Sometimes it just takes a good shove...

It was beautiful out at BMF, but way, way too windy to fly. One moment calm, next moment small farm animals went screaming by in 20 mph gusts. The trees were dancing as if the Ents were having a hoe-down. A perfect day to hover a BeastX equipped Exi 450!

Took her up into a hover, and she handled so well it was inspiring. I could see her tail responding to the gusts, but she was holding her head hard and was rock stable. I took her up to about 30 feet, and turned her 90 degrees. A gust caught her, I made a mistaken input and she was screaming away sideways! In trying to get her back from the wind, I had her going in all different directions of orientation, but soon got her under control. This was amazing! I kept telling myself not to panic, I have been doing this on the Phoenix sim for days now. I got her settled down, flew her back and landed sweet. After I stopped shaking I took her up and this time decided if I can do that certainly I do fast forward flight, pirouette and come back, going back and forth from left to right. She did awesome despite the wind (I LOVE THE BEASTX!), so I started doing full turns instead of just pirouettes, and then threw in a couple of circles one way, then the other, tossed in a couple of figure 8's, and was zinging around like a kid in a candy shop! Eventually I got confused and lost control, she headed sideways and angled down to the ground and I knew it was over, so I hit the Hold, as she crashed sideways. Bent the main shaft, feathering shaft, cracked a blade, sheared a Jesus bolt and snapped off a blade grip control horn. No other damage.

IT WAS THE MOST AMAZING 5 MINUTES OF FLYING I HAVE ENJOYED IN A LONG TIME! There is nothing like watching a heli fly forward in controlled flight for a guy who has mastered hover and needed to move on. If it wasn't for the shove of the wind, I would have become increasingly bored with hover but scared to push forward. I am by no means ready to do this with my 500 size heli, but my 450's are shaking in their hanger knowing the bird is out of the nest!

YAY!

Can't find just a replacement grip control horn, and for the cost of a new set of grips I can get a new head, so I ordered one today. Totally a BeastX fanboy!