From Triumph to Tragedy: RC B-58 Hustler Heartbreaking Maiden Flight 

In spite of the crash it was still a success my friend. It flew and flew well! It was beautiful in the air and we all have the knowledge you shared from the build. Those are all wins! What ever you do next will be amazing and Im so sorry you lost it.

Arguably the most handsome aircraft ever designed and built. The B-58 is a legend for record setting achievements in aviation. BUILD ANOTHER PLEASE!

Stunning model that's rarely seen. Very interesting hearing the after crash report and how in flight the power dynamics are very different Vs static. A real cold war classic and an aircraft that was all about power and very high speeds. The real aircraft had a fairly high crash percentage rate so your model statistically was just following the Math behind the aircraft.

In my 40+ years of flying model aircraft I don’t think I was ever so disappointed as I was watching your B-58 go in. I’m sure it’s because watching it develop into the finished model I felt sort of connected to the build. The level of detail is amazing. Take heart in the fact that you have a proven airframe that can be done again. Maybe leave out all the painstaking paint and details then move forward with those after it’s been through the test program. I applaud your skill and efforts, in this day of RTF & ARF models you have the spirit that bought many of us into this hobby in the first place.

Wow brother, sorry for your loss. You took it like a true sportsman and learned from it instead of cussing and blaming. Seeing that model fly was completely awesome, seeing it go down... Well, i think you took it better than i did! Very inspiring video series from cradle to grave. Thank you!

Chris...this was a heck of an achievement in itself! Plain and simple! The build process, the patience and the courage to put that excellent work of art in the air... I have nothing but respect for you! Keep up the good work sir!

I admire how calmly you handled things even in the midst of disaster, reminded me of black box flight recorders where pilots are fighting to save the plane but you wouldn't know by their voices.

As a 5 year old little boy I was infatuated with the Hustler…. 57 years later you brought back some great memories with an incredible flight and such a beautiful plane… great job!

Huge props to you for making this video. It must take a lot to make a video like this when you've poured yourself into a project. Thank you for bringing it out to NATS to show it off, and for all the hospitality and knowledge you shared that weekend.

A heartbreaking end to a fantastic adventure. To see her in the air was a pleasure. We’ve all experienced that sinking feeling on the sticks , and the what ifs start . Your investigation has cleared up any doubts as to the cause and good that you are already thinking about the next build . So onwards and upwards, thank you Chris for being so professional and calm and sharing your experience with us . Hope to see you again soon . Alan

as a 72 yo wingnut I have to tell you that the B 58 Hustler has always been my all time favorite airplane. Having gotten to actually stand next to and touch one at PIMA was the summation of a life time dream, actually getting to see one. Your build is truly remarkable, beautiful, and true to the beast this plane was and in your case, still is. Good work. Sad failure, but you will fly another day. Straight and Level Flight Captain. TC BK 3 RT Racing.

You did an absolute marvelous job just getting her up and into the air. Your ability to control it all the way until the end was something to be proud of. The B-58 is an unstable aircraft by nature and your ability to build and fly her by remote control just leaves me speechless! I hated to see the aftermath, but she did fly and fly well. You get an A plus in my book!!

That was an awesome jet you built. Sorry it ended the way it did. Also the way you handle the whole situation during the maiden flight while being filmed and with people watching keeping your Cool and not losing your mind cursing throwing a fit shows all us Modelers how we should act to promote this Hobby.

Absolutely gorgeous model and livery. Well done. I'm impressed by your positive attitude to the loss of your work. It's clear that no mere crash can take away your love for the hobby, or the challenges it provides.

Such a heartbreaking loss. I was surprised that you held it together. I would have cried. I felt privileged to have seen it take to the air on RU-vid. I was an Air Force brat growing up. We were stationed at Bunker Hill AFB in Peru Indiana, now call Grissom AFB. It was a B58 and B47 base back then. My dad was a flight line chief and he loved the Convair B58 Hustler. What a cool name. He always bragged about how fast it was, how complex it was and he said it was the 1st plane to use a basic onboard computer. We always saw them flying around and got close up to these incredible, beautiful machines every Armed Forces Day. Thank you for building it.

So sorry to see her go. What an incredible build. You are truly a talented craftsman 👍🏼

Chris, I’m gutted for ya. She was absolutely majestic against a beautiful sky. Major props on keeping cool and calm after the loss. You’re a real gentleman. Many of us here in San Diego really miss flying with you. Take care buddy, keep your chin up! 😎👍🏼

So sad that you lost her. But very proud for you that all of the airframe, landing gear, and other parts that you built with your own hands were a big success! She looked great! You have amazing building skills while a lot of us in this hobby can only assemble the parts out of a box. And your detail in painting her was fabulous! We can all learn a lot from your efforts. Thank you!

