Sorry, you have my list of things to try.

I flew today. Did some recycling of balsa wood. (that is code for I crashed my plane a really messed it up)

So your plane is up a tree and mine is on the building table in pieces.

Which of us is in better shape?

If you aren't fixing, you aren't flying, as my friend Jimmy says.

Good luck with the plane.

Sorry for your luck...guess im rubbing off of you, lmao
I AM going to get that @&^# plane out of that @#*& tree TODAY! I can't just let it sit up there all day tomarrow while im @ schoola dn Band practice till 5:00!!
The tree is dead, so its not strong enuf to hold me for me to try and climb it...or I would have gotten it yesterday.
Even the 20mph wind gusts cant move it.
If all ease fails...i will cut the nylon high stringth kite line off of my kite and pitch it up there untill i get it down. Its been raining most of the day, so I havent been able to try it yet.
But i will keep you posted on my progres as long as you keep me posted on yours (lol)
-Jake

Cornfield + match equals instant thermals!! heh heh

Believe it or not...i have actualy thaught of and "tryed" that with the trees that have no place besied the field!
(model rockets are easy to do this with...haha! "It was a acident, officer! I swear to drunk im nt God..." )

Originally posted by Mchone, Jake
Sorry for your luck...guess im rubbing off of you, lmao

But i will keep you posted on my progres as long as you keep me posted on yours (lol)
-Jake

The crash was totally pilot error. One of the good things about computer radios is that they can hold the profile for multiple planes. One of the bad things is that they don't auto sense that you have changed planes. That is the pilot's job.

Before I attach the sailplane to the winch to launch it, I always check to see that the surfaces are moving so I know the receiver is on. However I didn't check to see that they are moving in the proper direction.

So, on the way up the launch, I am trying to guide the plane, but it is going to the left, so I give it right rudder, but it keeps going left then pops off the winch line.

I continue to try and control it to no positive outcome. It came crashing down on the left wing shattering the wing into a million pieces. Fortunately that wing took all the energy and acted as a shock absorber for the rest of the plane.

I had the radio set on Model 3 which is my 3 meter full house plane that I had just been flying. I had not shifted it to model 2 which is for my 2 meter Sagitta 600 sailplane. The servos are reversed on that channel from one plane to the other. So the more I gave it right the worse it went left. I never caught on that the controls were reversed till after the crash.

So, now I go to the building table. My punishment for not being more careful on my pre-launch check list.

Thou shalt perform a valid radio check before launching a plane including all directions and control responses.

Hopefully I learned a valuable lesson and shall commit this sin no more.

I always do an extencive check when ever I switch to a new plane. Sorry(again)
Im no better off then you are, though...atleast you have something to rebuild...I got my dad up in the tree and he shook for a good 2-3 mins, but its even wors now :'(
and it is now linger inverted..so when it rains(tuesday-thursda) it is gonna be crewed!
Im not sure what im gonna do...

You are going to keep at it and try to find a way to bring it down.

Try the fishing pole again, but this time, when you get the line over the branch, use it to pull a much heavier rope up. then you can put more force into your pull.

Originally posted by Mchone, Jake
I always do an extencive check when ever I switch to a new plane. Sorry(again)
Im no better off then you are, though...atleast you have something to rebuild...I got my dad up in the tree and he shook for a good 2-3 mins, but its even wors now :'(
and it is now linger inverted..so when it rains(tuesday-thursda) it is gonna be crewed!
Im not sure what im gonna do...

Up until now, I was either flying my Aerobird which has it's own radio, or switching between two 2 meter planes, each on its own radio.

A few weeks ago I consolidated these two planes onto the same radio, but went out of my way to make them compatible so I could fly them on the same profile/model memory, without changes. That has worked out very well as they are both RES planes. Same servos reversed and such.

Today was the first time I have ever had to change models in the radio. So, it wasn't really part of my check list.

I almost did it earlier in the day when I went from the 2 meter to the 3 meter. However three meter is a full house, so certain surfaces had not profile so they didn't work at all. That caught my attention.

