#454 & #455 Snow Flake

Good day at Snowflake




low and slow

 

First Launch was good .. mike got video and stills.
Mike Bennett,  Robert Archer, &  Dan Kamisar
Started calm but the winds picked up shortly after sunrise. 

photo by Mike Bennett
Second take off was not good.  The wing was ossolating … I backed off the throttle and powered up again but the wing was still swinging.  I proceeded into the weeds and launched with a slight swing.  When I finally saw the video I was shocked at how close I came to another rollover.  Just like at Bubba’s I was bounced up and came down at a 90 degree angle to the origional heading.  This flight should have been aborted… no question about it.

Next time…. Power up   Once the wing is up and the trike is rolling… back off and taxi until it is stable, then add power and launch!  Watch the wing!  It’s elementary stuff but I seem to be having a hard time of it lately.  It is easy to blame the machine… it winds up too slow … or it’s so much heavier.  None of these things are flaws…it is just the nature of the rig.  Know how it performs and fly accordingly.
The answer is focus. 


good launch    Photo by Mike Bennett



#452 PM White Pelicans

I’m getting closer

Friday afternoon.  The air was great!  I did a long slow pass around the marina and went to the east end to take photos of the White pelicans.  I was able to get closer but I’m afraid that I’ll have to wait for next year to get the trophy shot

Both take off and landing were perfect.  It helps to have such a smooth and broad surface to work with.  I’m not in such a hurry to get off.  Roll a ways before punching it…

The hanger is starting to take shape

#450 & #451 and a half

Video
This was my 451st launch.  It looks bad but I just knew I could save it.  Probably should have aborted but I backed off the throttle two times till i got it sorted out.  Mike and I flew till the chill and sun forced us down. 
 The wing loading was too slow…. I’ve also had problems when the loading is too fast… if it begins to oscillate
There was a group of pronghorns I just couldn’t help following across the highway. 
Ground handling. 
Ground handling with a frame like the Falcon is much different than the trike buggy, Both work fine but it takes some different techniques.
Falcon vs. Trike Buggy 4 stroke
  Trike Buggy…Built to take a pounding (stiff frame) for kiting over rough terrain 
Falcon ……Built with suspension has wider wheelbase and springer rear axle …
could be described as loose goose… it dances over the surface but at close to take off speed can get bouncy.  I do not recall the buggy coming up with a twist to the left or right.  Could it be that I’m being lifted on the outbound leg of an oscillation and because one wheel is on the ground a split second longer… it causes the trike to twist in that direction.  ???
The only suspension in the buggy was the slightly bigger tires.
It’s a puzzlement …I’ll have to work on

#449 Snowflake

Today was supposed to be the day that Dan Kamisar resumed flight so the bunch of us agreed to meet at Snowflake by the crack of 9am. 

I had planned to get up extra early and fly Titan then head out to Snowflake but common sense prevailed and I found myself setting up at Snowflake well before dawn.  I only had the aft strobe working but I figured that I would be able to see any oncoming traffic.  I set-up in the dark and launched as soon as there was enough light to make an emergency landing The wind was very light out of the WSW almost in line with the SW runway but not exactly.  The first attempt was aborted when the wing fell off to the right because I tried to steer it onto the runway a little too soon. I re-set without all the micro alignments and launched.  I had to use some brake to get up because there wasn’t allot of nice runway to work with and I think the brake input I was using to steer the wing helped.

Climbing to 600 feet the the air started to get rowdy, (about a 3 on the bump scale) and the winds were 15 mph pulsing to 20.  Even so…it was a good flight… I tolerated the mixing air and practiced modulating the motor.  It comes up slow but smoothly and I’m beginning to get comfortable flying low again.  It’s interesting that I was moving back and forth between the upper and lower toggles, I didn’t notice any back pain and the wing absolutely feels better with the top toggle or when the trimmers are out…the bottom.  An hour after launch the gang started to arrive and when I landed everybody except Dan was setting up.  Apparently he was still having some issues with his new rig and opted out.  I landed a little after 8am, the winds had picked up but were still manageable. 

John Sieb, Paul Dillon and Mike flew while I watched with the new trike pilot Doug Michell.  He is taking it slowly and planned to taxi rather than fly this morning.  John went high and away while Mike stayed low and did the yank and bank boogie.

netting eater

Paul Dillon landed out when his netting got caught in the prop.  It stripped the netting off clean with no damage to the cage but it did wind up in the hub and kill the engine.  The best thing about Snowflake is the whole area is an emergency LZ… Paul landed without incident.



Paul Dillon



The winds continued to build, pulsing to 12 mph so we stood around and chatted. till a little after 11am.
Dan …Sorry you couldn’t make it but it might have been for the best.  I’m sure you want your first flight after the incident to be a cakewalk.

#447 & #448 Titan

Got up early and launched at sunrise minus 20.  Nice 40 minute flight.  I practiced power on landing a few times with increasing power each time.  Finally getting this machine dialed in.

Back at the field at 4:45.  Good launch.  The highlight was a huge flock of white pelicans all hanging out at the east end of the Lake.  The air was mostly good with some mixing air toward the end.

Marek Flew over from Simms.  We flew around for a bit and landed at Titan.  While we were packing up Steve Abby came by to chat.   Beautiful night.

#446 Snowflake

7 to 8 mph    Good launch.  I hooked the safety bungee into the D ring of the brake handle instead of the handle itself.  Much better… Next flight take out one wrap so there is less brake presure. 

No issues but I did fool with the seatbelt in flight.  Having the brakes secured is a little like using the foot steering system.it’s very comfortable to go “hands free”.

#445 Titan

Waited 45 minutes for the wind to settle down and launched into 4mph breeze.  When the surface is smooth these conditions are great, the wing comes up fast and straight and the trike is rolling as soon as the wing is out of the prop wash.  When the surface is rough it’s a different story, the wing comes up and the trike is slow to start rolling.  If I cannot get it moving quickly the wing could come down on top of me or start to fall off to one side.  In light breeze and a rough surface I try to hold the trike for a couple of seconds while the prop is wrapping up to let it develop sufficient thrust to get rolling.  In the past I have kept the throttle mashed and accelerated too fast …sometimes before I got the wing stable.  Lately I’ve been  better at letting off the throttle as soon as I’m rolling …let the wing get stable… then punch it.

The flight was good …launch and landing.  I stayed close to the field because it was getting dark and above 800 feet I couldn’t penetrate.

#444 Titan with Angelica

Angelica and I met up at 5:00pm and went to Titan.  Beautiful take-off.  I took Terry’s advice and layed out the wing with the lines taunt.  Long run out and launched with no brakes.  The bungee for the brake extension came unhooked….use a different fastener.  Flew to the corn maze and back.  Greased the landing.


Angelica is on the tailgate




Corn Maze

 We topped off the night by going to JackAss 3D.