80' Pine Tree, Rope, Jack handle & a remote control glider

[upndownshop 0]

Long.......
So I lost signal when flying my remote control glider last night. Watching it turn into the wind and fly nicely of the edge of the pine forest it gently rest itself 5' below the top of an 80' tree. Ugghh Im thinking, well at least its in one piece.
The glider is Styrofoam with a 6' wingspan. The wings are connected by a middle spar and slide into the fuselage, of course I add a piece of tape to each wing to ensure they dont slide out. Works great, especially when you want to fly in high winds, not so good when you want them to come apart when hanging from a tree. So I try to fire up the motor which has folding props when idle, but no luck, the right wing is wedged in the V of a branch and trunk.
What do I have in the car that I can use to get this thing out, knowing I am too much of a chicken to try and climb the tree especially with a bad ankle, I began to engineer something. I have red duct tape, two expandable poles from a trunk organizer, 3 wood dowel poles from a 35 year old kite that I recently bought so I could rebuild it sometime and cooler cup filled with 7 & 7. with only about 45 minutes of sunlight left, I text a friend after going back to the house to get a 6' ladder. Letting her know where I am at and to call an ambulance if she has not heard from me shortly after sunset. Because I may have enough 7 in me by then to try and climb the tree. Luckily I did not decide to climb it, but did keep the cell phone in my pocket just incase.
Upon returning, I proceed to construct my 40' poker, having to add a few broken branches lying about to get the length I needed. I know it is 40' because I wear a size 11 shoe and walked it after constructing it. Up the ladder I go sliding the flimsy poker up with me. Scared of going up the whole 6' I am on my toes on the second to last step just barely able to reach the branch the glider is resting on. After several attempts my hands start to cramp up from my grip on the poker. After a few cuss words I climb down, work the cramps out and drink a bit. Thinking water would probably be a better choice right now, but really enjoying the 7, I continued to drink and analyze my situation.
Up the ladder again for my last chance before the sun sets, I realize this is not going to do it. I decide to let it spend the night in the tree and hope it doesnt rain or we get a lot of dew in the morning.

Up at 6:30 am and head to the Sun Path shop to switch ladders, and back to the forest. I set the ladder up with high hopes but they are quickly dampened as the end of the poker is not strong enough to move the branch due to the dowel rods being so thin.
I climb down, thinking dammit I didnt bring any water! I proceed to see what else I can do. I discover the tree next to this one is pretty thin but has the height, maybe I could get it to sway and hit my branch??? I break out my rope and look for something heavy enough to tie onto it. I find a small metal hook and begin to toss it about. I finally get it thru the small tree but it is less than half way up. Well its the best I can do so I work on getting the hook back down to me so I can create the full loop around the trunk. I take a few wraps and begin to work the tree in the direction I want. Its swaying pretty good, I can see its getting closer, with one foot on the bottom of a trunk using it to hold me in place as I pull as hard as a I can at the right time, I am thinking : wow I feel like one of those guys in the "Strong Man Competitions" so I get more motivated and really begin to work the tree. Suddenly....."Snap!" rope breaks and I shoot back about 4' smacking the soft dirt and fallen pine needles with my ass hitting hard on top of them. Out of breath and groaning I manage to get up with only a small hook in my hands. Wishing I had some water, but instead I break out the lawn chair and my smokes and take a break, using the time to relax and re engineer this task.
I realize I need a heavier hook, so I think of my handle for the spare tire jack. That should do it, filled with excitement I proceed to rebuild my "lasso" and begin tossing. Now going for the branch the glider is resting on and missing almost everytime, thinking; should have paid more attention to the lasso portion of boyscout camp instead of watching the girlscouts. Yes I am a Texan but Im from the Dallas Richardson area, I know nothing of being a cowboy, heck the cop cars in the 80's were 740 Volvo's in my town, if that gives you an idea of what Richardson TX was like.

