My Raptor 50, A Giant Tree and The Monkey Man
DISCLAIMER!! ALL STUNTS WERE PREFORMED IN A CONTROLLED ENVIRONMENT WITHOUT DANGER TO PERSON OR PROPERTY (aside from a giant tree, but the tree probably deserved it anyway) Yesterday, I took my Raptor 50 out to this awesome park by my house. The park's surrounded by houses, but has a huge area that looked perfect for showing off my incredible flying skills for any curious spectators. Flight #1 was a great success, helping to push my confidence straight on through to over-confidence. Flight #2 was much more aggressive. After a series of sharp turns and twists, I decided to try something new. With pin-point accuracy, I guided the Raptor in to the branches at the top of the largest tree in the park. Needless to say, I and my spectators were beyond impressed. After admiring my work, it became obvious the helicopter was not coming down without some assistance. I first tried to climb the tree, but the giant branches were too steep and provided no footing. My brother then tried to climb the tree and it again proved impossible. Next, I had the ingenious idea to take all of the broom and rake handles I had, tape them together, then push the heli out of the tree. After connecting 9 handles (it was a giant tree), my giant swaying rod was only able to lightly nudge the helicopter. I guess the Raptor was quite comfortable in the tree because it simply refused to let go. My next amazingly, incredibly ingenious idea was to take a rope and hook and grapple the stubborn chopper and then yank it down. So, I went to Home Depot, purchased a rope and metal hook for around $10 and returned to the giant tree in the park. Apparently my grappling skills are not as good as they used to be. I sat there for about an hour trying desperately to hook on to the skids or any part of the helicopter, but with every miss, the hook would wrap around a limb and get caught. The only way to get the hook back down was to yank as hard as possible until the hooked limb gave way and fell to the ground. I figured at this rate, I could just take the whole tree down one branch at a time till I got the damn helicopter. It had been about 3 hours since I first landed the Raptor in the tree and I could hear it crying for help. All of the servos were twitching and trying to move despite being hindered by the tree. It was sad, but I pressed on with my grappling as it was the only option I had left. In the distance, coming from one of the houses on the outskirts of the park, a man approached. He sported a bushy beard and no shirt. When he got within hearing distance he noted (word for word): "I noticed you got something stuck in the tree." He then took a drag from his cigarette and continued. "I happen to like climbing trees... and thought I might be of assistance." I informed him that the tree was impossible to climb; that I myself had attempted and was not able to, but that any help was certainly appreciated. He tossed down his cigarette, stared at the tree for a second, tightened his sandals and then up he went. I'm not sure how he got to the top, but he did. It took longer for him to remove the helicopter from the tree's grip than it did to actually get to the helicopter. Once he got it free, he dropped it from that great height down to me and, believe it or not, I actually caught it. My brother and I were worried I might miss and be knocked out by the impact, but there's no way I could've just stood back and watched it slam to the ground, and on top of that, I happen to have a pretty darn hard head anyway. I shook the bearded man's hand and off he went; back towards the horizon in the direction he came from. At this point the sun had nearly set and it was time to go. All-in-all, the helicopter looked horrible, but wasn't in too bad of shape. New blades, some ball links and a tail boom and she's good as new ready for the next tree, car, house, ground, what-have-you.
Posted on: 6/27/2009 11:05 PM by Author "j5fanclub" in the forum "RC Helicopter General Discussions"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8886972