Well ya' know all this concern about drones colliding with aircraft?

I do love me some balsa fix wing flight also.

Years ago I built a large scale P-38 Lightning for the South lake tahoe air show. She was a beauty. I hand painted her, right down to the rivets. Me and some buddy went out to our local club feild a few days before the air show for her maiden flight/shakedown.

Preflight checks are all good.
Batteries are charged in transmitter and RX.
flight controls check out.

A few deep breaths, TX neck strap on to help with my shaking hands.
Taxi down wind, looks good.
My buddy walks down, spins her nose into the wind and grabs her tails after giving me the thumbs up.

Throttle up both counter rotating engines to about 70 percent and my budie lets go.

She is in the air in about 30 foot and gracfull as anything I had ever seen.
I fly the pattern a few times getting her trimmed out just right and WOW.
She is flying hands free like an arrow. Hands down best airframe I have ever built.

Oh my this is good!

I announce I am going to attempt an allieron roll, roll left. Check. Roll right. Check!

Next is up is a loop. Add throttle and pull back on the stick. She climbs over the top like nothing, and here's where it went south.. i still have no idea what happened. Post crash inspection was, well there wasnt much left to inspect. I think i forgot to drop throttle after coming over the top or maybe the linkage to the elevator let go but she did a beautifull "figure 9" and blasted a crater in the dirt about 20 feet infront of me. Nothing left but toothpicks and wire. The only thing to be done was get a garbage bag and go home.....

Some day I would like to build another but even all these years later im still kinda traumatised by it.

:rofl::BangHead: