lost glider
#1
Junior Member
Thread Starter
My Feedback: (13)
Join Date: May 2002
Location: mooresville, NC
Posts: 16
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
lost glider
i had a 2 meter glider with a novel 61 to take it up.told buddy to look couldnt beleive how high it was.I took my eyes off of it and never found it again.I held full left and down trying to see it but never we never seen it .it was flying stright into the wind hardly moving forward .there were 3 of us looking for it but its gone.just wondering if this happened to anyone else thanks terry
#3
Senior Member
My Feedback: (17)
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: Tracy,
CA
Posts: 296
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
RE: lost glider
You DID have your name, address and phone number on the plane, right? http://tinyurl.com/3gqhtd
So eventually it will be found and you'll get a phone call.
So eventually it will be found and you'll get a phone call.
#5
My Feedback: (47)
RE: lost glider
Yep...way way back in the day, lost my Magnum 12 on the slope in Diamond Bar, Ca...slope lift up to 1200' or so above the hill, then must have hooked a boomer or a secondary wave off of the taller hills in front of us, as full spoilers, elevator and rudder, and it kept going up.
Out of sight and well behind the hill...it was a big plane for the day (144" span), but the area behind the slope was undeveloped for miles (all homes and shopping centers now ), I am sure it was eventually found. No, it did not have a name/address label....[].
Barry
Out of sight and well behind the hill...it was a big plane for the day (144" span), but the area behind the slope was undeveloped for miles (all homes and shopping centers now ), I am sure it was eventually found. No, it did not have a name/address label....[].
Barry
#7
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Chilliwack, BC, CANADA
Posts: 12,425
Likes: 0
Received 22 Likes
on
19 Posts
RE: lost glider
I lost a nice little 1/2A Texaco model that way in a thermal one time. I'm very careful now to never let it get so high that I can't make out the stabilizer. It's a rule of thumb that has served me well since then on a few occasions.
#8
My Feedback: (98)
Join Date: Feb 2002
Location: The Villages, Florida NJ
Posts: 4,677
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
RE: lost glider
This is a picture of the 2T I lost. The scratch build sailplane's wing can just be made out to have a shape at the highpoint on the chart. The next flight wasn't recorded due to the memory being full in the recoreder when I got it maybe 1000' higher, I had to dive with spoilers full open for 5 minutes to get it down to where I could see the wing had a shape. I don't do that anymore, too old.
#9
Junior Member
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: Regina, SK, CANADA
Posts: 11
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
RE: lost glider
After almost losing my glider, I put my name and phone number in it. So far I been lucky: my Gentle Lady seems to want a divorce but I still keep retrieving her.
Don't let it get you down, it's just one of the many pitfalls we all will face.
Don't let it get you down, it's just one of the many pitfalls we all will face.
#10
My Feedback: (2)
RE: lost glider
Have never lost one in the air. Have come close a couple of times. But I fly pure gliders and electrics so I don't have a motor running that I can't control.
All of my airplanes have my name and number in 2 places as well as a beeping plane finder. For my larger gliders, which I might fly up to a mile out, I have a walston radio transmitter that I move from plane to plane.
Saturday we were winch launching into low clouds/fog. If you put any kind of zoom during the launch the plane disappeared into the fog. That was a bit unnerving. We had to work the thermals below 400 feet or so as that was about as high we could go. Still, I had an 8 1/2 minute flight at that altitude.
One of these days your plane will return and land in the middle of your field.
All of my airplanes have my name and number in 2 places as well as a beeping plane finder. For my larger gliders, which I might fly up to a mile out, I have a walston radio transmitter that I move from plane to plane.
Saturday we were winch launching into low clouds/fog. If you put any kind of zoom during the launch the plane disappeared into the fog. That was a bit unnerving. We had to work the thermals below 400 feet or so as that was about as high we could go. Still, I had an 8 1/2 minute flight at that altitude.
One of these days your plane will return and land in the middle of your field.
#12
Senior Member
Join Date: May 2006
Location: mara,
AB
Posts: 345
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
RE: lost glider
Just happened to me with a friend of mine's MDM-1 Fox (lent it to me) . It is white. There were clouds. What can possibly happen? Ok, I was about 500 meters out from the slope, riding a strong wind current upwards into the sky, and it is very high up, so I decide to take the plane for a spin. I put it in an inverted dive, coming straight at the slope. And then... I cant see it at all. I know it is racing towards me but I cant see it until I hear the sound. So I push the stick and then: I saw the plane: It was right in front of me, barely a meter off, and climbing like a rocket because of the full down I had applied. LESSON: PLEASE DO NOT PAINT A FAST AND AEROBATIC GLIDER ALL WHITE!
BTW, my friend does not want to lend me his Fox. Anymore.
BTW, my friend does not want to lend me his Fox. Anymore.
#13
Junior Member
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: Kingsford, MI
Posts: 11
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
RE: lost glider
Ed,
I have a Sky King locator, but just had a miserable experience with a lost plane...one month in the weeds, but someone found it for me. I've been looking at the Walston equipment. I'd like to move the tx from plane to plane also. How did you mount it? I was thinking a small exit hole out of the pod and tape the antenna to the boom.
Dave
I have a Sky King locator, but just had a miserable experience with a lost plane...one month in the weeds, but someone found it for me. I've been looking at the Walston equipment. I'd like to move the tx from plane to plane also. How did you mount it? I was thinking a small exit hole out of the pod and tape the antenna to the boom.
Dave
#14
Junior Member
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: white lake, MI
Posts: 3
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
RE: lost glider
Hey what I think is worst than a fly away, is to forget to turn on the plane. It happened twice now to me. You would think after the first time I would learn my lesson. It sure flys good under NO control from the radio. It circles and floats better than it has all day. Turns in to the wind and takes off. Luckly after four hours, I was able to find my beloved plane. And Yes my name is on it.
