T-28 meets an insidious and evil light pole!!

[roversgonemad]

Some of you may recall a while back I posted this about vertical objects and their affinity for foam...

"What you are failing to realize, is that due to any slender vertical object's orthogonal orientation to the earth, and the incredibly powerful magnetic molten core, the vertical objects amplify and channel gravitational forces, regardless of what material they are made of, be it wood, steel, or otherwise. The gravitational forces are particularly powerful when confronted with materials such as foam and balsa. While it is true that these materials are of quite low density, the particular gravitational energy associated with items protruding vertically from the surface of the earth is able to magnify the attraction of foam and balsa. At this point, even our most brilliant physicists have failed to truly explain this phenomenon. It's similar to two rare earth magnets in close proximity. At a certain distance, there is almost nothing you can do keep the foam and or balsa away from the vertically oriented object. This is a phenomenon I observed many times as a boy, flying RC planes. Until my first couple of flights with my Old Fogey, I had nearly forgotten about these anomalous attractive forces. I think it was about my third flight when I was quickly reminded! Fortunately, a little packing tape was able to fix the wing that contacted the light pole. With my nicer planes, not wanting to tempt fate, I try to stay as far as possible from any vertical objects protruding from the ground.

Also little known to nearly anyone but RC fliers is the hatred for RC planes that coniferous and deciduous trees posses. Many think of trees as more or less inanimate objects, but their malice for RC planes, combined with the above gravitational phenomenon, make them powerful enemies of RC fliers everywhere!!!"

Today, this was my fate with my T-28... I had gone to a new place to fly, with a road more inline with the prevailing wind. It is an unfinished development with no houses, but has roads. Unfortunately, the street is populated with the very evil and insidious light pole. Today I hit one of the aforementioned light poles. The foam was all repairable, but the crash slide the battery forward, and it impacted the ESC and broke the ESC... With no LHS, the wait is on for a new ESC.

 

[Christopher14]

That description is hilarious!

 

[frogman]

Don't forget the immense magnetic force any body of water posses as well for foam and wood flying objects. There is some molecular craziness going on in water molecules whenever a foam object is near. The water creates it's own magnetic pull. If we could figure it out we could solve the energy problem by making motors run by water electricity.

Having said that I learned water landings this week with my FT3D....and managed it upside down too. I go big.

 

[earthsciteach]

You should include a chainsaw in your field box.

 

[Christopher14]

I second that!

 

[Gryf]

So true, so true. The field where I fly my Old Fogey has a ball field with a backstop. A sudden gust whipped my Fogey into the backstop... Not into the screen itself, but straight into the pole at one end of it. And of course it hit perfectly dead center, with a loud "DINK" that spelled the end of a relatively new motor. Didn't hurt the foam at all.

Gryf

 

[rooghan]

love those verticals and horizontals

Flying my ft mustang in a nice high school field nothing for a KM or so, or so i thought
missing most of the nice vertical objects as i was higher then the magnetic pull
from said objects. Untill the sun took my vision for that split second and i found my plane
being pulled toward said vertical objects IE tree and light pole
Managed some sweet roles and slight turn only to have a large horizontal obstical "the earth"
that had greater magetic pull on my plane then the afore mentioned vertical obsticals.
1 sheet of board, new prop and new reciever and the planes back in the air
foam board great but still magnetic

 

[mjmccarron]

You failed to mention an associated phenomenon exhibited by trees either coniferous or deciduous. As living organisms they posses the ability to jump. Most often this is a vertical jump but they have been known to move horizontally as well in order to snatch the afore mentioned RC aircraft from the air. Light poles and other inanimate thin vertical objects can move as well. I think it may be the extraordinary gravitational forces being amplified by the small flying object and its perpendicular forces acting to move the pole but I've seen it happen on numerous occasions.

 

[Christopher14]

I think the size of the tree is a factor to take into consideration. Small ones I can play with and not have my plane snatched, big ones have a particularly nasty habit of drawing the plane to a higher altitude and neatly snagging it in the uppermost horizontal appendages. My theory is the larger the tree and the older it is, the more powerful the effect on foam and balsa. (Or any flying object for that matter).