ORIGINAL: Avindair

TC: Yow, one crinkle means its shot? Yikes!

As far as the wing, yes, unless you use a carbon fiber rod as I do. I've had wings collapse into a perfect V and its always when you are pulling up from a highspeed dive (is there ever a good time for this?) so that the bird dives straight down at 60 mph and is totalled. There was not even a noticeable wrinkle in the wing!

Also, despite the damage, the spinner actually didn't break so much as pop off. Shocks me, too.

Actually it is broken. As I said, the spinner is a 2 piece deal. I have about 5 of the tips sitting around, but the bases (what you broke) are the first thing to die in a crash. I keep about 5 new spinners on hand because of this.

I've been looking at the structure and it appears to be sound. The only thing I'm really concerned about, as you've mentioned, is the gear box and the firewall (though I haven't been able to spy any obvious damage on the FW yet). If the gear box and FWare sound -- and since it appears to me that the skeleton seems to be solid -- I think I just have to repair this bird to try and fly her again.

Many times you can get away with this but the skeleton often develops fractures behind the FW at the bottom. This is by far the easiest part to break (and most critical) on the plane (which I brace with epoxy to make it live longer, see pix). Of course in mine you'll see I'm running an outrunner brushless motor and that I brace the FW off the battery box as well with coathangar wire.

Avindair