'The Fallen' - A Tale of Woe - Pilot Office Andrew Watkins (On Report!)

"Am I the worst pilot EVER??? Just two weeks ago I bought my first RC Plane - a ParkZone Focke-Wulf 190. As soon as I got it home, I built it in a matter of minutes. She looked so good that I just had to get her in the air, so in the less than ideal failing light and drizzling rain she had her 'Maiden'.

Ten minutes later (which included travel time to and from the airfield). Crash No. 1 occurred due to stalling on take-off by not giving her “full throttle”.

A few days and a later the old girl had her new Battery Cover and Prop. I tried flying her again. This time I 'stalled' on take off by not giving her a solid throw. The result was a snapped fuselage.

More parts were ordered from Squadron Leader that evening. In the excitement of getting her airborne yet again I installed the tail-plane servo the wrong way around. What should have been 'Up' was in fact 'Down'. Inevitably this resulted in another order consisting of new Fuselage, Wing, Prop and Cowl. See Crash No. 2.

(Click Here to Watch Video - 'One of Many')

Before flying her again, I took advice from Squadron Leader, which suggested learning with the HobbyZone Super-Cub. The following weekend I took my brand new Cub for her maiden flight. What I didn’t consider was that although the wind on the ground was (barely) within the guidelines, the field we were taking off from was quite sheltered. As a result, when the Cub got above the cover, she hit serious wind (Click Here to Watch Video - 'Wind... What Wind?'). 'First and last flight' with un-edited commentary from my girlfriends grandad!!!

Despite huge attempts to bring her back on full throttle against the wind my handling skills were not up to the task and after about two minutes of battling, having lost visual sight of her about half a mile distant, she disappeared from radar. Gone. Lost forever.

Maybe in a cabbage field? Maybe up a tree? Maybe crashed into a house? Wherever she now lies, I’d like to think that her soul has escaped to ParkZone Heaven, where she’s able to play with all the other little Focke’s, Spits, Cubs and Mustangs.

Despite all my piloting errors, and the fact that I literally thrown £100’s of pounds into the air for approximately 2 minutes of flight, I still love the whole experience and haven’t been put off trying to get my 'Wings'."