Mike Bennett and I launched shortly after sunrise. The thermal inversion was dramatic, at 100 feet or so the temp went up 10 degrees and the air turned to silk. Mike had lent me a pair of his goggles which I was able to wear under the helmet and I was finally able to get a good seal on my earcups. Gotta get me some! Flew to Aurora Res and buzzed the marina. Launch and landing was into 8 mph breeze. The weld on the cage has broken at the previous repair. I will fix it with duck tape and zip ties until I can arrange to get it welded.
I awoke at 4 am and couldn’t for the life of me get back to sleep so I packed up the rig and was at Vance Brand by 5:30. It was perfectly calm and 60 degrees. The first take off was perfect. The wing came up fast, I pulled some brake, slowed down and got everything stable then added power and launched. The climb was about 250 ft/min and the air was smooth as butter. After a couple of laps I noticed that I had neglected to put on the Fortrex and since there was somebody pulling into the field I cut power and set up for a landing. It was a horrible landing. I don’t know if my skills have degraded from not flying or I was not paying attention but I didn’t use enough brake and landed hard bouncing back up and moving way to fast. Robert Kitilla was there with a wanna be, we chatted about the virtue of buying a new wing and or motor vs. used. I of course was on the side of buying new since a two stroke is going to fail sooner than later and Robert was pitching a new wing …. because … well because he sells new wings. 🙂 A few minutes later Marek arrived. We embraced and spent a few minutes catching up. His wife is leaving the work force to study radiology so he is going to be on a short financial leash for the next couple of years. We both joked about flying wings that wouldn’t pass an inspection.
The second flight was a long cross country out toward Boulder Res. I wasn’t proud of the launch because I touched down twice having let the wing oscillate. If I had been patient and slowed down allowing the wing to steady up … it would have been a much prettier and safer launch. Once up Marek and I flew south to where there were 5 balloons flying. We both picked the closest one and did a fly by. They waved back in a friendly manner so I do not think they were concerned to have us in their airspace.
Marek is going to send some video … All in all … it was good to be back in the air after such a long dry spell.
My friend Bruce Budy did an excellent write up for the 7th race of the Spring Series.
We spent last evening sailing along in a stiff breeze, but nothing like we now learn was all around us! Apparently some very violent hails storms were crashing down to the east and south. We were all apprehensive, as we could see the dramatic clouds and listen to the radios with their dire warnings, but we agreed it was, “just fine”, for racing. “If the weather did turn nasty, it was every man for himself.” Dan and Mary Griggs, on Mjolnir, were in the channel as we headed out, cursed with a rigging problem, so we offered to tow them to the course while they fixed it. This led to some exciting maneuvers, as the wind was about 15 kts, but we managed to get them going after bouncing off the tire wave breaks along the dock a few times. During the pre-start we considered reducing sails with a reef, but saw few others with reefs, so decided to stay full. The course was 3-5-6, and we had a great start, right on the mark with full steam as the horn blew. However, we were at the pin end and the Boat end was favored..and therefore very crowded. We were happy to be in pretty good air and forging ahead, albeit facing a tack across the fleet to get to the right side. (The first leg is usually dead into the wind, and thus requires tacking to right and left. Those tacking to the right, on ‘Starboard’, have the right of way.) Paradiso, (a Hunter 26.5, rated faster in the handicap), was ahead, Moku, (an identical boat, with, of course, the same rating), off of our starboard quarter and Manana, (a Merit 23, rated slower), behind him several lengths. The rest of the fleet was mobbing along after us and on our right. Eventually the window opened and we tacked, managing to slice across, either narrowly astern or ahead of the rest. No dips, no hits, no errors. Moku tacked moments later, now blocking our left, as we raced to the lay line.Paradiso had tacked later and was still well ahead, Manana now off Moku’s port quarter. Moku of course held us as long as possible, but finally tacked toward #3. (The rules don’t allow one to tack immediately in front of another and force him to change course.) We tacked soon after, in time to watch with glee as Moku had to dip behind Manana, and Manana tacked before crossing us. We all arrived in a sort of jumble at #3, Sapphire, (a boat identical to Paradiso), having also arrived from somewhere. That was the start of a very amazing leg. Paradiso held his lead, we were slightly ahead of Moku, and Sapphire was just abeam, all off to our left several lengths. “Amazing”, because we were all four wing on wing, (Head and Main sails spread to opposite sides of the boat), for the entire leg, and quite equal in speed. It is rare for a breeze to hold that steady in strength and direction at Chatfield, but there we were. It seemed to go on forever, as each of us would inch forward, then back. Sorry to see the spectacle end, we all four arrived at #5, still only a length or two apart, except for a several length advantage for Paradiso. Manana had fallen back during the downwind sprint. Of course heading back up into the wind we discovered its strength. The rails were down as the Paradiso and Sapphire headed left. We were followed by Moku toward the shoreline to the right. Our hope was to get slightly reduced winds along the shore, and we did. Not only that, when we were forced to tack a few lengths off the beach, we realized we were now on a much higher lift, while Paradiso and Sapphire were fighting the wind out in the middle of the lake. That was a nice moment.
