This weekend our club held its twice-annual float fly, and today we witnessed a spectacular crash which I happened to get a snapshot of just as the plane hit the water. I'm not sure what kind of plane it was. Someone said it was built from a 1956 kit. The plane was big--probably 8 feet long and with a wingspan to match. The wind was blowing pretty hard, and as the plane flew overhead, we heard the awful sound of a wing spar breaking. A few seconds later, all that's left was pieces. We recovered what was left of the plane, but the engine's at the bottom of the lake. Pics below:

[link=http://wintellect.com/weblogs//images/wintellect_com/wintellect/3/o_Before.jpg]Getting Ready for Flight[/link]

[link=http://wintellect.com/weblogs//images/wintellect_com/wintellect/3/o_Splashdown.jpg]Impact![/link]

[link=http://wintellect.com/weblogs//images/wintellect_com/wintellect/3/o_After.jpg]The Aftermath[/link]

Bummer.....the engine is probably in perfect shape too....[]

Sorry for the loss....that was a beauty....

Dave. []

What a shame.[]

So, MOST of a float plane floats, eh?

Sorry for the loss...


Denis

Sad. That was a gorgeous aircraft! []

Looks like Don McGovern Sea Monster. Originally published plans in 1954 as a Free Flight model




Lots of wood, lots of work. I have a set of plans but it'll have to wait until I get a bigger building room.

They should have thrown a soda bottle buoy over the side of the boat and then come back later with a big magnet to troll for the engine.

Very sad loss.

Don

Hat..I think you are right. I remember back about that time Berkley had a big sea plane that was for RC...single channel. I think it was called "custom privateer"?? It was on the back page of the magazines for a long time. Flying models??

I think you are right. Jetco (Berkeley?) changed the name of the kit to the Privateer or Custom Privateer.

Don

Too bad you didn't get a video of the crash.

Sorry about the crash , But all I know is if it was my engine it would not be staying at the bottom of that lake. I would rent some scuba gear or pay some local diver to fetch it for me.

As for the plane , it just to big for my likings.

I happen to be a scuba diver myself, but the channel where the engine went down is WAY too deep!

I love that 1954 magazine picture. It looks like the same plane, alright. I don't know the gentleman who crashed it, but he did seem a bit crestfallen. He took it like a man, though.

I hate to see someone loose an engine. There is an easy way to ensure you keep an engine in a crash. I wrap a steel leader around the engine securely, then attach about fifty feet of strong fishing line to that. I attach the other end to a bobber and coil the whole thing up in the plane. You can also attach the other end of the line to a solid point on the plane, so the plane itself becomes the bobber. Either way, if you do crash your plane, you can just find the bobber and pull the engine back up. BTW, I'm not taking credit for this idea, I'm just passing it on.

Yep, did a similar thing when I raced airboats. Cut a scrap of thin aluminum sheet, drilled two holes and mounted it under the back engine screw. Swaged a small cable in the other hole and ran the other end to a hardpoint on the boat. If the engine pod was taken out in a collision, it stayed with the boat. I will do that to all my seaplanes/floatplanes. I'll have to re-fit a few. Should be easy with foam floats.

Don

beautiful, simply beatiful. Bummer for the loss.[&o]