Copyright 2001, John Gossett Austin, Texas
I was flying on a Saturday morning and the wind was out of the east at the normal slightly brisk pace. This direction was new for me in that all my previous experience was with south winds so I was aligned in the short direction of the field. I was practicing what I have been working on all spring long - launch, turn left, turn downwind leg, turn base leg, turn upwind and try to land somewhere near where I was standing. You know how for some people it's hard to pat your head and rub your tummy at the same time? Well, for me it's still hard to walk and fly at the same time, so I was standing where I had launched the plane from the highstart. Fortunately, the more I practiced, the more I was landing within a few paces instead of across the field.
On each of the last few flights I had flown base leg turn in front of a large oak on the west side of the field. On the last flight I was having a really cool flight. Great crisp (for the highlander and this pilot) turn onto the downwind leg and a good glidepath downwind. I thought to myself, "man that blue plane is sure going to look pretty banking in front of that oak." I didn't even have time to panic, much less react when I flew that plane right into the top of the oak! I walked over in shock, and stood, hands-on-hips, and jaws agape, trying to figure out how I was going to get my plane out of that tree.
I gave thought to climbing the tree, and if I were 20 years younger, I would have climbed it. But not at my age (or in my condition.) Then I decided that I was going to have to go buy one of those golf ball nabbers with the long extension poles. As I was packing up though a fellow who flys electric gliders noted my lofty plane and mentioned that the glow field across the creek from the glider field had two really long pvc pipes with a rope. I went over to glow field and borrowed the poles and pushed my plane out of the tree. The neat thing about the highlander was that I could have continued flying it as there was no damage. I only stopped flying because the landowner started haying the glider field while I was rescuing my glider.
In retrospect I recalled that I had stretched the highstart an additional 15 paces to get a higher launch and thus I was 15 paces closer to the tree than previous flights. Combined with a higher altitude and flight pattern similar to previous flights I realize that I set myself up to fly right into the tree. The highlander now sits on a hook on a wall. It has been raided for its receiver and I doubt I will come back to it. It looks rather ragged and forlorn because it has about a dozen tape repairs and reinforcements. It would be easy enough to ressurect it, but I believe in moving on and the highlander served its purpose. It encountered the ground, and some trees, so that I could learn how to fly and to be wary of perspective.
Copyright 2001, John Gossett Austin, Texas