gaRCfield,

Sounds like you learned a big lesson here. I’d talk to your buddy and see if he wants you to replace the airframe, or there is a similar airframe he would like. Even if it costs more money, just spend it and consider it tuition from Murphy’s School of Hard Knocks. I’d also buy him a case of his favorite beer for the time/effort he’ll have to put into assembling up a new plane unless you feel confident in assembling the plane so it’ll fly straight and true.

Other than a maiden/trim flight for a student and flight training, I generally refrain from flying somebody else’s plane with a couple of exceptions – and these are guys I know well, they know how I fly a plane, and they have a lot of trust in my abilities. I also know that if I do crash it, I’ll get another one, replace whatever was damaged with new equipment, assemble it for them, and perform a maiden/trim flight so they get a plane back ready to fly. When I do fly a friend’s plane, I don’t do aerobatics, high speed passes, etc. too low to the ground (well except for Vic’s Twist 60, but I just can’t help the inverted harriers and 3D a couple of feet off the ground…… ).

Hogflyer