spaz4plastik

I got a little confused or maybe it was the wind...
My ABX is at least 75ft up in a cottonwood tree. I dont have the skills to climb. The fishing pole trick isnt getting it either. I had heard about using pvc pipe but I really dont think I could get 8 sticks pointed in the right direction. I have very little hope that anything other than a miracle or a wind storm is going to save me.

Any other ideas? If not I have a Tx, prop, charger and extra battery for sale!

AgCat1982

Same thing happened to me today! I am going to use the pvc, no limbs in the tree except at the top. I am going to use reducers and start sending them straight up 5ft at a time (so I can put next one on the bottom) with small dia pipe at the top with a hook and getting larger every 10 feet. Mine's closer to 40-50 ft tho.

Know the feeling, mine is stratch built and I don't want to loose it or the equip![8D]

Good luck!

Mhale71

dont give up!!
try giveing it full throttle if the battery isnt aleady dead,
if not, (i did this) a good BB gun will usually do the job depending on where you aim.

foreverNight

HA! I lost my last aerobird when it got stuck up on a light pole in a softball field. Those big poles with a big light rack on it. it got stuck about 50 ft up. I tried a fishing pole and a football. Nothing worked. And then a few days later the carnival came to town for 10 days at the softball complex! I would drive by a gaze at it through binoculars, it looked like people had been trying to get it down. Finally the carnival left but, it was still up there. I gave up hope. One day i drove by again near dark and it was gone. I got out and went to search around the ground. I found the fuse in a trash can. someone snapped the tail boom off, ripped the canopy off and to top it all off took the 7 cell battery! I learned my lesson! never fly there again! Oh and i found the wing in pieces in the softball diamond![:@]

combat_cop

A freind of mine got his bird stuck up high in a tree and ended up calling a tree trimming service with a cherry picker truck to snatch it for him. It cost him around 50 bucks but its down now.

Oregon Craig

Or, fly there again, alot, and don't fly it into the light pole. [X(]

spaz4plastik

I dont want to sound to emotional but, its like loosing a friend. Worse yet, you go by every day and look at him just out of reach. In the wee hours of the night I decided to try the PVC trick even though its going to take a bunch of pipe and patience. The field is at the local Jr High school where my daughter goes. The cherry picker would probably cause issues. At least my daughter can give me a status report until it comes down! (it will come down eventually)

gbrad64

Hi all...
im very new to RC flying..i have only a megatech cosmic flyer, wich is very much toy like...
but i had just gotten a Slo V...
im usually up real early, around 4am or so...first thing in the morning theres a lull in the wind just at sun rise..at around 620 to 630 am...so i took my slo v out for a maiden flight...
it was reall easy to control and was much solwer than that megatrash thing...
well to make a long story short ...it got stuck in a tree about 50 to 60 feet up...
i tryed every thing i could think of to get it down but no such luck...
finally four days later the wind picked up enough to get it down...unfourtunatlly the wind also
koncked down four trees in my flying field....and its expensive to get it all cut up and hualed off
thats about the only thing good about the hurricane frances that tore up my house...
after the hurricane was gone i had a even better flying field ....less trees
so here was all my neibours out side working ..and cleaning up and im on my roof flying my slo v
...every one stopped and watched it glide around the block...i was running it quiet cause there was no wind and i could run it at 25% throttle or off...it would just sail straight and level...
if i got up high enough it would hit a breeze and just hang there..i figure if i had the practice i could get it to hang there for a good 20 to 30 minute flight...i got about 12 minutes out of it..
then landed in my back yard...some of neibors came over and they wanted to know all about it...
i think i got a couple more people who are going to try flying..
it was one of those moments you wish you had a video camara...
if you can picture it..
the really bad storm ....every one tired from staying up all night cause of the 80 MPH winds...
the howling and the driving rain...then the next day is quiet..and sunny...
theres no cars cause of all the trees down in the streets and no power to any of the houses...
ever one slowly comes out to there yards and starts to clean up..then theres this queit
gliding plane that just drifts around the street..every one stops and watches till it lands...
if any one wants to know i charged the battery in my car first...
have fun and be safe
gregg

hobbydawg

if u have one of those poles for cleaning a pool u can get a truck or if u have one a trackor with a loader.Get up on the bed of the truck and try to knock it down.Or if u have a loader have someone raise u up and try to knock it down.I have a firebird comander and a aerobird challanger and that work every time.

