Now I have seen everything!

[John Sinclair]

Somebody sawed the wings off this wrecked JS3! 

[Gordon Wingate]

Had to get it down from the trees from what I read

On Mon, Mar 23, 2026 at 5:15 PM 'John Sinclair' via RAS_Prime <rasp...@googlegroups.com> wrote:

Somebody sawed the wings off this wrecked JS3! 

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[Michael Opitz]

It has been done before.  Those rescue guys like their saws.  I know of a G 103 from

Bermuda High that had that done to get it out of the trees many years ago as well.

Mike Opitz

RO

[Verhulst]

Some years ago at 3B3 when a KitFox went into the trees on take off
(those things need fuel, you know) they used a helicopter.

Tony V.

[Charles Mampe]

Yep, I watched it go into the trees on "landing" from the airport he was trying to land at. Watched from downwind to "tree crunch".

A group of us discussed getting it out of the trees (30+' up) with minimal damage.

They got it down, but the main pin was bent. Instead of cutting the pin, as suggested, they hurried up and cut off the wings. Went from maybe a $50KUS repair to junk.

Thankfully, I didn't have to watch the cutting.

PS, pilot was physically OK.

[Mike Koerner]

Wow. That's interesting.

Do other aircraft use this twin spare configuration as opposed to the combination of a main spar and a much smaller drag spar?

Does the wing have ribs?

Which of the wing compartments shown are wet? I see the control bellows way in the back, but they may be just to prevent air leakage. 

Thanks,

Mike

[Dan Daly]

SZD55 has forked spars with two pins. Picture from spare parts catalog.

SZD-55usergroup (at symbol) groups.io 

[Hank Nixon]

They were told exactly how to get the glider apart without destroying it. They chose to ignore guidance because it would add to salvage time and the adjuster was trying to cut salvage cost. They also broke the canopy after we told them how to avoid that event. It changed what was probably a $60K repair into destroyed. 

We all pay for this kind of stuff.

UH

[Steven Leonard]

Mike, what you are seeing is just the split from the single I-beam into the "fork" to be two stubs that cross the fuselage.  Wings join similar to your old Kestrel 19.

For all the rest of us, something to keep in mind.  You are still the owner of the plane until you get the check from the insurance company.  You, as the owner, can tell the recovery company "Hold your horses!".  The adjuster may have sent the recovery crew, but the adjuster/insurance company are not yet the owners of the airplane, unless you have signed a release of ownership or gotten payment of your claim.

Adjusters are only concerned with "no hassle" close of transaction.  And in many cases, that means quick removal and haul off.  Recovery services charge by the hour, so the saw is faster than reducing damage done taking it apart.  Maybe we can all collectively refuse the services of that airplane recovery service?  I have dealt with a recovery service that damaged things that were not even installed on the plane at the time of the accident!  And I have dealt with recovery companies that looked like they had used factory supplied dollies and fixtures to transport the plane for indoor storage, as there were no marks on the plane other than those from the accident.

Steve Leonard

[Mark Mocho]

From my limited experience with insurance companies in general, they are ONLY pleasant to deal with when YOU are writing a check to them. Every other contact, inquiry, claim or complaint is excruciatingly painful. The only exception to this was my glider insurance underwriter, Costello Insurance Associates. We are lucky to have them.