The fastest plane I ever flew!

And I ain't kidding. Lets review:
Plane: ReFried Bean
Total AUW: 6.38oz
Wing loading: 7.4oz/sq ft
Engine: Big Mig .061, 5.5x3 MA prop
Launching RPM: 22,300
Lines: 40'

After last weeks maiden flight, which was fairly ordinary at about the speed I'm used to, probably 60mph, I changed a few things to perk it up. Removing the muffler and swapping to a lighter wheel had it balancing perfectly level with no added weight anywhere on the airframe. Perfect, I nailed that part of the rebuild. I had test run the engine with a 1/2" shorter prop, down from a 6x3 and it ran almost 3500 rpm faster on the ground with it's newly sealed venturi, free of air leaks.

Today, I warmed up with two flights of the Baby Streak and then put the Re-Bean on the lines. I warmed up the engine for about a half minute and set the needle where it just rolls off rich, maybe a bit more. It took off from the stooge and hit flying speed instantly, tight and level, so on the second lap I pulled a loop and after it was level the engine died. It made an exquisite glide and softly landed a lap later rolling on the grass. I ran over and pinched off the fuel feed and reset.

I added some more fuel, confident that all was trimmed and balanced and lit her off again, slightly leaner. Baby, that's all she wanted. I remember looking at the profile as she screamed around the circle and thinking, what a perfectly strange looking little beast. These were the fastest laps I have ever turned with a plane, and I'm talking Way Way faster. It takes my Streak 3 seconds to turn a lap and this felt twice as fast. You don't have to believe that, but I do. I started my routine of loops, inside and outside, inverted with outside loops and figure 8s, and now wingovers. I've been practicing those on my other plane and getting pretty neat at it, and this plane didn't disappoint. Even while pausing to do stunts I was still turning fast enough to get dizzy, and I stumbled badly, my hat falling off as I followed the plane around, so I started extending the number of consecutive loops and 8s, and that preserved my control pretty well.

I got to thinking, maybe 45' or 50' of line would be better for this speed demon. I was not overwhelmed, but still beyond my comfort zone for fun flying. Thinking the end of the run must be coming up soon, I was still mixing up stunts and turning fast circles. I decided to elongate my 8s to a half a lap and got a little high and behind me on the left. No problem, I had been practicing flying blind with fair success and no crashes. I fed it some up to bring it back and spun to my left to get a visual on it. The last thing I saw was the sun, and I heard it hit the ground. For the life of me, I don't know how I flew it into the ground. I thought I knew where it was and fed the appropriate input, but there she lay, the whole plane minus the outboard wing which was 10 feet away and had broken off cleanly between rib numbers 1 and 2 at the edge of the sheeting extension I had added.

Both tail booms, the stab and the nose, everything I had rebuilt were fully intact, like nothing had happened. Only the Monokote is ripped up on the underside of the inboard wing. The controls still work fine. The engine was dirty but neither the LG nor the needle was even bent. The bladder was still hooked up and had a buckshot sized ball of fuel still in it. If I had managed to keep it in the air just a few more seconds, I could have parked her until I rigged up a longer set of lines.


I am very very disappointed. Maybe the lesson is: don't spend two months meticulously rebuilding a plane that has taken so much punishment and full speed vertical crashes in it's first life. Or maybe any plane would have come apart like this, hitting the ground at... possibly over 100 mph. Maybe a Norvel .061 on a 4.4 ounce airframe is a bad idea. Shoulda, coulda, woulda.

Maybe some fiberglass and epoxy could hold it back together, but I'm not expecting it or getting my hopes up. I'm sure the wing LE has plenty of invisible stress fractures that may well have been pre-existing.
I thought I was through building for a while.
Phooey!