Ok... haven't written in a while cause i was licking my wounds after all my previous crashes... that and putting together my new Hobbistar 60.

I was so excited to finally get it that i was obsessively building for 3 days... i was upgrading this and that and making sure everything was perfect. You guys know the drill i'm sure.

Well.... yesterday i got up to the field at about 11 and after tuning the engine (old kraft .61) i takeoff north in very light wind. 10' off the ground and off the runway the engine dies... for a beginner i think i landed pretty well. Only damage was the nylon nosegear mount. Back to the pits where i fabricated a replacement.

After fiddling with the engine to make absolutely sure it wouldn't die out... i get ready for take off again but wind is now coming from the west. Our field is on a small mesa near aspen, co. Surrounded by lotsa mountains, obviously. Smooth take off and up it goes and maybe 15 feet off the ground wind shifts HARD back from the north and literally flips this big bird over and SLAMS it into the ground totally destroying everything. Even engine is toast.

Man, I tried everything to get it to turn back over and nothing worked. Full throttle, Right rudder, right ailerons, full elevator... nothing. I can't say exactly what happened but i'm assuming the wind must have gusted out where it was and i stood no chance. I have no idea. Of course, after it happened you could have dropped a feather and it would have fallen straight down. Figures, eh?

You could say i was a teeny bit discouraged, after all... i have destroyed two planes in as many flights and this one hadn't even flown yet. This field is jinxed. No one is ever there and i think i know why now , lol. It's possessed. I noticed the cows all started mooing in unison right after that. Hmmm. Makes me wonder. Actually, unless it was a radio problem, which i seriously doubt, i should have not taken off in the first place. I think a better pilot would have known that.

Luckily i have a friend that has a paved airstrip though its farther... but the way i figure it, the cost per flight at this one justifies the extra travel time/expense.

Anyway ... i just wanted to *****. I'm already looking at another plane. HA HA...