Last Flight of the Cleveland Cloudster?

2010 Flight Test Program

(2nd flight)

Sue and I went to Veteran's Park again this morning to test the 30% reduction in elevator control and get some in-flight pictures. We arrived around 7:30 a.m., clear, calm, and about 59 degrees. I assembled the Cloudster and took it to the edge of the park on the concrete walk way to check the RPM out in the open as shown below. At full throttle it tached 12,800 RPM. Yesterday I tried to check the RPM in model room and only got 6,500 RPM so it must have been the lights in the model room interfering with the tach.

We walked out to the center of the park's field to launch. I made one last check of the controls before I launched as shown below.

Sue caught the Cloudster a moment or so after launch as shown below.

For some reason I was having problems trimming the model as it was climbing out, but it did get quite high at the end of one minute. However, after I cut the motor I still couldn't seem to get it under control and it was getting higher and further away. I sensed that I was beginning to loose the Cloudster as its image had grown very small now due to range. So I added throttle to try to start coming back to the field. However, the power only aggravated the model's gyrations. Finally it just disappeared out of sight in the morning's clear blue sky somewhere over Arlington.

I have no explanation for went wrong this morning. I only know that the Cloudster is gone, unless someone happens to find it and calls me. Otherwise, this is last picture we will ever see of the Cloudster on its way up........................Tandy Walker



N.B.: This has happened to the best R/C Assist flyers. But, it can be prevented with some on board insurance.