#430 Snowflake

Solo AM Flight…    One of the little quirks with the Falcon 4 stroke is that if you don’t turn off the ignition the battery will drain.   No big deal if you have jumpers and a helper to hold the machine and move the truck.  I had the jumpers.   I wasn’t sure how it would work but putting the spare under the front wheel kept the trike in place nicely while I got the truck moved.
It was blowing 8 to 10 which is about the most I will attempt.  The Eden III came up without pulling the trike back and the take off was clean.  It sure makes a difference to have a smooth surface to launch from.
Flight was shortened because my chest was hurting and the winds were building… 30 minutes was good.

#429 Snowflake

Mike got the gang together it was the first time I’ve seen some of these guys all year.  Mike, Ramon,  Paul M.,  Robert Kimpton (new guy but very experienced aviator and PG instructor), and John Sieb.

Mike and I jerry rigged the broken weld with a bolt and duct tape, I never thought I would be repairing my flying machine with “bailing wire and broken boards” but it was a good repair and I set up with confidence.

I blew the first launch when the wind shifted causing the wing to come up crooked.  I tried to recover but aborted when it looked to hairy to keep trying.  Mike’s machine was down with exhaust problems but he couldn’t stay away from the action which turned out to be a good thing because he was right there to help reset the wing and I launched from where I had aborted.   Thanks Man!

It was a good flight.  I could tell that I was still too far forward of the risers my chest was hurting and I was ginger with the brake input.  It didn’t keep me from going high and doing a few diving turns but I sure didn’t stay up as long as I would have liked.

When it got too thermic to fly I followed  Mike back to his place and we repaired the cage, toot sweet.

John and I finished the day racing the “Paradiso” at Chatfield. It was the last race of the summer series.  The winds built over the course overpowering the big Norlam Genoa. Never the less we won it clean and locked in third place for the series.

#428 Simms

Very short flight.  The trim buckle got hooked in the hang point loops causing the wing to pull to the right.  I made one circle and landed.  On post flight I noticed that the weak weld on the cage had opened up so the was it for today.
On the bright side I tried putting my arms behind the hang straps and found it much better.  I was laid back too much but with some back padding I think I can avoid straining my abs. 

I went to the Doc with huge chest pains which he diagnosed as inflammation of the cartilage connecting my ribs to the sternum.  800mg Ibuprofin helped

427 Simms

Take off was to the east and climb was not great.  I flew over the H. S. parking lot and was not much higher than the light poles.  Yikes!

The seat has shifted or I have because I was leaning too far back and it strained my muscles between the shoulder blades.  Next flight I’ll try a seat back pad and put my arms behind the hang point straps.

Another No Fly Day

I was at the field at 6:15am.  I set-up to launch WSW which would give me about 50 feet of smooth surface before getting into the weeds.  I figured that I would be ready to launch by the time I got there.  NOT…! 
When I inflated the wing wanted to go more south than planned, when I got to the weeds there was a bump and I did not have enough speed to launch.  I left the ground for just a second and banged down hard.  I had shades of the big roll over and aborted.  The wing came down right on top of me and some of the lines got around the prop hub but just barely … there was no damage. 

Back at the truck I did an extensive “post flight” and discovered that the fiberglass rods had sagged and there was barely enough clearance on the right side for the wheel to clear the gas tank mount.  I probably could have tried for another launch but decided not to chance it.  The Colorado Balloon Fest is coming up and I want the machine to be in good shape.  Terry is sending me new springer rods Monday.

The replacements were three inches short but it should work fine.

