My Firebird flew away

I'm sure it happened to somebody else. I found one laying in the park. No name or phone number on it, what a shame.

Got to watch a kit built Goldberg Electra glider glide away once. During climbout the #%#$^ molex (Tamiya) battery connector lost contact and and the glider became a freeflight glider. When it lost power, it trimmed perfectly too. Short of shooting the sucker down (left the 12 gauge in my other suit) there was nothing to do but shut down the tx and watch it fly away in nice big lazy circles. Took about 10 minutes before I lost sight of it against the hills. Still up there someplace far as I know. Then there is the sloper Scooter that tipstalled and was instantly gobbled up by the Southern California Scrub Oak.

My first solo with my Super Stunts fitted with a FMA Co-Pilot - I was going really well, until I started to trim it for straight and level - it was on a downwind leg going directly away from me, and I just looked down to find the trims on the xmitter (yeh, I know now) and by the time I looked up it was way way away - I couldn't see which way it turned etc when I hit the levers, so after a quick panic thought it best to shut down the engine. It just disappeared behind trees.

Went looking, and lo and behold, was amazed to find it sitting upright and undamaged in the middle of a paddock - the Co-Pilot had landed it (dead stick) beautifully. Not a scratch.

Of course I couldn't resist having a leg pull with some other club members - I just "complained" that since my instructor hadn't taught me how to land a plane when it was not visible, I damn well had to teach myself.

David .

Well now I feel a little better.

I'm thinking I may get the smaller warbird now. For some reason I feel like it may be easier to keep close.

Who knows??

Yep, I had a sparkling new one do that to me on the third flight (first day). I was amazed to see how well that thing was climbing/gliding on the thermals when I realized that I had specked(tm) the thing. Last I saw it was headed NE above some trees, could no longer hear the motor nor could I determine direction and attitude. Watched it for as long as I could, but finally it just sort of vanished (must have turned in the wrong direction).

I spent two days searching for the thing with no luck, but on the third day as I was roaming around, I stopped and asked a young kid if he had seen my plane. He ran into his house and came out with it and a sad look on his face. I felt so bad about taking his *new found toy* that I gave him a $5.00 finders fee.

-TomO