MV 932 & 933

FRIDAY

First flight was one and a half hours mildly bumpy.  I repeated yesterday’s flight and climbed to 9800 ft MSL to take in the whole scene.  There was a lot of activity at the field.  I could see Russ Bateman and his son ripping it up and groups of two and three launching and heading off to the East.  It was shaping up to be a typical MV morning, light winds from the south east building as the sun rose.

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https://goo.gl/photos/KRQaGchxgb2D1w346
                    Photo credit Shawn Osen

                                  Photo Credit. Shawn Osen

       Photo Credit Shawn Osen
      Photo credit Jason Lehal
    Photo Credit Jason Lehal


Pilots were arriving in mass by the time I landed. Chad Bastian and Leanne were on the field and there was a Delta WST being assembled.  By the time we left for lunch I had counted 40 pilots.
After lunch at the restaurant with Mike and Jennifer I went back to the house to take a nap.
The afternoon flight was Epic.  I circumnavigated Eagle Mesa and got some great video of a couple of guys playing in the rocks.  The air was smooth and winds were light.  It’s a great day to be alive.  
Dinner was Spagetti a la Dawn and Jennifer.  Later we went up to the campground and hung at the campfire.

Monument Valley 931

I picked up Dawn at the Albuquerque Airport at 10:00.  It was a beautiful day and drive to Monument Valley.  This was the first time I’d driven in from the South.  We spotted Ship Rock from miles away, it took 20 minutes to get there and as we passed it I began to see the Monuments.

After checking in I headed down to the field and launched my first flight of the new Gathering.  It wasn’t an  especially long flight and I didn’t go for altitude.  It was enough to to fly out over the desert and circle back behind the campground, probably 40 minutes.  That night we ate at the restaurant then chilled at the casita.  Our accommodations this year are super.  It’s called the hill house and it sits on the Southern wall of the canyon overlooking the entire area.   It’s not one of the brand new casitas but it’s prime real estate.

927 to 930 …. Rio Puerco….. Paramotor City

The first morning in Albuquerque  was a real trial.  The Generac was idling too slow causing it to die unless I added throttle.

With the help of Justin, from the Michigan Contingent, we were able to correct it but I didn’t like the way the idle screw felt.  We sprayed a little WD-40 on it and later, it acted like its old self but it sure wasn’t right at dawn.

                                                      Photo credit to the Michigan Migration

I layed out the APCO LIFT EZ and noticed that the lines felt short.  I was worried that Elisabeth had somehow made a mistake and replaced the many damaged lines with those for a smaller wing.   The climb out was really slow and the brake pressure seemed far harder than usual.  After clearing the fence at the end of the field I looked up and noticed that 2 D  lines were hanging far back.  I made a slow flat turn and landed immediately.  Two lines were definitely too long.
Michelle came to the rescue… as usual.  She measured the lines and shortened them. She also tightened some mallions we discovered were open. I guess Elisabeth had a bad day.  
The next morning I flew the Lift again and cut one of the tip control lines.  !$#}{!!!!!  Something has changed.  After hundreds of flights without a problem there is no reason to be breaking lines.  I reset with the Eden and got off a nice launch.  It might be the lighter weight of the lines or that the wing was laid out with the outside lines slack.  Possibly the keeper needs to be changed because it is not holding the lines near the riser snugly.

it was nice to catch up with the Danielle’s.  They had been so supportive during the divorce.  I’ll always have a warm spot for them.
The first night we went to the casino buffet where we ate too much and doted over Jordan’s new baby.  Jorden has moved out of Albuquerque proper and is living with Michelle and Jerry.  She and the baby are doing well and it’s obvious there is much love.  It was colder than usual so rather than pitching a tent, Mike Cotter and I slept in the clubhouse.  
The next day the Michigan Contingent loaded up and were off to Monument Valley.  I bopped around town and got my IPad repaired.  The Balloon Fest has taken over the town.  All the hotel rooms are booked and people are shuttling to the festival from as far away as the airport because of parking problems.  The winds were high all day and so I didn’t fly that evening.  
Instead…..We shared a simple meal in Michelle’s kitchen and caught up.  Michelle and Jerry told the story of when they were first learning to fly and their experiences with (owner of Paramotor) and Alan Chocolate.  I imagined those two almost twenty years ago with the same burning desire to fly as any other newbie.  I saw one of their early Paramotors in one of the shipping containers.  It was huge.  The cage looked more like a ducted fan then a modern Paramotor.  I can’t imagine Michelle putting one on and launching.  We also talked about pilots come and gone.  I asked for some John Fetz stories to use during his celebration of life.  We laughed about the time he almost killed himself during the Alan Chocolate style competition.  Jerry summed it up with a few words. KIND, COURAGEOUS, GENUINE  
After dinner Jerry and I moved to the living room and talked for a couple of hours about the state of the universe.  He has written a screenplay that sounds a little like an Ayn Rands novel.  I was too tired to try to read it that night but look forward to reading it in the future.  
I went to bed feeling blessed to know these people and call them friends.
The next morning I  got up early and flew the lift.  The climb out was extraordinarily slow and I never thought I would leave the scrubb below but eventually I was lifted and enjoyed a nice long desert flight.  Total flights in Albuquerque was 5.  
              The Michigan Migration at Gouldings

