My wife and I used this method yesterday at Bayboro. Worked perfectly for several mile long walks through the beans. Her spotting and keeping me on course walked me to within 20 feet of my rockets 3 times in a row.What I found is have a sight line to a distance landmark, a Tree, hill or something. Then one person stays near the launch site and directs the searchers to stay on the sight line. We use our cell phones to communicate. The searches then keep walking and looking until they find the rocket.
Distance is very hard to judge but staying on the sight line will get you to the rocket.
This works great with two people.What I found is have a sight line to a distance landmark, a Tree, hill or something. Then one person stays near the launch site and directs the searchers to stay on the sight line. We use our cell phones to communicate. The searches then keep walking and looking until they find the rocket.
Distance is very hard to judge but staying on the sight line will get you to the rocket.
.... It kind of surprised me.
It is ALWAYS farther than you think
I had exactly this happen when my Estes Gnome bent under thrust and yeeted itself away from the range head. I didn't see it until I'd given up and headed back to my table.That's odd. For the one's I lost and eventually found...
They were always closer than I had thought.
Beans don't initially seem daunting but I have found them to be masters at hiding a rocket!My wife and I used this method yesterday at Bayboro. Worked perfectly for several mile long walks through the beans. Her spotting and keeping me on course walked me to within 20 feet of my rockets 3 times in a row.
I use a similar approach.... We then watch the rocket all the way to the ground. Don't take your eyes off it until it lands. Then pick a point on the horizon where it landed. Pick anything that will stick in your mind. Tall tree, funny red bush etc. The walk the line to the rocket.
If it is only me I follow the same process but I generally pick a larger starting point that I can see from the field. I'll typically stand at my car and watch it land. Pick my point on the horizon and start walking.
I agree with David Schwartz, look further out than you think it went. Set up a grid search as well and systematically search the area. I HATE losing rockets! I would rather crash one than not find it.
As a recent BAR, I built a HiFlier a month or two ago, and launched it a couple weekends ago and lost it on the first flight... Flew great, but lost visual halfway down and had no luck finding it... Oh well, building a clone of sorts now, kind of a cross between a HiFlier and Xtreme.
It occurred to me as we were walking and walking through the tall grass that a drone aerial search aid would be really handy! OK, now I have to become a drone nut...Get a decent drone, fly it over line of sight, and then some.
Our local club sometimes uses a site with tall weeds, up to chest high. I had a rocket land not too far out, I headed right to that spot and walked slowly, didn't find it. I stepped a couple of feet to the right and walked back towards the launch pad, still didn't find it. I stepped about 4' the other way and walked back out, spotted the rocket right as I passed it. I had to have walked within a few feet of it twice before. One of the club members said he frequently uses a long streamer at that field because it can drape over the tops of the weeds and you can see it better than you can the rocket itself.
Long ago I had bought one of those personal emergency beacons but I never used it because I didn't want the thing to come down on a chute making noise in front of a crowd. Now that we have those bluetooth devices for your keys like the Tile, I wondered if it would be worthwhile to have one of those to attach inside of a rocket. If you could get within 20' of it in high grass maybe you could activate it and find it.
I bought this FM transmitter kit for model rockets many years ago. Still haven't built it. I think it is time to get out the soldering iron!
https://jbgizmo.com/page22-i.htm
Ooo! I didn't think about corn fields! I will avoid those. Even a huge rocket will get lost in a corn field!It does work and have found my rockets in the 8 foot tall corn a few times.
My buddy’s Estes Hi-Flier got lost in the tall grass. We looked and looked and could not find it. It had a pink streamer. It kind of surprised me.
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Recovery from a corn field is feasible at an early June regional meet, but is heroically epic at a NARAM.Ooo! I didn't think about corn fields! I will avoid those. Even a huge rocket will get lost in a corn field!
I write my TRA number and phone number with a sharpie right on the BT between the fins.I write my name, telephone number, and "reward for return" on the parachute or streamer. I am not sure if that is effective, but I figure that, without some sort of contact information written on the rocket, there is *zero* chance of a good Samaritan finding and returning my rocket.
I've told this story before;Ooo! I didn't think about corn fields! I will avoid those. Even a huge rocket will get lost in a corn field!
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