Before this forum came to be I used to read and contribute to the rec.aviation.rotorcraft
Newsgroup. There was always a rant about this machine. The guys were so crazy with anger as highly experienced pilots were losing there lives in it. I remember one story of a Vietnam veteran pilot a very respected man having the 67hp Rotax 582 engine fail over power lines. He used what little inertia was left in the rotors to clear the cables and had nothing left for a flare.
Records of Mini-500 Crashes :
http://www.provide.net/~pratt1/ambuilt/helicopter.htm
http://yarchive.net/air/mini500.html
This says it all :
http://groups.google.com/group/rec.a...e?dmode=source
Mike