Couldn't believe it, but last friday I got a phone call from a mate to say that he had my spit in the boot of his car, a fisherman had found it 62 miles out at sea. It's been about sixty days since I lost it, but I have no idea how long it was actually in the water for.

The engine was a new TT91FS and is definitely salvagable, as are the retracts, wheels, retract valve, engine mount, fuel filler and the pilot. This is great news since I am part way thru painting it's replacement, now I have the retracts and engine for it!

Question, do I use the same pilot, or retire him now after acting beyond the call of duty? Guess I'll make sure whoever flies the next one is equiped with some scuba gear.

Read this thread for when it was lost... http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_18...tm.htm#2067349

I find this so hard to believe.
First off, why did your "mate" have it? Why didn't the fisherman call you directly? Your name and number was in the plane I'm assuming, thats how he found you?
Second, most ARF's are put together with water soluble glues, and would fall apart rather quickly. I had a seaplane go into the drink and in 5 minutes, it was coming apart. When it went in, the floats separated from the plane, and it was getting ready to sink, so I doubt the balsa provides enough floatation for a plane like that to float, especially for 60 days. I could be wrong though.

Also the same plane that I had go into the drink, the balsa got so warped, it is almost not flyable anymore, and that was in the water for only 5 minutes.

Don't take this as an insult please, just I find it so hard to believe that this story is true.
Also, why is the prop damaged. I've seen alot of seaplanes go into the drink running full rpm's, and the prop never breaks. Unless it went back into the cliff.

Anyway, if your engine was full of salt for 60 days, you better dissasemble the entire engine, and clean it out.
And I vote no on the pilot, send him home to be with his family.

cheers

Unbelievable I know, but true all the same! My name wasn't in the plane, it had been passed onto my mate because his bosses brother is a fisherman and when it got lost we asked him to look out for it. The cliffs are about 80/90 meters sheer/crumbling rock with no access except via boat or risking your kneck climbing down, which we did several times.

We've had planes recovered before which have flown again, only they have usually been recovered within a day, and they didn't fly very well!

Our flying site is right next to some very high cliffs with rocks at the bottom so, I guess when it hit the deck with the engine running the prop broke, plus there is a big chunk out of the aluminium spinner to suggest this. When I lost it, the tide was out, so I would guess it hit the rocks at the bottom or in the shallows, tho we couldn't see it, and then got washed out on the tide at some point.

The airframe was completly trashed, but the the glue joints had not appeared to dissolve, maybe it's a better quality arf.
The fus was split open right along the bottom, the wings are completly in half with almost nothing behind the 'D' box, the photos probably make it look better than it was. The only thing keeping the three pieces together was the retract plumbing.

As for floating, well, all I can suggest is that with solid balsa wing tips, solid ailerons, solid front top and lower decking, a large fuel tank and air tank and nothing to '

The wood is salty, I tasted it! There was still a little water inside the more intact sections of the wing and in the sponge filling of the pilot, all salty.

I have dis-assembled the engine which contained some sand up the intake manifold and exhaust. The crank case contained some seawater which had began to corrode things, but it's all freed up ok. The bearings need replacing and it needs some de-corroding inside, but it'll be fine for sure. It was a new engine and I was running it rich, so maybe the extra oil help protect it a bit, also there was quite a bit of what appeared to be some white/light grease in and around the cam followers. At the moment, it's all sat in a bucket of petrol, de-salinating, guess the warranty is void now!

I'm with you on the pilot.

Chris

I think pilot should fly again. Make him memorial to all the other Spit pilots who flew off and didn't come back.....


Andy

wow..... congratulations

"Hey what is it girl!!!"
"She's Where??"
"100miles out in the sea....."
"WILSON!!!!!!!!!!"

p.s. GET A NEW Pilot and but keep your goodluck charm............

Thank God the pilot was wearing a life vest! I say he personally tread water for those 62 days while tenaciously keeping the plane from sinking with his teeth. Too bad the the sharks got his legs. I think the little guy deserves a medal -- and a new mount!

Wow 60 days!! G's thats a really long time! I'm glad you got you're plane back! I think the pilot deserves a new plane as a tribute to ALL pilots who didnt comeback.

