Firebird Scout in a tree?

[JackCrack]

I am complete newbie to flying and so I bought a firebird scout. My first flight was a complete disaster. I launched the plane it flew pretty good for a while then it just kept going straight right out of the park and got caught about 20 feet in a tree. After about an hour of throwing my shoe at it, it finally got loose. Now the boom is loose and all it does now is nosedive every time I try to launch it. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[Foamiesrfun]

I am complete newbie to flying and so I bought a firebird scout. My first flight was a complete disaster. I launched the plane it flew pretty good for a while then it just kept going straight right out of the park and got caught about 20 feet in a tree. After about an hour of throwing my shoe at it, it finally got loose. Now the boom is loose and all it does now is nosedive every time I try to launch it. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

well did youfix the boom? w/o it fixed I wouldnt think it would fly at all.

[JackCrack]

Yes I did fix the boom with crazy glue. Made sure it was secure. I think the CG is off. I noticed that the boom is slighlty bent downward. Could this affect the CG. :confused:

[Steve]

Do all of the control surfaces operate correctly?. I can't see how the CG would change unless you used a different battery or something shifted position.

[Timm]

You need to snap the tail boom back into the clasp before you glue it! With it not being parallel with the fuse you will always just dive after a take-off. Make sure that the boom is properly fitted back in the fuse and in it's clasp before you glue it again.........

[JackCrack]

ahh haa yes I did just glue it to the fuse without checking alignment. Will try tonite after work. thnx guys.

[jutty]

You can also use a zip tie to secure the boom and help keep it from falling out again. There are pictures of th emod somewhere in this board. I think they used a nylon bolt on an Aerobird Commander. Same design as yours. I just did this mod since I have had the same problem. Also you need to ensure the v-tail is exactly lined up with the fuse. There is also a good mod on securing the motor with a zip tie.

[DesertGringo]

Check your CG............ balance plane 2" from leading edge.....neutral elevator should let it climb with power on

[jimw1956]

After reading the original post here I had to add my story. I got an Aerobird challenger and after quite a bit of simulator practice took it out for it's maiden flight, and my first attempt at flying.

I hand launched the challenger and it took off like a great big bird...beautiful sight. I got it up fairly high (I read a lot of warnings on the boards about not having enough altitude). I made a couple of nice circles, and then became aware that the plane was getting a little too far out and too high for me to see it very well.

Next thing I know, it is crashing into the top of a really tall tree, and then nose-diving down the center of the tree.

I made about 10 trips into the woods searching before finally spotting only the tail fins sticking in sight, with the rest of the plane hidden and firmly lodged in between two limbs....at about 35' up! This was on about the 5th day after the crash...luckily without any rain.

This tree was not suitable for climbing, and the woods here were extremely thick. I came up with a plan though. I went to the local Lowe's store and bought 4 - 10' and 1 - 5' section of 1/2 inch conduit along with some junctions to join them. I put about 20' together and me and my wife (God bless her patience with me), managed to snake it up the back of the tree in the direction of the plane. Then I added another 10', and finally another 5' section. I had made a loop on the end of the pole with some plastic coated steel cable...looked a little like the things they use to catch snakes.

Anyway, here we are trying to maneauver this 35' piece of steel conduit up the tree. By some miracle my wife actually managed to get the loop around one of the wings and started basically just pulling and shaking the plane. Finally it moved and dropped about 10' down to the next limb, where it was resting without any apparent attachments. A few more skillful pokes of the pole by my wife apparently shook the limb enough to let the plane go, and it came swooping down to the ground.

Only damage seems to be a slight crease in the wing, and the few normal battle scars to the paint near the motor. I'm fortunate to have a good local plane shop that stocks practically every part for the Hobby Zone, Park Zone planes, so $15 for a new wing, and I'm in business again.

One word of caution...don't ever try this type of rescue with a metal pole anywhere near a power line...we were deep in the woods with no power lines anywhere closeby. If I had this to do over again, I would probably opt for the pvc conduit...floppier, but not nearly as heavy, and it turned out that the only way to get that high in the tree was by actually bracing the conduit against the tree anyway for support...the plastic would probably have worked just as well or better.

After this little episode, I am about to fork out $50 to join our local RC group...which includes 24 / 7 access to a nice BIG flying field, and the benefit of meeting a really nice group of folks with similar interests.

I was out there Sunday and one of the guys let me fly a few minutes on his nitro trainer on a buddy box...what a blast. I was utterly impressed that someone would be so generous as to let a complete stranger fly his plane like that.

If you are new to this hobby by all means check into any local clubs in your area...it can be a great help.