A PRACTICAL TOOL FOR RETRIEVING A PLANE FROM A TREE
 

After having a terrible problem getting my plane out of a tree I decided that what was needed was a long pole. I'm looking for suggestions from others who have build such a pole. Our woods are very dense so a single long pole is not possible since there is no way to get it vertical. My thought is to use 1" PVC plastic pipe. Lowe's sell 5 foot pieces. If I glue a single coupling to each 5 foot section and use 10 sections, I can reach 50 feet. I may need to go longer. The long pole can be assembled beneath the tree holding the plane, one section at the time, pushing the pole up between the branches of the tree. In this manner the tree branches help support the pole. I could put a sheet metal screw into the unglued end of each coupling in order to lock everything together so that I can pull down with the pole. The top end of the pole can have a 90 degree elbow and a short piece of 1" PVC for pulling on the plane or branch. I would like to hear from anyone that uses something similar so I can benefit from your experience.

RE: A PRACTICAL TOOL FOR RETRIEVING A PLANE FROM A TREE
 

chainsaw

RE: A PRACTICAL TOOL FOR RETRIEVING A PLANE FROM A TREE
 

Well, I was thinking cherry picker ... but the chainsaw would be cheaper. My kids used a paintball gun to get their Scouts out of a cedar tree. Not really pretty when it came back down, but it still flied.

RE: A PRACTICAL TOOL FOR RETRIEVING A PLANE FROM A TREE
 

12 gage !!!! :) ENJOY !!! RED

RE: A PRACTICAL TOOL FOR RETRIEVING A PLANE FROM A TREE
 

I have used the wiggle pole a few times but it gets pretty fustrating. While I haven't landed in a tree in a few years. I evolved to using a very large nut or washer (like 1" or larger nut) tied to a string and propelled by a wrist rocket.
It works pretty well usually.

RE: A PRACTICAL TOOL FOR RETRIEVING A PLANE FROM A TREE
 

I tried the pvc pipe once. It is pretty flimsy. Once you get about 20 feet put together it falls over. Maybe since you have dense vegetation to suport it, it may stay vertical.

I've seen some nice spikes sold at the outdoor store that attach to your boots...never tried them

RE: A PRACTICAL TOOL FOR RETRIEVING A PLANE FROM A TREE
 

12 gauge shotgun with a slug and shoot the limb out!

RE: A PRACTICAL TOOL FOR RETRIEVING A PLANE FROM A TREE
 

World's best airplane retrieveal tool: Manufactured by Stihl. 041 Farm Boss!
#2 Manufactured by Poulan
#3 Manufactured by McCulloch
#4 Manufactured by Echo

Beginning to get the picture???????

Bill, AMA 4720

RE: A PRACTICAL TOOL FOR RETRIEVING A PLANE FROM A TREE
 

Trained monkey?

RE: A PRACTICAL TOOL FOR RETRIEVING A PLANE FROM A TREE
 

10 yr old boys love to climb trees!

Find one and offer a popsicle or 2!!

RE: A PRACTICAL TOOL FOR RETRIEVING A PLANE FROM A TREE
 

Yea, forget the PVC pole idea. I even tried PVC inside of PVC to help make it rigid..... it just didn't bend as far.

I had a great deal of luck with my .22 rifle and a scope. YMMV. We shot the limb off the tree. It really worked well. It may not be an option depending on your location.

How high is it?

RE: A PRACTICAL TOOL FOR RETRIEVING A PLANE FROM A TREE
 

I would think 1" pvc would do it... any smaller and it would be flimsy as stated byDMcQuinn. maybe chain-link-fence top rail? It's aluminum, and has ends that fit into itself.. Just a thought.

RE: A PRACTICAL TOOL FOR RETRIEVING A PLANE FROM A TREE
 

I've got a 14 ft (extendable fiberglass pole) pruning saw from Lowes. Also a Husqvarna 353. :)

Offering $5 to a 12 year old (unless his Ma is within ear-shot) is the best yet but can result in a worse trip down for the plane.

One really good method is 100 ft of parachute cord and a one pound weight (careful it don't come down after an aborted toss and knock yer teeth out, though). Toss it over the branch and shake like mad.

We use another great solution at our field: 3,500ft long E-W with no trees and 2,000 wide N-S with no trees. Well, one behind the pavilion, trailer and porta-john, but if you hit that you deserve the shame.

The club I used to belong to had a five acre field and 93 more acres of woods on a hill-top. Got LOTS of practice gathering planes out of trees. And many, many were never found even though multiple witnesses marked the spots they went down. Must be alien abductions.

RE: A PRACTICAL TOOL FOR RETRIEVING A PLANE FROM A TREE
 

Hire a tree trimmer. Found one to climb up about 80 feet and retrieve my plane (a 25% CAP) for $30

RE: A PRACTICAL TOOL FOR RETRIEVING A PLANE FROM A TREE
 

Bob,
There's only one way to get that plane outtova tree: [link=http://www.i-kirk.info/tales/vnr12.html]Git'r Done!![/link]
Good luck, and keep 'em above ground (if possible).

RE: A PRACTICAL TOOL FOR RETRIEVING A PLANE FROM A TREE
 

get to know a lineman from the local power company. I work for the power company in my home town and we have a fiberglass extendo stick that is designed for working on powerlines from the growd . the ones I use will go up to 40' and I have got several of my own planes from trees. once, I had to stand on the toolbox of my truck to reach a plane in a tree. I got them all down so far and have learned to stay away from trees as much as possable. I am sure you can order one. this is like the one I use. but it may cost way more than you will want to pay for. I know that tree trimmers that work for the power company or privatly use simmerly tools you could get to know one of them fellas.

http://www.hfgp.com/images/catalog/A-2.gif

RE: A PRACTICAL TOOL FOR RETRIEVING A PLANE FROM A TREE
 

a sling shot, M12 nut, spider wire or 40lb fishing line & a couple of 100' of rope, tie the nut to one end of the spider wire and the other to the rope, use sling shot to shot nut over branch, pull up till rope over branch then bounce it around a bit - plane fall out of tree, but watch out for the greenies

RE: A PRACTICAL TOOL FOR RETRIEVING A PLANE FROM A TREE
 

Call a tree surgeon. Those guys can climb just about any tree in just a few minutes and get your plane down in one peice.

RE: A PRACTICAL TOOL FOR RETRIEVING A PLANE FROM A TREE
 

get an orang utan from thailand and train him/her!,otherwise a chain saw works a treat.

RE: A PRACTICAL TOOL FOR RETRIEVING A PLANE FROM A TREE
 

The best way, at least for your airplane, is to find someone who can climb trees AND knows how to handle a model aircraft.
Chainsaw?! If used in the spring or early summer it gets you a good head start on the fireplace supply for the winter. Sure won't do much for the sanctity of the airframe.
If it isn't terribly high, the weight and tether line can work as well as a pole to knock out/down or attemt to retrieve an aircraft.
Personally, I absolutely loved climbing trees when I was a kid. I still climb a tree every now and then just because I CAN. At 37 yrs old people ask me why I would risk my safety for someone elses model airplane. I answer: Number one, because I can. And number two, because I would be very grateful if someone did it for me!!

Giving some kid or young adult 20 bucks to safely get back your airplane is definately worth it! Heck, a "free flying lesson" would have had me up that tree in a heartbeat when I was wanting to get into the hobby.