Category: log entry

Launch was sloppy due to the port side A’assist not being attached. I fought the wing into the air and after a couple of deflations was able to stabilize it overhead for a brake assisted rotation. That, and a light fuel load made for a short sweet flight.

I flew to Safe Cove and back experimenting with the WTS. I’m confident that I’ll be able to reroute them without having to lay out the wing. I have not inspected the prop repair but it didn’t explode in flight.

Work on the WTS routing continues. Lost glasses into prop… it was bound to happen eventually but I didn’t expect them to take a chunk of the prop.

Aborted first launch when inflation went bad. Suspect more power at start would have helped. Clear air and sky. Light winds. No GoPro. used the trimmers at full out as well as full in.

To Do’s ……..Reroute WST on right side. Inflate tires…. Consider

rotating glass wheel struts. Consider mounting Robert’s throttle.

4th of July weekend. Beautiful morning. Surface winds were E 3mph at dawn and built to 10 mph at 7:45. It was bumpy between 400 and 500 ft. Winds were 13 above 1000

First flight in a long time. I went out the morning before and decided not to fly because it looked like a very difficult cross wind launch. Glad I did because this morning the conditions were perfect. Nothing dramatic, it was a simple easy flight.

A most excellent morning! Awake at 4am. Wide awake, no coffee needed. What to do? Continue packing for the big trip? Nah….

I threw the wing into the truck, slapped some Velcro on to the new IPad case and set off for the meadows. It was 65 degrees, the wind was light and there were patches of ground fog. I laid out the wing taking care to roll the center of the wing under to prevent premature inflation. Sat down, buckled up and pulled the trigger. The wing came up clean and the launch was quick.

The A’asssts were a bit tight during the climb. Note to self… before hooking up the A’assist, stretch the line. The trimmers have broken in nicely,

There was another pilot at the LZ when I came back to land. New guy, named Dave. He told me he was a beginner with just three flights and that his instructor was Rick Davies in Wautchula. His plan was to do a little taxi practice but decided against it. I spoke with Rick later in the morning. He is going to reach out to Dave and encourage him to get a little more training.

An excellent last flight before the big trip. We were going to get together tomorrow morning but I think I’ll pass. I’d feel terrible if I were to tweak myself the day before flying to Antigua.

Excellent conditions … No Drama

The highlight was stirring up a large flock of white pelicans over in the refuge.

Very nice flight. No Drama.

The A’assists are dialed in and I was able to adjust the trimmers both directions. Winds were very light but increased during the flight and continued to build after landing.

Matt was also out there but we didn’t hook up on the surface. We did cross paths on the coming and going and he took a nice pic of the Falcon.

Landing with trim all in, was very soft.

Short and Sweet. It’s been awhile since my last flight. My goal for this one was to dial in the A’assists and enjoy a little airtime. Mission accomplished.

There was a light breeze coming from the north. I set up at the main intersection and managed a clean launch. The simplest A’assists worked fine . No mechanical cam just a simple bowline with a quick release knot.

At 300 ft I bumped through some moderate turbulence and encountered a significant wind blowing opposite to the surface breeze. I climbed to 1000 ft where the wind was equal to my forward speed at neutral trim. There was a light haze that I hadn’t noticed earlier.

Climbing 300 fpm with 80% throttle I turned to the East and enjoyed a big beautiful sunrise. The air was mostly clear except for a light marine layer. The Harbor was was calm, reflecting a strong beam back to the sun. It one of those moments that gets me out of bed at o-dark-thirty.

So…. Launch and Landing were clean. The A’assists worked and I’m a happy camper.

I turned back to the LZ descending and making very little headway. At 500 ft. I was able to penetrate but, in level 5 bumps. I continued to descend riding the bumps to 200 feet where, the wind was light.

Unfortunately, I neglected to load the windsock pole and had to guess what the wind was doing at the surface. I figured, the strong wind I’d encountered aloft had overcome the early surface winds. …Nope, The turbulence I came through on decent was the convergence of the two opposing air flows.

Looking back I should have recognized the downwind dragon during my clearing turn. I missed it and landed with 5 or 6 mph tailwind. It was hot, I ran through the grass and over the crossroad before I’d slowed enough to safely drop the wing.

Note to self…. Do some lower level flying to improve you awareness of the air mass. Watch for the downwind dragon one the upswing angel.