As I continue to improve my toss I find myself saying aloud " Im going to hit it" Im going to hit it! Saying it with the same determination that Denzel Washington says it in the football movie "Remember The Titans" as the coach he says; Im am winner, Im going to win" just before the playoff game.

As I manage to get some of the lower branches I start thinking I need a hard hat, this is pretty dangerous when I go to retrieve my jack handle from being stuck. Ok J; think about every move you make, ar you may pay for it with a serious head injury. As I swirl the handle again to toss another thought enters my mind and I say outloud, Ok handle, you will be alright, trust me, I know what it feels like to be a rock on the end of a string being slung around violently. I know this from when my fully inflated canopy flying straight down pulled me off a 24' hangar on my back head first in 1993. (see scary stories thread for those details). If I can survive that then you can too. I guess my little talk with it did good because I started hitting the branches below the glider. And each time i went to get the hook I was able to break them off, thus clearing the way when I finally get to my goal. feeling good about what is happening I begin to change my angle and start thinking about taking my time and engineer the direction of pull when I want to work these branches, After hitting the branch above the glider I was able to free the right wing from the V, hell yes followed by a hooooyaaaaa(guess thats from being in Raeford for a month now) I finally get the desired branch and begin to move my position so I can hook the hook so I can pull without unhooking it before moving the branch enough to move the glider. YES! it moved and I was starting to get it to drop, of course it only fell about a foot but I was excited. Now I just needed to get my hook back so I can go again.

Standing to the right of my lawn chair about 30' from the tree I began to pull hard and break small branches. Of course the hook comes flying out fast and is headed to my left, watching and of course sliding right it smacks directly into the seat part of the lawn chair, making a god awful (somewhat skydiving familiar) impact sound as it does, I cringe from the memories of what I have seen over the years in this sport. Pause for a second then step to the chair realizing that it had punctured a hole in the seat and was now hanging from the chair. Damn! I say, gonna have to repair that hole later, dont want it splitting sometime and leaving me on my ass!

Ok back to the tree I toss the hook and I hit the branch above the glider and engineer the direction to pull so I dont split the body as I work the branch. Another successful job, the glider is more free and another branch broken out of the way.
It is funny how the mind works at times, I found myself thinking how much I appreciate gravity. Another toss with bad aim and I once again find myself looking a 2# hook flying at about 20mph in my direction, except this time it is heading straight towards me and inline with my head. Not able to move quick enough I put my hands about 4" above my head, thinking this violently spinning piece of metal reminds me of a few SCR's where I put one or two to many newbies on the 8 way and made myself a target for them. Feeling my heart race I brace myself and "Smack!" right on my hands it hit and fell to the ground. Wheeh! that could have been real bad.
But wow! my glider is about one toss away from being free. I make the toss and once again it goes over the glider, I manage to get the rope at the tail section and pull, the glider begins to fall and I quickly let go of the rope hoping to catch it before impact! Suddenly it stops as my rope cut into the foam and is now leaving my glider hanging by its tail about 50' up with no obstructions below. YES YES YES! I do a little happy dance knowing I can let it down at my own pace now. I work the rope and it allows me to slide it down until I can reach it!! I remove the rope embedded in the vertical stabilizer and retrieve my glider. Look at my phone and realize 3.5 hours has gone by, and that I am really thirsty! Ok now I just need to get my jack handle out of the tree, piece of cake right??? NOPE! Another 45 minutes passes and it cannot be done. So I cut the rope long enough so that I can reach it another time......maybe....if i choose. Ok with the idea of leaving the handle, I clean up my mess, remove the red tape from the poker and branches I used, I mean I didnt want to leave a mess in the forest and all. Even though the deer left plenty of messes for me to step in half the day, I cleaned up everything except the hanging rope and metal handle in the tree.
Got to the house and realized that I may have damaged the Lipo battery but the plane electronics are fine!

The moral of my story is, dont get a flat tire after retrieving a glider from an 80' pine tree!!! I figure that is what will happen since I no longer have the handle, and of course I sold tires for 15 years and have never had a flat so now is the time!! Even with 4 brand new ones on the car.

