Damage report:
Left battery pod totally off - I must remember to return that divot to the field.
There is a crack in the left pylon at the v-tail.
Right pylon totally off, just held on with the wires.
All of this is repairable I think.
Here is a gif of the second launch
Looking at this in slow-mo I am beginning to thing that this is just a lack of power problem (oh, and I could have tried a little harder, the throw seems a little timid).
I would try moving the CG back a bit and see where that gets you.
Yep - although I like to maiden nose heavy, I may have overdone it this time. On the thrust angle, this is a profile pic marking the supposed thrust line from the EDF (horizontal line) and the CG position, which is essentially where I am gripping the model for launch. I would not expect to be able to feel "push over" from the EDF with this setup which I why I suspect that the EDF and thrust tube could be off, with the thrust exiting the tube pointing downward, creating a torque around the CG. But looking at the vid of the second launch, I may be imagining this because the plane didn't look like it was nosing down significantly.
Have you considered a bungee launch to get her up to speed quickly?
Yep - this could be a good option - lack of launch speed is probably killing any attempt to get her up. Only concern is that once up, if I am still significantly underpowered, then I just come down again.
What is the next step to make this fly?
Given that I have no idea if this shape / configuration will fly but I do know that it is significantly underpowered, and the fact that I can't really change the former, but can do a lot with the latter, I think the next step is to add gobs of thrust. Options for this are:
(a) Add 2 x NTM2826 1200Kv motors wearing 8x4.5 props to the front of the battery pods - these can run off the same 4S supply as the EDF and provide 5 lbs (!) of extra thrust
(b) Remove the EDF and add the motors described in (a)
(c) Remove the EDF and add a single pusher to the rear ( the E-Flite Motor 10 that I run on the Tigercat will give me just under 4.5 lbs thrust on 3S with a 12x4 prop).
It also might be worth my while, if I pull the EDF, to do some glide testing.