Gee Tom great stories and memories I'm sure...loosing a plane is never an easy thing, and doing it in the presence of others can make a bad situation even worse! Good tip on checking the doweled elevator joint as part of the pre-flight check, I'll be sure to include it to mine. I never had a problem with that joint in the past with my other two Tigers, did you wrap the dowel with glass after you epoxied it into place?