Plane lost in the woods.

[Ace12GA]

It finally happened to me. I fly my planes, park size, out of my back yard and over a large field behind me. Beyond this field is a large forest. This morning I was flying in nice calm conditions, maybe 5km/h winds. I lost sight for a moment behind a tree just as all hell broke loose. Not having found the plane, I don't know if something went wrong or not, but I think one of the aileron control horns let loose from the aileron. The plane started to roll quite sharply, and before I could get it back into sight, running to the back of my yard at full speed from my deck, it was heading away from me. With it rolling and looping pretty much on its own, I tried to get it back under control; by the time I had any control again it was far enough away I could no longer determine its orientation relative to me. It just kept getting further away, and started dipping below the tree line. By the time I realized I wasn't bringing it back under power and cut the throttle it was lost beyond the tree line at the side of this field.

2 or 3 seconds after I cut throttle I heard it impact something, so I know it went down, almost certainly in a tree. So, TX in hand, I changed out of my work clothes into jeans and boots and ran out across this field, which was all chest high grass, and into the woods. I was hoping the battery would still be connected and I would be able to hear the servos or motor, but nothing. After 40 minutes of slogging around and a call to my boss to explain I would be late, I found no trace of my plane.

I went out again this afternoon on my quad, and the same results after covering a larger area and getting supremely stuck a few times.

I would think that a plane made of white and pink foam over 3' long would be easy to find, but I was mistaken. Its not even the plane I care about, but its electronics would be really nice to recover.

Anyone had any luck finding there plane after a similar mishap? Should I just write it off and remember to ditch it at the first sign of loss of control next time? I know trying to save it was my biggest mistake.

[Ace12GA]

This would be the plane, and the woods in the background would be the woods in question. ;)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yAZyWjR0w9w

[AA5BY]

If the woods is thick, it is just as likely in a tree as on the ground, in fact perhaps more likely. And... you may be looking right at it and not see it because of obscuring limbs.

Last weekend a canopy hatch fell off. We searched but I had shorts on and couldn't get into the briers. Next morning I found it two feet from where I'd been the day before, obscured by a low branch of a small pine tree.

[3D-Dabbler]

Yes, it is amazing how quickly a plane can be gobbled up and disappear.

A friend of mine was at a field and one of the pilots there had a problem and crashed his plane into chest high grass. It had an 8 foot wing span. You would think that would be easy to find. Not so, after over an hour of searching with 10 people fanning out and looking through 20+ acres or so of chest high grass they didn't find a single thing.

The next weekend they tried again with everyone that was at the field that day. They looked for more than an hour that day as well. Just be glad that your plane was small and inexpensive. That guy lost a $5,000 airplane without a trace. He decided to put a homing beacon on whatever he replaces it with though. That way if it happens again he can track down the pieces. I am not sure what he planned to use. I think my friend said we was looking for a directional radio beacon to put on the airplane.

Sorry about your loss.

[bri_877]

Should I just write it off and remember to ditch it at the first sign of loss of control next time? I know trying to save it was my biggest mistake.

Not at all. Fight it all the way down. If it's going in I'm flying it until it stops flying.;)

And look up.:D

[bwalt822]

Did you try to create a visual line from the point you were standing to the point where you lost sight? As soon as a plane disappears from your sight you should point to the spot and dont take your eyes off for a second until you can remember something directly in line like a certain tree or other landmark. Then set the transmitter or other marker down where you were standing with antenna or a stick pointing at the landmark. With any luck your plane will be fairly close to that line. A lot of times it helps to have a spotter at the marker to direct you.

