EMG-6 launch fail
In this video we see the EMG-6 getting pretty screwed up on the launch. We had a new wing runner and failed to give good instructions. We have always had such docile launches that we became complacent about possible problems on the launch. In this case the wing runner held on a little bit too long and in trying to hold on pulled down on the right wing. You can see the results in the video. Although we were able to recover and complete the rest of the flight it added a bit of a pucker factor. Also in the video you can see the rope tow getting jammed up under one of the taxiway reflectors. Although I was ready to abort the launch I anticipated that the reflector would pull out of the dirt a bit sooner than it did. And you can see in the video the launch of the reflector and my amusement afterwords. The tow vehicle operator (Jasen) was concerned enough that he slowed the tow vehicle significantly trying to identify what was going on which in turn required several adjustments during the launch and communications to reestablish the tow process. Once we were underway the rest of the flight was rather uneventful. During this couple of days of flight testing we were able to reach the number 36 test flight.