Had to say goodbye to my CAP today. It was a great flying H9 CAP 232 with a Saito 150GK. I’ve had the pleasure of flying for the past four years. It will be missed greatly.

I had a good preflight; range check was good, all the surfaces moving in the right directions, both high and low. Started right up as it normally has. I let it idle for a bit longer, I haven’t ran it in a few weeks and it was a tad chilly.

Take off was uneventful, good steady climb. I noticed a slight roll to the left, two clicks of aileron fixed that. Now that I think about it, there shouldn’t have been a need for any adjustments.

I did two flights around the field and it was going good. I tried a hammer stall, I think that it was it’s called, but it wouldn’t push over.

I flew it around the field one more time and thought I’d go inverted. I read a good way to check the CG is by what it does inverted.

I rolled inverted, pushed down elevator and looped back upright; I rolled inverted again and then it happened.

I saw a large piece come off the plane and it came down fast. I swear if there were flames I would have thought I was looking at an old WWII movie.

I fly at an airport so it is a solid concrete strip, not soft dirt or asphalt. The spinner hit right where two pieces of concrete come together. You can see the mark where it hit and the two dents on the spinner.

I have to say, this is the worse crash I have ever had. I have been flying for seven years now and have been able to salvage something from other crashes.

That sweet sounding Saito 150GK is now in about four pieces, the canopy broke into so many pieces (the largest piece I found was about ¾ by ¾ an inch), the receiver broke, the servo arms broke off, well except for the one in the wing that came off.

I think I cursed myself; I had just told the guy at the field with me I was thinking of retiring this CAP and buying a new one.

Here are a couple of photos from its glory days and the ones after I hauled the body home. You can see in the last photo where the wing came apart.

The funeral arrangements will be announced, the family is considering a cremation.