#426 Simms

Good Flight.  I took my time paying attention to the little details.  The wing came up fast…I damped the surge and for the first time in awhile kept the power down and taxied a bit before committing to the launch.  I don’t know where I got into the habit of hammering the throttle until I was 100 feet up … maybe with the Thumper … maybe from launching in short fields.  Anyway it felt much better.  I was more aware of the situation… I could feel the weight coming off the trike and I could tell when I was about to leave the ground.  Gotta remember that and keep it happening.
The weather was good … warm enough that I didn’t change after work.  Just grap the maching and go!
The flight was 50 minutes of boating over the field and the golf courses.  I left the trimmers in and got to know the Eden III 30m. I climbed to 4000 agl and practiced basic maneuvers.  Diving turns … mild wingovers … spirals.  I was surprised by the trouble I was having at getting a flat turn.  It might be that it is just a bigger wing and I wasn’t patient but flat turns seemed far too slow.  The real challenge is to time the 4 stroke so that the power is there when I need it.  At one point I was diving fast and it seemed like the motor was extraordinarily slow getting up to power so I could climb out.  I’m going to have to move the pulleys down so that I can fly trimmers out and still be able to reach the toggles.
Toward the end of the flight the wing picked up and was shifting on a 120 degree arc.  Fling a straight ling my speed was vacillating between 22mph and 42mph.  I was worried that I might have to land in gusty conditions but once back over the field it was calm.  The landing was as smooth as the take off and I was surprised by the huge temperature drop at 15 feet.  All in all a good night … I’m glad that I took 7 weeks off.  It has forced me to pay better attention and I appreciate the flights more than when I’m flying every day.

#425 Getting the feel back ….Plus….Wing suit Video

Last full moon of the Summer.  Nice evening at Simms.  40 minutes Max Altitude 8500 feet.  Explored the area east.  The Prison sent a sheriff to ask me not to fly so close to the perimeter.  I will oblige…
Good Climb Good RPM. 
Need to adjust Brake pulley placement.

This is the best Wing Suit Video I’ve ever seen!

Back in the Air ! #424

Not Me!
Amazing Shot with a Go Pro
After being blown out two days in a row last week the weather finally cooperated and gave me a beautiful afternoon.  I stopped at Simms on the way to Chip’s house.  The ruts from the spring are mostly gone and part of the lz has been graded.  The wind was light from the east shifting to the south.   I set up and waited for it to swing back to my bearing.  The launch was good except that the wing overshot and I had to damp the surge.   The 4 stroke runs up slow and it is difficult to modulate the speed so Next time I’m going to try fluttering the throttle and see if that helps.  It would have been nice to damp the surge and taxi a bit before hammering the take off.
The first thing I noticed was that Mike Bennett ties his brake lines 6 or 8 inches tighter than I.  I’m surprised that I did not notice this at Bubba’s.  It’s good that the toggles are always snug to the pulleys but I’m not sure I like the brake lines this tight.  After a couple of flights I’ll decide which I prefer.  There was lots of lift and lots of sink.  At one point I was climbing at 450 ft/min and at idle I was dropping at 580 ft/min.  The air was mostly smooth except close to the hogbacks and C-470.
I stayed up for an hour and noticed that the RPS decreased 200 RPM to 3400.  I do not think it was a problem with the motor but more likely that the RPM’s decrease as the motor heats up. I will re-pitch the prop anyway.

I think it was a good thing to take a break.  My numbers are going to be way down this year but I payed attention to the details and today  …  it was  … ALL GOOD.

Bubba’s High Altitude Fly-In

I’ve been home from Bubba’s Event for almost a month but for a number of personal reasons I haven’t posted my report.  In a nutshell I had two good flights and one spectacular crash with minor equipment damage and no injuries.  For a complete report on the Fly-In, see Mike Bennetts Blog.  He picked up the ball and has written a very comprehensive post.     http://mbppg.com/info/bubba.html 

After two successful albeit fast launches I rolled the Falcon. 
The irony is within this You Tube Video

As with most incidents there were several things that contributed to the mishap.  Here is the way I remember it.  The first two launches with Mike’s 30 meter Eden III were fast.  In both cases I took off and touched down again before getting off.  In both cases I floated for a couple hundred yards before starting to climb.  Once up, the flight and landing was pretty standard.  Flight speed was around 32mph and my climb was about 125 feet/min.

