Hummm reminds me of another Eastern Soaring League event I was attending
in Maynard, Mass at the CRRC site, I'm guessing back in the late 90's...
Had my new Inventec Pelican (thank you Mike P.). I was having a great
day weekend.... I love that plane... I was very comfortable with it...
well, day 2 of the event. Conditions were not all that great.. the wind
had picked up.. some guys were getting times but most were not.
It is the second to last round.. I get a suburb launch... I head upwind
towards a tree line... 80'-90' Blue Spruce trees I'm guessing.. I catch
a thermal... Thinking to myself.. I nail this one I'm bringing home wood
for sure...
On the far side of the thermal headed back into the wind the Pelican
pitches over and starts a very rapid decent at about a 45 degree
angle... I wasn't sure what was going on other than the fact that I had
no elevator. Well in short order the Pelican plunges through the Spruce
trees.... making that sicking "crunch" sound as the plane penetrates the
trees.
Well off I went... out to find the plane... I searched and searched...
I kept coming back with parts from other guys planes but no Pelican.
Turned out I was on the wrong side of the tree line. I went to the
other side of the tree line and spotted the Pelican right away.... It
was hanging by it's tail, no wings! I had sheered them off when the
plane went through the tree and came to rest out on the outer branches
of the tree.
I climbed the tree, which was quite easy to do... I managed to get the
plane down... after about 2 hrs of searching and retrieving.
Meanwhile back at the contest... I had missed the last round of the
event and the handing out of the "wood"... to which I got 3rd place...
and I was 60' up in a spruce tree and missed everything going on.
Well a new set of wings and the Pelican flew later that year.
Ah... the stories... Isn't this hobby great?
--
Kurt W. Zimmerman
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