#15
Junior Member
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: , CA
Posts: 2
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
RE: lost glider
As an AMA member, I know that you are required by their rules to have your name, address, etc. in your model for just that reason. But also keep in mind that if you lose your plane, and all your info is in it, you will be held liable for whatever it destroys when it comes down!
#16
Senior Member
RE: lost glider
ORIGINAL: t. stewart
i had a 2 meter glider with a novel 61 to take it up.told buddy to look couldnt beleive how high it was.I took my eyes off of it and never found it again.I held full left and down trying to see it but never we never seen it .it was flying stright into the wind hardly moving forward .there were 3 of us looking for it but its gone.just wondering if this happened to anyone else thanks terry
i had a 2 meter glider with a novel 61 to take it up.told buddy to look couldnt beleive how high it was.I took my eyes off of it and never found it again.I held full left and down trying to see it but never we never seen it .it was flying stright into the wind hardly moving forward .there were 3 of us looking for it but its gone.just wondering if this happened to anyone else thanks terry
Hmmmmmmmm
Lost in Mooresville. In a strong wind....... And the wind in this part of North Carolina usually blows toward the ENE......... hmmmmmmm..........
Maybe us boys around Mocksville oughta' keep our eyes on the sky for awhile.
#17
Senior Member
RE: lost glider
Anybody ever lost sight of a glider? You betcha.
The rule at the sod farm in Minnesnowta wasn't simple but worked. When the glider got so high that it was just two dots, one sorta long dot and one small dot (the wing was the long dot and the tail was the small dot and you couldn't see the fuselage at all) it was time to pay attention. But when the two dots became just one dot, it was time to bring the sucker down.
It's hard for southern boys to believe, but Minnesnowta is glider heaven. Great thermal flying sites with all the flat, clear land, but still has slopes all over the place. Around Minneapolis-StPaul the land seemed to either be perfect for thermal or it was a cliff face. I'd move back if they had more than two seasons: winter and a couple of weeks of mosquitoes.
The rule at the sod farm in Minnesnowta wasn't simple but worked. When the glider got so high that it was just two dots, one sorta long dot and one small dot (the wing was the long dot and the tail was the small dot and you couldn't see the fuselage at all) it was time to pay attention. But when the two dots became just one dot, it was time to bring the sucker down.
It's hard for southern boys to believe, but Minnesnowta is glider heaven. Great thermal flying sites with all the flat, clear land, but still has slopes all over the place. Around Minneapolis-StPaul the land seemed to either be perfect for thermal or it was a cliff face. I'd move back if they had more than two seasons: winter and a couple of weeks of mosquitoes.
#18
My Feedback: (2)
RE: lost glider
ORIGINAL: Freewind
Ed,
I have a Sky King locator, but just had a miserable experience with a lost plane...one month in the weeds, but someone found it for me. I've been looking at the Walston equipment. I'd like to move the tx from plane to plane also. How did you mount it? I was thinking a small exit hole out of the pod and tape the antenna to the boom.
Dave
Ed,
I have a Sky King locator, but just had a miserable experience with a lost plane...one month in the weeds, but someone found it for me. I've been looking at the Walston equipment. I'd like to move the tx from plane to plane also. How did you mount it? I was thinking a small exit hole out of the pod and tape the antenna to the boom.
Dave
Not sure which mount you are asking about.
The Sky king locator I use is just mounted in the nose. No hole. Not the best situation but can be heard from about 40 feet if I listen carefully. If I put a hole in and put this by the hole, should be good for 100+ feet. On my gliders I find the sky king very valueable for monitoring my battery level.
We had a farily new electric pilot drop his Easy Star about 200 yards into deep woods. Three of us went hunting. We used GPS to try and stay on track. We never saw the plane, but one fellow heard the Sky King Beeper. Found it. Without that beeper, he would have been out of luck.
As far as the walston, I used to put it inside the plane. However tests with my Supra and AVA show that this seriously cuts down the range. So now I tape it on the outside, jsut behind the wings. Much better range. Should be over a mile on the ground.
In a wood, plastic, fiberglass, kevlar plane, you can put the walston inside.
So, if I were to drop the plane 1/2 mile out, I would use the walston to get in close, then listen for the sky king beeper to get that last few feet. Or hope that someone hears the beeper, investigates and calls me.
All of my planes have the beeper at a minimum. We had a sad incident a couple months ago of a pilot flying a $1000 plane. got way down wind, and lost sight of the plane. Just picked it up visually as it was heading below the tree line. No name, no beeper, no walston. Big search parties went out multiple times but we never found it.
Everyone, at a minimum, put your name and phone number in your planes.
#19
Junior Member
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: Kingsford, MI
Posts: 11
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
RE: lost glider
Ed...
Thanks. Yes, I was asking about the Walston tx. Your info is helpful. Thanks.
I agree with you on the Sky King. I think 40 feet or so is about the max, but that rising and falling tone certainly doesn't sound like a bird chirping!
I am seriously considering the Walston stuff especially after putting a new wing and tail feathers on my little Sky 1.7. My electronics came through fine with just the loss of the battery. The weather took its toll on the wing and tail. Serious warping.
Thanks for the feedback.
Dave
Thanks. Yes, I was asking about the Walston tx. Your info is helpful. Thanks.
I agree with you on the Sky King. I think 40 feet or so is about the max, but that rising and falling tone certainly doesn't sound like a bird chirping!
I am seriously considering the Walston stuff especially after putting a new wing and tail feathers on my little Sky 1.7. My electronics came through fine with just the loss of the battery. The weather took its toll on the wing and tail. Serious warping.
Thanks for the feedback.
Dave