This plane took a beating! This was the first power plane that I
actually flew. On it's maiden voyage on the dry lake bed near Calico,
CA, I hit a rock with the nose wheel. I didn't know that this really
weakened the engine mount / nose wheel holder. I took off and flew
around. On landing, the nose wheel collapsed. To fly again I
bent the main gear really far forward and made it a tail-dragger. I
flew around for a bit, then I heard the engine revving up and down. I
had no idea what this meant, but the engine quit soon after. After a
very nice landing I discovered the prop, spinner and prop nut missing.
I had another prop, but we couldn't find a nut to fit the crank shaft.
Over the next few months I got much better at flying. We flew mainly
in graded construction sites. I eventually opened up the belly of this
plane and installed a 2-stage water balloon dropping mechanism. I
could carry 2 water balloons at about 12oz each. By moving a
3-position switch to the center spot it would drop one balloon. By
moving that switch to the last position it would drop the 2nd balloon.
One day my dad wanted to see my fly the plane, so I loaded up the balloons
and was cruising around. He asked if it could loop and without
thinking I yanked the elevator back. Normally this plane loops just
fine, but with 24oz of water in the belly it was too much for the wing.
After separation I released the balloons, chopped the throttle and pegged
the rudder and elevator. I probably pegged the ailerons too, but they
weren't getting the message. The wing halves fluttered down like
feathers and the fuse went into a fast spin. The pieces hit the ground
soft enough that I could patch things together and fly another day.
