The big day arrived , Quite a few jet pilots and turbine inspectors out for a day of kero burning ...
Takeoff was nice and took a few minutes to trim her up and settle in , and it really was quite comfortable to fly , needed a little more aileron throw and maybe a little more elevator throw but nice .... tested the flaps in flight (no surprises) did a few axial rolls across the field and settled down for a gear down check and landing circuit flaps down on final and she slowed up beautiful and came in a treat :-) all smiles and cheers .
Checked her out between flights and topped off the tanks ..... adjusted the trim and off it went again much nicer now and sweet through the air ,looking great ..... about 4 minutes into the second flight , lined up for for a fly by at which point right in the center of the field at about 50-60 ft it began to flex back and forth through the center of the fuse and then literally snapped in half .... leaving us all stunned and amazed ..... Yep , you can imagine the shock and disappointment.
It seemed apparent that the carbon rod had held firm across the top of the hatch area but the lower area of the fusalage had flexed leading to the end of nearly 2 years work .
Will try to make a small Video of the first flight and post it on utube