[init4fun]

Every time i hear one of these lost plane stories it makes me sad and reminds me of the one I lost . One day one of my planes stopped listening to the TX and decided to follow its own path . It went over a treeline into some of the deepest forest ive seen and the feeling of not being in control of my plane as it flew away was horrible . Of course it was never found despite many searches by my friends and me and right there i decided every plane i own will be equipped with some kind of locator . After doing some research I discovered the "air alert lost plane locator" by Hobbico for a very reasonable $16 each . This is the device that stays quiet untill no TX stick movement is detected for more than one minute and then it makes very loud beeps to help locate a lost plane . I realize there are no 100% foolproof systems and if the receiver battery is ejected in the crash the unit wont work but if the battery stays with the plane this sure seems like it will greatly enhance the chances for recovery . Best of Luck in your searches and Happy Flying :cool:

[bwalt822]

If you really wanted to it looks like you could wire this system with an independent battery attached to the emitter. But this is one more thing to charge and one more thing that could go wrong.

[Mode One]

I've spent many hours looking for downed R/C aircraft in woods near the flying field. I generally don't stop looking for it until I; or someone else, finds it. You need to be methodical about your search! Attempt to determine how far away from you it was, the last time you saw it. How small did it become vs how big the wingspan/length really is. Take a compass and determine the bearing it was from the position you last saw it. Walk along this bearing and when you get to where you your calculations say it might have gone down, you need to place an easily seen marker. Then start an increasing diameter spiral outwards from this point. When walking this spiral, stop around every 10-15 paces and look around. Look on the ground and in the trees. If your patient, you will find it.

I always enjoyed looking for downed airplanes (well, not my own, that is). Generally, I've found they are farther away than you think they are. The old flying field had a pine plantation next to it and you could just walk up and down the rows to find airplanes. The new one has row crops, I've now spent much time looking for downed planes in corn. The worst for trudging through is swamplands! Ask your flying buddies to help out, my kids liked looking for airplanes also, if you have some, maybe they'd be willing to help.

[bwalt822]

people in my old club were known to have a full scale pilot friend find the plane and toss a roll of toilet paper out the window to mark the location. Its easier to find a big white stream of toilet paper than it is an airplane. Might not work in wooded areas but its good for tall grass or farm fields.

[Ace12GA]

So far this is what I've tried.

When it went down I noted the part of the tree line I lost it over. After my first search failed I spent some time with google maps and the satellite view of my area. I printed an aerial map of the area, including where I was standing. I took that map to where I was standing, and using a ruler to site along, I drew a line on my map. I drew lines where the tree line is, and then took a reasonable guess at the search area.

I have pretty much covered that entire search area on a quad, and with 3 buddies on quads. Its is a marshy area with chest high grass; we got stuck a few times, and had a great time romping around in a search grid. I have a couple of areas left to check, and the more I think of the crash, the more I believe it must be in a tree. The sound of impact was a second after dropping below the tree line.

Now here is a question. The plane has a 30" wingspan, and is about 36" long. I have been searching an area that is between 500 and 1000 feet away from the flying site. When I lost the plane I could only see it when it rolled on its side and presented me with a top or bottom view. On edge from its sides or ends I could just barely tell something was there. Do you think I might need to move out further? I had control when I ditched finally, so I know it was within range of my Tx.

I'm thinking of attaching a streamer to my next one; I'm also thinking of putting a small 720p video camera on my next one, and putting it up 300' to get some aerial coverage of the crash zone. The areas I haven't been able to rule out are dense cedar and pine trees. If its in the top of one of those there is a chance I would never see it from the ground.

Thanks for the comments and tips guys, great help. I have a feeling I've been standing right near it and just couldn't see it.

[bwalt822]

All I can say is good luck...

[Slider2732]

Using a mini camera to give an aerial view might well be worth the cost of the camera anyway ! It may produce where the plane is, save you the cash of replacement parts and so give back the cost of the camera. If not...you now have a camera for future mishaps.
I have no idea if Ontario has DollarTree or similar stores, but they do a $1 window security buzzer that is very loud. Again not sure of the weight but without the plastic housing, you're looking at a 1" by 1" circuit board and 3xwatch batteries (which actually come with it). They work on a magnet break principle. So, upon crashing, if attached with velcro, the magnet gets sent flying off the plane and the beeper alerts you to where the plane is. Might be worth a go and at that price at least you get the 3 batteries anyway lol

Here's those beeper things:
http://www.dollartree.com/cleaning-storage-hardware/Household-Supplies/tools-tapes-adhesives/Window-and-Door-Alarm-System/212c309c263p184790/index.pro

[bwalt822]

Or you can put one of these in your plane...

http://www.brickhouse-childsafety.com/locator.html

[Mode One]

You guys keep throwing technology at this problem. However, in the end, I think it's likely you will just have to go back to low tech, when those batteries in your high tech equipment die; or, is damaged by the sudden impact.