Wow!! Beautiful until the crash! '67 Dad had similar problem when Carrier Forestal afire. USN cookin' Sailors as main lift's 300HP motors melted. Dad's bro, Director of Army's Automotive Tank Command in Warren MI, phoned to have their Mom wind stators, while her neighbor wound armatures. Both retired, but USA all the way, so said, "No Problem", as had wound original motors! Also critical were cooling castings as had to be complete before winding on stators. Another Uncle over Machine Shop took care of that w/army of gals brave as hell w/plant misters. Usually took 8 days to make one motor, but both completed in day & a half. Dad's tester Bud hooked 'em up, half hour later General arrived from Command asking if good, Bud replied, "Perfect", Gen said, "Crate 'em up!" Dad & Bud given 10 min to get their sht together & became part of Convoy. At USAF Bomber Base, motors loaded in B-58 bombay. Added Pilot, Dad rode #2, and Bud slept #3. Pilot tired right out as had just Chrome Domed a Mission, so had Dad (never a pilot) hook up 1st refuel, unhook and accelerate to classified top speed, then Pilot took nap. Dad excellent Map Man so flew all the way Mich to off Vietnam refueling as scheduled. SR-71 came up to check bullet out, took photo of Pilot sleeping, who was forever tagged w/call sign Sleeping Beauty! Nearing destination, Dad woke up Pilot who gave perfect landing. They had brand new Navy twin engine supply planes with a side cut out ready for a motor, but no tailhook?? That's when were told barrier crash mission. Plan was, planes had predrilled holes & slots so pilot would alit, hard left just before barrier, hit barrier, front went left, rear snapped off to right caught in net. Dad 1st & it worked perfect. Bud's Pilot turned late, so motor ran right thru left/middle of plane killing Pilot. Dad frantic, as these guys gonna clear deck after motor extraction w/BUD IN WRECK! Dad & 2 more Sailors helped and freed Bud with the extra 5 min given by Captain! These motors couldn't be screwed up, so Dad assigned best electrical mates, & after 1 Down & Up Trip, Fire/Rescue took over dousing the fires, cooling remaining ordinance, and evacuated all the trapped Sailors! Bud transported to Walter-Reed, was rebuilt, and returned to work for many years before retirement. War Time different than everyday stuff I guess, but sorry you lost your plane & good luck building a new one!!

As a RC flyer myself, i can't recall feeling so bad seeing that totally awesome aircraft go in. I was enjoying every second of that flight. Can't imagine the work you put in that baby, excellent job. Sorry to see it go in like that. I'm sure you will get it right the next time, keep up the good work. Again , i'm sorry.👍🏻

When I was a kid the B-58 was my ultimate, way cool plane. Still have a book from grade school where I first read about it. Your plane looked fantastic. Great build. I would not have handled this anywhere near as well as you. Nothing but respect! Great job investigating the root cause. I would have been left sick and not been able to figure it out. Again, much respect!

Wow, you are a true RC Flying realist. Many guys that just buy an off the shelf model are crushed when it crashes, but you've put countless hours into a model and are still very gracious when something goes wrong. Unfortunately, it is part of the challenge and excitement of flying models. I've been doing it for almost 25 years now myself and it never gets boring. Good luck with your next build. I'll be watching!

Now that you've worked out the bugs, i think you should build a "production" model of the same aircraft. You learned so much and the experience gained will make a second effort much less time and labor intensive. Theres a reason you chose the B-58 in the first place! Dont abandon it until you get it right. Youre so close!!

Wow! Great Debrief! Beautiful Build!

Ooooh nooooooooo!!!!! Very sorry to see Chris… 😢 I know you poured your heart and soul into this thing and it’s the risk we all accept. Man this sucks - it was flying great too. Keep your chin up and keep on flying!

Watching this plane lift off and fly WAS WORTH EVERYTHING and I can't thank you enough for giving us all the opportunity to see it. You're fine, everything is ok - your next build will be even more epic. Take care and God bless brother.

Thank You for building and sharing with us! I've always have been fond of the B-58 and all/most flying wings.

The Hustler has to be my favorite aircraft of all time. It always amazed me how fast it could fly and it did it while flying so low. Also, it looks cool! What a magnificent build and absolutely heart breaking ending. I hope you make another one.

Thank you for sharing your expertise and success of this build, and your hard learned lesson in the end. I appreciate you sharing this for all of us to learn. She looked great and flew great!

