Till Dusk Do We Part

Late in the day, around 6:00 p.m. I decided I would head out for a couple of quick flights. I charged up the batteries (my downfall), grabbed Daisy (the dog), and away we went. It was a perfect newbie night for flying, not even a hint of a breeze. There was one small problem, After waiting for the batteries to charge, it was getting a bit late. Yeah, I know I shouldn't fly after dark, but really, it wasn't dark yet, just close. I headed over to the state fair grounds to take flight. Daisy was to be my co-pilot. Unfortunately the on duty officer patrolling the grounds informed me that she would not make a good co-pilot if she were going to be on a leash, and according to him, she was going to be on a leash, sorry Daisy. Funny thing is, Daisy and I have spent many hours patrolling the grounds without said leash. Guess those days are over. Alright back to flying, after my talk with the officer, I got the bird ready and away I went. The light was vanishing more rapidly than I had expected and desired. I realized that as soon as the bird was visible above the tree tops. That was the point it became a nice silhouette against the night sky. Unfortunately, the lack of ambient light made it very difficult to determine orientation. I hovered for a bit, and as I tend to do, I slowly let the heli slip further and further away. Normally this isn't a problem, I slowly reverse direction and bring it back. The problem tonight was, since I can't fly nose in, I need to coax it backwards towards me. Again, normally not a problem, but since my ability to determine orientation was limited, I was having a hard time keeping it tail towards me. I was just about back when I, or should I say, the heli decided it was time to attempt nose in flight. A little swerve right, then left, then down, almost straight down that is.

In conclusion, tt wasn't a long flight, probably about 2 to 3 minutes. Compared to my early days, I guess that is pretty good. The results, well, see for your self.

Looks like I have a tail rotor and main blade assembly to repair. I think I should be able to repair everything without waiting for new parts, although, new parts are definitely in my future.

Later
-JbJ