Lost a good one last week end

[ram3500-rcu]

Great weather (slight cross wind but no big deal), feelin good, flying good, at the club steak grill out, in front of Miles Reed and a lot of the "Big Dogs", I had a slight problem. 26% Extra 300 with a 3W 55 under the hood as I blazed across the run way, the rudder just inches off the grass, in a very low inverted pass (as I had done a hundred times), the bottom dropped out and down she slammed, just short of the center of the runway. The impact ripped off the rudder, all the vertical stab, and about half the turtle deck while knocking patty for a loop. The prop went from a 22 x 10 to a 6 X10 in a split second, and the plane skipped off the deck and back into the air and straight on, still going about sixty. It got to about 15 feet and I rolled it over. It veared slightly left, toward the pits, and I attempted to correct with rudder, then my brain caught up with everything and I thought, you bone head, you HAVE no rudder, literally! I eased the nose back down (now no problem as it was slightly nose heavy now, and I attempted a flair still on the near side of the last 30 feet of the runway. Came in hard on the gear but with wings level. What wasn't fractured by the first impact, was finished off by this one. Anyone need the horizontal tail and left wing from a GP Patty Waggstaff Extra 300?

[3D-Seth]

sorry for your loss!

[50%plane]

LOL! Great write up. Sorry about the loss.

[bosshoss]

Hey Buddy,

was that the one you flew at our field a couple fo years ago in Schiller Park, IL??


I really liked that bird....I thought you had a Brison in it....or is this another???

Mike

[B*tch SlapingMama]

Hey Ram,

How is Pappy doing these days? We havent seen him in a couple of years. We used to live up in New Phila Oh and got to fly with him quiet a bit. He is one awesome person and pilot.

Cheryl

[ram3500-rcu]

	Quote: Originally Posted by bosshoss
	Hey Buddy, was that the one you flew at our field a couple fo years ago in Schiller Park, IL?? I really liked that bird....I thought you had a Brison in it....or is this another??? Mike

Hello Mike. Great to hear from you. Tell everyone up there I said hello. Yes, same plane you saw me fly, different engine. I had taken the FPE 3.2 out and installed a new 3W 55 US in her last winter. Finally had the power to pull vertical from take off, snap, and then stop, go into a hover, slide into knife edge and loop on the edge. One sweet engine. Really was loving it all summer. After flying the Extra for about 5 years, I'm replacing her with a Yak 54. Flipping all the equipment over this week. Looks like all I lost, besides the airframe, was a gear or two in the throttle servo. I'll rebuild that. It was inverted when it hit, so the engine didn't even get a scratch.

Gary

[ram3500-rcu]

	Quote: Originally Posted by B*tch SlapingMama
	Hey Ram, How is Pappy doing these days? We havent seen him in a couple of years. We used to live up in New Phila Oh and got to fly with him quiet a bit. He is one awesome person and pilot. Cheryl

Pappy is doing pretty well. His wife is also, all things considered. He sometimes sits in a chair while he flys, but at 82, he still out flys most all of us. He doesn't snap on takeoff anymore, but now breaks ground with that big 40% Weeks and immediately goes into an ascending rolling circle. Really cool. He flew several times at the club function . He said when I crashed that he was watching the whole flight, but had turned away just before I hit to answer a question. I was instructed to wait till he was looking next time. I promised I would. :-) His picture with his latest plane is in the October issue of Model Aviation on page 177.

On a sad note though, Dick Fano, founder of Aerotech Hobbies passed away Tuesday of this week. He was a real champion of the hobby in this area and for decades, his hobby shop has been among the best I ever saw in all my travels. He will be missed.

Gary

[B*tch SlapingMama]

Great to hear Pappy is doing good. Our oldest son has looked up to him for years...as well with just about everyone else.
Sorry to hear about Dick. Like you said....he did have an awesome hobby shop. Not only did he have a good shop, he supported all the clubs in the area. I cant tell you how many times I was at an event and he comes up to buy raffle tickets with signature stamp in his hand. <G> And gold chain around his neck. He will be missed by many.
If you speak with his family....pass along our thoughts and sympathy to them.

[Temptation]

Sorry about your loss. Looks like you are handling it like a true gentelman. That is not always easy to do. I hope you get another one in the air soon.

[ram3500-rcu]

I absolutely will pass along your thoughts to Joe and the rest of his family. Dick was just as you describe him. He was a feisty Italian who loved his jewelery and model planes and the girls but I don't think in that order. He would have wanted his hobby shop to go on, I'm sure, but we will wait and see on that one. He did make a difference around there.

As far as the plane, Dick always would say, "every plane has an expiration date" it's just finding out when that is. My Extra lived well beyond I think. I pushed her and my abilities hard, and survived many close calls. I feel I got my moneys worth and then some. No regrets. I shook my head and laughed, when the dust had stetted. I knew I had killed the plane with dumb thumbs, but it WAS... spectacular, for those who saw it, sorry Pappy.