Well most of you don't know that it was my boneheaded stunt at the Mid-South that started this thread. I lost a Psyko LT in the Georgia Jungle by getting way too far downwind. All the posts up to this point have all had good thoughts but when you lose a contest proven ship you tend to reflect on exactly what the hell happened that led up to the lost condition. The factors, at least in my mind, that led to this were...
1. Greed - I was in good air and wanted my time. I did not pay attention to the position of the plane in relation to what it would take to get it back. Brainfade one... 2. The wind picked up past the point that putting in the ballast slug was not only a smart thing to do but was needed big time to penetrate back from down wind. I had gotten home the day before from farther downwind and about the same height but that was with a ballasted plane, this time I didn't have ballast but thought I could do it anyway. Brainfade two... 3. I was past the point of no return when I finally decided to turn for home (see #1). I had the ship so far away that I really couldn't see what the plane was doing well enough to fly it smoothly. The only time I could actually see it was when the leading edge flashed and if that is flashing coming straight back at you, trust me you are not flying smooth. Add the fact that I was looking at a major forest to clear and the nerves just weren't under control either. Brainfade three... Any one of these brainfades could probably be overcome but three resulted in the loss of a very fine, contest proven, winning ship. Yes it was an expensive lesson and I'm hoping that some of this education will penetrate through the bone that is protecting the pea the next time I start to get myself in a similar situation. Also if it keeps any of you other thumbs from doing it that would be nice too. Therms, Joe "The BONEHEAD Soaring Pilot" Gullett Spring Hill, Tennessee _________________________________________________________________ Chat with friends online, try MSN Messenger: http://messenger.msn.com RCSE-List facilities provided by Model Airplane News. Send "subscribe" and "unsubscribe" requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
