That went well...

We'll be moving on to Cornell #4... Bobby took her up for me today. He is the pilot's best pilot, easily the most experienced and trusted pilot in our club, one of the best in the country. Point being, what happened is not the pilot's fault.

Here's what happened...

Bobby checked her CG and her controls, and approved. We took her out to the flightline and he spun her up, got a feel for her, then took her up. She looked sooooooo sweet! She eased up, he pulled back on the stick and she rose clean, stable and in control! It was something else! But, its always something... at about 10 feet AGL she suddenly nosed straight up and climbed, and Bobby said calmly, "Hmm..... I'm not doing that..." He cut power as she stall turned and headed back down in a slight curve, and slammed into the ground right where she started. He said it was as if her elevator was stuck on full up. He had no control over her once she nosed up. We checked controls after the crash and it moved freely. We have no explanation. Other than the shanks... I'm putting her away for a while. Her new wing is cracked and not broken but separated from the fuse, her fuse is cracked clean in half, and the hatch cracked and split through the upper fuse when it was pushed back.

I will be haunted by that sweet takeoff... it was all what I love this plane for, and then some. I was so sure she was ready...