[Ace12GA]

Heh, in the past I have relied on being able to hear servos or a motor, but this last crash tossed the battery in the process. I suspect that magnetic alarm could work well. Embed the electronics partially in the fuselage and attach the magnet on the outside. In theory in a crash it would stay put and the magnet would go flying. I intend to look into that for a $1.

[Challenger 413]

I would look quite a bit further away than where you feel it went down.

Challenger413

[Ace12GA]

Sadly, further from where I think it went down is in the middle of a large swamp that is quite inaccessible. :(

[Mode One]

You said you heard it hit. What kind of sound did it make?

I have seen crashes where the airplane parts are laying on the ground and some of the radio was still in a tree. You can't predict what will happen in a crash, what will stay with the plane and what will head for the toolies.

[KC10Chief]

I found a plane last year for another guy with a Canon digital camera. I had a mount on one of my planes and I had the camera set up to take a picture every 5 seconds. I just flew it real high, took a bunch of photos, and blew the good ones up on my laptop which I almost always bring with me to the field to load photos and video on it. We couldn't spot it right off since it was so bring outside. But I came home, blew the photo up, and then compared it with the same spot on Google Earth. I marked the GPS coordinates from Google Earth, put them in my GPS and went and found the plane the next day. Still, it was a pretty lucky find. The next trick was getting it out of a 40 foot tree! :eek:

That beeping thing is a good idea. I've never seen one. If you're worried about the battery getting ejected, then just tape it to the battery! :D

[KC10Chief]

I'll just clarify real quick. The camera I have is the Canon SD 750. You can get one at Wal-Mart, but they're around $200. They're small, light and thin. Just about anything can haul it into the air. One nice thing about a Canon camera, is you can easily hack the software with CHDK. Do a search for it online. It's free software. But you can set your camera to take a picture every few seconds and program it to do all sorts of stuff. Canon is the only brand of camera that I am aware of that you can hack the software. You don't need to plug it in to your RX or use a servo for the button though. The best part about the SD 780, is it is 7MP. These little cameras aren't that great for indoor shots and having 7MP is pretty useless. But on a bright day, you get a faster shutter speed and a clearer picture. Take some 7MP shots of a large area, and you can zoom in real close!

[Ace12GA]

I have been looking at a simple Kodak 720p mini camcorder that is flash based. Its smallish, and fairly light. Being a pseudo camera guy I just shudder at the thought of a kodak camera, but its $100, and has generally good reviews. The Zi6 is the model.

[KC10Chief]

I have been looking at a simple Kodak 720p mini camcorder that is flash based. Its smallish, and fairly light. Being a pseudo camera guy I just shudder at the thought of a kodak camera, but its $100, and has generally good reviews. The Zi6 is the model.

Instead of doing that, you could buy a used camera off of E-bay. Again, I recommend a Canon. Here's the CHDK software site for Canon cameras.
http://chdk.wikia.com/wiki/CHDK

The cameras that it works on, are listed on the right side. The software is free as well. You can set the camera up to do just about anything. You can set it up to take a picture every few seconds if you wish. This would be perfect for looking for your plane or just taking photos! The setup is super simple. You don't need anything except a way to attach it to your plane. No servo to trigger it, and no fancy setup plugged into your receiver. Just start the camera and go! Pick a small camera. Lots of used ones on E-bay, and you won't feel as bad if you lose a cheap camera in the woods too! :D