smapdiage9
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After six years of high power I finally treed a rocket, and it was an all-day nightmare to retrieve. Hopefully this will help some others learn about different techniques:
The perp:
This is the last picture taken of my Vertical Assault at its original launch length, pad-ready with a J425R about to take it to ~4500'. The rocket launched nice and fast with a little steering and over-correction on the way up due to it's long/overstable form factor. All deployment events happened perfectly and within sight, and it was coming down into a nice recovery spot until the last few hundred feet. In that time the main chute caught a crosswind and she started flying right into the nearby patch of oak trees.
It laid nicely across the top of them, about 40-50 feet farther away than I can reach:
Returning the next morning I was determined to recover this rocket, not only because of the expensive stuff (raven, gps, etc) it contained but also because I refuse to be beaten by an ent. The winds overnight knocked parts of it about 5-10 feet closer to the ground but it was still quite out of reach.
After some recovery advice the previous day I'd gone to WalMart and purchased the following:
A wrist rocket slingshot (about $9)
A bag of 2oz lead fishing sinkers ($5)
I added to this a cheap fishing reel and 150' of paracord that I already owned, but you could get those together for another 10-20 at WalMart. The recovery strategy was to launch a weight connected to fishing line up and over a branch that was near a hanging portion of the rocket. When the sinker hit ground on the other side, I'd walk over there and tie the end of the paracord in the sinker's place. From the original side, I'd reel in the fishing line, brining the paracord up and over the branch. Once I had strong cord draped over the tree at rocket height, I could walk the dangling cord around my hanging nose cone in a circular pattern to wrap it around the laundry and cone. These wraps create a friction bite on the rocket, and then all I need to do is yank.
Here is my wrist rocket with reel taped on its side:
Within 30 minutes of assembling this tool I had placed a sinker right through the hanging shroud lines of the main chute and was reeling some paracord up to the rocket. "This will be easier than I thought" I foolishly said out loud.
After another hour of cajoling the cord around branches I had it reeled all the way up to the chute but couldn't get it through. There was a hang-up somewhere along the fishing line that would let me reel no more, and I snapped the line.
The next hour was spent trying to get another sinker back up and over the branches around the rocket. The problem with this, I found, is that there is a high likelihood of losing the sinker on a bad shot because it will crash and wind through so many branches that you won't be able to reel it back to you without snapping the line. Accuracy is key and I was down to my last round of ammo.
At this point I bumped into another pair of tree victims at the Tripoli Tampa launch site who were unable to recover their own rocket from the day prior using ladders and poles. They graciously lent me their tools and I borrowed the club's 32' ladder then went back at it:
This is over 40 feet of aluminum pole and wood stakes duct taped together using the ladder for stability. Did I mention I was by myself at this point? It was nearly impossible to control a pole and hook this long, and very exhausting. After another 90 minutes or so of trying this by myself a couple of other club members came out to help me and we got the chute snagged enough to lower the rocket another 5-10 feet. Getting better! They helped me play with this method for another hour or so before we went back to the slingshot.
With my last round of lead sinker ammo I took a few more shots up and over the tree, one of which was just right. I reeled some paracord back over and we successfully gripped the heck out of the nose cone and laundry with the winding method but the rocket was just plain stuck. The booster tube had settled in the crotch of two thick branches, and the next two hours were spent doing everything possible to get it up and over, or to bend the branches to release it with no luck.
At this point the sun was getting low and I'd been at this for about six hours. I actually had hopes of launching stuff today, boy was that ambitious! Thankfully a few more club members came out to see why I had not emerged from the woods yet and decided to help. We all tugged like hell on this thing but there was no amount of human power that would release the snagged booster; it was held completely immobile by the tree branches that it was wedged between, and those branches were too thick to break. It was time for the nuclear option.
We tied up some longer rope to the end of the paracord and hooked it to the hitch of my truck, and I started driving. I had tried this earlier but the thin paracord snapped easily around the bend points on my bumper, and it was from a different angle. This time, with a nice slow crawl in the right direction that damn rocket was finally released and it fell to the ground.
After several hours of exhausting and dehydrating work I packed the truck up and started to drive back to the launch site. Crossing a very tiny stream to exit the trees, I chose a bad angle and simultaneously high centered the front while sinking the back tires into wet sand. Cue another 30-40 minutes of exhausting work before I was rescued by some passers-by in offroad vehicles who pulled me out. I downloaded the ladder at the launch site and drove the few miles off the ranch before being told to turn around because I'd forgotten my canopy and rocket gear that I'd unloaded in the morning.
I have to hand it to the Acme fin can- this rocket has taken a beating for six years and those fins are still perfect even if the paintjob might need a refresh. No damage here:
The booster tube is another story unfortunately. This science experiment determined that between kevlar shock cord, tree branches, and Giant Leap tubing the tubing is definitely the weak link. Had the shock cord snapped instead the entire booster might still be up there, it was that well wedged, so I guess this is better than nothing:
That damned fireball didn't work as advertised. I mean it was only a half ton truck, come on! :lol: Despite the damage here and a couple of repairable chute tears from the hook tugging the rocket is fine and will fly again. I'm going to chop off the top half of the booster tube and fly it shorty style. From now on, she will be called Tree Hugger.
Lessons Learned:
-Keep the fishing reel / wrist rocket setup handy. The technique works! If my rocket had been any less stuck I would've had that sucker down from 50 feet in no time.
-Bring three times as many sinker weights and feet of fishing line/paracord as you think you need
-Don't do poles or ladders by yourself. I travel to launches alone and I was stupid to not just find some help before starting. If I had hurt myself out there I'd be screwed.
-If you're walking out to recover a rocket you should bring a water source, but also have enough back at the vehicle to last your entire day. Being dehydrated with a stuck rocket is terrible.
