[mwavesdave]

The biggest key to the success of the Aeromaster rebuild, was time. I stripped down the airframe after the crash, removed covering, all radio gear, engine, fuel tank etc, but kept every little bit of balsa/ply. I put it all away for a few months, and tried to forget about it. When the bug hit me to take a look at it, it took less than a week to completely rebuild, recover, and reinstall all the gear. She's now awaiting final check of all systems, charging, and her new maiden.

The Sukhoi success was due to having pre-planned, and ensuring that I had all the parts templates, in case of a crash. It was a couple of days work, and she's back to full flying status.

The Aeromaster was considered by many in the club to be a total write-off. My only concern about the rebuild was not having any plans/templates for the aircraft. That never became an issue however, the instruction booklet and pieced together parts were more than enough. Don't be too quick to toss a kit into the trash, after a crash. If you built it, you can fix it. If you don't build, check around your club. I've rebuilt a lot of write-offs for others over the years!