Title: Method of removing a model rocket from the roof of a hangar or other building
Abstract: A large, draggy aircraft such as an Air Tractor is flown at extremely low altitude over the structure on which the model rocket has landed. The resulting slipstream re-inflates the parachute and blows the model either completely off the building or at least near enough to the edge that other means of recovery such as throwing nuts, ball retrievers, or other devices can be used to bring the model to the ground.
Initially Demonstrated: KOSMO (NAR Section 427) club launch at Ellinwood Airport (1K6), Ellinwood, Kansas, on March 19, 2005. [Photographs pending...]
Co-inventors: Mark Johnson, Wichita, KS, Duane Lanterman, Great Bend, KS, (Launch Directors) and Bill ????, agricultural spray pilot.
Notes and limitations: The method described requires a very draggy aircraft that produces a significant slipstream, such as an Air Tractor or other agplane with at least a 50 foot wingspan and 500 HP motor. Smaller, more streamlined aircraft such as Cessna 210s, Beech Bonanzas, and the like will not be as effective. A low pass (not to exceed 6 feet of vertical clearance above the structure) is most effective.
:-)