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Short lived hobby in pictures.
(Click here to view the original thread with full colors/images)
Posted by: BooRadley
So I decided to get a new toy back in late December.
http://booradley.homeip.net/tfr/slowstick/PC190308.JPG
I spent way more than I needed to, because I bought a bunch of upgrades so I can use it to haul a camera up into the sky and take pictures.
http://booradley.homeip.net/tfr/slowstick/PC200334.JPG
Took a little work, but it was worth it.
http://booradley.homeip.net/tfr/slowstick/PC200336.JPG
I've been flying in this big ass field. It's two soccer fields, plus a baseball diamond way down at the end, and a lot of spare grass.
http://booradley.homeip.net/tfr/crash1.jpg
But, hard as they try, they're not NEARLY clever enough to protect the trees from my wrath!
http://booradley.homeip.net/tfr/crash3.jpg
God damn is it wedged in there tight.
http://booradley.homeip.net/tfr/crash2.jpg
There are ****ing thorn covered vines growing all up and down those damned trees, so I can't climb up to get it. I went and bought two 10' pieces of PVC pipe to hook together and try and bat it out of there to recover the electronics, but it just barely didn't reach. I'm going to try rope and a rock after work today. I have about a hundred bucks of on-board electronics tied up in it, so I'm really hoping to find a way to get it down. I'm going to try my old wrist rocket (bad-ass slingshot from my youth) and a rock with string tied to it, to see if I can poke the string through the wing, then yank it down that way.
God damn. And I was just getting the hang of this. I was almost ready to hook a camera up to it. And then TRAGEDY struck. Back in November, someone linked me to this page and I've been wanting to get htis working every since. I didn't get any chances to fly in January, though, because it was too windy, and I kept breaking my props and motor mounts in December. You'd be surprised how easy it is to nose dive one of these things. I was waiting until I felt half competant to put the camera on it. I've almost got it down, now. Well, once I get a new plane. I just have to get that don't-fly-upside-down-over-trees thing worked out.
I thought that field would be big enough. You can't see it, but the two soccer fields are laid opposite, so one is perpendicular to the other. So it's a big ass field with plenty of width, plus, there's a lot of open grass between and around them. I just got carried away because a small audience formed in the parking lot on the other side, so I kept flying even though the tail was acting funny and some wind picked up. I ended up in trouble, and almost air stalled, and ended up upside-down over those trees because of it. In a panic, I pulled up, but it was really down, since I was flying wrong side up, and slammed that ****er right into the tree. I mean, I really parked it in there good.
That'll teach me for trying to have fun. See what kind of evil awaits you if you leave the house?
Posted by: redwench
theres a really great invention for getting stuff out of trees. called a ladder. look into it 
Posted by: BooRadley
Thought of that, but a ladder long enough to get me thirty feet up into that tree would cost as almost as much as all the electronics together, and I'd have no where to store it. Plus, those trees are a bit flimsy up towards the top. No way I'm leaning a ladder up against it. (Though I could possibly pay a neighborhood kid to climb up there for me.)
Posted by: TheeMon
dude a axe or a chain saw... cut the thing down, grab it then run... not hard
do it at like 9-10am if possible
Posted by: redwench
thee, only you would suggest someone do something illegal that theyre highly likely to get caught at just so they can get 100 bucks worth of electronics that may or may not work out of a tree.
Posted by: BooRadley
* What she said. At this point, some of that stuff may already be toast. I came pretty close to getting it with a rock and string, but not quite. It's been so windy here it's ripped one wing in half and tore the tail off, but it still hasn't budged from that ****ing tree.
I'm probably going to end up replacing parts this weekend. It's all-in-all about a $150 lesson, but at this point, I can't quit. I have too much in the radio and spare parts. Plus, I REALLY want to be able to do aerial photography.
Posted by: TheeMon
boo, i know how u feel... id like to take pics like that too...
but seriously you can get that tree down and be outa there in 10 mins... do it in the morning but after 9am and your ok...
Posted by: redwench
there is no way to safely take down a mature tree in 10 min. although it would be just desserts if it fell on his head...........
Posted by: AOTY2KB
 Quote:
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Originally Posted by TheeMon
boo, i know how u feel... id like to take pics like that too...
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Thee, you would need like a 12X Digital moving slowly, to take a decent shot of what you want
Posted by: IceBreaker
Quote:
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Originally Posted by BooRadley
I'm going to try my old wrist rocket (bad-ass slingshot from my youth) and a rock with string tied to it, to see if I can poke the string through the wing, then yank it down that way.
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Boo> how about using the string to get a grip on one of the higher-up branches instead, so as to "shake out" the plane?
