On Monday, November 27, 2017 at 1:01:18 PM UTC-8, wrote:
snip Rudy had landed on a road in a narrow canyon late in the contest somewhere down south of Minden (towards Bridgeport?).
"Splints" sounds more accurate. I definitely saw them once but don't recall seeing them on the fuselage on the takeoff line,


I have been part of a recovery team for a glider that was badly pranged and boom shattered on an outlanding. Take a lot of photos BEFORE you move the parts. (Have authorization from local flight bureaucracy before disturbing the site.) I do strongly advise hauling along splints of whatever rigid and preferably LIGHT material you can carry. Aluminum conduit would be handy, pipe - PVC or metal, wood splints least favored. And a few rolls of duct tape. The internal push rods and cabling make removing the tail difficult in the field, and you are trying to minimize further damage. A few extra people, and a few feet of rope to sling the boom after splinting is necessary.. Sounds silly but a long blanket or sleeping bag can be used to sling the tail section, which can't be rolled until after repair.
Bothering to post these kinds of details is a way to pass along "skills" to the newer generation -- beyond where I can wave and point. My wish is to never have to use this knowledge again.

Cindy B
So Calif, USA