Phil and I ran the turbine and everything was fine
so we powered up to full power and it
did not lift off. Then  Phil lifted the plane
by the wing and the whole thing came right up.
As soon as it got off the ground the trust increased,
then the turbine could hold the whole
Rig in the air, with engine thrust alone at
80-90 percent power (AT280).  The wind was
really blowing and I think the turbine was
eating some warm air (because I was),
even will all this, I held it stable for a few sec,
long enough to hold it by the outer 1.5 foot of the
wing. We never turned the fans on as the plane is still
needs one more.

The next step is to fly it like a reg
plane and slow it down up high. Turn
the fans on and see what happens.
 

One time we started it in the grass, and a small grass fire cooked the monikote. oh well.
 
 
 

You can see all the burnt grass all around the 0.5 inch aluminum plate. That plate
is still warm as I took this pic.