I haven’t had many good results while flying lately. The Helios is a total loss after only about 10-15 flights. Seemed like a radio hit, but after asking around I found no one else on the frequency, and put it down to a dodgy receiver.
The plane augured in from about 100ft in the air, just straight down from level flight. I had time to yell some expletives and yank the stick a few times, but no joy.
You can see from the carnage inside the cowling that she hit pretty hard:
The cowling is now all fibre and no glass, motor shaft bent, prop broken; the battery tried to leave through the firewall, munching it good and proper; one wing is broken on the end, and the other pulled the side of the fuselage out.
The tail looks fine though…
On the same day, I burnt out the speed controller in my Stryker. Luckily the receiver power supply lived, so I still had enough control to bring the plane in with zero damage to the airframe. Nasty burnt smell from the speed controller. Definitely let the magic smoke out of that one.
So not a good day. It’s enough to make me want to go back to gliders. Seriously.
