I wonder how in the world the thing lasted ten flights with tail feathers that weren't even glued on? You should ALWAYS jerk on your tail feathers and control surfaces to make sure they are glued/hinged on good. This can save your plane. I give mine a good tug (I mean good tug--don't break the balsa, but give the joints a good workout!) after building. then, I pull on them again as part of my pre-flight every so often. I really should do it everytime, but I do make sure to do it quite often.