Long story, but, with patience, skill and blind luck, I got my Heron sailplane back with nothing more than a couple of minor dings on wing and a stripped flap servo. Thanks, also, to my "Faskenometer" - the variometer that Dave built for me!
I had just about given up a couple of times, when I thought I detected the faint sound of my vario. I had even put the Tx away, then fired it up again!
Was my baby still in the air somewhere? Was it on the ground nearby?
Louie persuaded me to come in his car to see if we could home in on the signal at a couple of locations on Fred Brown road. Nothing at all, so we returned to the field.
I shut down the Tx. Game over. Gary 0, Fate 1.
As I have told my boy and girl on occasion, when things look bad, "We Droppos never give up". So, I decided to wander over to the North of the field. Voila! The signal returned, faintly. So, I walked up the old County Road. The signal was there, constant. After awhile, seeing no sign of the aircraft, I headed in to the old landfill area. No luck. Before giving up, I would climb up onto the landfill plateau to get a better view. Warning! This is hazardous, with some large, hidden holes and metal scrap all around ... not to mention that our local Black Bears may even use some of those as winter dens!
Well, well, there she was !!! One wing standing up against a tree, the fuselage and other wing lying nearby. It looks like she landed at low speed,
The wings separating as the Multiplex folks had designed it. Yay! Gary 1, Fate 0.
I owe a number of my comrades a vote of thanks for coming to my aid, trying to spot my sailplane, and especially to Louie for his driving skills. The latter effort persuaded me that the aircraft was North, not South of the field and led me to eventually head off in that direction.