Regardless of what happened at the airfield the flight was amazing and to see a B-58 fly after so long of being retired from the military scaled look as a RC the plane was awesome in the Tennessee skies. You did great man keep your chin up high bro. Hey I was thinking maybe you could do the Valkeri or the f104 star fighter now you are creating planes in that era.

This was a beautiful version of the 58. I was impressed with its flight, but so, sorry to see it over heated. You are an excellent engineer and builder.

I had a huge grin on my face during your entire video (until the crash). Seeing such a faithfully-reproduced icon of the 60s cold war era in spectacular scale flight was a real treat. I couldn't believe your composure when the plane went in. You are a testament to engineering and to the hobby!

Hold your head high!! You built an incredible RC Model!!! The retractable gear was amazing in itself!! If nothing else, this was a teachable moment. Other than the loss of the "Hustler" you should be proud. I thoroughly enjoyed this series, despite the outcome. This retired Air Force aircraft mechanic salutes you!!!

Chris, that was an awe inspiring journey! The build, detailing, and the challenges encountered. Looked so freaking cool in the air and sounded great! Well done. Thanks for the ride and looking forward to your next model!

What a heartbreaker. He had such a good attitude about it even right after the crash. I would have wanted to cry. I’ve only ever owned garbage models and not a work of art like This.

What a beautiful, beautiful airplane and it was flying so well. I was so hoping to see the Hustler's classic flared landing. I am so proud and envious of you for even attempting this build. I know its a crushing heartbreak but having experienced flying it, you're eventually going to want to do it again. Walk away from this for as long you need to recover. If you do it again, we'll all benefit from your lessons learned. Bravo, very well done!!!❤

What a beautiful model and am impressed at how well you took the outcome. Gutted to see it end up like that.

Chris this was still a huge success in many ways. It flew awesome until the problem happened. Have enjoyed following the build and now the maiden which was a success until the ESCs shut down. I know you’re still sick about it but hey hopefully some day you’ll build another one. It was absolutely beautiful in the air and very impressive and FAST!! You are a true builder which is a dying thing. Keep the videos and projects coming. Hopefully you’ll have some new surprise for Jet Jam next year! Also tell Brian excellent job of filming the flight!! Overall STILL A HUGE SUCCESS in my book!! Very impressive!!

The B58 Hustler was a very difficult airframe in its full military form too. It was far from being a fully successful experiment in trying to build the USA’s first supersonic nuclear bomber. Don’t be discouraged with your build! We all live and learn. Great video!

It is always so sad when a true pro loses an aircraft. Beautiful flying.

Without question, the most gorgeous RC build I've ever seen. Thank you for taking us along! You're probably bummed on delta wings but I'm hoping to see you roll out an F-106 one day.

So very sad 😢 it was an incredible build and technological achievement on your part. It flew very well!! Glad you're able to have a positive takeaway from the mishap. Thanks for sharing your journey with the B-58!

I haven't seen many delta wing rc as realistic as yours. My friend was a test pilot for the Hustler and he told me they glide like a brick without power. I see there is no exception. Thanks for the thrill and great video.

This aircraft has always been my favourite ever since first seeing it in the 60s, your replica is/was beautiful and I really felt for you when it lost control, well worth a subscription, thanks.

Chris….. wow, the hardest part of our hobby for sure…. THANK YOU! Because you are an inspiration to me and I’ve learned so much from all your hard work and experience! I can’t wait to see your next inspiration.

This was a GORGEOUS plane and a testiment to your skill. It was awesome in flight and as others have said thank you for sharing your time and skills. 24 of 116 Hustlers built crashed so there is definitely something fundamentally challenging in the design. Sorry for your loss and again thank you for sharing everything.

Beautiful work.

This was a really tough one to put together...but we'll build a better one in the future. In the meantime, what should we build NEXT?? The Full B-58 Hustler build series can be viewed here ► bit.ly/RCB58Build ▼A Big Thank you to the Manufacturers that helped make this Project Possible!▼ Horizon Hobby ► bit.ly/HorizHby Hitec RC ► hitecrcd.com/ Schubeler Fans ► www.schuebeler-tech.com/ Legend Hobby ► bit.ly/LegendHobby Jet Hangar Hobbies ► www.jethangar.com

Oh man, that is heartbreaking😦It may not be much help, but you created something absolutely beautiful, no matter how short lived. May your future builds be successful! I would be thrilled if I could scratch-build HALF as nice as your creations🙂

This plane needs to built again. The most beautiful EDF ever produced and that was an awesome flight up until just before the accident.

