Toronto Electric Model Aviation Club Forum

Hey guys... I folded the wing of my e-glider at TEMAC this morning. It went down in the cornfield -- I thought it was planted slightly south of the grove of trees that is opposite our runway.  I searched the area for two hours to no avail. If anybody encounters the carcass, I would be most grateful for a return, as there are some fairly high dollar components inside.

Gordon

I will likely be out there tomorrow morning...nothing to fly...so will spend some time looking around. Sometimes a "2nd set of eyes" spots something...

I always wondered about those paranoid flyers who installed a thing that beeped so you cud find your plane in corn. Maybe they did have a point...anyone know what this is called, or where I can buy one??

Rod

Rod Clark C.E.T.
MAAC 69870
EMFSO 801
TEMAC 47

Here's one, there may be others ...

http://www.gws.com.tw/english/product/aux%20circuit/befound.htm

I suspect glow guys have an easier time finding downed aircraft - they just have to follow the smell

Nick Jones
Kitchener, Ontario
EMFSO #780

Regarding the plane finder/beeper, I bought one from Gold Scallop for with a Brand name MXX lost plane finder for about $19 CAD and one from Tower Hobbies called Air Alert for about $15 USD. They both work well and in situations like this, they are really worth it.
Nestor

Locating beepers seem like a good idea, but in my experience rarely work in a crash scenario like this one.  Usually the battery is disconnected from the receiver in the crash, rendering the beeper ineffective.

Gordon Braun-Woodbury

Edited by - gordonbw on 27 Jun 2004  7:43:11 PM

Well, today I arrived shortly after 10:00 and was there until 1:00. I never found a "wreck"; I walked the entire perimeter of the cornfield and also walked across it 3 times (needed the exercise anyway).I scanned all the adjacent fields that I couldn't get into (electric fences). Several others were there also, sorry, I am really bad with remembering names. The corn is only 3-4" high so that was not the big problem I was expecting. The wind was from the west and at least 15 km/hr judging by treetops but at groundlevel in the pits and on the runway you couldn't even feel a breeze. I flew my "differential-engine-steering" foam wing a few flights, staying below 25' with no problems. Others at higher altitudes were fighting the wind. The problem seemed to start on the east side of the runway with a strong downdraft. Finally I "lost it" in turbulence and 1/3 of the wing tore off on the taxiway...left for home. My first "full day" of flying at TEMAC...the tables are a welcome addition and unlikely to be 'borrowed'...thanks guys, its a fantastic field!!

Thanks for the info on locators, will definitely fit to my higher-value planes.

Rod Clark C.E.T.
MAAC 69870
EMFSO 801
TEMAC 47

Thanks for looking, Rod.  I am thinking that the only area that has not been searched is the grove of trees directly opposite the runway.  I plan to bushwack there on Thursday.


Gordon Braun-Woodbury
“Crashing builds character. Really!”

Hi guys. Sorry about your plane Gordon.

The Kingston funfly was good, but the turnout was lower than usual due to the weather. It was very windy on Saturday with a heavy rainfall in the middle of the day. Sunday was even more windy, but still saw some flying.


Michael

Sorry about your crash, Gordon.

John, Nestor, Keith and myself were at the field on Saturday, but didn't do much flying. I had my new Graupner Klemn on an Graupner Ultra and flew off cross-wind, it flipped over after taking off about a ten-feet run, plumetted to the ground hard, cracked the cowling, broke the motor mount on impact, shattered the prop and smashed the back-end and ripped the commulator shaft apart, the worse is it torned the elliptical wing in halves, not going to repair it. I know a reason why that trash can placed next to the line of chars for now.

We had a good time at SAM's though, those side-bacon with three eggs brakfast will kill you eventually, but you die happy.

Update on my Tucano's crash two weeks ago, I sent the Schulze esc for repair and the reply comes back as:

Sent: Friday, June 18, 2004 12:48 PM
Subject: impossible to repair


hello,

please check the file.

shall we replace it - our proposal is the replacement of the unit because it is not repairable, for 215,00 Euro plus shipping to Canada.

if yes:

-----------------------------------------------

please pay by MasterCard or VisaCard (in advance).









Edited by - Ex14th on 03 Jul 2004  3:12:48 PM

The wind was very bad at the Kingston funfly too. There were several crashes and many close calls on takeoff and landing due to crosswinds.

Michael

You could check these out...
http://webhome.idirect.com/~arrowmfg/elb.htm
It will work with PCM or PPM.
Joe Bajkor
Arrow Mfg.

I located part of the glider today...  unfortunately not the expensive part.  Half of the wing was lying in the dumpyard of the farm two cornfields east of TEMAC... waaaaay further than I thought it would be.  I also found a chunk of balsa from the same wing in the cornfield just east of the yard.  I have lots of scratches from two hours of thrashing through the high brush.  

It's out there somewhere....



Gordon Braun-Woodbury
“Crashing builds character. Really!”

The remains of the lost glider have been found on a neighbouring farm --thanks to everyone who helped me look for it.  I have not seen it yet, so I don't know whether any of the expensive bits are salvageable.  I'll be visiting Mr. Pescadore (three driveways East of TEMAC) on Saturday to check out the damage.  I'll let you guys know how it goes, but I will most cerrtainly endeavour to keep excellent relations with our neighbour, who has been very nice to me on the phone.

Gordon

Can you relate where it was found to where you though it went down? Was it twice as far away as you thought? Three times? Maybe we can all improve our "hunting" technique ...


Nick Jones
Kitchener, Ontario
EMFSO #780

Twice as far, which is contrary to the conventional wisdom that a crashed model is always closer than you think it was.  But then again, maybe I'm just vision-challenged...

Gordon

Edited by - gordonbw on 04 Aug 2004  2:51:22 PM

Gordon
My general rule of thumb is at least 2x as far. The item that is your "center of focus" will appear closer than it really is. For landings alternating the "center of focus" between the plane and end of runway will help end those too short or too far to the side arrivals.
Cheers
Terry

Gordon,

Good news. Apparently somebody found your plane according to Nestor. Nes was flying at TEMAC last week and the owner of the next field came over and told him that he found a wrackage by the side of his green house. Nes told him that he will relate the discovery to Mike. Hope everything works when you recover the remains.

Alex

8/5

Recovered the glider today. The airframe was basically in shreds, but all the components seem in working order -- amazingly enough, after six weeks in the open.



Gordon Braun-Woodbury
“Crashing builds character. Really!”

I'm just back from vacation.

Has our neighbor been compensated for any damage?

Should I contact him?

Michael

Mike,

Mr. Pescadore and I came to an agreement.  All is well -- no need to contact him.

Gordon Braun-Woodbury
“Crashing builds character. Really!”