When I flew my D VII at Chenango Bridge, my take off looked a lot like yours, except the roll/crash came sooner and at a lower speed. It acted like the ailerons were reversed, but they were not. I may have pulled it off the ground a tad too soon, and that combined with a badly timed gust of wind may have been the cause of the uncontrollable roll. I was very lucky and the damage was minimal. I was flying it again a week later. As for my routine preflight, I don't use a written checklist for models, but prior to taxi, I always focus my attention on the model, and say ( sometimes out loud, sometimes to myself) "This is a right turn" while giving right aileron and visually confirming, followed by left, up elevator and down, right rudder and left. I do this religiously, and when I am spotting I have been known to ask my pilot to show me the controls in the same manner. And even though I do this, I am still aware that stuff happens, and a dumb mistake can happen to anyone. Just ask Mac Hodges of 20 foot span B 29 fame, who lost one when an improperly fastened wing fell off in flight...

Thanks for your compliments. My planes all look good at a distance. Up close, not so much. The T craft is a great flyer as long as the motor is running well, and since I found the sweet spot for the needles so far, so good! The DR! is also a great flyer, and it looks nice with the red wheels and cowl. I need to replace the muffler bolts which managed to fall out. After the landing I found the Pitts muffler hanging by the pressure line. The landing was long because the idle was high. I heard it as the plane went by but couldn't do anything about it as I was concentrating on the landing and I knew I had plenty of runway.

Last night we had the final BOD meeting of the Mid Hudson RC Society before our big shin dig at Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome. I have to schedule my flight line crew and the other guys are going all out since it is only a few weeks away. It will be the 46th annual and we are expecting our usual 100 plus pilots and 200 plus planes. I plan to bring my D VII, my DR1 and if repaired/test flown, my Camel. I also have my electric Super cub.
Rick