Recovered the Cubby!

My friend Patrick Rochon and I gathered up his 40 ft ladder and headed out to rescue the Cubby from the Ent that had gathered her up.(Here's the story on how I lost her.)

We threw the 40ft ladder in the back of Patrick's Pick-em' up truck. This being Mississippi I required neither a seatbelt, nor a helmet, but I failed to have drunk the requisite 6-pack of Bud Light prior to this adventure.

My reflection as I sat in back serving as ballast for the unmarked ladder. 

At least I had my Boston FD Ladder 15 T-shirt on!

Patrick holding the carcass. We tried shaking the tree, but were unable to accomplish much. He brought up just getting a chain saw, but I reminded him that this being Mississippi and the tree being a Magnolia, someone would be going to jail... We trundled in the ladder through the thorny brush, and I climbed up 20ft with his manliness holding the ladder in the soft ground against a wavering tree. I used a 25ft pool brush, but still couldn't reach it from 20 ft up. The tree thinned out too much to extend the ladder, so I just started shaking the tree from 20ft up and found I had pretty good purchase from up there. I had that tree moving about 2-3 ft, and the ladder sliding all around. I was determined to get that plane out of that tree! About this time I started thinking I should have had that 6-pack, because it would be hard to explain why I fell 20 ft into the woods to rescue what some would consider a toy, and beer explains a lot of things... I managed to free the plane and it fell another 10 feet where I was able to poke it with the extended brush, eventually coaxing it out of the Magnolia. This must happen a lot in this trailer park, as no one so much as looked out a window at two strangers backing into a vacant trailer pad and climbing through the woods with a ladder...

But we succeeded! She is badly damaged, but she is no longer alone in a tree... Just in time as tomorrow will be storming!

Started on that 6-pack... Broken wing, missing right wheel and wing struts. I have replacements!

All the electronics look good.

The gyro... I don't think it was the gyro that caused the problem. I think the receiver went rogue and the gyro kept the wings level right up into the trees. But I am taking it out anyway...

Curiously, the prop-saver with two O-rings kept the prop smack dab in the middle of the motor.

So, this week I will be refurbishing my Cubby. I have already ordered a new one, so I will have two. This one will be my banger, and I am glad to have her. It reduces the fear of wrecking a "nice" plane. I know she can take a beating and keep on going! I will buttress up the wing and fix that leading edge, and be up again by the end of the week!

Special thanks to Patrick for helping me out!