Farmer had a .......

[cowpatz]

Farmer had a little lamb..
its fleece was white as snow..
and when the model did come down..
it gave poor lambie one fatal blow

A bit of carnage at the model field today. A nice 110cc DLE 1-11 powered Sbach 1/3 scale had a wing collapse just outside where the main spar tube finishes. The wing panel went on to take one tail plane off too.
The model was in a down line at the time and about 60m high. The only items that are in tact are the servos and receiver. Even the Lithium ion batteries were stuffed. It took two guys to pull the engine out of the ground.
Unfortunately the lamb was struck, breaking it's back. It died shortly after.
The very next model airborne suffered radio failure and went in. Not so bad but destroyed most of the structure from the firewall forward. A smaller sized model. No photo of that.
My day was better (similar size model to this) but I was conscious that bad luck usually comes in 3s....I quit early whilst I was ahead.





The engine is under this somewhere!

[Ian Warren]

OH BUGGER ! .. bit like a recent incident on a beach, only couple weeks back .. engine failure and killed a couple on the ground.. and BUGGER!

[Naki]

Yikes. What a mess. Poor lamb. I was dreading it was your Cub. What model field?

[omitchell]

[emfrat]

It is a real shame to see those fine r/c models destroyed, and I feel for the owners.
(on the other hand, had they been rotorcraft, we could have made jokes about lamb chops and BBQs)

[scaber]

I'm actually more upset about the lambchop than the model planes . . .

[cowpatz]

No not the cub. It doesn't go fast enough to destroy itself like that!
It's a shame as the pilot is very good and conscientious. Structural failure is very hard to predict...even in the real world.

[Fozzer]

QUOTE (scaber @ Aug 17 2014,10:11 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I'm actually more upset about the lambchop than the model planes . . .

New Zealand Lamb (and mint sauce) at its finest....

Paul....Savoury Mince for Dins today!... ...!

Just shows just how dangerous model aircraft flying can be in a crowd of spectators...(Public Liability Insurance?)..... ....!
...always a bit worrying...

[toprob]

QUOTE (scaber @ Aug 17 2014,9:11 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I'm actually more upset about the lambchop than the model planes . . .

Yeah, takes me back to when I was at Outward Bound, a bunch of us all crammed into the back of a van, tearing around the back roads of Marlborough Sounds. Suddenly the instructor, who was driving, yells out 'hang on tight!' and we plow into something. We all get out, and we've hit a ewe and lamb, the lamb is dead, but the ewe needs to be put down. The instructor takes care of that, and we all get back into the van. Nobody says anything for a long time, then someone says 'Well, at least we didn't leave the poor bugger motherless.' We all crack up, but I think we were all fairly well traumatized.

[cowpatz]

Yes a real fluke this one. The model went down vertically and just in the adjacent paddock. The chances must have been similar to winning the powerball prize.
It was a reminder to us all of the requirements to stay clear of the pit area and spectators.

[Ian Warren]

I am a real pet/animal person , I keep watching all these death and destruction movies .. frankly target low life human, not a problem, any animal negatory ! , ...

.. Funny watching my bro's Chickens, this was years back of his van .. I was in the back helping him to move to his ranch , just watching those chickens as we turned a corner .. to them was like pulling 'G's in a big white van .......... hells exactly what we were in .... Chickens ' only 3 .. were saying BOOK BOOK BOOK ..... so I did have some connection

Farmer had .. Well Ricks place ... ... few ideas today , Art Gallery and animal farm , not many Books but plenty of chickens ... and maybe a sheep or .. hell s Bloody Rick had little Pigs the other day .... think ANIMAL FARM plus me whoops

[omitchell]

QUOTE (toprob @ Aug 17 2014,10:49 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Yeah, takes me back to when I was at Outward Bound, a bunch of us all crammed into the back of a van, tearing around the back roads of Marlborough Sounds. Suddenly the instructor, who was driving, yells out 'hang on tight!' and we plow into something. We all get out, and we've hit a ewe and lamb, the lamb is dead, but the ewe needs to be put down. The instructor takes care of that, and we all get back into the van. Nobody says anything for a long time, then someone says 'Well, at least we didn't leave the poor bugger motherless.' We all crack up, but I think we were all fairly well traumatized.

