Jeff,
It sounds like you have about scale weight to power with that 52 magnum.
Is your cruise about half throttle or so?
What is your flying weight with that setup?


The Wrights never called them crashes they called them as hard landings....

And you are correct Lt. Selfridge was killed during a demo flight.

Orville described it later: "Quick as a flash, the machine turned down in front and started straight for the ground. Our course for fifty feet was within a very few degrees of perpendicular. Lieutenant Selfridge up to this time had not uttered a word, though he took a hasty glance behind when the propeller broke, and turned once or twice to look into my face, evidently to see what I thought of the situation. But when the machine turned headfirst for the ground, he exclaimed 'Oh! Oh!' in an almost inaudible voice. Suddenly just before reaching the ground... the machine began to right itself rapidly. A few feet more, and we would have landed safely."