I'd been enjoying aerial photography with my radio control planes and decided to buy and modify a decent camera (Nikon Coolpix 5600) for dedicated AP use.
Being the impulsive type, I wanted to try it out immediately even though it was far too windy for a stable video flight. I figured it wouldn't matter if the maiden video looked like a roller coaster ride. It's just an experiment after all. So I mounted the camera and rushed out to the field.
Because the grass was longer than usual, the prop caught and the plane nosed over pretty hard. With the camera still running I ran to the plane and threw it like a spear. Well, I hadn't noticed that the nose-over had cocked the wing askew and when I opened the throttle, the plane hooked left and nosed in hard enough to bend the aluminum tube fuselage. I ran to it, turned off the camera and tried bending the fuse back into place. To get better leverage, I put the plane on it's back and pushed down on it. CRACK! The rudder fractured where it joins the fuse. But it was still attached - a little wobbly perhaps, but attached. I was getting anxious but thought, "It'll be fine". So I straightened the wing, turned on the camera and sent her back up.
The wind was quite stiff which can be tricky if your plane is only capable of flying, lets say 10 mph and the wind is at 15. Problems can arise.
The wind tugged the plane away from me until it was about 200 yards out over the woods and I began to struggle. The only way to counter the pull was to dive into the wind again and again to pick up speed. This maneuver puts a lot of stress on the airframe especially with the added weight of a camera.
Then the vertical stabilizer folded and a death spiral began. No amount of control input would break the descent.
When it disappeared on the horizon, I took keen note of landmarks and hoped for an easy find. I knew there could be some dicey tree climbing involved but surely I'd find it...or so I thought.
After 3 hours of 90 degree mosquito hell, I broke off the search. I searched again the next day, and the next. I'm still searching, but with less hope each time.
The tree canopy out there is thick but c'mon, it's a bright red plane! You know what I think? I think it found the Bermuda Triangle. And I'd love to see the video.
Black Box
I was working on the roof when I saw Chris returning from trail maintenance in the woods. She waved to me from the yard and yelled that she had found a piece of my plane. My hopes soared since my good camera was on board when the plane disappeared 3 weeks ago.
We hurried back and sure enough, the tail section was lying under a stand of tall trees. I had searched this area many times but the canopy is so thick that very little light gets through to the floor.
Then we spotted the wreckage. Oh, man! It was way up there. These are mature hardwoods and the plane was cradled in the top of an 80 foot sugar maple whose lowest branch was about 50 feet up. Trees grow like that in crowded conditions. Cutting the tree down was out of the question so I cut some 2x4's into 4 inch sections and began the tedious task of nailing foot/hand-holds as I advanced up the trunk. Once I was able to reach branches the climb was easy but I ran out of sturdy limbs about ten feet from my goal. So I rolled the dice and put my faith where it shouldn't be, clamping my thighs around the thin main while small branches snapped under my feet. The tree-top bent under my weight as I shinnied the last few feet to my plane. The wind swayed me but the adrenaline dump was exhilarating, especially once I had the plane in my hand. Chris doesn't like heights and got queasy watching me sway.
I had brought a spool of twine up with me to tie to the plane and lower it down through gaps between branches. The camera and other equipment looked pretty good despite being held to the sky for three weeks.
The first thing I did when we got back to the house was put new batteries in the camera and hit the playback button. Ha, it was all there! A "black box", if you will, with a complete account of the launch, the climb, the buffeting, the transition from neighborhood to forest, and then...the tailspin. The horizon raced around and around with occasional quick glimpses of the approaching canopy below. Then there was an explosion of leaves and branches as the plane came to rest. A leaf then covered the lens like the curtain at movie's end.
Here is the last minute of video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6T15DmdyUIw
All of the electronics tested fine except the lithium power pack which was discharged beyond recovery. But the story is a happy one, really. Most of the electronics were reusable and the plane was rebuildable. My luck had shifted back to good again.
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