On my last launch I touched twice and on the second touch I came down crooked with the trike contacting the ground with the front and right rear wheel.  The trike flipped and rolled once landing on the wheels, I was then ejected to the right in the opposite direction of the roll.  I immediately turned off the motor but not before it damaged the wing. Here are some of the things I did wrong:
1) I did not fasten the seat belt.   This is not a common mistake for me but I have done it twice… both times with witnesses.  It was fortunate that I was able to stay with the machine during the roll…  One effect of not being belted in was that when I hit a bump and got bounced, I lost contact with the right steering peg.  It could have caused the cart to turn so that when I did get lifted the thrust was out of alignment with the wing.
2) Once the wing came up and stabilized I didn’t check it again.   After the first touch the wing started an oscillation, which unknown to me, got progressively worse as I accelerated.  I lost situational awareness as to what my wing was doing relative to the trike.   HUGE MISTAKE !
3) I did not abort or reduce throttle after the first touch.  Despite the fact that the launch was obviously going bad I stayed on the throttle when I should have aborted or reduced power and stabilized.  The first thing Bubba asked me was … “Did your throttle get stuck.  It is very telling that I thought I could salvage the launch right up until the trike started to roll.  Looking back I my head wasn’t in it.  The weather wasn’t expected to be flyable and going out to the field was a last minute decision.  I rushed to get ready and like my last post “Rush and Pay the Piper”,  BOY DID I !
4)  The front wheel on the Falcon was bent and not appropriate for the terrain and speed required for lift-off.  The guys pointed out my bent front wheel when I first arrived.  It must have suffered from some of my lurching launches at Simms when the trike is rolling full speed over a bumpy surface.  This might have also contributed to the reason I didn’t abort.  The Falcon does not handle high speed taxiing as well as the Trike Buggy did … it was a little like trying to foot launch in no wind or down wind … It felt too fast to abort, and if that were the case I shouldn’t have tried to launch.. 
Looking back … I was an accident looking for a place to happen.  I was rushing to get up and in the wrong frame of mind to be flying.  My previous two flights were successful but my head was not in the game and it was dumb luck that prevented serious injury.

Time to take a break from flying.

Here are a series of pictures that Shelia Boulten took … See if you can follow the sequence.

Good inflation
Still good gaining speed
Bumpy ground
foot off peg
Emergency take off
Back down …foot off peg
Emergency take off
two point touch down
Trike is 100 degrees off course
Trike is 180 degrees off course and rolling
back on wheels / pilot is ejected
Turns off motor
Here is a link to Mike’s photos of the repair
http://mbppg.com/media/photoalbums/joe_trike/index.html
Mike Bennetts’s Video

Rush things and Pay the Piper

I met Marek at Simms at 7:30. There was a cop at the gate who told me “no motorized vehicles allowed”. He was cool about it though and overlooked the motor on the machine I agreed to park outside and push the machine into the field. There was no wind at all, so I set up right at the entrance and was going to use the road to launch. we were both in a rush to get airborne and I really didn’t spend enough time scoping out the site or laying out the wing. I didn’t build a wall with the motor and the surface was filled with fist sized rocks and mud nobs to grab the lines.

The wing came up crooked probably because a line got caught and instead of aborting like I should have, I tried to save it. The left tip caught a piece of steel fence post that was hidden in a patch of weeds and tore the wing pretty badly. The tip is torn and some panels are going to have to be replaced. I’ll give the wing to Michelle at Bubba’s and let her determine if it is worth repairing. I won’t be surprised if she declares it dead because between Monte and I there are probably 350 to 400 hours on the wing. Maybe it’s a good thing…it was time.

If I’d looked the area over better I would have seen the post and maybe set up differently. Doesn’t matter… the wing is out for several weeks.

Lessons
1. If I had used the motor to build a wall … I think the lines would have been above the surface and I’d have had a good inflation.
2. I could have laid out the wing better
3. Don’t rush it !