They say things go in threes.

Last Thursday after eight-years of trouble-free motoring my Rover suddenly stopped as I was coming back to the flying field. It refused to start. My best mate owns a garage I phoned him up and he towed me in. He hasn't been able to look at the car yet as he's been too busy, but I'm expecting a hefty bill.

I wanted to go flying yesterday so phoned my flying buddy, loaded the ARTF Senior Telemaster into his Volvo and went to the field. It was quite windy but with a 5200 mAh battery the old STM was able to punch its way through the wind. Being a British Model Flying Association instructor I usually take a buddy box with me but this time I accidentally left it behind. There was a young man there who had flown twenty years ago but had just returned to the hobby and was learning to fly again. He seemed to manage his own trainer alright so I offered him a go on the STM. At first he coped well but with the model veering off course he handed the transmitter back to me. I corrected everything, turned the model down-wind and handed the transmitter back to him. The model was moving quite quickly in a shallow dive and in a gentle turn but I thought he could handle it. He put in the wrong signal and the starboard wing ripped off. $400-worth of model crashed to the ground from about 400 feet and was totally destroyed. The port wing was just a plastic bag of smashed balsa.

What have I learned?

1. The crash was my fault; I should have given him control of the model with the wings level and pointing into wind.
2. If it's your model, always use a buddy box when instructing regardless of how good the trainee seems to be!

Two final thoughts:

1. If I had built that STM from a kit or plan would the wing have ripped off? Perhaps we'll find out as my i/c powered Barn Door Telemaster only awaits the installation of wing servos, covering and fuel proofing.

2. They say things go in threes. Car breaks down on Thursday: STM destroyed on Saturday: I lost my job in July. Does that count or am I to expect something else to go wrong soon?

Happy Landings?

DD