60 miles in sixty days. That spit sure made good time!


glad you got some of your stuff that is salvageable back

ok guys, fellow club member here. i helped Chris look for ages for this thing, no sign of it, check out the pic for our club site and the cliffs at the end ( marked in blue )
the local fishermen always know a fiend of a mate who's heard about our club, a few phonecalls later and things nearly always turn up ( i told you it would Chris )
this has to be the time and distance record, a few years ago Malcolm Corbin lost a plane and was found 8 miles out or sommit, Mark lost a trainer last year had that was back within a fortnight.
one even went out and came back all on it's own a minute later!

now you have to judge the pilot on a couple of things, one he went AWOL, but he did manage to find help, looks like he's not shaved in all this time either. maybe put him on Michaels plane until he's learnt his lesson, then try him in something simple

The pilot looks a little unsure of himself. Buy him a Barbie and leave them alone for a few days of R&R - he'll be a new man.

Then put that little bast*rd back to work!

Chris-s,
The following is a possible story for your pilot...did you say his name was Lt Kent?

RAF Flight Commander Worthington to Lt. Kent, "I say Old Boy, don't you think it was bloody sporting of you to just take your Spit and go off on Holliday, leaving the other chaps to entertain Jerry all this time?" "I expect to see more aspiring revelee out of a chap such as yourself."

Kent replies, "Yes sir". "You see sir, I was on the tail of a BF109 when I became lost in a fog bank somewhere off the coast..." All the while Lt. Kent was thinking, "How on earth am I going to get the old man off me for this one?" "I need a bloody Scotch and Ale!"

"Keep 'Em Flying!"
Flak

Excellent replies guys, keep 'em coming!

Why is the black cat looking at the spitfire?? LOL[sm=spinnyeyes.gif]

Hi Folks, newbie here.

I've been lurking for about a year, picking up a few tips here and there.
I saw the original post when Chris-S lost his Spit, Never in a Million years did I think it would return.

Give that Pilot a good bath and stick him in the next plane I say. A tribute to the many of the few who never returned from defending our shores.

Must be able to smell the fish

I believe you chris-s.
Truely amazing that you got it back.
Amazing that he could find an object that small 62 miles out.

You live by the sea, or a bay?
Because where I used to live in NYC I used to watch the same debri go in and out of the bay for months, they get trapped in the tide.
Thats how we got our first boat, a smashed up row boat that no-one wanted. We watched it go in and out for a month, until it got close enough for us to get it. Ah the good old days, Huckleberry Finn wanna-bes lol.
I forgot about the air tank, that would have kept it floating, and an empty fuel tank too.

Good luck with the engine, as salt is pretty tough.
Truely amazing.

so you've seen our site on one of those days!!! 10' viz, not good

both, we're never more than 14 miles from the sea, and as you can see in the pic above our site is one the edge of "hell's mouth" thats not a made up name either, check it out on any good map of Cornwall.

All I can say is your one lucky SOB (no offence intended just a figure of speech)

Well, its good that it came back. Im gonna say put the pilot in your new Spit, he must have been a good pilot if he still got her bakc after 62 days

Fly-guy

Hehe wonder if you were in the news...

[link=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/tees/3544178.stm]Rescue mission to save toy plane[/link]

What a great story. Glad it had a happy ending and your plane was returned by that fisherman.

I think your pilot's best flying days might be over. It appears from the pictures that he didn't retract his landing gear before ditching-he was obviously not following procedures. Second, and more importantly, I'm looking at his eyes, and he's got that far away look that tells me he's not quite right. Perhaps one too many sorties over the cliffs? He may need some time back at flight school before returning to the Spit.

Perhaps like SkyDude suggested, a couple of nights of R & R with a Barbie doll and a good bottle of wiskey might be enough to straighten him out and get him back into action.

Good luck with your new plane

If the pilot was assisted by members of the resistance, he cannot go back into service. Since, if he was to end up being captured he could end up spilling the beans on the whole organization.

If he did not have contact with the resistance, put him back in a plane...but this time point him towards the combat!

I would put him back in so he can continue to enjoy flying, and so he can continue to protect the queen

heres the "toy plane" story....


it's not unknown for the rescue services ( or in our case RNAS Culdrose ) to turn a lost plane call into a practice, we've had assistance in the past when a heli is in the area anyway sometime after a plane has been lost, the message works it's way back to the airbase and they treat it like looking for a child or dog next time their out with time to kill.. but i wouldn't bother ringing 999 and expect a result.



this is what happened last time Chris put his plane into combat with us

that should be on real tv or somehting like ripleys believe it or not or something i dunno
crazy brits.. im 100% english to that will teach you all a lesson that britons can swim

I'm not surprised at the "kill" -- most 109's suffered that fate near the British coast.