Chris, What awesome build and flight you did. I am sorry you were not able to bring it home. It is disheartening for sure, especially, after all the time you put into the build. Hands down it is one of the most beautiful models out there. I am sure you learned a lot about building it as much as sharing your build on this channel. When you decide to build another one, hopefully the build will be that much faster as you will already know how to put this bird together. Thanks for sharing!!

I can’t even express how much respect and admiration I have for RC builders and fliers. Incredible investment in $$$ and TIME. Hats off to you !!!!

Why don't you put an air tag in the tail to track your planes, just in case.

Thank you for not shying away from sharing your sadness and lessons-learned; it was definitely an achievement in flight and a gorgeous model!! Too many people skip over the hard lessons and so fewer people are able to learn from them. Yes, even those of us who have been at this for decades can make little mistakes that lead to big crashes - at least no one was hurt and you got it back and were able to figure out the true cause! Would love to trade “RC war stories” sometime 😎👍

My Father was in Air Force from WWII 1941 to 1970. retired Bird Colonel. After his flying part of his military career he managed projects and bases. One project was B-58. I remember he had a model of it with signatures all over it. I wish I had it. The B-58 was a heck of an airplane and set the stage for the B-1 and other supersonic aircraft.

Thank you for sharing your insights into what happened. It was a beautiful model.

Damn, Chris. What a bummer. It really was beautiful in the air AND taxiing around on the runway. That's so tough, losing a big bird like that. But, you've got some great folks around you- Can't believe the search party used an Ultralight. That's pretty awesome. You'll put this behind you and it'll be fun story to tell the grandkids about someday. Thanks so much for sharing this experience with us. And thanks to the crew that helped you out- cameras, drone footage and the search party. Great job 👍

Magnificent bird. A real shame it's life was short. As we all know, life can be short and bittersweet in the RC plane world.

This is actually very unsettling. The B-58 is one of my favorite planes, and this was the best representation of it that was still airworthy.

What a gorgeous build! I was finally able to view the one at the NMUSAF last month, and you did it justice. It flew well, but it came to a tragic end, sorry for that and thanks for sharing it with us.

Much respect for your craftsmanship and knowledge base...

Sorry for the loss of your beautiful baby... Thank you for showing us all how to handle such an event with grace.

Gorgeous model on the ground and in the air; we’ll done. Thanks for sharing and sorry for the crash!

So sad to see you lose such a beautiful creation. I grew up watching movies of these early era SAC aircraft and was a model enthusiast from the age of three in 1959. Pop was one of the first rocket propulsion engineers, working with Von Braun and team in Huntsville. I thoroughly enjoy your channel as you get in to scale techniques with foam that I am interested in. Your patience and enthusiasm are addictive. Keep it up. Jeffrey 😊

Flew a brand new Pawnee on its maiden voyage. Tested it in the pits trying the flaps and it quit. Didn’t understand what had happened but was so excited to get it in the air I flew it anyway. Well the controller heated up and I lost complete control midair and destroyed my beautiful airplane. That’s just what you experienced. The controller heated and quit. It’s always sad. Sorry for the loss.

What a BEAUTIFUL aircraft! I am so sorry at the ending!

a beautiful model - the B58 Hustler from Convair was just an incredible beast. Sorry to see it go down but at least you were able to assess the wreckage and determine the fault. Thanks for posting and for your composure - that had to take some effort. That was obviously a lot of hours spent as the jet just looked and SOUNDED amazing. Now I'll have to look at your channel and see what other impressive models you've built.

It's a gut wrenching feeling when you know you can't do anything about it going down

I've never seen a RC model of the B-58 ever! You need to revisit this jet and build it again! Beautiful and a one off for sure!

Flew beautifully, the sound of the fans was the best I've heard. Sorry it ended the way it did.

Beautiful plane. Superb flying.

That was one awesome model! Thanks for sharing! Live and learn

gut wrenching to see such a fantastic model go in that way. I hope you do get to make another one in the future

"I don't have it. I don't have it..." Spoken in a way that puts you among the best. Keep 'em Flying!

You gotta build another Chris! Cmon Man! It's a one of a kind...and you did a great job on the paint and detail.

What an amazing plane. A joy to watch the journey, thank you. It was so good you should build her again just a bit later. Respect!