The perp:
This is the last picture taken of my Vertical Assault at its original launch length, pad-ready with a J425R about to take it to ~4500'. The rocket launched nice and fast with a little steering and over-correction on the way up due to it's long/overstable form factor. All deployment events happened perfectly and within sight, and it was coming down into a nice recovery spot until the last few hundred feet. In that time the main chute caught a crosswind and she started flying right into the nearby patch of oak trees.
It laid nicely across the top of them, about 40-50 feet farther away than I can reach:
Returning the next morning I was determined to recover this rocket, not only because of the expensive stuff (raven, gps, etc) it contained but also because I refuse to be beaten by an ent. The winds overnight knocked parts of it about 5-10 feet closer to the ground but it was still quite out of reach.
After some recovery advice the previous day I'd gone to WalMart and purchased the following:
A wrist rocket slingshot (about $9)
A bag of 2oz lead fishing sinkers ($5)
I added to this a cheap fishing reel and 150' of paracord that I already owned, but you could get those together for another 10-20 at WalMart. The recovery strategy was to launch a weight connected to fishing line up and over a branch that was near a hanging portion of the rocket. When the sinker hit ground on the other side, I'd walk over there and tie the end of the paracord in the sinker's place. From the original side, I'd reel in the fishing line, brining the paracord up and over the branch. Once I had strong cord draped over the tree at rocket height, I could walk the dangling cord around my hanging nose cone in a circular pattern to wrap it around the laundry and cone. These wraps create a friction bite on the rocket, and then all I need to do is yank.
Here is my wrist rocket with reel taped on its side:
Within 30 minutes of assembling this tool I had placed a sinker right through the hanging shroud lines of the main chute and was reeling some paracord up to the rocket. "This will be easier than I thought" I foolishly said out loud.
After another hour of cajoling the cord around branches I had it reeled all the way up to the chute but couldn't get it through. There was a hang-up somewhere along the fishing line that would let me reel no more, and I snapped the line.
The next hour was spent trying to get another sinker back up and over the branches around the rocket. The problem with this, I found, is that there is a high likelihood of losing the sinker on a bad shot because it will crash and wind through so many branches that you won't be able to reel it back to you without snapping the line. Accuracy is key and I was down to my last round of ammo.
At this point I bumped into another pair of tree victims at the Tripoli Tampa launch site who were unable to recover their own rocket from the day prior using ladders and poles. They graciously lent me their tools and I borrowed the club's 32' ladder then went back at it:
This is over 40 feet of aluminum pole and wood stakes duct taped together using the ladder for stability. Did I mention I was by myself at this point? It was nearly impossible to control a pole and hook this long, and very exhausting. After another 90 minutes or so of trying this by myself a couple of other club members came out to help me and we got the chute snagged enough to lower the rocket another 5-10 feet. Getting better! They helped me play with this method for another hour or so before we went back to the slingshot.
With my last round of lead sinker ammo I took a few more shots up and over the tree, one of which was just right. I reeled some paracord back over and we successfully gripped the heck out of the nose cone and laundry with the winding method but the rocket was just plain stuck. The booster tube had settled in the crotch of two thick branches, and the next two hours were spent doing everything possible to get it up and over, or to bend the branches to release it with no luck.
At this point the sun was getting low and I'd been at this for about six hours. I actually had hopes of launching stuff today, boy was that ambitious! Thankfully a few more club members came out to see why I had not emerged from the woods yet and decided to help. We all tugged like hell on this thing but there was no amount of human power that would release the snagged booster; it was held completely immobile by the tree branches that it was wedged between, and those branches were too thick to break. It was time for the nuclear option.
We tied up some longer rope to the end of the paracord and hooked it to the hitch of my truck, and I started driving. I had tried this earlier but the thin paracord snapped easily around the bend points on my bumper, and it was from a different angle. This time, with a nice slow crawl in the right direction that damn rocket was finally released and it fell to the ground.
After several hours of exhausting and dehydrating work I packed the truck up and started to drive back to the launch site. Crossing a very tiny stream to exit the trees, I chose a bad angle and simultaneously high centered the front while sinking the back tires into wet sand. Cue another 30-40 minutes of exhausting work before I was rescued by some passers-by in offroad vehicles who pulled me out. I downloaded the ladder at the launch site and drove the few miles off the ranch before being told to turn around because I'd forgotten my canopy and rocket gear that I'd unloaded in the morning.
I have to hand it to the Acme fin can- this rocket has taken a beating for six years and those fins are still perfect even if the paintjob might need a refresh. No damage here:
The booster tube is another story unfortunately. This science experiment determined that between kevlar shock cord, tree branches, and Giant Leap tubing the tubing is definitely the weak link. Had the shock cord snapped instead the entire booster might still be up there, it was that well wedged, so I guess this is better than nothing:
That damned fireball didn't work as advertised. I mean it was only a half ton truck, come on! :lol: Despite the damage here and a couple of repairable chute tears from the hook tugging the rocket is fine and will fly again. I'm going to chop off the top half of the booster tube and fly it shorty style. From now on, she will be called Tree Hugger.
Lessons Learned:
-Keep the fishing reel / wrist rocket setup handy. The technique works! If my rocket had been any less stuck I would've had that sucker down from 50 feet in no time.
-Bring three times as many sinker weights and feet of fishing line/paracord as you think you need
-Don't do poles or ladders by yourself. I travel to launches alone and I was stupid to not just find some help before starting. If I had hurt myself out there I'd be screwed.
-If you're walking out to recover a rocket you should bring a water source, but also have enough back at the vehicle to last your entire day. Being dehydrated with a stuck rocket is terrible.