Roswell and Jim Hamblin

I drove on secondary roads to and spent the night in Roswell, New Mexico.  I have family history in Roswell.  My father went to the New Mexico Military Institute the last two years of High School.  The story is that his father sent him there to avoid the draft until he could enter the service as an officer.  I suppose it worked because he graduated from NMMI and joined the service as a second lieutenant.  That evening I wandered around the campus and chatted with a couple of the cadets.  They were very polite and formal.  I was struck by the diversity.  There were young men and women, black and white, American and several from Mexico and possibly the middle east.  Very different from the cadets of my fathers era.
I got up before dawn the next morning to watch flag raising.  I was moved watching the young cadets walk the quad to the flagpole.  Every turn exactly 90 degrees, just like my dad described.  I even found a few locations where I’d seen pics of my dad wearing the NMMI uniform.  Very Cool.

After Flag raising I drove to Ruidoso New Mexico where I hooked up with Jim Hamblin.  Jim was my Baldwin Rep after Ronnie.  He has made a new life for himself preaching the gospel to the Mescalero Apache.  Its a far cry from Factory Rep but I think he has found his true calling.  We had a  long breakfast and the best coffee of the trip.  Our conversation ranged far and wide.  Our lives have gone in radically different directions but our relationship hasn’t changed at all.  I always felt like Jim had my back and it was really special to see him.

926 Flying the Katy Circle with the boys

I woke up before the alarm and was at the field by o dark thirty.  The Katy Boys were already there and setting up.  What a wonderful LZ!  It’s a 5 lane circle, a mile across with a smooth well mowed field in the middle.  All around is the city of Katy with Houston to the south.  There is open space to the north for xcross country and a major highway intersection and urban structure on the other three quadrants.
It’s a trike paradise.  No matter which way the wind is blowing you can find a spot on the circle that points you into the wind with a super highway to launch from.  Someday soon it will be developed but right now it’s as good as it gets.
After the introductions…. One fellow looked at me and said….. “Your a lot smaller than I imagined”….
I laughed….. It wasn’t going to be the last time I was greeted with that on this trip.
We launched.  I went high and took in the area.  Houston was in the south east looking surreal with low haze.  The highway was a modern sculpture of concrete.  Turning and twisting with huge graceful circles and ramps leading off in all directions.  There was a smallish one man ballon launching close to us and another pair upwind starting to inflate.
I played with the balloons and pulled some wing overs while the Texans showed me their stuff.  After 90 minutes, I’d had my fill and landed.
We packed up and headed over to a French Cafe (less than a mile away) for a huge breakfast filled with good stories and laughter.
Great group…. Thanks for the warm welcome!
Here is the video from the flight.
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B6FXKVoJ6LZhWHNyOUt5RFNZZVU

The Boys from Katy Texas


After the late breakfast I drove back to Galveston and killed a few hours cleaning up the rig and hanging at the West Marine Store.  It was far and away the best one I’d ever seen with almost the entire catalogue in stock.  Fortunately, needed a temporary knife to replace my regular one that had gone missing , so I was not temped to waste money on something I didn’t know that I could live without.
After buying my knives and playing with the new hardware, Ronnie Ginsberg called and I followed him to his beautiful home.  We sat on the pool deck and caught up.  Ronnie had been my best Baldwin Rep and we lived through the best times together.  It was hard to believe that it had been almost 15 years since we had seen each other.

That evening I drove north bypassing Allen Texas where my little sister lives.  I was hoping to share a meal with her and the kids but she was leaving town and I so….I would have to catch her on the way back.

