I woke up with a pulled muscle in my lower back and saw a couple of storm cells near Placida but decided to send it anyway and I’m glad I did.

Launch and landing were spot on. Small rain shower close by kept me near the LZ in case I needed to set down in a hurry. The air was bump level 5 at 300-400 and the wind picked up from nil to 15 mph while the storm cell passed north of me.

Flew the APCO because I have not been able to get the WTS dialed in on the Duet just yet

Stopped at the Peachland Publix to see Diedra on the way home. All is well.

#1342

June 30th to July 16

Lots of flying in a couple of weeks. Lots of equipment issues and changes. I sold the MacPara Colorado 2 29m and bought a DaVinci Duet+ 34m. The new owner is delighted and I’m glad to be done with that experience. It’s been 10 months of bad launches starting with the day my reliable old Colorado flipped and spun me. The Colorado 2 was the shrew that could not be tamed.

The DaVinci Duet was designed to be a tandem free flight wing but it has also found a home with heavy PPG trikes. It launches easily and flys very predictably. It has respectable speed and lowers my fuel burn significantly.

The climb rate is also noticeably better than anything I’ve flown since transitioning to wheels 15 years ago. On the second flight, while climbing WOT there was strong oscillation reminiscent to the factory warnings on the APCO Lift EZ. I will experiment with bringing the RPMs up more slowly and see if I can avoid the oscillation and maximize the climb. I believe 275 ft/min is realistic.

Another issue is the trimmers are incredibly stiff. The cams are not high quality and possibly the trimmer webbing is not the right fabric for that cam. Maybe I’m just too light and weak! I’m going to quiz Elizabeth about replacing the trimmers with something better.

I would also like to investigate adding a Wing Tip Steering line. I hear it’s been done and works well.

When I got it, the brake lines were very long. I shortened them 5 inches and I could probably go another 5. Ergonomically it might help to raise the toggles so I can apply more pressure early into the input.

Another thing that has been going on is the GoPro camera is having trouble uploading files. I’m still searching for the fix but with GoPro in financial trouble they have discontinued the phone support. I wish I was better with reading and following their e-mail support.

Bit of a sketchy launch when I grabbed the left brake toggle and unintentionally locked the RPMs a little high. No foul.

The last flights I’ve been going high which is a nice change.

This morning was the beginning of the longest day of the year and coincidentally its Fathers Day. I set the alarm for 4:45 to make it out before sunrise and as has been the norm lately. I launched 10 minutes after dawn.

It was a Downwind launch, fortunately, I had plenty of room because the climb out was fast and low. It seemed to be absolutely calm with no hint of breeze at the surface but take off was fast and climb out was slow. I used left brake to stay over the runway while splitting the trees on either side. For the duration of the flight the wind was 8 to 10 mph from the southeast.

It was mildly bumpy with mostly clear air interspersed with patches of disturbed air.

Landing was fast and smooth.

Tech notes. It’s time to start thinking about installing a brake. If I’m going to be landing fast on pavement I need to stop before the wing drops and gets dragged .

It’s time to start thinking about trying out the Throggle.

Another nice launch. The most notable thing was landing with both brakes and wing tips. I’m going to have to view the video but it was rough.

This was a moral boost. Again the Apco inflated beautifully. It’s not slow … not fast … it’s just right.

I listed the MacPara for sale as soon as I got home.

It was bumpy again but I pushed it and found clear air at 1000 feet.

First flight with the old APCO LIFT EZ. It was a pleasure. The wing came up predictably. It was like old times. Landing was fast with trims in neutral.

I would have stayed up longer but it was very bumpy and didn’t look like it was going to be better higher up.