Accidents Happen

Though it may be hard to believe, accidents do in fact happen while testing. Today our vehicle had a bit of a mishap while landing, and killed motors while it was still in the air. Fortunately we test while having two people on rope duty, which is exactly what it sounds like- two ropes are tied to opposite legs of the vehicle and can be used to catch it in case of emergency.

A fine example of what it means to hold ropes

Thanks to the cat-like reflexes of the rope holders, we were able to catch the vehicle before it hit the ground. This means that we were able to avoid any serious damage to the lasers or anything else that's über expensive. The bad thing is that we put a lot of stress on the legs attached to the rope and ended up deforming the body of the vehicle. The good thing is that we are "trained professionals" (the quotes let you know how serious we are) and were able to put everything back into shape. As in we literally bent it back into shape. Below is a shot of Carl Kerhsaw reassembling the vehicle after its lifesaving surgery.

Just putting on the last pieces before getting out to fly again

Moral of the story: another bullet dodged team.