924 Texas City Dyke

I Texas City Dyke

Four Flights at Texas City Dyke



The winds were blowing when I arrived at the Texas City Dyke.  I’d been blocked at the entrance by a foot race that closed the Dyke Road.  So I broke out the coffee and waited. Soon Another pilot arrived ….equally snookered.  Nothing else to do, so we hung out at the entrance until the race ended.


Eventually 8 or so guys showed up.  Andy started teaching and I watched and waited for the winds to lay down.  By noon it was flyable and I did a quicky to get the lay of the land.  My next flight was much longer exploring the levy and the coast to the north.


Chris Page and I went up for his first tandem flights with his new rig.  He is a very strong and talented pilot so I didn’t hesitate when he asked me if I would be his first tandem passenger.  We guessed at the hang points and never did get  it right.  On the first race I was way high with my butt level with Chris’s head.  It spoiled his view to say the least.  And…on the second flight, I was way low with Chris’s knees pressing into my shoulders.  This was a little more concerning to me because I would be landing first and would have to stay on my feet and ahead of Chris to avoid disaster.  It was not a problem though, when it was time to come down, Chris did a great job his power on landing was flawless making me look good.



https://www.facebook.com/chris.page.756/posts/10211141254954080


It was a very good day.  Andy and I had a chance to catch up.  I watched one guy get his first flight and reunited with Chris Page who I had not seen since 2008.  


Near the end of the day I arranged with the Katy Texas group to fly with them the next day.  I did the 50 minute ride to Katy, had dinner at Hoother and crashed at the local cheap motel.

The Road Trip Begins

I loaded the truck and was on the road before noon.  The first stop was Panama City Florida where I had dinner with John Black and his girlfriend.  John and I flew together in Colorado.  He was training in Colorado Springs and did well there.  Later he started Beach Blast which has turned into America’s Premier Fly-In.  I was hoping he has a good trike friendly place for me to fly in the morning but no such luck so I drove to Pensacola and crashed at a cheap hotel.

The next morning I drove through New Orleans, stopping on Beale Street for oysters and some street Jazz.  I made it to Galveston Island late that evening and mad arrangements to fly with Andy McAvin and his gang in the morning.

The Cathedral

Three hours outside of New Orleans, I saw a biplane fly slowly across the highway, then another and another.  My head was on a swivel, aviation was happening around here, somewhere.  A minute later I passed the fly in. dozens of Stearman biplanes were lined up in a field alongside the highway.  I got off at the next exit, turned around and drove into the fly-in.  It was the 36th Annual Jennings “End of Season”, Stearman Fly-in.  What a great venue for a fly-in.  There was a nice hotel next to the field so that you could taxi to the line and walk to your room.  I must have seen the last of the arrivals because there were very few people around the line.  I did speak with one fellow who told me a little about the event.  The planes were all Stearman so there wasn’t much variety but the surprising thing was that they almost all had the same yellow paint job.  I don’t know, unless there was some crazy squadron rule about color scheme, I would have chosen another color.

920 Placida

Arrived well before dawn and took my time setting up.  Tony arrived just as I was about to take off.  The wing and buggy were aligned so that I was directly into the wind but slightly off center with the runway.   the plan was to inflate the wing and turn back to the line.  I had kicked most of the weeds so that I would not have any lines catching during inflation.
Launched clean 5 minutes before sunrise into smooth air.
Flew for 25 minutes and took a few pictures of the sunrise and Gasparilla Island.  Great new music was Bernard Herrmann’s brilliant soundtrack from the movie Taxi Driver.
Max altitude was 1200.  The only bumps were when I flew through my own wake.  Spiraled down and did a few S turns before final.  Landed clean.

Tony did 4 successful taxi maneuvers with prop.  He also had two unsuccessful with a slow motion roll over no real damage .  The cage isn’t perfectly round anymore but there is still clearance for the prop.  After viewing the video its clear he was braking the low side of the wing and turning away from the wing.  It was not a perfect session but after the roll over he tried again and did perfectly. I think he is getting it.  One more day of practice and he will be ready to go.

The trike buddy was great in theory but not so much in practice.  To be fair the Carburetor is very low quality and I have not been able to  get it to run smooth and only with partial choke.  It makes for poor motor control and I think was causing more problems than its worth.  My APCO will be done this week and I’m looking forward to delivering it to Eric Dufour.
NOTE: Get new battery for the remote motor shut off.

Note the antenna light to the left of the sun. 🙂