65in Aviator 40 ARF (Balsa)

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Product Review (submitted on May 6, 2014):

I have always wanted to get into the hobby of Rc planes. My wife wanted to do all the research to find the best starter plans. She looked at review after review and came up with the trainer Aviator 40. My only stipulation was it had to be big.
I had about 10 hours into the build and ran into some snags (the instructions were a little too vague). My wife went online and got me different instructions so back to work I went. I was almost finished so I took it to a buddy who has been flying for years and he helped me fine tune it.
I am running a .52 nitro motor on it with a 11/7 prop. My buddy strapped the fuselage to the fence and fired it up to break in the motor. After revving the motor a few times, the bungee snapped and it darted forward and snapped the prop.
Obviously ready to fly, to the airfield we went. LIFTOFF!!! He flew it past the runway a few times and brought it in for a landing. As he came in, he noticed the nose gear was twisted at a 90° but it with his skill level was able to land it.
When I went out to retrieve it I noticed the linkage of one of the ailerons was dangling. So not only did he land it with twisted nose gear, but also one aileron. The moral of this maiden flight is (blue Locktite is your friend)