Some Good Ol' Yankee Ingenuity... And Duct Tape!

Colorado Rocketeer Eric Davila of the Longmont Rocket Club sent out a picture of an interesting device that he used at a recent group launch:

This is a makeshift tool which he used to successfully rescue a model rocket from the clutches of a Rocket Eating Tree (RET).

Close study of the photo reveals a variety of handles, sticks, and rods which were scrounged up and pressed into service to make the tool - all held together by that venerable all-in-one-portable-workshop-in-a-roll, duct tape!

Upon seeing this photo, I was immediately reminded of a tool I have hanging in my own garage:

This device is a ten foot length of 1 inch PVC pipe equipped with a wire hook made from a coat hanger.  The hook is securely attached with a pair of hose clamps.  No duct tape here.

I use the pole on an annual basis to hang Christmas light strings on the branches of various trees in the yard.
I've also been known to attach a small broom to the end of the pole in the winter for the purpose of brushing accumulated snow off my satellite TV dishes and LNBF units whenever reception became blocked.

Until I saw Eric's post, it never occurred to me that this would make a splendid rocket retrieval tool.
Of course, the ten foot length would prove highly impractical to transport to the flying field, but shorter lengths of four to five feet along with some PVC couplers would do the job very nicely.

Such a device would be a perfect addition to a club's collection of range equipment.

Thanks for the idea, Eric!

Cheers....