ORIGINAL: DenverJayhawk
Geez. He said he wicked glue in the elevator joiner and pulled on the elevator to check. What more do you expect?
I expect the same thing from every pilot...
A quality, thorough PRE-FLIGHT on every airplane, every time, with extra attention to detail when performing a maiden, particularly on an aircraft one didn't build.
This has nothing to do with whether or not an ARF or RTF "should" or "should not" require an owner to assemble, repair, or strengthen certain things. It has EVERYTHING to do with simply being thorough, and not risking yourself, your aircraft, or spectators unnecessarily.
I heard a flapping sound and looked up to see both elevator halves flapping behind the rudder. All 6 hinges had pulled out of the slots. All 6 appeared to have very little glue on them.
...
Here's another picture of the underside of one of the hinges. No glue at all, the dark area is the small amount of glue and balsa on the top side.
Am I honestly to believe that an elevator held on with "very little glue" on the hinges, including at least one with "No glue at all"...an elevator that separated under normal flight loads because "All 6 hinges" pulled away from their slots... was throughly inspected and tested prior to flight? That by some miracle, the glue that held the elevator firmly in place when it was tugged on with sufficient force to identify such flaws suddenly ceased to function once the aircraft was airborne?
The OP just said "Live and learn". That's the lesson to be learned. The poor gluing job did not seal this aircraft's fate. The poor inspection process did.