The real lesson here is this, learn how to soder better, I have discovered that a wire came loose on the speed control which is why I lost my signal. I know this happen prior to the crash because I put new connector clips on the controller so I could use multiple batteries later.
I named the glider Lost and Found a couple of weeks ago because I rode the thermals up so high that I lost a visual and have had to find it twice. Both times in the forest but it always managed to crash all the way to the ground. But I think it needs a new name, no not woody, something else, any thoughts.

Ok going to fix the connection so I can fly later today.
Thanks for reading, hope it adds a bit of humor to your day, some how it has for me.

[BillyVance 34]

You could rename it "Tree Magnet"

"Mediocre people don't like high achievers, and high achievers don't like mediocre people." - SIX TIME National Champion coach Nick Saban

[Thanatos340 1]

Uhh.. J.. Can have my last 5 minutes back Please.

A story that long MUST end in one of the following:

a. And once I got it down, I realized it wasnt my Glider. Mine was 3 trees over.

B. Some for of carnage such as the Hook through you hand, The Tire iron to the head or something.. even a "And as I was cleaning up, I stepped on the Hook and got Tetanus" or something.

C. How you managed to get tangled into all the rope and were trapped while a Bear suddenly appeared, However in your struggle to escape and subsequent bear Chase, The bear ran into the tree thus dislodging your glider.

D. How the Gorgeous Twin Sisters showed and offered the help. You discovered that the Bikini Tops (that they so graciously offered remove and lend you) could be filled rocks and made a much better weight to toss the rope with. Now needing just a little more rope or String, These same generous Twins gave you thier Thongs which you were able to Cut up and make the extra length of rope needed to free your trapped glider.

e. After all that, The damn thing was Too broke to ever fly again anyway.

Never let the truth get in the way of a good story!!!

[Nutz 0]

Thank you Jay!!

"Don't! Get! Eliminated!"

[JohnRich 4]

Good job.

Your story reminds me of a time I needed to get a free bag down from the top of a tree after a reserve ride. I got some pipe sections out of the hanger that are normally used for a large tent shelter. I screwed the sections together, duct-taped a shelf bracket on the end for a hook, and walked the contraption over to the golf course where it was needed. I then pushed it into the air like raising the flag on Iwo Jima. Then it just took about 15 minutes of manipulating that long, heavy pole to snag the free bag and knock it to the ground.

And that taught me that it doesn't hurt to have a spare free-bag assembly, so that if yours is lost, you can get repacked in short order for next weekend.

[turtlespeed 212]

well, aren't WE verbose today?

J - I agree with J - The ending needs work.

I'm not usually into the whole 3-way thing, but you got me a little excited with that. - Skymama
BTR #1 / OTB^5 Official #2 / Hellfish #408 / VSCR #108/Tortuga/Orfun

[BillyVance 34]

Yeah it kinda does.

I had a long story a while back about sneaking out at night in the old car as a teenager. I got myself in several oh shit situations but managed to eke out of every one of them. To make a long story short, I thought I'd gotten away with the escapade when I started backing into the steep driveway. I was just a couple feet away from parking the car when the engine ran out of gas, and then I coasted right into the downspout, crushing it.

"Mediocre people don't like high achievers, and high achievers don't like mediocre people." - SIX TIME National Champion coach Nick Saban

[upndownshop 0]

No you may not have the last 5 minutes back, they are mine and I am keeping them! Geez, figured the thought of me spending all morning tossing some piece of metal was worth something.

You may want to consider the irony, I had an electrical problem....that lead to hours of correcting........ Might be more common with J's......especially in say 6 weeks....LOL

[CSpenceFLY 1]

Can you shorten that up and just hit the hight spots for me?

[DavidB 0]

Quote

Can you shorten that up and just hit the hight spots for me?

My RC plane flew into & stuck in tree. Got it down without hurting myself in the process, but my lug wrench from my car is now stuck in the tree in place of my plane. I;ll probably get a flat now. Bye, all!

How's that?

