The PAIN, oh the PAIN!

We went to our local park this evening for a launch. Everything went well, with my Deuce getting a successful first flight, and a Nerf rocket, 4" in diameter on an E9, using bounce recovery, performing OK also. After a dozen or so flights, I decided to fly the Crayon on my new 29/40-120 case and an AT G64W-4. At lift off it cocked a little strangely and flew with the breeze, instead of against it as I had directed. Deployment was right after apogee, but it drifted into the woods and resides about 35-40' off the ground in a hundred year old oak. I was sick to my stomach. Anyone have any ideas?
Everyone enjoyed the Applewhite saucers. The 9" and an AT 24mm E are a fantastic combo, with lots of flash and noise. An E9-P is great also. I had two Copperheads fail out of five attempts, which is a first for me.
Except losing a $50.00 AT casing and the scratch built Crayon, everything went well.

Bob...
Do you have any tree service companys in your area? I can't say for sure but, I'll bet for a nominal fee, they may run over between jobs and get you rocket with one of their bucket trucks. Worth a shot. Who knows, they may even do it gratis if they're in a good mood.

Unfortunately this tree sits about 10 yards into the woods. No way to get a truck in there. It is going to rain tonight, so the rocket is history, but of course the RMS is the real issue.
I had thought of getting 10' lengths of schedule 40 PVC in half or three quarter and making a "hook," or perhaps some sort of cutter blade that would cut the 3/4 inch elastic shock cord.
If anyone else has an idea, I'd love to hear it.

Originally posted by rbeckey

If anyone else has an idea, I'd love to hear it.

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It may be too late due to your rain, but the tree service should have someone who has those tree climbing spikes. I can't think what they are called, but they go on a pair of boots and allows the guy to climb straight up the tree.

Originally posted by rbeckey
Unfortunately this tree sits about 10 yards into the woods. No way to get a truck in there. ...

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Now I'm no expert but, you'd be surprised on how far one of those bucket trucks can reach. I certainly wouldn't put it pass their abilities.
Can you get close enough to the shockcord to cut it with one of those extendable tree trimmers that has the "cutter" blade on it?
Those will usually extend out about 25 ft.

I went and got 3 10' sections of 1 inch PVC and put threaded connectors on them and built screw on hook and cutter attachments. I went back to the tree and I wasn't even close. I guess it is more like 40-45 feet. The PVC is not rigid enough to make the pole longer. I think I'll keep it for other occasions, though.
I am guessing the tree service would want more than the $40-50 that it would take to replace the RMS. I don't think a guy could reach it from the main trunk, and the shock cord is now wrapped through several large limbs, so the RMS is probably all I'd get back in any event.
It is a county park, and my neighbor is a lieutenant in the Sheriff's Office. I went back and saw him today and he is going to arrange for me to get in there on Tuesday or Wednesday in the early AM with a, er, ah, well... shotgun. I have an old double 12 gauge with full choke bores. I am (hopefully) going to cut the shock cord from the ground. Cost will be a couple shells. Even if I have to blast the upper BT apart, it won't make any difference, because the rain already ruined it. The RMS is three feet south of the top of the tube, so missing it should be no problem. The bird shot will not endanger anyone over the next hill, although there is no one over the next hill.

PULL!

That just Sucks Rbecky! I know I've lost my share of caseings over the years. And lets just say I know how you feel on this one. You might talk to some one from one of them tree services. One of them guys might have or know how they could get it down with out trying the shot gun on it. Gerbs and I were talking the other night in the chat about your rocket. He's planing on building one like it. But that was one (Kool) rocket you built. I telling him how he should build his like yours. Because I thought yours was so kool. Good luck on trying to get it back rbecky.

Rbecky...is it to perilous to attempt a climb? or too far out on a branch?....I've scaled one tree to get my casing back..but it was a pretty safe journey on that attempt..I'm getting too old for tree climbing these days...I imagine you would have already done that if it seemed safe enough tho.. lol .nevermind

It may be too late for this, but I'll throw it out here, just in case.

