Has this happen to you?

[Jay]

You go out to the flying circle with your buddies.  You run out your lines and hook them up.  You are all fueled up and ready to fly.  You get a one flip start and your buddy releases your plane only to find out your lines are hooked up backward!
It happened to me on my profile Cardinal 3 times.  The last time being just yesterday where I tried to give it up only to find the the plane noses over.  But get this, the plane continues maybe 3/4  ways around lifts up into the breeze and proceeds to do a nose dive at about 8". 
My plane was repairable until I brough it home for a closer inspection.  I was trying to press the wing together to make for a small glue joint and I folded the wing together.
My Cardinal wasn't even a summer old and it is now dead.  RIP Cardinal.
BTW it was a kit that I tried Dan the Dirt's Lustercoat method on.  Nice plane but I don't think I will ever build another one.

[Bill Little]

Hi Jay,

Maybe 10 years ago, Aaron had a "brand new" '59 Ares that he wore out the Billy Werwage "Building an I-Beam Video" from SFVM while building it.

He was all excited with taking it to the first contest, The East Coast Oldie Goldies" meet at Huntersville.  It didn't even get a chance to be test flown before we left.

On his first practice flight, he checked the control movement and I released th eplane.  He had the handle upside down!  It made about 6 laps porposing wildly and he finally got it dumped into the weeds off the side of the circle and it was repairable.  Papa Dave Hemstrought told him to go get a drink and stay gone for a while.  We proceeded to repair the plane with CA and clear tape while he was gone.  He went on to get a practice flight and win his class! 

I always paint the handle red on top, hook the thong to the bottom, etc., buit the lines themselfes had been attqched wrong.

In the end it turned out ok, and the plane still lives!  (he won Intermediate Classic with it at Brodaks a couple yerars back.

Life happens sometimes regardless of how careful you are. 
Bill <><

[Ken Deboy]

You could try getting colored heat shrink to put over the leadouts and line ends, using one color for up, another for down.

cheers,
Ken

[Dick Fowler]

I think there is no better method than a final check of up and down with a quick  handle wiggle before giving the launch sign.  No matter what you might have done during line hook-up or how you picked up the handle, this quickly shows if you got it right.

Do it every flight as part of a pre-launch routine and becomes second nature. You will never have the problem again.

[Leester]

I always check mine when I hook up the lines but if your Cardinal is like mine the up line is the front line and it would be easy to do it backwards. I am used to the up line being the back line.

[Ron King]

I'll go along with Dick part way on this.

Back in 1966, a friend of mine qualified for the finals at the Nats. It was only the top 15 then and they had two flights to determine the Open winner. On his first flight, he had some difficulty starting the engine and got himself into a "time bind". He got the engine started, ran out to the center of the circle, grabbed the controls, gave them a quick wiggle, and gave the take off wave. The plane lurched out, wobbled up a couple of feet, and planted itself into the Navy runway. His helper had placed the handle down on the ground and had it backwards from what Larry expected (no thongs back then). I watched this whole sad episode and even have a picture of Larry and Howard starting the engine.

The lesson I learned is: Don't just give a quick wiggle. Do a deliberate Up and Down before release. Watch both the flaps AND the elevators. Tell yourself what control you are giving. It only takes a second or two to be safe. (Sorry - I'm channeling the PAMPA Safety Editor). 

I scrubbed a flight once when I couldn't see the elevators move. It turns out the pushrod had broken the previous flight. The flaps moved; the elevator did not.

Hope this helps,

Ron

[Curmudgeon]

I always ask who ever launches for me to point up or down when I check the controls. If I give full up and he points up, then the same for down, I'm good to go. Of course, I also use a handle with the thong on the bottom, and my lines have color coded heat shrink on them. I also leave my lines connected to the handle and leave one clip on the plane up leadout and the other clip on the control handle down line...

[Bill Little]

In Aaron's case with the Ares, he was just over-excited!  The lines were color coded on the leadouts and flying lines, plus the handles are always color coded.  He gave up and down, but I was not looking at the controls, I was looking at him.

He had hooked the lines up correctly at the plane, but reversed at the handle.  Young and excited = repairs!   

With him, it has not occured again. 

