Lost ' N' Found

It all started with the release of the FT Mini Arrow, I had being waiting for them to make an FPV Race Wing for quite a while and when it came out it was everything I could have hoped for.  I ordered all the things I would need and when they arrived I built my FT Mini Arrow it was great.

I couldn't fly it for a while because of the weather but when I could I would be out all day.  I loved it.  I flew it over 30 times in a month and I still didn't get bored.  When I got FPV I put it on the arrow and used it as a camera ship for my first FPV flights.  After months of fun flying and exiting FPV something happened.  All good things must come to an end.  It dropped out of the sky with no RC signal and landed in a 17-acre cornfield.  I was devastated.

Stupidly I did not stop and make a reference of where it was but I ran into the field and started panicking.  I couldn’t find it.  Three or so hours later I finally gave up and went home without my beloved arrow. On board was my new FPV my Mobius and all the plane parts that I had got for my birthday.  For every day for the next 2 weeks I went and looked for it for about an hour but there was no luck.  2 months later it was coming to the time for the field to be harvested and I took action and called the field owner.  I told him that I had lost my plane in his field. He was very understanding.  He said he will look out for it and then he asked for my number so he could call me if he found it.

After a post on Facebook my friend said he would come down with his friend and fly their 250 Quadcopter over the field to se if they could find it.  They couldn’t.  All that could be done now was to wait for it to be chewed up and spat out by the combine harvester.  On a Saturday 2 and a half months later I went to the park with my cousins when I noticed that the field was being cut.  I got on my bike and raced down my dad came five minutes later.  The farmer stopped when he saw us and said that he had found the plane and he had put it in a box and taken it back to is farm.  After saying thanks we went to collect what was left of the Arrow.  When we got to the farm we met his wife and she gave me the box. 

The plane was smashed badly but after some inspection a found none of the internals were damaged. Without thinking I pressed the power button on the Mobius, it turned on, even after 2 and a half months in the rain the non-waterproof camera still worked.  Ever since the day the plane was found I have re-used all the parts salvaged from the plain besides the airframe on multiple occasions.  I have used the Motor Esc Servo all the FPV and the Mobius and RC reciver in a range of other successful models. I would like to thank all who helped me especially my best friend Dan and my dad who were persistent with their searches for my mini arrow. My Mini Arrow number 2 has now had 20 successful flights getting great air-to-air footage for Plane Stupid RC our Youtube channel.                                                                                       

(Mini Arrow number 2)

(Air to air snap of mine)

Overall I think the whole experiance is something everyone can learn from:

1. spend a pound or a dollar and get yourself a cheap lost plane finder alarm thing. This will make the search a lot easier.

2. Fly over fields which are bare if you can. This way is your plane or multirotar falls out of the sky you can spot it easy. 

3. Range test all your kit before you go flying.

4. If lost, stop and make a visual mark of where you are standing.

5. If somthing like this happens to you must gain permission from the land owner before entering the feild.

Overall I have learn't many valuable lessons through this experience and it has lead to having a even better mini arrow that I still love to fly. Thanks to Flite Test for their amazing model.