As we raced up the lake we had Sapphire well off to our left, Moku steaming along several lengths behind, and Paradiso now on his tack toward #6 somewhere ahead. With his boat rated so much faster, we were quite pleased to see he was about the same distance ahead as he had been at #3. Only Manana had lost ground since that earlier mob gathering. We learned later he had suffered a knockdown, without injury, but killing his race. Larger boats have a distinct advantage in heavier winds. We reached our layline for #6 and tacked behind Paradiso, still several lengths ahead. The wind was building and we were all on the ragged edge, with whoops and hollers, as we closed on the final rounding. Quickly around, we continued our chase after Paradiso toward the finish line. The wind was even stronger and it was a vigorous final leg. Paradiso crossed with a horn blast from the Committee Boat. We could hear the horn, but could not see him on the other side of our headsail. We had set a course for the Committee Boat, but now realized the pin end was closer and veered off in the final seconds to cross the line sooner near the pin. Horn! Behind several lengths was Moku, Sapphire farther astern at a respectable distance, and behind them a long trail of tales of woe. It had been a struggle for everyone else, but we three leaders had had a ball! Once ashore with a jubilant Paradiso crew, we compared times. Using our rough scoring, we confirmed it is going to be very close. It will definitely be a matter of seconds, after the 30+ minutes of drama, but it appears right now that we will have the edge and retain our lead in points. If Paradiso won, we will be tied for first in the Series. Moku retains position. Stay Tuned, Bruce
This was a close one. In real time Kaija was 2nd, by 55 seconds. After calculating the handicap, the calculated margin between Kaija and Paradiso was..?? ….see below….!
Paradioso 30’ 28” = 30.4666 X 1 (cf) = 30.4666 = 30 ‘28” (200 is the baseline rating in the PHRF Handicapping System)
Kaija 31’23” = 31.3833’ X .971 (cf) = 30.4732 = 30’ 29“ decimal rounded up to full second.
So, working with the seconds in decimal form,
Kaija finished in 30.4732 minutes corrected time.
Paradiso “ “ 30.4666 minutes “ “ .
Margin of victory .0066 seconds = 66 /1,000 of a second !!!
Bruce, The margin of victory is well within the bounds of human error. I’m glad we have a few more to go to before we determine the series winner!
#541 Saint Marys LZ . 30 minutes http://www.mapmytracks.com/explore/embed/566034 The trike was slow to come up to speed and I was again unhappy with the slow climbout. On landing I discovered the front tire was beyond flat, there was no air in it at all! The weeds are full of sharp thorns and it will only be flyable with slime in the tube. The Eden III is still pulling a little to the right and I corrected with a little right trimmer. Air was smooth except over by the lake. Landing was perfect. I have to approach from the North between the power lines and be sure to clear the canal before touching down.
Sailing
Click on the full screen button to before watching the race. 1st and 2nd place boats did not submit GPS tracks
Later in the day after work Dawn, Spencer, John and I raced at Chatfield Spring Series Race #6. We Placed 3rd behind Tireless and Moku . We were protested by Graham in Manana who we fouled during the start, didn’t catch the protest until the last leg and we were forced to do turns allowing Tireless and Moku to win clean. The race was not affected because they would have corrected over us regardless of the penalty. Kaija finished last due to an equipment failure but maintained the overall lead by throwing out the race. As more boats start using the app on their smart phones the replay will improve. Still it is very cool/
Michael Mixer had a bad accident while competing at Beach Blast 12. Here is the video if you would like to read the incident report ….go to Footflyer .com where Jeff Goin has posted an excellent write up.
I was up at 5 but the wind was blowing. After a cup of coffee it came down enough that I couldn’t excuse myself for not flying. 20 minutes later I was loaded and on the way. The Breeze was light from the SSE and I was able to set up parallel to the rows and between the two sets of power lines. If it weren’t for the thousands of huge prairie dog holes and the bumpy surface ….and the confusion of power lines … this would be a damn good field. The air was a bit twitchy and at 800 feet it was blowing and mixing. I did a few laps and landed early. Good Flight
I have wanted to do this for the last ten years and now it is finally happening. We are combining our GPS tracks and replaying the race digitally.