Posted by: BooRadley
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Originally Posted by IceBreaker
Boo> how about using the string to get a grip on one of the higher-up branches instead, so as to "shake out" the plane?
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The wrist rocket didn't work. The string killed any hope for a good shot, but I did try this. I took a rock and make a velcro harness for it, and tied kite string to it. I was hoping to lob the rock over the plane, then pull it down. It's pretty hard to hit because you have to find a trajectory where the rock won't bounce off of all the branches around it, and then it's thirty feet up and about ten or fifteen feet out. That's a good toss. One time I did get the string over the main branch holding it in, but the rock fell out. The velcro caught on the branch and held a little, and I was able to shake that particular branch pretty well, but it just didn't budge.
I have Sunday, Monday and Tuesday off (I work 4 tens), so when it's warmer this weekend (it was freezing out) I'll try that rock & string trick one more time, and if that fails, I'm just replacing it. I make $25/hour, $37.5 on overtime, and I've already put several hours into this. It would have been more cost effective to go pull a short shift on over time and buy new parts than to spend the same ammount of time trying to retrieve the old stuff.
Posted by: IceBreaker
Appropriate gloves & face protection could allow you to climb up that tree despite the thorns, perhaps...
Posted by: BooRadley
I've been tempted. It would be a bitch of a climb though.
Posted by: IceBreaker
Quote:
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Originally Posted by BooRadley
I have about a hundred bucks of on-board electronics tied up in it, so I'm really hoping to find a way to get it down.
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Money doesn't grow in trees, but it can get stuck in branches... http://forum.presence-pc.com/images/perso/kryten.gif
Anyways, I don't know how big the airplane is so I can't make out how high it is judging from the photos - but if it isn't too high, and if you have protective clothing at your disposal you could give climbing a try...
Another idea would be to attach a lightweight saw at the end of the PVC pole you used to get rid of some of the branches - the lenght of the pole implies that you may not be able to put enough strength to effectively cut out the branches, but you could always try wedging the saw between two branches so as to use the "lever effect":
http://img211.exs.cx/img211/2708/saw0wq.gif
Posted by: Bix VT
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Originally Posted by AOTY2KB
Thee, you would need like a 12X Digital moving slowly, to take a decent shot of what you want |
well said.
Posted by: BooRadley
Quote:
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Originally Posted by IceBreaker
Anyways, I don't know how big the airplane is so I can't make out how high it is judging from the photos
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It's about a 4 foot wingspan, and it's around 30 feet up. I thought about using a branch saw, but it's a haughty neighborhood, and someone would (I'm not kidding) call the cops,a and I'd probably be arrested for destruction of property. I didn't mean to move into a place like this, but I was moving for work and didn't have long to find a suitable place, so I just picked a high-rent area so I could hope for low crime. I intended to move after I got settled into the area, and knew the neighborhoods, but it just hasn't happened. Moving sucks too much.
I damned near got this ****er down from the tree today, though, using the string and rock trick. After many tries (the tree has a boat-load of branches, so it's hard to find a trajectory that doesn't riccochet), I managed to lob the rock over the branch directly above one of the wings. I rhythmically tugged on the string to get the rock swinging, and then started tugging it to bang on the bottom of the wing. It took around 20 bangs (with a rock that's about a pound) to get it unstuck enough to start to wiggle a bit. After a while, I pulled it hard enough to loop around the branch holding the plane, and pulled the hell out of it. I was hoping to break it off, but couldn't. The string finally broke, instead.
Then I got a new rock, and some new velcro (I was using it to make a harness for the rock), and, after quite a few more tires on a new trajectory, lobbed it right over the tail. So I was able to pull on the tail of the plane. The burning irony: I keep breaking prop's on landings, but the last time out I was starting to get a hang of landing. I was on my last prop, and had hoped to land and go in for the day on a good note. This whole time, I've been kind of irritated that I couldn't get my plane, and the prop was still in perfect condition. I finally don't break one, and I lose the plane. Well, after about the third tug on the tail of this ****er, I free it enough . . . and the God damned motor started spinning and broke the ****ing prop.
Anyway, it fell a little from it's position, but I ended up getting a second rock stuck in the tree, and the sun is setting, and I"m out of the roll of velcro I had. Any luck and it will blow out over night. If not, I'll go back out tomorrow and try to finish the job. I may save a hundred bucks or so.
Of course, the ammount of time I spent, I could have worked over time at work and bought all new stuff. Luckily, it was busy this week, so I don't feel bad. If it had been slow, I'd feel like a fool for working my ass off for old, rained on, used stuff, when I could have sat there doing not much of anything for brand new stuff.
Ugh.
But tomorrow is a new day, and I have hope.
