-> Yep, I can understand that.  You say that an ultralight was the cause
-> of the grief.  Don't know much about them things... how'd it happen?
-> (if you don't mind me askin').
Not at all.  I've told that tale so many times here I thought
everybody knew.....
This thing was a Mitchell B-10 tail less pusher with a Mac Chainsaw
engine mounted high behind the pilot, Elevons on a conventional control
stick controlled pitch and roll, while rudder pedals operated 'rudders'
mounted on the tips of the  otherwise conventional rib and fabric wing.
NEVER fly an airplane without a tail!  
We'd just rebuilt the engine mount which had vibrated into junk-iron,
and had tested the engine and 'chassis' of the thing extensively at my
home.  The engine ran GOOD and made good power.  TOO good actually,
becasue it tended to 'run-on' or Diesel when you cut the ignition.  (Not
untypical of two stroke engines.)
NEVER fly an airplane with a two-stroke engine!
We took the 'chassis' (You could hardly call it anything else, it was a
collection of aluminum tubes, wheels, seat, engine and prop) over to
it's home airport and assembled the wing to it and connected up all the
controls etc.  Tested it out, taxied it, and all was well, except we
couldn't KILL the confounded engine!  (Except by throwing a towel into
the idling prop.) You could stick your thumb in the carb and it ran...
pull off the plug-wire and it ran.... cuss it and pinch off the fuel and
it ran.... so we just threw in the towel so to speak.
We were having a fly-in the next day at yet another grass pea-patch and
the owner wanted to take it over there in hopes of finding a sucker, er
uh, buyer for it and since I'd been fooling with it and taxiing it at my
place it was decided that *I* fly it over to the fly in, where I was
scheduled to fly three aerobatic performances in the Cassutt and give
spectator rides in my Chief.
I arrived at the appointed time, found the Mitchell freshly fueled and
waiting, made a half dozen taxi runs to get the feel of it with wings on
it, a couple of quick hops off the ground and back and pronounced it
ready to fly!  I did NOT check the weight and balance, VERY important on
tailess aircraft, and it very nearly killed me.
The wings had an index mark where they attach to the chassis, so that
part was right.  We had VERY carefully copied the geometry of the engine
mount, with most of the work performed by an A&P or closely checked by
him, so that part was right.  (I SHOULD have made him fly it!)
It took off and landed properly for a couple of brief flights so as far
as I knew it was ready to fly!  I did.  Climbing out at about fifty feet
I noticed that I had very little elevator authority, and even with full
forward stick could not immediately level off the climb, but I didn't
epecially WANT to so I continued to march. (Climb)
At about 100 feet I really started wanting better elevon authority, but
just barely manaaged to arrest the climb and was about to turn back and
land when the dang engine, which we had NOT been able to kill, STOPPED
DEAD COLD!  Silence reigned!  "Well" said I, "IT was a glider before it
was ever powered, I'll just put it down in that open field and walk on
back to the patch."  WRONG!
THe engine being a high mounted pusher had been all there was giving me
any DOWN authority at ALL!  As I planned my glide the nose inexorably
came up and the elevons hit the stop.  NO way to get the nose down.
(The 5 gallon fuel tank between my legs was all the way back), and I was
too light to counteract the weight of thirty pounds of two stroke mix,
so I had a VERY aft CG and NO time to figure it out.  IT was NOT a
glider anymore!
So to make a long story shorter if no happier, it stalled, dropped a
wing and went straight in from about 75-80+ feet.  I smote the earth
HARD, broke a LOT of things on me, and converted a very pretty little
airplane to a pile of toothpicks.
The fuel tank BURST, covering me and the ticking,cooling engine with two
stroke mix, and I came to listening to the engine tick, and me straining
to breath!  Besides which I HURT! Adding insult to injury the gasoline
was blistering my legs and torso REAL bad! I wanted to be shut of my
pants BAD! Arm was broke so I couldn't get shut of the seat, work the
belt buckles or anything. When the folks arrived from the airport I was
struggling to crawl out of my pants, the gasoline was eating me ALIVE
and my feet were trapped in the wreckage.
We were never sure WHY the engine quit, considering that it ran fine
when they started it later, but I think maybe the rubber line got
pinched.
Needless to say I didn't fly any spectators, aerobatics, or ANYTHING for
several months.  (The guy DID sell the Mitchell, what was left of it, to
the A&P who rebuilt parts of it, but fortunately somebody STOLE it.)  I
think that's a fitting reward for a thief, don't you?  
Hope I didn't tell you MORE than you wanted to know.......
 ^..^
--- FidoPCB v1.5 beta-'j'
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