It looks like a bunch of mice running around the garage and there are only three of us using the software … But … this has great potential. I can hardly wait for the Fagawie!
I woke before dawn and noticed that the weather prediction of 10 to 12 mp winds was wrong. It was warm and calm. I had given up on flying last night and never …ever …fly…. unless I go to bed , with the plan to get up and fly. I wasn’t convinced but I went through the motions and pulled on my flying clothing. 20 minutes later I was at Saint Mary’s field where it was calm enough to launch in almost any direction. I set – up facing toward Boulder road and launched the Eden III without any problems. However this is still not a good LZ. My climb was slow and I flew over a bunch of lines at Boulder Road that would have grabbed me for sure Had my motor failed. I’m going to have to be very carefull about flying here. The air was pretty good … there was some mixing going on but not too bad. I wasn’t 100% probably since it has been so long since I’ve flown. But, it was a nice flight and I GOT MY FIX.
I’ve done some bone headed things but this is the worst.
In 2009 I traded my beautiful little two stroke Trike for one of Terry ’s machines.
I should have known that first day. On the maiden flight, I parablended my favorite cap right there in front of everybody. The 4 stroke was so quiet I didn’t think to put on my helmet and plugs. Imagine….A machine so quiet you don’t notice your not wearing ear protection… until your cap goes through the prop. That’s a dangerous machine! Yeah, I did go to idle the other day to use the cell phone… but so what?
Every day I find another flaw in this crappy machine. I used to love driving out to the Airport for AV Gas. They let me drive on to the tarmac with the GA guys so I could fill my two 5 gallon gas jugs. I’d drive to the back of the line and wait my turn. Sometimes it took awhile to fill those big birds but it gave me some time ro read the latest issue of Powered Sport Flying. I used to get a lot of good thinking done sitting in the truck waiting for gas. Now, I don’t even need the jugs, I just stop at the gas station on the way to the field and fill the buggy right there in the truck. Where is the romance in that? And that reminds me of another thing. What am I going to do with those cases of TTS 2 stroke oil in my garage?
And speaking of the garage….my ” Man Cave “… I haven’t had a good night working on the machine in months. Yeah sure, I can re-rig the foot steering or mount a strobe but mostly I just sit there and gaze at the machine. No changing tension springs on the exhaust or rebuilding the carb. Heck, I’m having a hard time finding a place that needs a little safety wire. It just isn’t the same I come in after 3 hours in the garage and I don’t even need to wash my hands. It just sucks!
And the flying is different too. Gone is that element of uncertainty, I sit down, buckle the seat belt and turn the key. There is no sense of accomplishment in that. No fooling with the carb or pulling on the starter till I’m bathed in sweat. The other day I flew 15 miles from the LZ and didn’t think once about what a drag it would be if I had to land out. Sure, I still keep an eye out for emergency landing sites but it’s really just an exercise anymore. I can still remember the thrill of an engine out,… what a rush those were!
So take my advice, if you love the 2 stroke lifestyle, don’t by a Falcon 4 stroke.
Seriously, almost 200 flights on Terry ’s machines without a single problem related to the Paramotor or trike. Footlaunch is King, but once you decide to make the transition to wheels, 4 stroke is the only way to go. The Falcon is the most reliable and affordable PPG on the market
It was a wonderful passage with Ron and Nancy from St Thomas to Bonaire. 430 nm on a broad reach the whole way. The boat was wonderful the weather was on our side and the company was great. Dawn and I arrived at Benner Bay at noon where Ron met us at the dingy dock. The firsr thing I did after loading our bags into the dingy was to drop my glasses over the side. I was ready to forget about it until Ron pointed out that we were in 6 inches of water. Abashed I reached down and retrieved the wayward specs. We motored out to Always Saturday and the adventure began.
After stowing our gear and getting a quick boat tour we piled back on the dingy and went ashore where we caught a bus to the mall, we purchased the last of our provisions and wandered to the “Food Court” for a street dinner of ribs and egg rolls. The ride back was up and around the Island giving us a great view. On the way in we went by American Bay where we sawMaxi Boats practicing for the Rolex Reggata and on the way back to the boat we got a good look at Red Hook.
Dawn and I spent the first night on the starboard birth rocked to sleep by the yacht.
Up at 6:00, pulling our hook at 7:00, we were around the Buck Islands before 8:00 and on our way to Bonaire.
Powered Paragliding. A most Personal form of Flight 
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