so the twirl lived an amazing, short life. we could all hope for the same. it's exit from this world was epic.
this was going to be it's 3rd day of flying, so maybe 6th flight. i knew based upon the last flite this would prob be its last. i saved it for a sunday when turnout at the field is lower, not wanting to disgrace the twirl. much to my demise the president of the club just randomly shows up. of course everyone is like, "hey. you gotta see this...." and before long i was on the runway.
i had reinforced a few things since last flite/crash and was semi-confident that it would fly. i lined it up on the center strip, hand spun both gyro blades, then hit the throttle. all was looking good. i pulled back on elevator and it started to rise into the air.
omg, what a relief.
but wait...then it immediately flipped inverted, flew for a few feet, rolled back over and landed like i meant to do it. prefect. crowd went wild.
i run to end of field and grab it, take it back down wind. line it up again. this time we got it! same routine, spin the blades, throttle up, pull back, and we are in the air. controls are sketchy but it's up and flying. then, it dives hard into a bush. crowd is now laughing so hard they can barely breathe.
run and grab, notice the left wing support had come loose. walk back past the crowd and say, "we got this, just need some tape."
i grab my packing tape from the tool box, wrap things back up and throw it back on the field. now EVERYONE is watching. i follow same routine, spin it up, throttle up, taxi and pull back. this time it lifts into the air and flies. the crowd is jumping up and down at this point in disbelief.
i take it down field, begin an approach from the south. all is steady and good. we are coming back to the field and at the last moment, its pulls hard right and goes into the death spiral.
at this point i couldn't contain myself anymore and joined all the guys behind me laughing. i don't remember the last time i laughed that hard. for that, and that alone. i start v2.0 using v1 as bones...
long live the twirl!
laters,
jason