I'm with Timbersnake on this one. The guy with the tranny is ultimately the one responsible for his actions. We've had them at our field, as I'm sure almost everyone has. They show up, decline help ("nah, it's ok....I've been doing this on my dad's farm for ages"), then proceed to do the big left-hand-swing take off through the pits or the carpark or whatever, citing such gems as "Geez, normally I don't have to worry about where it goes when I'm on the farm coz there's heaps of space out there...."

Actually, there was a guy who recently rejoined our club (and left shortly thereafter) after a break of some time (5 years or something). He turned up with a *very* old and busted looking tranny and trainer plane with an ancient loopy .40 on the front. I approached him and asked him if he thought he might need some help to get airborne again. "Nah, I'll be right. I've been using my cousin's simulator for a while." Another club member offered to buddy for him, but the offer was also refused. He set up and got ready for takeoff, then got nervous and decided he might like to have someone stand next to him, 'just in case'. The second club member volunteered and proceeded to stand next to him while he managed a flight of about 1.5 seconds, resulting in a *huge* cartwheeling crash, right in front of the pits. Broke the firewall out, busted the tail and wing and took the U/C off. He gathered up the bits, sulked around the pits for 15 minutes or so, then took off home. Only came back once since then I think, then hasn't been seen since. If he'd accepted the offer of help, he'd probably still be in the club I reckon. Shame really, but entirely his own fault nonetheless. As they say, you can lead a horse to water......