N2795

On February 8, 1996, at 1100 mountain standard time, a Masnic Sky Hopper II experimental homebuilt, N2795, collided with terrain during takeoff near Edgewood, New Mexico. The private pilot was not injured and the airplane sustained substantial damage. The airplane was being operated under Title 14 CFR Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and a flight plan was not filed for the local personal flight.

During interviews, conducted by the FAA inspector, the pilot reported the following information. During the takeoff roll to the east, as the tailwheel lifted from the runway, the airplane veered to the left side of the runway. The pilot applied right rudder and brake; however, the airplane did not respond. As the airplane exited the runway onto soft dirt, the right main gear collapsed and the right wing struck the ground. The airplane continued across a ditch, nosed over, and came to rest inverted. Fabric and wooden spars of both wings were damaged. The pilot stated that the winds varied from 6 to 8 mph from the northeast through the northwest with "occasional northerly gust" to 15 mph.

A review of the maintenance records (copy enclosed) and FAA correspondence revealed the following information. The airplane, built in 1971 by John R. Masnic, was purchased by the pilot. On July 21, 1994, the FAA authorized the pilot to make modifications to the rudder. The rudder surface area was increased 170 square inches. Following this modification, the airplane was flown 38.06 hours and the pilot considered the "rudder authority as fairly good"; however, the pilot recalled that several weeks before the current accident, he had to apply full right rudder during a takeoff with a "varying crosswind." The pilot reported that "he was probably operating the [modified] rudder at the limit of it's design capacity in [the] gust."