If you've ever lost a plane, here's an inexpensive way to locate a downed plane.
I have been flying since March 2003 and have probably passed 2000 flights
between my parkflyers and gliders. During my pilot development, I learned
how hard it can be to find a plane that has landed in the woods, tall grass
and other places where you can't see it. Fortunately there are aids for
this kind of situation.
I lost my Aerobird when a huge gust of wind carried it over deep woods and I
was too inexperienced to deal with it. Even though I was certain I knew
where it went down, I could not find it. I bought another Aerobird and fly it
often.
When I moved on to gliders, I started flying a Great Planes Spirit 2
Meter. I got into trouble and it went down into heavy woods and brush. I
went into the woods to find it. Fifty feet into the woods, trying to decide
how to proceed since the area the plane went down could not be seen from a
trail, I heard Beep Beep Beep. The plane was about 150 feet away in heavy
tree growth. I had the plane located and out in 10 minutes. Believe me,
where it had landed I likely would not have found it.
The difference was a little device you put in the plane that gets attached
to the receiver. If you turn off the transmitter, the thing starts beeping
loudly and you can hear it from quite a distance.
This is what I use in my Spirit Sailplane and several of my other planes HERE.
It hooks to any channel or it can share a channel with one of your servos.
It has the connector to pass through to the servo. This is the one I
recommend to everyone.
Low Voltage Watch
In addition to helping me find the planes, the Digi Alarm also monitors my
battery pack voltage and sounds an alarm if the pack voltage gets below a
safe level. This is especially valuable on my glider. If I catch a good
thermal, I could be in the air for over an hour, so a pack that tested good
on the ground could run low during the flight.
Channel Conflict Test!
As a test to make sure no one is flying on your channel, turn on the
receiver only. If the device does not go into lost plane mode, then someone
else is on your frequency.
Here are some others I have not tried, but look interesting:
The planes I fly most often now have a locator and battery monitor installed
Of course you only need one – you can move it from plane to plane,
but at $15-30 they are cheap enough you can put one in every plane and
forget it! It is helpful insurance to protect a $150 to $1000 investment.
This is a radio beacon/finder system. It does not connect to the receiver
but sends out a continuous signal that you can home on with their receiver.
From the maker's web site: About 1/2 mile range. Transmitter is less
than 1" diameter, 1/2" high, and has a weight of less than 1/3 ounce including
the battery. It is powered by a single CR2032 battery that will last for over 30
days of continuous operation and signals you when it needs replacing.
Factory programmed to any one of your choice of 50 channels.
The receiver is about $200 and the transmitter that goes in the plane is $50.
Many pilots don't know about these devices. Now you do!
Plane Locators
If you've ever lost a plane, here's an inexpensive way to locate a downed plane.
I have been flying since March 2003 and have probably passed 2000 flights
between my parkflyers and gliders. During my pilot development, I learned
how hard it can be to find a plane that has landed in the woods, tall grass
and other places where you can't see it. Fortunately there are aids for
this kind of situation.
I lost my Aerobird when a huge gust of wind carried it over deep woods and I
was too inexperienced to deal with it. Even though I was certain I knew
where it went down, I could not find it. I bought another Aerobird and fly it
often.
When I moved on to gliders, I started flying a Great Planes Spirit 2
Meter. I got into trouble and it went down into heavy woods and brush. I
went into the woods to find it. Fifty feet into the woods, trying to decide
how to proceed since the area the plane went down could not be seen from a
trail, I heard Beep Beep Beep. The plane was about 150 feet away in heavy
tree growth. I had the plane located and out in 10 minutes. Believe me,
where it had landed I likely would not have found it.
The difference was a little device you put in the plane that gets attached
to the receiver. If you turn off the transmitter, the thing starts beeping
loudly and you can hear it from quite a distance.
This is what I use in my Spirit Sailplane and several of my other planes
HERE.
It hooks to any channel or it can share a channel with one of your servos.
It has the connector to pass through to the servo. This is the one I
recommend to everyone.
In addition to helping me find the planes, the Digi Alarm also monitors my
battery pack voltage and sounds an alarm if the pack voltage gets below a
safe level. This is especially valuable on my glider. If I catch a good
thermal, I could be in the air for over an hour, so a pack that tested good
on the ground could run low during the flight.
As a test to make sure no one is flying on your channel, turn on the
receiver only. If the device does not go into lost plane mode, then someone
else is on your frequency.
Here are some others I have not tried, but look interesting:
Lost Model Locator – $10
Does one job, but does it well – I hope.
SkyKing RC Lost Model Locator – $20
Review HERE.
RC Reporter – $24
A bunch of features.
The planes I fly most often now have a locator and battery monitor installed
Of course you only need one – you can move it from plane to plane,
but at $15-30 they are cheap enough you can put one in every plane and
forget it! It is helpful insurance to protect a $150 to $1000 investment.
The Plane Locator
This is a radio beacon/finder system. It does not connect to the receiver
but sends out a continuous signal that you can home on with their receiver.
From the maker's web site: About 1/2 mile range. Transmitter is less
than 1" diameter, 1/2" high, and has a weight of less than 1/3 ounce including
the battery. It is powered by a single CR2032 battery that will last for over 30
days of continuous operation and signals you when it needs replacing.
Factory programmed to any one of your choice of 50 channels.
The receiver is about $200 and the transmitter that goes in the plane is $50.
Many pilots don't know about these devices. Now you do!
Clear Skies and Safe Flying
Ed Anderson (8/31/06)
This thread can be seen HERE.