Last week I put my Phoenix models Strega little orange racer p-51 up for sale. It was posted for 3 days completely rtf complete with rx,tx and all. It did have a cracked main gear mounting block and I said so in my post.

I had told a few people around here that I have met through the club I was selling it I wanted to get either a Stick or buy the Ultrasport kit, because of the recent threads going on at RCU.

One of the guys from the club has a friend in arkansas that is interested I email him some pics he likes, pays me asking price if I fix the main gear. Not a problem as long as he does not mind a yellow stripe to recover the section out of the wing. He says go for it. So I fix the plane, give him a ring he says he will be here today. GREAT !

He shows up at about 9 am this morning says that he brought his plane and would like to go get some flying in while it is nice outside, and it was beautiful.

I say sure, and we load up the planes I hand him his strega he inspects the repair says all good hands me my money.We get to the field and he breaks out a 3 channel cub. 40 sized rudder only. It is a really beautiful plane. He takes it up and flies really well.

I offer to take up the Strega and make sure it is all trimmed and ready to go. Up we go it is flying wonderfully, does everything I am asking of it. I bring it down top off the tank and I ask. " Have you ever flown a plane like this before?" He gets kinda snotty and says ( he is every bit of 20)" I been flying for 2 years man, I think I can handle it"

I offer one time " I can put it on the buddy box until you get used to the way it flies, it is a lot different then the cub your flying". He looks at me and says "nope I am good".

He fires it up, takes it off the table sets it out to taxi, lines up and snaps the throttle to full. He makes it about 10 foot off the concrete before I know he is in deep s**t. LOL

It looks like the agitator in a washing machine, snap left right left right over and over, he manages to get it inverted then the fun really starts. He slow climbs inverted to about 400ft
and now I cant orient the plane its that far away. He manages to get it coming back in our direction, at which time I grab a seat under the covered pit area.
Its coming in fast spinning like an arrow in flight and I am trying not to laugh. He pulls full up rudder at which point it kinda snap rolls to our left then dives. and dives.

Nose cone first into a huge pile of cow poo on the other side of the fence.

I walked over to my flightbox, pulled out the buddy cord and said " I tried to help" ...........He was really mad at me but at this point I just kind of thought it was funny.

I found out later he had flown the cub for a few months and a tower trainer for about a week.

I really hate to see any plane crash BUUUUT, I don't try very hard to hide my sly grin when some smart a huh a huh aleck, yeah aleck, who is flying way above his ability wise cracks then lawn darts one. I really do hate to see a crash though

well you offered! thats all you can do. everyody wants to fly the p51 before there ready, it happens all the time

I hated to see it destroyed it was an arf but it was my first arf. I really liked the plane for a while but it was small and was not as much fun as my tiger 2. I can make the tiger do anything I want, except a knifedge, without a fight. The Strega was an unforgiving little bird. Suited for someone that likes speed and knows how to deal with it.

If you like snap fast basics the strega is great, I kinda like the smooth planes like the tiger and hopefully the stik I ordered will be.