Watch out for those sneaky trees! Disastrous

[Brent Williams]

Disaster struck today.  I did not fully notice that the painted lines of the soccer field had been moved closer to the sidewalk, and the accompanying trees.  For years, we used those painted lines as our usual flight line indicator.  I have had several flying sessions this year by my house, but this was my first flying session of the year with Gordan out at the park by Gordan's house.   I was kind of in a complacent autopilot mode regarding our pit and flight line area.  I flew one flight and then decided to center myself between the goal posts, as usual, for the second flight.  The sidewalk and trees were 180° from launch. 

180° immediately after launch for the second flight, I encountered afore mentioned tree.  Sheared the outboard wing like it was nothing.  Bummer!  I flew out the full tank feeling dumb. 

End of the adventure with the El Vira airplane.  I doubt this one will buff out.

Looks like I have major motivation to move more rapidly with the completion of my other plane projects.

[Gordon Van Tighem]

Might have been an interesting flight to film from the drone?

[Gary Dowler]

That's a bummer. Sorry to hear of your mishap. Looks like she was a good airplane. I'm going to get out tomorrow for the first time this year. Fortunately where I've been flying there are no obstacles to worry about. Gary

[john e. holliday]

That is sad you didn't check clearance first.  At least at our circle all we have to worry about now is if we stray off center is the railroad ties,  then it is the ruts the brainless turd keeps putting in the circle and last is the moles that Dave is feeding some kind of worms to.   Most of the grass in the center is still yet to sprout up.  At least our take off area has some grass.  Dave mowed it today.  Can now say the DOC Special has air time on it. 

By the way it looks like an easy splice job on that wing.

[James Holford]

Yikes... but you arent alone.

 Ground jumped up and bit my Mentor trainer saturday while doing outsides

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G891A using Tapatalk

[Curt D Contrata]

Once on practice day at a contest I hit a fence post 1/2 lap after take off with an I-Beam SV-12. The outboard wing exploded into hundreds of pieces. Dave Hemstrought said it sounded  like a gunshot, quite spectacular. I spent the afternoon and evening in the hotel repairing/recovering/re-doping the wing and flew it the next day.

Curt

[Brent Williams]

Once on practice day at a contest I hit a fence post 1/2 lap after take off with an I-Beam SV-12. The outboard wing exploded into hundreds of pieces. Dave Hemstrought said it sounded  like a gunshot, quite spectacular. I spent the afternoon and evening in the hotel repairing/recovering/re-doping the wing and flew it the next day.

Curt

I have been lamenting my poor lost plane today.  Glad to know I'm not the only one to have, uh... "flown the wings off" of their plane....    Embarrassing.

Alas, all is not lost in the land of toy planes.  I do have a few flyable planes ready to go and several others that are on deck, nearly ready to fly.

Good lesson, though.  Complacency is the enemy. 
Check your flying site, check your handle, check your lines, check your line clips, ect. 
The little, seemingly simple things are the ones that jump up and bite you.

[Chris Fretz]

I can relate! I hit a pole at a baseball field last year on the landing! Outboard wing got a big dent and ripped the nose of the airplane off. I was more angry than embarrassed.

Sorry bud!

[BYU]

You have my sympathies .  .   .
I have had fence poles and fencing move right into my circle
writing off my best plane just as I attempted to land.

[Garf]

I once lost half a wing to a tree. That sucks. It was a long time ago, but I remember it well. Mine kept flying too.

[Curt D Contrata]

Just for grins, here is a picture of mine while in construction so you have an idea of how many pieces it was in after hitting the fence. The fence was not the first thing it hit however. I caught the tail of the fuse in a ceiling fan not long after this photo, then caught a Carolina Hornet with it at its first contest. The dead hornet bounced around in the wing the rest of the day, slicing more and more covering towards the outboard tip as the day went on. 

It is refinished now, with 3 kill markings next to the canopy. A Ceiling Fan, a Chain Link Fence, and a Carolina Hornet!

Curt

[Steve Helmick]

You have my sympathies .  .   .
I have had fence poles and fencing move right into my circle
writing off my best plane just as I attempted to land.

GSSC in Clovis, Strega ARF...what year was that?  Steve

[phil c]

Brent- I guess " Till Birnam wood remove to Dunsinane,
I cannot taint with fear".  The woods are in attack mode!