This was my jet. As a kid in the early 60's I remember waiting on the hot tarmac with my dad for this jet to show itself. He was in SAC back in those hot summer days, no bottled water back then. I was memorized by this monster when it flew by, it was a flying dragon with 4 nostrils blowing black smoke out the back with full AB's. Back then depending on the place the airshow was sonic booms were part of the show. I never thought I'd see a RC model of one because I thought it would be a tuff build, I had not idea, but you did it and it was assume. I was just waiting for a parachute to magically pop out to save it. But you gave the ending a good explanation. Flying RC is always a risk. Like riding a motorcycle, it's not if you will crash it's when many time's over. Thanks for the memories. Good luck & great job.

Wow! At 16, (over 40 years ago), I crashed a simple 4 channel trainer powered by a .40 that my dad and I only purchased used and fixed up a bit. Somehow, we got it back together and it flew again, but I still feel the initial heartbreak. You are grace under fire. You pick up the pieces and keep going with optimism, a commitment to learning and even a smile to share! Your B58 was stunning to say the least. The Hustler was an incredibly complex weapons system and your miniature version mirrored all of that so wonderfully in the realm of RC airplanes. I loved how you created afterburner flames and even the balanced and tasteful weathering around the beautifully realistic engine cowlings. Given its tricky shape and thirst for speed, you flew your B-58 so skillfully while the engines remained up to the task. Yours is among t finest work I've ever seen. Keep enjoying your great passion, skill and your teachings as well.

So calm under duress. Admirable

One of the most elegant,dynamic and well flying rc aircraft I have ever seen.Build this model again but this time double the size.You are an amazing rc pilot.Keep on rocking! Thanks for the model and the show.Very impressive!!

I sure hope you go back to it soon! I was a T-37 Tweety Bird jet mech station at FT Worths Carswel Air Force Base TX back in the early 80s. Next to the base was General Dynamics massive building F-16 factory. Carswell and GD shared the same runway. Our Tweets were to give the SAC B-52 pilots airtime. At the entrance of the GD factory was one of these beautiful Hustlers. Please build another. It will go together twice as fast as the first one. THANKS ✅️

Such a beautiful model and and it flew so majestically until went down. Above all, your reaction says a lot about your high professionalism as a modeler. I think I would be crying if that happened to me. Congratulations, keep doing the good work and thanks for sharing the video!

In this modern day, who can say they have seen a Hustler in flight? This entire project is freakin amazing! When you slow the video down to scale speed, it is absolutely graceful. When you take into account how far ahead of the state of the art the real bird was, this build flew, well, on the maiden flight! You sir are a genius! Take a break and do it again PLEASE!🤌🤘✌👍

I notice that authentic nose gear folding retraction. That was a beauty.

Beautiful model one of my favourite looking aircraft, can not believe how calmly you handled it, the man hours you put into it hope you build another

Chris, I'm 87, but in my much younger days, I was an RC model flyer, as well as RL flying. I wasn't a builder anywhere near your fantastic standard. I truly feel for your loss, because I did have a loss of one model, due to radio interference, later thought to be from the hospital we were flying near to, but not that close we were disturbing the patients, and the incident looked very similar to yours. I noticed that before the drastic left turn, just after you said you'd lost it, the model gave a few very small twitches in different directions, which made me think afterwards that loss of power from the left engine, would have just made it pull to the left and with the right wing travelling faster than the left, would have developed into a spiral down. You know a lot more than I do, but could there have been radio interference? Sincere best wishes for your future. Des.

A fantastic build of one of my favorite aircraft. So sorry it was a complete loss.

The prettiest flying model I've ever seen! Sorry it went down.....please build another ...that beast is awesome!

Such a beautiful aircraft. Heartbreaking to see the loss of control, and ultimately, the crash.

Wow! Gorgeous!! Very impressive build...

Amazing looking model on the ground and in the air! Really sorry to see the loss such a beautiful plane.

What Beautiful Build .... one of my favorite model's to build as a kid growing up in San Diego in the 50's and 60's

You took it as a professional man! And your explanation is super. Thanks for this lesson and greetings from the Netherlands

What an amazing paint job!

Sorry for your loss. This was a beautiful model with incredible details.

Beautiful! We fly crash and build. That's the hobby. You did an absolutely beautiful job on the hustler and this was not a fail. This is a stepping stone to something else. The only way they stay beautiful and perfect is if they never fly.

Absolutely gorgeous. The Hustler is my favorite plane, so I am very happy to see it modeled and done correctly no less. If you revisit this project in the future, consider 2458 located in the Air Force museum. He is a Bendix trophy winner.

I'm so sorry for your loss. Please rebuild and consider lessons learned. I really enjoyed watching you fly the Hustler.

Beautiful aircraft and wonderful job👏👍❤️

really sad to see it end this way...but kudos to making this incredible project and share with all of us