It ain't much easier when your the one that hits them. Few years back I rounded a corner out near Clevedon and there was a cow in the middle of the road. To hit it head on, would have killed me, I ripped the handbrake and slid sideways into it. Really messed the cow up, I had to snap her neck on the spot (Try making that call), was the only humane thing to do for her, was only after that I found out there was a calf not that far away, wasn't even a weiner yet. Called the police and SPCA, stuck around with the calf Few hours later we located the farm where it came from. Calf's still around today and it somewhat larger but acts like a dog since it had to be hand reared. I still go see it sometimes. It's an image that stays with you... As part of my job I take a lot of calls for SPCA. Some are not easy to deal with, real stomach churners but they still don't do anything to take away the memory of that day...

For some reason animals bring out the best (and worst) in people. whether it's a small lamb that's killed by a random RC aircraft accident, a calf who just lost it' mother or a Pit Bull that wasn't trained right and came out with an attitude from hell, animals just have a way of bringing out emotions in people. We can't help but feel something when we see an animal story... Just the other night I was up at the horses with my ex. She was worming them. Anyway one is a handful, a real ugh case, after worming the horse sculks over to me (who didn't do the icky thing)_ sticks her head in my chest and sulks. Kinda cute really, but that's animals...

[scaber]

QUOTE (omitchell @ Aug 18 2014,2:09 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

It ain't much easier when your the one that hits them. Few years back I rounded a corner out near
....
....
a real ugh case, after worming the horse sculks over to me (who didn't do the icky thing)_ sticks her head in my chest and sulks. Kinda cute really, but that's animals...

Nice stories Owen, thanks for sharing. I've got a bit of a soft spot for them too.

[cowpatz]

QUOTE (scaber @ Aug 18 2014,9:15 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Nice stories Owen, thanks for sharing. I've got a bit of a soft spot for them too.

I have a soft spot for them too.....it's called my wallet. An ex wife plus 2 daughters that rode competitively .....
Vets, farriers and equine dentists visited so often they are now "family friends"
Float
Tow vehicle
Stables
Full size arena
untold saddlery
feed
instruction
entry fees
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

Those big droppings you see are actually digested cash.

[omitchell]

QUOTE (cowpatz @ Aug 18 2014,11:45 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I have a soft spot for them too.....it's called my wallet. An ex wife plus 2 daughters that rode competitively .....
Vets, farriers and equine dentists visited so often they are now "family friends"
Float
Tow vehicle
Stables
Full size arena
untold saddlery
feed
instruction
entry fees
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

Those big droppings you see are actually digested cash.

Adds up in a hurry don't it?

[Ian Warren]

Steve , I could knock on the door of my across the road next-door neighbour , biggest horse doc in Canterbury I believe wonder what he charges ... you may have to fly the Gee Gee s down tho

[scaber]

QUOTE (cowpatz @ Aug 18 2014,11:45 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I have a soft spot for them too.....it's called my wallet. An ex wife plus 2 daughters that rode competitively .....
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
Those big droppings you see are actually digested cash.

Ouch. Good of you to take the hit and save the rest of us from that . . . .

[johnkiwi]

QUOTE (scaber @ Aug 18 2014,12:01 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Ouch. Good of you to take the hit and save the rest of us from that . . . .

Not all of " the rest of us" escaped... I too have been squeezed out and hung out to dry by horsey pursuits of little darlings! Boy those things can chew up time and serious amounts of cash! much better flight simming I reckon

[Ian Warren]

QUOTE (johnkiwi @ Aug 18 2014,1:43 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

much better flight simming I reckon

I did Escape , maybe that's why I'm known as the greedy one ... Twas the Flight Sim that did that ! I really seriously did Escape

[omitchell]

QUOTE (johnkiwi @ Aug 18 2014,12:43 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Not all of " the rest of us" escaped... I too have been squeezed out and hung out to dry by horsey pursuits of little darlings! Boy those things can chew up time and serious amounts of cash! much better flight simming I reckon

Know that feeling. We broke up 2yrs back and I'm still up at the paddocks regularly...