My FT Versa Wing Bites the Dirt for the Final Time

It was a beautiful day here in Arkansas. Great day to crash an airplane. Yep, I totaled my beloved FliteTest Versa Wing. It's a Dollartree foam scratch build that really taught me how to fly, and I still have a special spot for it in my heart.

It has been rebuilt and reglued more times than I can count. But this time I don't think it will be coming back.

The fault is really my own, I was teaching my nine-year-old son how to fly… But he didn't crash it.  I had resoldered the two little antennas on the micro receiver not too long ago.  Those little receivers shouldn't be flown much past 300 to 500 feet anyway, so I have really gotten my moneys worth out of it as I have pushed the distance boundaries many times.

I started to blame the power lines between me and the aircraft.  But upon closer inspection of the crash, I noticed one of the little antennas had broken off the receiver. I didn't find it in the wreckage so I suspect it broke off before the crash, essentially causing me to lose contact.

It was a classic straight in half-throttle crash, so the front of the main wing was badly crinkled. It has been straightened a few times, but I think this was the final straw.

Oh well, sayonara to one of my favorite aircraft.