When the only tool you have is a hammer, every problem looks like a nail.

[LongWayToFall 0]

Nice story. You gotta start flying planes with less dihedral, that way if you loose control they can't fly too far. We fly right next to a bay, so if it goes over the water and into the distance it's history.

Edit to add, your story made me think of this avatar from a hand gliding forum:

http://www.hanggliding.org/images/avatars/1742898993467c9b83b4810.jpg

[upndownshop 0]

Thats about how it looked.LOL This thing has a hell of a glide ratio.

To the others, well I guess story time is over. LOL

[cocheese 0]

Wait, what is the make and model of the plane. I'm an r/c freak.

[upndownshop 0]

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Wait, what is the make and model of the plane. I'm an r/c freak.

Radian Glider by Park Zone, soars great, has a 480 motor with folding props.
Been playing with a Daredevil 3D biplane. Looking at a Zagi60, damn thing is supposed to do 70mph! And its a slow one!

[cocheese 0]

Skip the Zagi and get a Stryker 27c. It goes 80mph and glides pretty good. Oh and watch that battery connector clip. Had the same thing happen to me with the solder joint breaking.

I have the old Ascent park glider. It needs a brushless and a lipo to be cool.
Try the new plug n play version if you need a quick flight.

Don't be afraid to go nitro. It's good stuff too.

[CSpenceFLY 1]

Quote

Quote

Can you shorten that up and just hit the hight spots for me?

My RC plane flew into & stuck in tree. Got it down without hurting myself in the process, but my lug wrench from my car is now stuck in the tree in place of my plane. I;ll probably get a flat now. Bye, all!

How's that?

Thank you.

[futuredivot 0]

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I think it needs a new name, no not woody, something else, any thoughts.

You could name it after someone noted for tree landings but I'll leave it up to Broke if he wants to tell you who that might be

You are only as strong as the prey you devour

[upndownshop 0]

Quote

Skip the Zagi and get a Stryker 27c. It goes 80mph and glides pretty good. Oh and watch that battery connector clip. Had the same thing happen to me with the solder joint breaking.

I have the old Ascent park glider. It needs a brushless and a lipo to be cool.
Try the new plug n play version if you need a quick flight.

Don't be afraid to go nitro. It's good stuff too.

The Radian comes with everything for 239.00 DX5e brushless and Lipo.
Im more into the soaring part of flying, I like not having to recharge so quickly too. This Z60 is supposed to soar pretty good too.

So you bringing some toys to SkyFest, plenty of fields to run off too!!

The Stryker does look pretty nice, the push motor is something else I like. Tired of bending prop shafts for a simple nose tilt.

[upndownshop 0]

Quote

Yeah it kinda does.

I had a long story a while back about sneaking out at night in the old car as a teenager. I got myself in several oh shit situations but managed to eke out of every one of them. To make a long story short, I thought I'd gotten away with the escapade when I started backing into the steep driveway. I was just a couple feet away from parking the car when the engine ran out of gas, and then I coasted right into the downspout, crushing it.

My brother tired to sneak my mothers car out one night and was backing up with the door open, it caught the fence and bent it backwards, glad I was out of town for that one!

[cocheese 0]

Yes we will risk our life for r/c plane extraction.

Here it is folks:

http://www.parkzone.com/Products/Default.aspx?ProdID=PKZ4775

[LongWayToFall 0]

Yeah strikers are quick. I have a micro jet and it is also fast. Both of these will do well over 100mph with a new electronics setup.
If you like soaring, you should get into hotliners. They are gliders that are made with composites so they are very very strong, and still moderately light. This allows you to do some crazy stuff, like dynamic soaring. Instead of flying on the windward side, you are on the lee.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vi0hrjqU15I

[cocheese 0]

Wow! Holy #@$&

[LongWayToFall 0]

[yjumpinoz 0]

Good one...I had a similar story but only about 30' up in a tree. Tore up the sailplane pretty bad. It was monocoat. I mainly wanted my battery and servos. I feel your pain. Sort of.