You get a slingshot. A fairly common one is called a "Wrist Rocket." Poetic irony, huh? Some WalMart stores sell them.

Get like a one ounce fishing lead sinker. Get some fishing line. Attach the fishing line to the lead sinker. Pull enough fishing line off of the spool to go up and over the shock cord and back down to the ground, and leave it lying loose on the ground, being careful not to tangle it. Shoot the sinker so that it arcs over the shock cord. When the sinker comes back down to the ground, get both parts of the fishing line and work the shock cord out of the tree. Sometimes, depending on what the shock cord is made out of, you can cut the shock cord by sawing it with the line.

We have a guy at Whitakers that is an expert at getting rockets out of trees using this method.

My son Kent and I have done about the same thing with a bow and arrow and fishing line, but I really think the slingshot method is easier. With the bow and arrow, it is very difficult to keep from sending the arrow into orbit. Much easier to adjust the power with the slingshot.

Hope this helps. Good luck.

No way to get a line over the shock cord. It is not exposed that way. It kind of drapes over several large leafy branches, and the only angle is from very close to the base of the tree. The woods are very thick, with lots of undergrowth and small trees. There is just no way to do a "line over."
I actually thought of that because its how I hung a tire swing for my kids. I tied a 1 inch x 1/2 inch drive socket onto a piece of surveyors string and threw it up and over the selected branch, about 20-25 feet up. I tied a bull rope to the string and pulled it over the branch from the ground, then tied a noose in the line and pulled it up snug to the branch. It is secure as can be and I never left the ground.
There is no way for me to scale the tree without climbing gear. (That I don't have.) It has to be 2.5 foot in diameter, and branches jut out starting at 15 feet, but it is bare to that point. Thereafter the branches are irregular, and not climbable, but I'd have to undo the safety line for each of them while scaling the trunk. If I did manage to get high enough without creating the rbeckey Memorial Impact Crater, I'd have to climb out on a limb to get to the body of the rocket, at which point I'd undoubtedly ruin my underpants. I guess the fireman could probably get the rocket at the same time they came to get me out of the tree, like a stuck kitten.

That really stinks...I lost my Casing in some powerlines...I asked the national guard that was attending the launch to shoot it down for me...they werent too happy

I was gonna say...cut down the tree or shoot it ddown but you beat it too me

That sling shot method is a great idea...now if only I can find a wrist rocket (they are illegal because they are extremely dangerous) O...my neighbor has one now that I think of it...shhhh dont tell anyone!!

Do you fish?

Try a casting rod without the hook just the sinker.

Might work. It did for me once.

sandman

My uncle got my first Mirage out of a tree using a fishing line.

He said, all I had to do was tie some weights to the line, cast it over the shock cord, and pull.

I said that you'd have to be an expert at fly fishing to pull something like that.

He said, your looking at one.

So we tried.

He got it down the second attempt

I got the remains of the Crayon back this morning. I tried my shotgun with a full choke and no. 6 shot yesterday, but the pattern wasn't dense enough to sever the 3/4 inch elastic shock cord. One of the county employees at the park brought in his extra full choke turkey gun this morning and I got a box of no. 8 shot dove loads with 1 1/8 oz. of shot. It only took about 10 of them to cut the cord completely. The tube fell about fifty feet onto the ground without damaging the lexan fins at all. The outer tube is too water damaged to salvage, but the stuffer tube and motor mount is in good shape. The NC and chute remain in the tree.
I will get a new Crayon, mount a thrust ring and launch lug, adapt the NC and be ready to fly.
I think I'll stick to SU motors in this park for rockets, and save my RMS for saucers. Perhaps when I can find a bigger field, I'll start using the RMS again.

Glad you got your casing back...eH..you could change your handle to Rbuckshot

Change of signature line, based on previous post.

cool, Your lucky you got your casing back.

I am gonna have to get a shotgun to get my rockets back

"shotgun Recovery"