I destroyed my ultralight in 20 minutes ( filmed it) 

I just can't possibly imagine selling an aircraft that has been zip tied together without letting the new owner know.

I was glad to see how much caution you exercised during the whole testing process. I was fully expecting to see a couple of test runs before trying to get her in the air. You allowed enough time for a fault to appear before seriously putting your life at risk. This was a well told story.

You probably saved more than one amateur builder's life or at least injury by posting this. It sure helped me keep my head straight with my upcoming test runs. Slow and steady wins the race. Nicely done and thanks for sharing. Sorry for the loss of hard work and funds.

As a lifelong mechanic, flight engineer and private pilot, my rule #1 is never trust anyone else's work. Especially if you expect to take it off the ground with you in it!!

If that had broken while you were in the air, it's a very good possibility you wouldn't have survived it. Which lends great support to the methodical and painstakingly slow testing phase of a new or rebuild aircraft. I purchased the EAA Flight Test Manual and Test Cards package for this very reason. It's very detailed, and takes some time to get through. But it walks a beginner (amateur builder like me) through the proper steps and phases of testing your new or rebuild experimental aircraft. I am in the process of rebuilding what was sold to me as a "ready to fly" experimental. Which turned out to be anything but ready to fly. Posting the progress on my youtube page under my name. Thanks for sharing this valuable learning experience. Cheers from Winnipeg.

Thanks for sharing and sorry for your loss. Glad you weren't injured. Would you be okay with me sharing this in my series Weekly Dose of Aviation? Of course you will be credited both in the video and in the description.

This is the saddest aircraft story yet. I rebuilt my Champ years ago and know how much sweat and curses it takes to finish such an all consuming project . However, because of your good sense to complete a thorough taxi test, you are alive today.I hope there is another aircraft in your future and thanks for sharing your painful story. All the best and blue skies.

Your extra caution in completing extra ground runs kept you alive. If that had unwound at 500 feet it is not likely you would have survived. Many people would have been in the air after a few quick tests, well done!

Luckiest crash I've seen thus far. Pilot not hurt, airplane given the proper send off that it deserved. Thanks for sharing and hope your luck continues

Taking over another’s project can be fraught with danger. An AI had finished out a clipped wing T-craft through cover in silver when I had bought it. In the course of completion, I recovered those,”Freshly covered wings.” Structural disasters were concealed within. Crushed wood on the spars because the old hardware was reused on the new thicker spars. It might have flown but it would have killed me under aerobatic loads. I got three Indepenent experts to recommend a repair which worked fine but if I had only trusted, I’d have died. Always get in depth fresh eyes to inspect a project. Leave the egos outside the hangar door when you do. Sorry for the loss but kudos and then some for sharing a hard earned lesson.

You didn't destroy the plane, the former owner did!! Thanks for sharing.

I don't know why RU-vid recommended this video to me, but I'm glad it did. It's not often that one sees a dream that one has worked so hard at come crashing into, well, an embankment. You're still alive thanks to your thorough testing. I think you should be proud of your hard work and testing regimen. One learns a lot from failure too. Thank you for posting the video. I wish you success with your next project.

A great pastime, and a very wise man to abandon such a project, under those circumstances. Just glad that you did not become another statistic. It was your over-cautious approach to self-preservation, and assessing the problems that arose before any take-off! A great video that ALL Amateur Plane Builders should see. Thanks for posting this. Greetings from Australia.

I can feel you pain. Great video to show the importance of a thorough, metodical, test-flight procedure! Some people believe a test-flight does not start until they are airborne. I believe many ultralight builders should see this video before they attempt to go airborne - nice job - hopfully, it's a "Life-Saver"...!

I’m working on a project now that I didn’t start. You definitely have to go through every nut and bolt and make sure they are correct. Don’t leave your live in the hands of someone you don’t know.

It was living up to its namesake. Next time call it SKY Tracker. Sorry mate I just had to. Sorry for your loss.

So glad you kept it on the ground for testing! I absolutely love your song playing in the background. From 🇺🇸 USA

Man that was a terrible thing to happen and I'm glad you weren't injured or worse. Smart to cut your losses but what a terrible thing. You have a great attitude and that will take you a long long way in life.

That sucks man! It's always sad when failure jumps out at the victory gates like that, but at least you walked away from it. Better luck on the next build. What a pretty paint job.

You dodged a very large bullet my friend. You didn’t lose a dime because you are alive and well thankfully. 🤙

I bought a fiber-optic cable based inspection device. This could be used to inspect all of these hidden spots. Also, it could be used for inspecting scoring in the cylinders.

Glad you never made it off ground. U have a guardian angel.

If i was your son i would have gone out and steam rolled the thing, imagine if that had happened when you were at altitude... really sad whats happened to months of work BUT you're still here to tell us about it. lucky escape and a good lesson to the rest of the home builders out there!

Man, so good you resisted the temptation to take it off the ground. It was taxing so well. I've would have taken to the air myself. The test flight would have been less than desirable. Cheers from Louisiana.

