I just had my first mid air today. Lost my brand new Bridi Dirty Birdy lost in a cloud of color. 8 months of building and getting it all set up and in perfect trim.
As they say in NASCAR, it was just one of them racing deals. I'm not thrilled about it at all but it was just an accident. If your afraid to loose them then never let them leave the ground. RIP DB

Sorry to hear that! Looks like you built a beautiful plane! But a bad day of flying in NV. is better than a good day at work in the stinkin snow in Wyo. Or something like that..

Aww Gene, THAT is too bad.

Welcome to the club!

NO wind for a change and 65 degrees, clear skys most of the day. Just perfect!!! Stuff happens, that's why I posted in the beginners forum. Happens to us all at some point, maybe not mid airs but we all loose a plane now and then. This one hurt a bit and it was brand new. The other fellow just finished finally getting his Show Time ARF all figured out and in great flying trim so it wasn't a one sided loss. It hurts no mater what you are flying. I'm already thinking of the next build. Not going to be another pattern plane, maybe another Sukhoi 29 plans build with a nice Brison 40 cc gas engine??? I have all the after market parts for that one??

Bummer...Sorry to hear that Gene

Maybe an Ultra Sport?

I hope the grass/dirt was ok as it hit the ground. Poor grass/dirt.

Thanks for the memories.

Hey Grey Beard,
Bummer for sure.
It happens though ( sh left off intentionally)[:@]
I once completely scratch built a RE high winger for an OS 10. On it's first flight at the soccer fields I said to my wife, " Watch this." I was flying into the wind not moving forward and then it dropped down right into the #$%@ soccer goal. Instant bag of TOOTHPICS. My wife said," Neet, do it again." then went back to reading her book. [sm=sad_smile.gif]

I would have politely informed my wife that if she did not give me at least three seconds of sincere sympathy, her proctologist would have to finish the book by narrating it to her.

Come to think of it, maybe thats why Im single again.............

I feel your pain...Sorry to hear that........Gene

Sorry to hear that, Gene. What was the other plane?

I know your pain graybeard. I have lost three airplanes to midairs in the past. A brand new Funtana S, A kit built Sig Something extra with less then 10 flights on it, and a kit built Britty Air Cruiser .60 with about 30 flights on it. Now I land if more than two people are in the air.

Our club has a pretty good way to avoid this. It's understood that you fly the racetrack pattern if there are more than 3 planes up using the same airspace, and fancy aerobatics are done up high while flying in a circle is done low. Very few midairs with us.

The other plane was a Show Time, a small ARF but still nothing the other pilot wanted to loose. In the clubs I used to belong to if you were flying against the pattern everyone there started yelling. On a dry lake bed with no club there are no rules but we do sort of police ourselves but seeing someone out of the pattern isn't anything new. In this case the other pilot was doing a big slow descending turn from way the heck up there, I was on my way to way the heck up there for some long flat spins. I saw his plane but we have a mountain for a background and it just looked like one of the full scale planes heading east to me. If I would have seen it as an RC plane I could have avoided it. Full scales out there look like RCs a lot of the time and RCs tend to look like full scale sometimes. Just an accident and nothing to get excited about. I have seen a lot of mid airs, I have just never been involved in one myself.
Sometimes someone is at fault but not in this case. I posted here for beginners to understand that stuff happens and if you get too upset when it does then you may be in the wrong hobby. No mater how long or how good you are you are going to loose a plane one way or another.
I'm already looking/thinking of my next build, the term ARF even flashed past, it was a fast pass but it happened. Sure would save some time but I keep thinking of a nice giant scale Ryan or another 80 inch Sukhoi?? Something will come up but I'm tired of pattern planes and Extras for now. I'm looking though. MAN plans has a nice looking Ryan in the giant scale section.

Look into my eyes....

You are getting sleepy...

Sleeeeeeepy...

The airplane looks a bit small in the pictures. Was it a Tweety Bird? I know you said no more pattern airplanes but I have a TB half built that I will never finish. I got it because the TB was the first kit I ever built, then I realized I was old and I need to get over it LOL

I lost a scratch built Curare in my first mid-air. It was at a busy field so I waited until the pattern was clear before the maiden. A few minutes into the flight a Stick joined the circuit. He reversed the pattern without me noticing and the rest is history. All it takes is 2 aircraft sharing the same airspace....

I have had small touches in mid-air while multiple aircraft were in the same circuit, but no serious breakage. I am superstitious when there are only 2 aircraft are in the circuit now.

Bliksem

GB - Sorry man.

Em - How about a GP Extra 300S? I need somebody to "show me the way".

Sorry to hear of your loss, but LOVE your great attitude about the accident. No one is to blame on mid-airs. They just happen, and if you don't believe me, go try to have one........lol. Takes awhile. Thanks for letting the beginners come to reality.

Now you are the kind of person more flying fields need. You know that it sucks to have a mid air, but adult enough to not let it end you love of flying. MOST EXCELLENT! I have had one mid air. I have flown off the dry lake in Nevada. I used to be a Rebel squadron member there in North Las vegas. Lets us know what you build next.

Oh, yea, before and after.

sorry about the size. oops

Sorry for your loss, I've got the Birdy Forty version and it's a great little plane. Stepped up to that from the trainer and never looked back....just wish mine was 1/2 as pretty as yours was!

Gene: This is the real beginning of a really rewarding hobby in model aircraft flying. Now that you have reached that milestone, well, you have nothing but clear skys, tail winds, and inteference free RC'ing.

Sorry, but I just had to add some levity to this. After destroying my Skylark 56 way back when, due to absolute stupidity, well, I decided that crashes after that were pretty much insignificant. Well, not really, but I'm sure you understand what I mean.

However, that does not apply here. I can appreciate what you put into that plane because I have one that is in stages of being built. I "put it down" to get my brain settled down, then "pick it up" again when I am ready to continue, then repeat the cycle. It is still about 60% finished and probably will be that way for two more years. Once I fiinsh that project, losing that plane would probably devastate me.. so, as I said, I understand.

That was a nice looking plane. Sorry you lost it.

Dick.

They just did some upgrades to the server and Mr. Server is having bad trouble with photos. I'm not sure how well I would handle loosing a BUSA Fokker, probably the same as I do when I have lost any other plane but that one really had to hurt!!
When my club put on the Castle IMAA event every year I often drove the crash truck. When you fill the back of a truck with rubble you know it was a big plane and a hart breaker.
JP, mine was only the 60 size and from the few flights I had with it I knew it was even better the the Bridi Kaos. Blue Jay still cuts the kits, I have templates for every part but I usually don't care to build the same plane twice. The CG Extra is the exception to that rule but I still have one flying.
I have never seen the 40 size DB but I'm sure there isn't a lot of difference in building either of them. I can tell you I have flown the Bridi Kaos in every size I have ever seen them made and one thing they all have in common, they all fly the same no mater what size it is. Take a look at Blue Jays web site sometime, there may be something there you would like to have, the prices aren't bad at all. Just very old school building without the photos in the instruction book so it could be a problem for some people. For a first giant scale plane you may want to look at the 80 inch Kaos, other then it's size it will fly just like your 40.