AgCat1982

Good idea's, but, the original poster of this thread is talking about 75 feet up!!!!!! A backhoe won't get any where near that.

Keep trying. The plane I told you about finally is down. The park guys saw me and offered to cut the tree!!!!!!! They did it!!! Broke the wing into two pieces.[] But, I can fix that! They said they were getting ready to clear that area anyway! You talk about luck!

Good luck[8D]

Arznek

A friend of mine did the same thing with a commander...

We ended up shooting the branches that were holding it up there with a .22 until it fell down. We had 20mph winds when we shot it down, so it took a good 50 rounds to destroy those branches =P

gravityrules

Arzek, I am very glad that I don't live anywhere near where you fly!

AgCat1982

My brother has done that out in the country with his 9mm Beretta. He has had great luck! However, I was in the city park![8D]

spaz4plastik

I like the .22 shooting the branches idea. I dont think the school where the tree is would appreciate it though! The pole idea just doesnt work, the plane is way to high. There has been some wind (and rain) and the plane has dropped a little. I am waiting until it gets within reach and try it again.
I have a slo-v in addition to my treed ABX and I dont get into as much trouble. City folk should be aware that an ABX in the hands of anybody less skilled than an expert needs plenty of space. The guy at the hobby store recommended the ABX for my first plane which was a real bad piece of advice. I went back and told them not to give that advice and they acted like I was crazy. After flying my slo-v I know the truth!

aeajr

My Feedback: (2)

I don't know if trees and planes are attracted to each other like magnets, but
somehow we seem to be pulling someone out of a tree every few weeks.
Fortunately it is not me these days, though I am sure I will find one again.
I can see them reaching for the plane as I fly by. The guys tell me it is the
wind, but I think they are calling my plane.

So, how do you get your plane out of a tree? Here are some methods I use, or
have seen used. Some are simple and cheap. Some are complex and some are
expensive. You have to decide which to use and when.

In my book, chain saws, axes and things that will kill the tree are not an
option. Call me a tree hugger, but I just can't see cutting down a tree to
get a plane. There is usually a better option.

I am going to list the ones I know, roughly in effective range. I hope you
can provide some others, preferably before I need them.

8-12 Feet (2-4 meters) -

Good old hand reach combined with anything to stand on and maybe a local stick
or branch - Cost $0

10-30 Feet (3-10 meters) -

When I fly I bring a 6 foot extension pole for a paint roller that I purchased
in Home Depot for $14. It extends to 12 feet. I have seen 4, 8 and 10
footers that double as well. I also saw an 8 footer that almost triples to
about 22 feet.

15-50 Feet (5-16 meters) -

I carry a spool of 130 pound test mason's line in my field box that has an 8
ounce rounded fishing weight attached to it. Costs about $5 total. With a
good throw I can usually get it up and over the branch holding the plane so I
can shake it free. Hitting the branch can take lots of throws and hitting the
plane is a real risk, but it is better than leaving it there. If your plane
is sitting on a very strong branch, use the lighter line to pull up a heavier
line. -

30-100 feet (9-32 meters) -

A bow and arrow work well at this height, but you have to develop some skill
in order to get the needed accuracy. I estimate this at $50-$100 - One
problem is that you can get the arrow stuck on a different branch which only
compounds your problem. The line will have to be light, so use it to pull up
heavier line or so you can break it if the arrow gets stuck.

A spinning rod with a weight also works but again, the line is light so you
carry stronger line that you pull up to the branch using the lighter line.


Other methods I have heard about but never used or witnessed.

Tree climber - Somehow every RC club has the phone number of a guy who climbs
trees for a fee.

Helo - I heard of one guy who used an electric helo to fly a line and weight
up and had some kind of release to drop it onto the branch. Sounds like a
good justification for a helo when I speak with my wife.

A really original idea

Control line kite - This one surprised me, but one of our members got his
plane stuck in the top of a high tree, over 100 feet up. He also flies the
large kites that look like arc shaped parachutes. He has two control lines on
the kite that let him direct it, dive it and move it around the sky. He used
it to attack the tree until the tree gave up the plane. I like the idea of
attacking the tree without actually hurting it!

gbrad64

i wish i had thought of that fishing line trick...
i had to wait for a hurricane

Resident Hazard

Here's an idea, use a Wrist Rocket(aka sling shot) with the lead weight and fishing line. There designed to shoot lead/steel balls why not a 1/2" lead weigh/fishing line. There less then 15 buck at any Wal-Mart,sporting goods store,even cheaper online. I'm not sure of the range, but the web sites I've searched say 100+ yard(300+feet) range. Which I think would be more then adequate for R/C retrieval.