Sadto see all your work gone in a flash, but glad you are OK. Several years ago I bought a basket case Pioneer Flightstar and spent the winter rebuilding it. I took it completely apart and used all new AN hardware, followed the construction manual and found several bad things in the biird before I got it to rebuild. I put about 200 hours on it before I let it go.

So glad you are alive. Thanks for sharing.

Sorry on all the hard work that was done. I agree with what you did about putting the Airplane out of commission. You did the right thing safety first and far most. I hope you can rebuild another plane. Thank sfor showing the video.

You’re lucky to be alive on that one. Lesson learned for all of us, thanks for sharing!

Beautiful little aircraft! Sorry for your loss. You are absolutely right saying it was better that this happen on the ground and not in the air.

I'm really glad you didn't get hurt. Thanks for sharing this with everyone. Caveat Emptor!

Greetings from the US, thanks for sharing! Be thankful you're alive. Good call to taxi her a few times! Cheers!

Man that was a beautiful job you did on that plane. Could have been welded and straightened out... Pre inspection would have sorted that out. Bastard should have told you about those zip ties

Better on the ground. Exactly. A testament to tried and true checkout. Methodical pace saved you and your share will reinforce proper steps for others. Thanks for the share.

What a little beauty! My heart goes out to you.

What a bummer. U lived to tell the tale. Good to see you back!!!

You have done the industry a great service. You did everything right and saved yourself [and someone else for sure]. Great vid...thanks

Well documented. You took your time on the ground trying to make sure it was going to respond properly. You had no way of knowing what was going to happen . Had it let loose in flight you would have been in serious trouble. You did a really nice job finishing the airplane. You have the skills & hope to see you built another one...this time brand new!

What a heart breaker! Good on you for putting it out to pasture and keeping it out of the hands of neophytes that didn’t know any better. That’s a ton of work lost and I hope you don’t get burned out and quit.

Thanks for sharing your video with us. Very informative.

So glad you did things the way you did and you’re alive.

Jack, thank you for sharing this 🙏

Such a good lesson about buying used, really appreciate you posting this, thanks!

Been there, done that. Shame you invested so much into it. The cruel reality is the first thing you need to do is check the structure and even pay someone independent to clear it. I’ve had friends seriously hurt after not catching a cracked weld and the COG being fatally incorrect due to ballast being removed at some point in time prior to it being sold.

Wow. Heartbreaking! Glad it turned out okay.

Thank you for sharing your experience with us..

I believe you ground looped it and it bent the airplane. Sad.

Thank you for sharing this valuable experience

Wow.. well, it's certainly a good thing that you took those test runs on such rough ground. If you had been on smooth tarmac, you may have been tempted to take it airborne.

Yeah... that guy that sold it to you knowing it was held on my zip ties should be charged for attempted murder. Theres no excuse for putting you life at risk like that

That was a lot of taxi test . Wasn’t your fault . Respectable of this guy to dismantle it instead of selling it to someone . Hope you get another soon .

When you buy something used, you never know what you're getting- and you simply can't check everything. However, you're still alive because you exercised good judgment. Sorry about the loss of your project. She really looked nice.

You sir are lucky you were so meticulous about testing before flying. Really nice video though, and very informative.

Sounds criminal, glad you're good!

Looks like you hit a berm. Glad you were ok!

I was getting sadder and sadder as the vid went on. I am sorry for your bad luck but glad you took the time on the ground cheers Canada

Ah, the old zip tie the frame of an airplane repair. Nice.

Never ever Discount a Complete Pre Flight Check of the Entire aircraft ! You should have caught the zip ties ! Glad you are OK !

Sad to see!l would have to sit for a think after finding that zip tie!

Condolences. So much work. Hopefully you can salvage the expensive bits.

I am very glad to see that you are much wiser than you were anxious to get that craft up into the air.

What a great, honest video you made about your experience. Smart of you to persist with the ground handling.

Great decision to put it down permanently. I did the same to my ultralight as well as a rank horse.

You can't trust that any experimental aircraft was built properly if you didn't build it. I bought a Velocity RG years ago from a reputable builder well-known in the experimental community. When it needed some work and one wing was opened for access, the fuel tankage space had a half-inch thickness of fiberglass shavings on its floor that the builder never bothered to vacuum up prior to closing the wing. It's a miracle I never had an engine out during the 20 hours I'd flown it by that point.

Good on Bro= You weren't hurt! The guy flogged shoddy work- too bad you didnt catch it but you got a heap of education! cheers

Hats off it’s not a problem losing money and always get it back we only live once and thank God you have a practice of it checking out thoroughly on the ground so you don’t have to have a problem in flight good for you all the best in the future and a son still has his dad!!

I’m glad your ok. That’s really all that matters my friend. Sorry about all the hard work.

I feel for you man! Don't let the setbacks to stop you from dream of flying!

Great paint job

8:37 This is an ancient Australian phrase adopted to express bitter disappointment

Fabulous video. Tragic. I did laugh at the funny bits - the pull start... and felt like crying at the end after all your efforts. Thanks for sharing. Have 3 similar projects on the go so can relate.

Glad you found the problem in testing and didn't get hurt. Was a pretty little plane but...

