Category: bad launches

Flight 270 Simms

The wind speed chart shows moderately high & gusty winds from the south south east. Sunset was at 7:00pm.

Very short flight. The predicted weather was to be 5 mph from the east but I got 10 to 12 gusting to 15-18 from the south. It came down a bit (see Weather chart) , I launched and did one lap before landing by the truck. There were a few issues.

1. It’s not a tumble weed…it’s tangle weed.

Wind from the south caused me to set up at the North end, by Hampden…It’s 500 yards and and a hassle. You have to push the buggy uphill and across the grain of a dense tangle of dry weeds. They are bone dry and flat to the earth…They are like a bunch of tumble weeds that had been run through the laundry… full dense branches 24 to 36 inches long and waiting to get hooked up in the lines. It reminded me of the first days of learning how to ground handle at Brian Smith’s home field. I tried kiting like I had been over at the truck but it wasn’t much fun. Every inflation the wing picked up a few branches and I spent way too much time “de-weeding the wing” and throwing the debris down wind. I suppose the good thing was that I realized the potential for fouling the wing and searched out the least congested spot to set up for launch.

2.When I powered up the buggy bogged down. It was almost a replay of the last flight of the Simonini. The wing came right up in the prop wash but the trike wasn’t moving…I threw my weight back and forth like a toddler on a play toy …luckily, first time…the buggy broke loose and began to accelerate. While this is happening I was watching the PPS start to fold …and just before gravity took over it miraculously re-inflated. The take off was crisp and the climb was better. Launching into a wind with this machine is kinda nice.

BUT… I could have done without the pucker of
imagining my wing getting sliced and diced by # 60
inch Ivo steak knives.
Once up…The air was mixing and rowdy…I decided to land right away…It might have been allot better 800 or 1000 feet higher… but it didn’t feel good… so I landed. The good news was that I set final approach for the truck and came in beautifully. The bad news was that I didn’t mash the throttle do a touch and go and fly for a couple of more minutes.

While I was packing up, it sure seemed flyable, but those are the breaks the weather was too marginal to hassle with the weeds for the last few minutes of light.

Note to self:

When you are launching on softer soil, push the buggy back and forth over the first few yard of runway to smooth the surface and prevent getting the wheels into a rut during the critical first second of power.

209 …210…211 Simms

Bad Launches the first two. I should have aborted. Marek said I took off with a 40 percent collapse. It inflated as soon as I left the ground but stupid …stupid …stupid. there was a slight pull to the inflated side but it was not like the wing was oscillating. Once up, the air was nice. I launched the third time just to get a good one in. I think part of the problem was that the field is getting really bumpy.

147th Monument Valley First Time

To Awesome for words

The Desert Turtle

Drove straight through to Monument because it was blowing like hell in Glenwood … Grand Junction… and Moab.

Gouldings Village is a wonderful place to base a fly in. Everything you might need Hotel…Campground … RV Park…Gas Station Grocery Store Restaurant Hotel. And…Best of all the is a private airstrip with the only traffic being a couple of tourist flights mid morning.

#147 May 29th 2008

Blew first launch…Second was fine, flew an exploratory flight until I got cold and landed on the strip. 45 minutes

#148 May 30th 2008
My first and I hope my last turtle. I watched it blow most of the day. Not bad , about 10 kts and gusty. At 4pm I gave John Fetz a call and talked about the best way to fly this area. What to watch out for and how to avoid the dirty air on the lee side of the monuments. He told me of the time he landed on a monument and flew off. “one of the proudest days of his life”. He didn’t say anything new but it was good to talk it out with an experienced guy. Stay away from the lee side or stay 100 feet over the tops. He advised me to wait till the “magic Hour”…one hour prior to sunset and the fly till you just have enough light to land.
I didn’t…2 hours before sunset I was out there with a photographer who is camping close by. The wind was up … I kited a bit and decided to go for it. Big mistake… The wing came up hard and fast. I damped the surge and when it fell back it pulled me right over. Luckily I was able to kill the motor and there was no damage other than a few scratches on the prop.
I flew for 50 minutes and returned to the field. I did a couple of touch and go landings because it was so nice I really didn’t want to quit.
#150

May 31st 2008

Best Flight So Far !

Stayed in bed a little longer and noticed the photographer dude had already gone. It was a Nil wind launch so I lined up on the runway and tried to see how fast I could go before lifting off. Wow ! It’s easy to be spoiled by a smooth surface. I could feel the wing loading up and the pressure on the brakes was a nice firm touch. I could go into a hard clean turn as soon as my wheels left the ground.
I flew out past the welcome center and into the valley itself. Since I had taken a jeep ride the day before with a Navajo kid I knew where I was going and …Well….the pictures tell the story.

#140th & #141 Moderately Strong &Variable Winds

The winds were blowing 15mph from the west when I arrived at 5:00pm so I turned on the classical channel and took a little nap. At 6:15 it had shifted to the NNW and come down to 6 to 8mph. I drove to the South East end of the field and set up. The launch was very sloppy. I had filled the tires to 25 pounds and I think they were bouncing me up into the air. At one point I popped about 2 feet up and the buggy was twisting, rather than come down out of alignment I pulled some brake and climbed out slowly. Remember to let some air out before the next flight! If the buggy is having a hard time getting started, try laying the lift ramp under the back wheels.

Once up, the air was moderately bumpy, I remembered that Greg Boulton had said it was very bumpy over the golf course so I stayed inside the perimeter of the field. At 400 ft AGL it was blowing 15 to 18 and I stayed gentle on the brakes making mostly flat turns. I did one impromptu touch and go…just because it was feeling good. The landing was a bit twitchy but I controlled better than yesterday and killed the motor at 10 feet. Delaying the flare to the last second is the trick because the 28 meter wind landed just as softly as I was doing with the smaller one.
Second flight was another ugly launch. When I first powered up, the buggy didn’t want to start rolling and I had to give a little push with my feet. Maybe the tires were sinking into the soft ground because of more pressure. I don’t think so …there is just allot of initial resistant to roll.
Second landing was good and I managed to taxi cross wind for 100ft before loosing it to the wind.
Glad I flew …Top speed was 43 mph and the wind kept me from being too aggressive but I learned what happens when the tires are over inflated and was able to compare the performance of the 28m with the 26m. The whole flight I felt like the wind was fighting me…like it was pushing me into turns that I didn’t want to make. Wish I had let the trimmers out, I think it would have performed allot better and I would have been more comfortable. Good but not the best.