Uploaded April 2013 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Newbie pilot, high winds and a nose-heavy plane = One Crashed Bixler 2.0. :)
After a very successful day flying the quad- and hex-rotors I talked myself into doing the maiden flight on a new Bixler 2.0 FPV build. The winds were about 15mph with gusts a little higher and some unpredictability -- absolutely stupid for a first flight of an untested plane.
The center of gravity benched out well at home but when I loaded it at the field I must have shifted things too far forwards. It was hard to test it on the ground due to the wind. The moment my buddy threw it I had to yank back on the elevator to just keep the nose up. Most of those first few seconds was at 75% + elevator!
Before it could get too far I wanted to just put it back on the ground and My Stupid Brain said "turn it towards yourself, lower throttle, let it come down". 20mph wind means... "sure, I'll turn, and COMPLETELY STALL!". If I had half a clue I would have gunned the throttle to get some airspeed. Instead (as you can hear in the video) I left the engine on low all the way into the ground. Wheeeee!
Well, we all do stupid things as we learn. At least all it did was gunch up the foamie nose. None of the electronics were hurt.
Huge thanks to my friend Kiteless who was the one picking it up from the crash and taking video of it there. :)
Music: a short clip called "I Hear The Wind Blow" by They Might Be Giants, because, well, the wind-related fail. Enjoy.
Newbie pilot, high winds and a nose-heavy plane = One Crashed Bixler 2.0. :)
After a very successful day flying the quad- and hex-rotors I talked myself into doing the maiden flight on a new Bixler 2.0 FPV build. The winds were about 15mph with gusts a little higher and some unpredictability -- absolutely stupid for a first flight of an untested plane.
The center of gravity benched out well at home but when I loaded it at the field I must have shifted things too far forwards. It was hard to test it on the ground due to the wind. The moment my buddy threw it I had to yank back on the elevator to just keep the nose up. Most of those first few seconds was at 75% + elevator!
Before it could get too far I wanted to just put it back on the ground and My Stupid Brain said "turn it towards yourself, lower throttle, let it come down". 20mph wind means... "sure, I'll turn, and COMPLETELY STALL!". If I had half a clue I would have gunned the throttle to get some airspeed. Instead (as you can hear in the video) I left the engine on low all the way into the ground. Wheeeee!
Well, we all do stupid things as we learn. At least all it did was gunch up the foamie nose. None of the electronics were hurt.
Huge thanks to my friend Kiteless who was the one picking it up from the crash and taking video of it there. :)
Music: a short clip called "I Hear The Wind Blow" by They Might Be Giants, because, well, the wind-related fail. Enjoy.