At least you are still alive to make this video ! That's a shame after all your fine work.

Very sorry I know the work involved . I’ve been fixing one for a couple of years tested it many times but mine has no skin on it so I can see every nut and bolt I feel it’s ready wish me luck 👍

I'm glad the problem popped up before flight. I am in a similar situation to yours and a couple of other respondents here... 2 years ago I found a Slepcev Storch... an original AU kit shipped here in 1994 and completed in 1998... sans engine/prop and some avionics... Then Covid hit and I was unable to go to see the plane halfway across the country... Already had a deposit on it and an agreed deal in writing. Due to the 1.5 year pandemic delays I eventually just payed the agreed price and picked it up finally Sept 2021 with 2 - 2000 mile round trips. Once everything was home in the shop I discovered that the "ready for your powerplant and avionics and go fly" airplane was definitely not. Found that the left wing had been bent up at the tip by a couple of inches from what I can only guess was a ground strike... No apparent damage (yet) at the wing root so I'm stripping the fabric from both wings and going over them inch by inch and also making new wingtips (Hoerner style). Then I discovered that the plane had been left outside at some point and water had collected in the footwell/behind the firewall.... and rust in the tubing undersides.... a lot of it.... now I'm also stripping the fuselage and going over it with a magnifying glass. I think everything will be repairable and I will feel confident to fly it after going over every inch of the aircraft. Diligence can pay off by saving your/my life. I really appreciated how you did more than a couple high speed taxi runs. I plan to do the same! I hope you got another aircraft and continued flying!

Man my heart feels for you been there with projects. But the worst is someone was willing to place your life in danger selling you a junk airframe that no Doubt was advertised as "excellent condition"....this is why people suck.

Wow thx for sharing !

A clear demonstration of effective safety practices. Well done Sir. A lesion for us all. Like your choice of music too.

I’m glad you’re alright! You had mentioned the craft favored right rudder frequently, was that one of the signs you took into consideration for air worthiness?

I just finished building a plane and I feel your pain from all the work you put in but looks like someone was watching over you to not let you get off the ground with that damage hiding....

Such a same! Beautiful airplane! What kind is it? I wish I could fly one!

Man, that had to be heartbreaking. Unreal that the previous owner literally had zip ties holding it together. If that broke in flight, I could’ve very easily made the airplane uncontrollable. I would sue them. I don’t know how that works in AU, but here in the U.S., that would be a lawsuit. Glad you’re ok bud!!

Always get a licensed A&P mechanic to do a prebuy inspection before you purchase someone’s build project or completed, flying aircraft.

Bloody Hell . She looked so good too . You WALKED AWAY a Wiser Man, Thanks for sharing.

Great video. I'm glad you are okay. It's hard to believe that a seller would put someone's life in jeopardy to make a few bucks. I've flown many aircraft from the original basic ultralights to most Cessnas, both single and twins to business jets to supersonic jets to four-engine heavy jets. I think you did a good job in your test. I have never tested a new aircraft but if I could be so bold as to offer a suggestion, I would sure wear a helmet on such a flight. I mean why not? The head is fragile and a bump as you hit the dirt could have done you in. But thanks for the video. There are some lessons to be learned when buying an aircraft that is not flyable. I'll subscribe.

Well done on the test runs there mate. If you had been in the air you would have ended up pushing up the daisies. That is why test runs (without flight) on a new aircraft are so important. 👍

Honestly it sucks to have this happen after all that work you put in restoring it but it's better to have it happen here than 6000 feet in the air. This incident likely saved your life.

Thank goodness sir you were cautious and intelligent enough to test run it so much. If you flew that thing it could be a very different story.

A good argument for a full frame inspection next time. But I know hindsight is always 20/20. At least you’re alive!

@Jack Flyer hello I need to know what is the name of this aircraft because I love it

Wow, That is sickening to see, But glad you had good judgement to test, test, test, Glad you are ok mate.

Guy who sold you this death trap ought to be horse whipped. Dang near left your Son without his Dad. Sometimes all you can do is suck it up like a man and you truly did that Bud. Glad you’ll be able to tell your son’s kids about your extra interesting afternoon. GBU

Bummer! You were very cautiously, good on you!

I am finishing up over 2 years and I can certainly understand what a disappointment this was. I agree with other posters that you were set up by the previous owner.

I might of missed it but what airframe is this?

It may be a wreck & probably a loss now, but my brother, you were lucky that it wasn't A LOTT WORSE. You did get to go home to your family & THAT is a win because you were smart enough to use your brain & keep it on the ground. Bravo & CHEERS fr Alaska.

Sorry man. Very sad. Glad that you are fine though.

Bolted and zip tied braces? WTF? Glad you lived! Also glad you scrapped it!

Thank goodness that happened sitting taxi practice, and not in flight!!!

Just made me sick to watch this. What a beautiful job you did on the painting, etc. I kept hoping through the whole thing that you didn't really destroy it and that was just an expression. Best of luck to you, mate!

I am curious, does the bad frame possibly have anything to do with why your rudder would go hard over to the right every time you would pull the start cord?