You guys are all the best! I SINCERELY Thank You all for the support and making me feel better. I still feel bad about the crashed plane, but hearing that I'm not the only one who's dumped a plane on their virgin flight makes me feel a lot better. I know that this has happened to an number of people who later on became top-notch competition pilots and who now train others and are considered "experts" in the field. So, with that in mind, I'm still going to continue to learn as much as possible at every available opportunity and become the best pilot I can be. Who knows, maybe in a few years, I'LL be the guy on the other end of the buddy cord talking some scared, but starry eyed new pilot through his first cruise through the sky [sm=teeth_smile.gif]. I love to teach and I love to fly, so I think I could make a good instructor one day and be a "good shepard" to some people getting into this wonderful hobby.

I'm learning alot about "general" plane handling using the FMS simulator. I've been flying basically the equivalent of a "mid-wing" Fokker "ugly stick" b/c it seems to have alot of the same trainer characteristics as the big, slow flier I'll be flying. The guy who's fixing the plane is also going to "tone down" the flight characteristics of the plane (like reaction time/speed/movement) so that it won't be quite so easy to get away from me, and if it does, I'll have enough time to collect myself and bring it under control. I don't mind this at all !!!! I'll take all the help I can get and if that means slowing it down, so be it. I've got the rest of my life to "fly fast and loose". I've even toyed with the idea of putting a tri-bladed prop on it to slow it down a little more (has anyone tried this? I've heard someone say that tri-blades tend to bring the speed of the plane down a little vs the standard props)

Also, since this plane has a balsa/mylar wing that's ULTRA light and WAY delicate (i swear it feels like it's made of "solid air" ! ) , would it be a good idea to try to put a big foam core, monocoat "plastic" wing on it? (is "monocoat" the right term? I'm talking about the hard, but lightweight, thin plastic feeling stuff that's wrapped around styrofoam -> like the wing on the Falcon) I know the .60 engine is strong enough to get it moving (I'm still shocked at how much thrust a .60 can make!!!! WOW !!!! I can't even IMAGINE what a 1.20 would feel like!). The wing would definitely weigh more, but would it be completely unflyable? ->or so difficult to fly that it would be basically "impractical" or just a mess? What do you guys think? I like the light weight of the balsa wing because it gives it GREAT "soaring-gliding" abilities in the event of a deadstick, but I'm TERRIFIED that even one "soft" FLOP on a flubbed landing is going to bust the stuffing out of it.... and then it's back to the repair table again....
>And I KNOW this happens ALOT because I saw FIVE very, very experienced pilots go "wheels up" on landing last weekend > they landed great (not too fast, not too slow) but hit a bump, hole, patch of grass, rock, gust of wind, whatever, and BLOOP! the nose went down and the tail went over the top and the plane was then sitting upside-down on the wing! [X(]

Any ideas on how I might be able to increase the "durability" of the wing and plane in general? Also, any other ideas on how to slow it down (or stabilize it during flight) a little more? I know the "right" answer is "Don't crash it!", and "Don't hold the ailerons more than a fraction of a second!" but I've already proven that THIS option isn't always an opportunity that's available.... It's already got one feature that I think is indispensable. It's got two big 3"-4" soft wheels that are set REALLY WIDE apart to aid in "not so pefect" landings (it's a nose-wheel "tricycle" setup) and I know that little feature is going to save my butt ALOT