Posted by: IceBreaker
Quote:
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Originally Posted by BooRadley
it's a haughty neighborhood, and someone would (I'm not kidding) call the cops
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"zero-tolerance neighbourhood" http://forum.presence-pc.com/images/perso/wam.gif hm... and I don't suppose any of these state-worshipping, er I mean law-abiding folks would be willing to help? With a bit of luck, one of them may just have the ladder you need or know someone else who does...
Posted by: TheeMon
actually icebreaker they make saws like that...
+ aoty, Thee, you would need like a 12X Digital moving slowly, to take a decent shot of what you want
WTF im lost
+ red i can drop most any decent(3ft think or so?) sized tree in 10 mins... in the right direction where i want it to go within like a foot too either side... not hard
+ i was gonna say something to boo but i forgot 
Posted by: redwench
Quote:
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Originally Posted by TheeMon
+ red i can drop most any decent(3ft think or so?) sized tree in 10 mins...
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and that statement there makes me want to make purchasing a chainsaw to require a permit. professionals dont take down large trees in 10 min. and they dont get paid by the hour either.
Posted by: Bix VT
Quote:
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Originally Posted by TheeMon
+ aoty, Thee, you would need like a 12X Digital moving slowly, to take a decent shot of what you want
WTF im lost
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girls shirts.
that is all.
Posted by: AOTY2KB
Thank You Bix
Posted by: TheeMon
whatever mang... i got better porn and better things todo with my time then make homemade porn.... BUT i would like to get one of them mini rc cars(size of a matchbox car or smaller) and get a cam on 1 of them... my college is full of sluts in little mini skirts
Posted by: Darky!
Quote:
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Originally Posted by TheeMon
whatever mang... i got better porn and better things todo with my time then make homemade porn.... BUT i would like to get one of them mini rc cars(size of a matchbox car or smaller) and get a cam on 1 of them... my college is full of sluts in little mini skirts
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You go to college?
Holy shit, time to move underground.
EDIT: On a more serious note, have you considered asking a nieghbor if they have a ladder you can borrow? I know several people in my area who have those big extension ladders, so it wouldn't suprise me if someone in your area had one as well.
Posted by: redwench
Quote:
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Originally Posted by TheeMon
i got better porn and better things todo with my time then make homemade porn.... BUT i would like to get one of them mini rc cars(size of a matchbox car or smaller) and get a cam on 1 of them... my college is full of sluts in little mini skirts
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apparently you dont have better things to do with your time..........
Posted by: Bix VT
yeah that whole paragraph was pretty contradicting.
Posted by: TheeMon
yeah... well i do got better things todo with my time... but then again if i think about it i would like to have that car...
Posted by: BooRadley
I finally managed to get this ****er donw. I really should have just gone into work for some overtime and bought new stuff. This was a major waste of time and little more than my own super-retarded ego being unable or unwilling to admit defeat. I pulled it down a little with the rock & string trick, then used a clothes hanger with string tied to it, and used the 20 foot PVC pole to hook it around the fuselage, then pulled the hangar out, and used to pole to knock it free while pulling it down with the string and clothes hanger. I swear to god I'd better get some good pictures with this when I learn to fly it more reliably. I'm also going to just pull some OT and buy new parts the next time this happens.
http://booradley.homeip.net/tfr/recoverya.jpg
The goods aren't even working. I'm going to have to diagnose which ones need replacing. Christ I'll feel like a fool if I have to replace all of it after having spent that much time trying to recover it.
http://booradley.homeip.net/tfr/recoveryc.jpg
Posted by: redwench
Quote:
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Originally Posted by BooRadley
This was a major waste of time and little more than my own super-retarded ego being unable or unwilling to admit defeat.
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at least youre willing to admit it............ 
Posted by: BooRadley
Quote:
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Originally Posted by redwench
at least youre willing to admit it............ |
Several years ago we all got a lecture about knowing when to get help. I just shrugged it off. About a week later I was trying to fix a workstation, and after a while realized I'd spent almost a whole shift on that one box, when a fifteen minute phonecall to the vendor would have had an engineer dispatched to come fix it. Man, I felt like a fool. Every since then I've tried to consider the practicality of unrestrained stubbornedness.
I just got back from the store, and I had to replace one part, the reciever. Was a sixty dollar part, though
Posted by: Blackknight
So the learning lesson, don't fly into trees.
Those and power lines too.
I think if you avoid those two things you should be in good shape.
Posted by: BooRadley
I've got to figure out how to get upside-down, too, that way I can avoid doing it from now on.
Posted by: redwench
buildings. must not forget buildings.
Posted by: TheeMon
yeah but if u hit a building it will mostlikely come down... but thats not good either
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