I had a GREAT time flying the remote controlled airplane that Sheri gave me for our 8 year wedding anniversary! I was a natural. I think a big part of my initial success was my experience with MS Flight Simulator on the computer.

My first attempt to fly ended in a crash about 20 feet away. The second time, though, I was up for a good two or three minutes.

I got caught about seven feet up in a pine tree. I crashed at full speed nose first into the ground a couple of times. No problem though. I just picked it up and tossed it back in the air.

When I landed I liked to cut power and glide in. Just as I am about to touch down I pull back on the stick so that I flare up. That gives me a beautiful landing. Sheri saw me do one and can vouch for that.

Near the end of the evening I caught a funny gust of wind and I crashed on my starboard wing which snapped it off. The instructions say just use some clear packing tape to fix any damage. I just got done taping it back together and it looks like it is ready to go again.

When the wing gets too beat up to use anymore, replacement wings are only $15.

It was SO much fun. All in all I got about 25 minutes of air time. Pretty good for my first time. It was also windier than it should have been for my first time out, but I was even able to handle that pretty well.

The propeller is behind the pod and above the rod that leads to the tail wings. This protects the propeller and motor pretty well, especially in the case of a nose dive. The main wing is held to the pod by six rubber bands. This gives the plane a little bit of flexibility to better withstand crashes.