This is really funny & incredibly dumb. I have outdone myself again (Last time I backed over my new helicopter, after the FIRST flight)

This Sunday, I took my 27% Lanier CAP-232 with Brison 3.2 out to the flying field. I had no plans on flying the plane as it IS far from being ready. The cowl is not fitted, the throws are not setup, the fuselage covering needs to be patched where the rudder servo formerly sat.

Anyways, I have full 3D throws with no expo or anything dialed in.

We maidened my friends GP Patty Extra with ZDZ-50. So I am all excited, I fire my plane up and plan to taxi it around. Just to check and get used to the plane. Twice I run it along the length of the runway, the plane lifts about 1 ft in the air and I settle it down.

Now this third time, I am going a little fast and the plane catches a strong gust of wind...

Before I know it, she is 5 feet up in the air and I am at the end of the runway !!!

Now my only option is to fly the plane, so I take it up and trim the plane out a little bit. I am still on 3D rates with no expo and the Hitec 5945 digitals are FAST

Anyways, I manage to fly about 3 circles and then I bring the plane for a landing...I grease the landing, bring the plane back and started wondering...

What the heck did I just do ?

Welll... you buuilt it good enough to fly "almost unasisted"
or maybe is that your skills are improving... :bananahea
The best is that you managed to get iti down in one piece!!! good work

I know THAT feeling. I did that with a Corsair. Never flew one, so I thought, what the hey, just taxi it around a bit until the instructor shows up. Well, I seemed to have been going faster than it looked, because within seconds, it was airborn and climbing. It's amazing how the mind and body reacts when conditioned for "controlled" panic. I got it back down with a minor nose over. I was walking out to get it when the instructor shows up, grinning, he knew by the look on my face what I had just done.

I might have you beat. The ram ECU has a known issue where sometimes if you don't teach the ecu throttle settings first flight of the day, the engine will not ramp down from high throttle for 15 seconds or so.

I'm taxi testing my Turbine jet with NO CANOPY on. I run it to full throttle, about half way down the runway, I pull back to idle and hit the brakes in full.

The jet keeps screaming down the runway and at the end it hits a bump in the runway and goes airborne. This is an unknown unflown airplane.

So as it's pitched up in the air, almost straight up I realize that I'm at full brakes and engine setting at idle. It occurs to me that I'm now flying and I need throttle, so I jam it.

Then I hear from the pits "your canopy is not on" I yell back that this is an accident!!

So I fly around about three circles and line up for landing. I didn't grease it in, but I got my jet back.

Well, that's one mistake I'll never make again.

LOL

Sean

Great stories!

I expect it has something to do with the adrenalin pumping through your veins! Reflexes are sharper, coupled with the shear terror of losing your plane! I know my best landings always seem to be dead sticks. At least those that make the runway!

John

Shear terror...yea of my wife

She dropped me off at the flying field that day. I was starting the engine when she was leaving for the mall.

So she asks me "You are not going to fly your CAP are you ?
I say "No way...it's not even setup"

So when the thing flew on it's own , I was thinking that I have to get it down in one piece or my wife will be really Pi$$ed...

After all I have been ignoring her lately and spending time trying to get the plane ready

Jokes aside guys, seriously the most valuable investments I have made in the last one year are 1) GP RF-2 Simulator & 2) Goldberg Ex-treme 330 profile.

The Simulator taught me IMAC, inverted 3-D and heli which no one would even dare to try on the real plane.

The Ex-treme 330 just seems to make your confidence level grow. Worst case, you crash a $150 plane....

Always happens. People say "I am just going to test taxi" and then they are in the air and don't know how it happend. I tell everyone, don't taxi unless you are prepared to fly!

Don't feel bad. It happens in full scale too. Unfortunately there, if the plane wasn't ready the pilot dies. Saw a guy do it once with his daughter in the plane and killed them both. Not fun.

As with full scale and models, don't taxi test unless you are ready to fly!