Post by plcub on Jan 5, 2008 18:21:56 GMT 1
Been flying SCub (first plane) most weekends for about 3 months. Great soccer field near home, several RC pros and newbies fly there regularly. Been lucky so far, no bad crashes and still in the air. This morning went up, and found the one tree in the whole field. Flew right into the top of the tree, stuck real good at 50+ feet. Lots of sympathy. Two guys came out to help. One guy (Glen) had a long rope with a few links of chain on the end, we tried to hook a branch - no luck. The other guy, first time I'd seen him out there (Shawn) said he'd go get his fishing pole and try to hook the branch and shake it out. Meanwhile, the local kiddie soccer club arrives and the other flyboys retreat. Shawn and I ask the soccer club guy if we can borrow a ball to throw at the plane, he says sure (turns out he flys RC too). We get the ball stuck in the tree trying to get SCub out. So Shawn takes off to get his fishing gear. Half hour later Shawn is back with a couple poles and tackel boxes. This fellow is quite a proficient angler. He loads up a weight and bobber, takes aim, lets fly and soon hooks the branch that has captured my plane. After one or two tries pulling on the line, we've got the plane down, almost totally undamaged. Just short of a miracle. Then - after a little work - Shawn hooks the branch with the captive soccer ball and we get that down, too. One of the soccer dads watching says how tough it is to catch tree trout, ha ha. The moral of the story is that these RC guys are generous with their time and expertise, will help out a stranger way beyond anything you might expect, and are some of the best people I've met in many years. Thanks to Glen, Shawn, Bill (got me through my first flight and landed safely), and the many other fine foks at Central Winds Park, Winter Springs, FL.