[wwwarbird]

 Here's a foolproof way to avoid the problem. When disconnecting the leadout clips at the end of your flying session, leave one clip (let's say the up line connector) on your lines, and the other clip (down line connector) on the airplane. Then next time you're out you automatically have it right.

[Bill Little]

Here's a foolproof way to avoid the problem. When disconnecting the leadout clips at the end of your flying session, leave one clip (let's say the up line connector) on your lines, and the other clip (down line connector) on the airplane. Then next time you're out you automatically have it right.

Excellent procedure that most of the flyers I know use.

Problem is with the very first time a younger, excited flyer puts the lines on the plane and handle for the very first time. 

Ok, kids, can you spell t r o u b l e ??

 

Bill <><

[Lee Thiel]

Did that once.  I now use one set of lines and handle for each plane and always leave the down leadout clip on the plane.  And, the up and down lines are color coded.  Now if I just don't go color blind, all is reasonably safe.
Lee TGD

[John Paris]

I have hooked mine up backwards but generally catch it in the pits.  Once though, I hooked up and hit the circle at a contest without checking.  When launch time came, I noticed that the elevator went the wrong way with input.  A quick sprint to the airplane and swap of the lines and I put in my pattern.  Nothing like a little rush to get you going.

As for Jays luck, I think I launched 2 of the ill fated flights.  As the pit-dude I will check that the lead-outs are not twisted or caught up on the eyelets, watch for vibration, make sure that the right tank tube is plugged, make sure that the engine sounds about right and make sure that the pilot can see his tail for the pre-launch jiggle (seems like a lot of items, but it takes less time than for the pilot to reach the handle).  Of course I don't let go until the pilot gives the signal and everything is cool on my end of the operation.  However I am not sure how to check if the handle is hooked up right once we are ready to go without a prior plan.  Any ideas?

John

[Jay]

While I am thankful for the advice this was not the purpose of this thread.
Sure I know I coulda, woulda, shouda checked the lines before waving the plane off, but what I wanted to know has this happened to anyone else?
There must be a few guys in Stunt Hanger land that this has happened to, or am I the only one?
Talking about dumb pilot errors. 

Jay

[Chris McMillin]

I only use one set of lines per airplane so I use the method of leaving one line clip on the model.
I never wiggle the handle though, I LOOK at the elevator when I MOVE the handle to see if the PROPER and CORRECT movement is detected for the movement I input at the handle.
As on full size airplanes, the controls must be "free and correct".
As one gets more experience and follows new and better procedures along the way, these incidents will not be so common.
Chris...

[Mike Spiess]

I did it to my son once. I set up the plane and started it he ran out to the handle and it was hooked up backwards. He paniced and gave it full down what a loop strait into the pavement, He was about 12 years old.(he's now 20) Man did he get mad at me.

[W.D. Roland]

picked one upside down in combat match(we used to start our own engines)
got the handle turned over and cleared the ground but not the fence!flew match with outbord wing missing.

i always did it warbirds way with a tail wiggle before launch and out of 100 of thousand flights have only picked up wrong once--no time to wiggle in combat!


David

[Richard Grogan]

Not you, David!!!

[John Christensen]

This happen to me a number of years back and luckily I could fly a plane inverted at the time. It was a Yellow Twister flown over tar(sandpaper). Went a 1/3 of a lap before figured out that the handle was wrong. All this time the prop was getting shorter. Knew that had to do something because there were other people lines in the circle. Yes I know that is not a good idea, but that was their idea. So gave a down on the handle to get the plane to climb up and turned the handle around while the plane was going up. Plane went inverted as I got control of the handle and then control of the plane. There was a bad vibration comming through the line and had to repair some cracks in the plane. But did save the plane.

BTW: like the spell check in the post reply window.

[Jim Pollock]

No,

That has N - E - V - E - R happened to me and I will tell you why it hasn't

1.  When hooking up my lines to the plane I ensure the handle is hooked up right
      by checking the travel of the flaps and evelvators.  I run out my lines and check
      for all the same things again.

2.  When placing my airplane on the circle for starting I check the lines again and check
      for control movement and correct travel.

3.  After starting and walking out the lines yet again, I check that I have ahold of the
     handle in to correct position and re-check control travel movement.

Guess what - in 30 total years of model flying - I have never tried to take of with incorrectly hooked up lines.

That may sound like a lot of work buts it's much easier than reparing and building!

Jim Pollock