Profile check is not a part of my preflight!

Sorry to hear of your troubles aeajr. It is tough enough learning the hard way about turning on the radio, ensuring the right model etc. with an EPP plane. It is even tougher to learn those lessons on your assembled balsa ships. At least it will be a lesson you are likely to forget.

Back on topic, today was a forgettable day weather-wise. Rather cold and sunny this morning, then chilly and brisk 10 mph winds from the south this afternoon. It was a day I would have usually packed up to go home. Instead we took one more flight and it turned out to be a 3 or 4 thermal flight. No fussing with figuring out *where* the lift was coming from, or what was generating them. We were surrounded by swamp and woods. The thermals were just there and you had to watch your plane carefully for the signs of lift and drift with the wind. In fact most of the time I had my plane in glide trim (couple of clicks of down elevator) because of the wind and the thing was still going up.

But it was awesome. I forgot to time the flights, but the planes we were flying (my Highlander and my friend's Ascent) went up to pretty good altitude a couple of times despite the wind. All in all it was just good air without lots of sink and something you definitely cannot predict. I was up long enough that my fingers got really stiff and my neck ached from looking up. 5, 10, maybe 20 minutes of flying. Either way it was a blast, and quite honestly it showed that the Highlander can thermal pretty darn well for a 40 ounce 2 meter foam plane.

I am done trying to predict whether it will be a good or bad thermal day. Any day is a good day for flying. Except possibly when it is really pouring rain or more than 15 mph wind.

That last weather conditions you mintioned was JUST like the past 4-5 days..but I fly my parkflyers anyway
aeajr, how much do thoughs 8ft/22ft colapasable poles and where can I get them(I only have a Wally-World and a Lowes nearby(HomeDepoe is 1 1/2 hours away...and id rather let the wind get it for me than spend $ for gas and the pole(s).
-Jake

Well.... those long poles can be had for *really* cheap. They make some really cheapo painters poles that are like $25 or so and stretch pretty far.

The *really* cheap, and rather dishonest method is to buy whichever one fits the bill, get the plane out of the tree, then return it to the store. That way you save money but don't have the pole for future times you get stuck either.

My 6 foot to 12 foot pole as about $16. Lowes should have them.

The best and cheapet way to make a really long pole is PVC pipe.

At about $2 for a 10 foot lenght you can get 3 lengths of 1 inch pipe and two joiners. Glue the joiner to the end of one pipe. Slip in the other pipe and tape it in place.

Now boost it up, leaning aginst branchs and pop in the next pole.

You might be able to do 4 sections if you are lucky.

I got my foamie wing stuck in a tree a while back...it was about 50 feet up and I used the PVC "method" to get it out of the tree...it took a while but I was finally able to get it out of the tree...and the one it fell into after that...and the one it fell into after that!

If you're able to get a little thicker PCV is will probably work better er...be stiffer and not want to wave around while you're hoisting it up. It will also be heavier so it will take some more force to work it around!

Planes are ment to fly...not hang out in trees

Good luck!
Averen

More thermal finding questions: Someone bought my grandson a battery powered bubble mechine for his birthday. I saw that and thought: if I were to take that to the field with me and turn it on, and watch where the bubbles go, maybe it could help me spot some thermals. Do you think this would work?? I have seen bubbles floating in the wind before and they seem to show lift and sink easly. I think the bubble thing was only about $25.00 and it blows alot of bubbles for about 30 min. What do ya think?? Should I spend the $25.00 and find out?? ...R...

In an earlier post I recommend this book:

Old Buzzard's Soaring Book
http://www.carstens-publications.com/hangar/a11560.html

Great reading, very funny and chock full of good info. Written by the designer of the Bird of Time sailplane.

One of the things he recommends is to go to the field one day an just observe the air. Don't bring your plane.

He talks about how the air flows like a river and is constantly moving. Since you can't see the movement you need something to help you see it. Bubbles is one of the tools he suggests to help you observe the flow of the air.

A machine would be fantastic, but even the bottle of bubbles you buy at the store would be good.