On-Board the Super Cub – BONUS: Surprise Ending [VIDEO]

So, What Happened?

I guess I should explain in detail what happened. I had the genius idea of putting the 12MP camera on the SC a while back and was afraid the wife would be mad if I broke it. I decided to seal it with duct tape and plastic wrap. I cut an opening for the lens only. I taped and taped and taped it to the left side of the SC.

I thought it was a bit heavy but didn’t think it was enough to really worry about. When I took off is when I noticed how heavy it really was and how much it was affecting the performance. The SC was very sluggish, unstable and climbed very slowly. I decided I would climb as much as I could to get good video then descend, land, remove the camera and continue flying.

The wind was a bit fierce, too, at around 10 knots. I climbed up to a few hundred feet and saw a Cherokee (Piper also) pass me by at no more than 50 feet higher and 100 feet South. I tried to get the shot but failed.

I decided to come in for the landing after about 6 or 7 minutes of flight. I came down quickly but leveled and slowed as much as I could. The first pass was too high and I went around for another. On the second, I noticed just how fast i had to fly to keep from stalling and that’s when I got a little scared. The wind was throwing the SC around a bit so I went around again for a third pass.

I came in low and steady and it was looking good until I was about 3 feet (1 meter) from the water. That’s when The SC stalled and flipped to its left side and forward, dipping the whole nose, including motor and ESC, in the water, causing a big splash that I could easily see got water all over the camera and the rest of the plane.

I immediately went into “get that plane out of the water” mode. I took off my shoes and socks, sat my son down and told him to stay put and ran in the water. I could hear the ESC beep… beep… beep… each one adding to my torment more and more. lol

I ran in until I was knee-deep and about 10 feet (3 meters) from the shore. I felt sharp rocks so I couldn’t go any further. The plane was just 10 more feet away! I couldn’t reach it and it was driving me crazy.

After a minute of freaking out I found some fallen coconuts near the shore and started throwing them past the SC so the wake could push it back towards me. It was working. I threw ALL the coconuts I saw! Like 20 of them! I bet I looked like a nut to all the neighbors.

It came about 5 feet (1.5 meters) from me so I ran and found a fallen branch to pull it. I reached and pulled it from the water, dripping. I immediately disconnected the battery and took it home to dry.

I dried it using the low-heat setting on a hair dryer and let it air-dry the rest of the day and night. The next morning I turned it on and all was good

The camera had a bit of water in the lens that also dried up in a couple of days!