They were cheap but fun.
I came to realize that the larger the plane, the less likely they were to survive a crash. There's that thing called inertia. Once the front of the plane stops abruptly, the back of the plane is still trying to move forward. 1/2A planes are lightweight. They hold together when they crash. The class C ships fold like an accordian. As I get older I am more bold with my c/l stunts. Sometimes I cut the grass at the bottom of a loop, but lately they have all survived.

This question isn't easy to answer. 1/2A models are prone to cartwheel landings and engine issues. Racing planes are subjected to probably the hardest use. They need to be built very rugged. Combat planes goes without saying. Stunt planes due to the maneuvers can be demolished from the time the plane is released. My oldest plane which I just sold was 46 years old still in very flyable condition aside from the nose being oil soaked a little. It also depends on how much you fly. One would be surprised that if they recorded how many flights they actually flew and how many they thought they flew. The number of flights they thought they flew would be grossly exaggerated.

If you fly competitively and something falls off of your plane, your disqualified. This means anything, even a wheel collar. It's important to inspect the plane which very few do. I've seen mufflers fly into the pits, tip weight boxes exit the wing due to not being tight. Many planes have crashed because of negligence of the person flying it. I witnessed a down line that broke this past weekend. This shouldn't be happening. If you pull test properly, this is very unlikely. Once again, no one is doing this because they feel the need not to. Inspecting your handle cable for frays and your flying lines for breaks, kinks, and curls. All of this essential to the longevity of your plane.

Hi 944 Jim,
Nice question !
I basicly, 'chuckyeager' them. (obvious attempt at a new verb ! )
I have a plane. Build another 'better' one.
I fly the heck out of the old one, to find the aerodynamic limits/my flying skills.
I actually have 'crashed' really lousy flying planes, just because I needed the engines/R/C stuff for the next one.
That is just me.
Your results may vary...
Actually,
I think, I like, being a crash investigator.
Not for the last one,
But,
The next one...
Worked for the Wright Brothers, Why not me?

Take care,
Have fun,
Dave

my last three CL flights were crashes. Three Half-A beginners ringmasters solidly tent pegged. each on their first flight. each crashed the exact same way doing a lazy eight the third time in the flight.

Tomorrow I fly again. Flight plan: hand launched, 4 level laps, one wingover, one level lap, one loop, two level laps, one lazy eight, fly out tank with level laps.

Crashed those three on one day. It was absolute carnage. Heres hoping tomorrow is the end of this little spate of insanity

Yabby wrote:...........
Crashed those three on one day. It was absolute carnage. Here's hoping tomorrow is the end of this little spate of insanity  

Perseverance and practice -- you'll get your flights knocked out in no time.

The little yellow Honker in my avatar is 40+ years old.  It was set up with a Futaba Attack 4 AM radio on Ch 18, two Futaba S133 servos (pricey for my budget at the time), 4 cell nicads and Black Widow (since replaced with a NORVEL .061).  It's been in a corn field, a tree and two flat spins that pancaked it (my thumbs were doing the jitterbug on the sticks to no avail).

Like some of Kim's planes, it has some wear and tear, but remains one of my favorites.

OTOH, I had a coroplast delta that lasted about 10 seconds -- it seems the cheaper the plane, the more reckless I become. Someone asked what happened -- my answer: I ran out of talent!

andrew wrote:
you'll get your flights knocked out in no time.

Ummm, interesting choice of words. Yabby has knocked out three already!

944_Jim wrote:

andrew wrote:
you'll get your flights knocked out in no time.

Ummm, interesting choice of words. Yabby has knocked out three already!

LOL!!  You're right -- perhaps I should have reconsidered my wording.  Substitute "lined out" for "knocked out".

knocked out, lined out, all aply.
got through today with only one crash from four flights. yay. flew many lazy eights with my coreflute plain. last flight going back over from inverted it came back at me heaps and I had to take a number of fast back steps to save it. saved it. then thought why did it come back at me so badly? so I took a look at the windsock and whilst not looking what I was doing, pancacked it into the ground. lol. luckily the wheels took the impact and they bent but no other damage other than pride. I dont think my poor planes stand a chance at the moment. funny, no one at the club is saying hey Gary try flying my plane