Many of our members have started flying the Bug that Bill Rugenstein introduced.
See
www.lightflite.com for more information.
To give you an idea of just how durable they are, let me share a recent incident with you...
I went down to the Hooligan Air Force reunion in Bowling Green, KY a few weeks ago.
This is an annual gathering of flying buddies from Indiana, Georgia, North Carolina and Texas.
Anyway, I was flying my bug while one of the Georgia boys was flying his .40 sized Stick.
Now, I know what you're thinking, but he did NOT mid air my poor little bug.
After he landed, I started flying over his Stick - just to be a "pest".
Once he realized what I was doing, he took evasive action.
Somehow, I ended up in the propeller of his 4-stroke engine!!!
Before the engine quit, or he stopped it (not sure), the prop had removed most of the rudder, most of one elevon, and then severed what was left of the elevon from the rest of the airframe, near the hinge line.
Well, the other guy was mortified to see the popcorn-like explosion when my plane "landed" into his prop. He kept apologizing, even though I reassured him that it was no big deal - normal Bug operations!
I just asked him to help me pick up the pieces, before they all got blown away by the wind.
Well, we spent maybe 5 minutes scouring the runway and he handed me the pieces he collected. I took all of the pieces we found and put them in the back of my van. About an hour later, using my puzzle solving skills and a tube of Uhu Creativ glue, the Bug was resurrected and flying again.
The other Hooligans could not believe that it was the same plane that had been apparently "mortally" wounded moments earlier, but it was.
So, the moral of Bug flying is -
"Pick up ALL of the pieces!"