My .02 Cents[8D]

StephenT

guys

Got my Soarstar on floats stuck in a 70 ft pine tree for 17 days. Talked to the guy who owned the nearest house. He said he would call when it came down. I checked everyday. It wouldn't come down. A week in we had a real Florida drencher. Plane didn't come down. Radio was in a rubber glove. Finally the wind came from the oppisite way with force.. I checked with the guy. He snagged it out of his front yard and gave it to me. It was in 5 pieces. I glued them all back togather and flew it the next day. The battery still had some charge because when the plane hit the tree the switch went off. Love those foamies.

stevennh

This worked well for me. I had my son hold the fishing pole behind me while I shot a steel sinker over the tail of the plane. After about 20 shots I got it wrapped around the tail boom. I would guess my plane was around 50 feet up (Aerobird). A word of caution, on one shot the line snagged in the reel and the steel shot came back and hit me in the mouth. Just a bruise (lucky). Watch out if you try this.

Steve

Arznek

There is actually a slingshot fishing rod thing that I've seen at a few amateur radio conventions..... It's used to sling wire antennas over trees... it might just be the perfect solution... i'll see if i can find a link for it and post again.

Arznek

I found it faster than I thought I would =)

here it is

[link=http://www.ezhang.com/]http://www.ezhang.com/[/link]



I've also used fishing line duct taped to a softball.... the goal isn't to hit the plane but rather get it over the branch in shake... those foamies are delicate =)

Resident Hazard

Follow Up:

Folding Sling Shot(Marksman) - $5.96
30 lb.test- 250 yd. Omniflex Fishing Line - $1.74
WG Dipsey Swivel Sinkers(3/4size) - $0.68
Tax - $0.63
Total = $9.01

FSS Range 200+yds(600+ft.) (less with fishing line).

A little better then:
[X(][X(]

And if your a really bad shot they have a laser sighted one [link=http://www.bbgunsforsale.com/ps52.html]Here[/link]

Stuart Linfoot

I had a GWS Tiger Moth stuck up a tree (about 75 feet up) for more then a month.

It was winter time, there was lots of wind and rain, and the plane still wouldn't come down.

I tried the PVC pipe pole idea in 10 foot sections, that didn't work.

I tried the monster sling shot idea, (I mail ordered the sling shot, and by the time the sling shot arrived, the plane was still up in the tree) I shot at the plane with the sling shot and golf balls, but I was a little worried that I was going to bust someones window out when the golf balls bounced off the tree, so I had to find another idea.

My answer came off the net in the form of a spud cannon.

I found a set of plans for a spud cannon on the net that worked off compressed air.

I build the cannon, the thing could blow a hole through a 3/4 inch peace of ply wood.

to make a long story short, I just about went through a whole bag of potatoes, but when I finally hit the limb the plane was stuck on, I was able to shoot plane and the limb, clear through the top of the tree.

there was nothing left of the plane, the winter storms had finished it off by the time I got the spud cannon built, but I was able to save all the radio gear to use in another plane.

I dismantled the spud cannon and locked it up in a cabinet in my garage when I was done with it, (that thing was scary, and I was a bit worried that one of the kids might hurt them selves with it should they get ahold of it) but I still have all the parts to put it back together should I ever get another plane stuck up a tree.

Stu

Arznek

Whoa! Be careful with that spud gun! I used to get in trouble with those things =) Not personal experience, but you can shoot a potato sized hole through a dead pig, so it's definitely not a toy! Oh check out hte propane powered versions sometime. You can shoot coffee cans full of cement through trees =)

spaz4plastik

Update:
I have been using a wrist rocket, fish line, and nuts to snag my ABX. I have got it down about half way but had to quit because I ran out of daylight. I am trying to insert a pic of the tree in this to show how high up it is. If the pic shows...the people at the base of the tree are 5 1/2 feet tall and the plane is about 85% of the way up the tree directly above them.