At-6

by Hayden
(Saratoga Springs, New York)

My friend Phil Camp and I had built an At-6 that took almost a year of weekly building and beer drinking.
It was a Top-Flite Gold Edition balsa build up and later was coated with fiber glass and given a weathered and battered finish complete with rivets and panel lines. The plane was beautiful, powered by a 120FS and all brand new electronics and digital servos. I took it to the field after bragging about it to everyone and it was an obvious hit.
My intentions were to taxi around the field, which I did for a few minutes. The plane handled so well on the ground and the pneumatic robarts were active and ready to go up, so I gunned the motor (which was my first mistake) - the plane took off in about 8 ft!
I instantly went stick foward to push the nose down to "try and fly it out" and it tip-stalled. The wreck was a stunning example of what not to do. I didn't have the heart to tell Phil what had happened for a week or two... I was ashamed that I, an experienced R/C pilot, could do such a stupid thing. He had put a ton of time into the plane and of course had many beers with me. I eventually let him in on the horrible accident. I'm not sure if he forgave me...

It was a sad day. Even though I came in at half way through the build, I feel ARF's are a better option for me because, I don't have as much time, money and heart to put into it. I loved that plane and even my wife said it was great looking. I thank my friend Phil for his time with me and that plane!

If you're a new flier, stick to ARFs until you don't mind blowing your time and money all over the approach!!