#405 #406

First Flight I launched with the Eden III for the first time at altitude using the Falcon. I’d routed the brake lines through the Hang point loops and didn’t like the feel…(too much friction)… so landed quickly. When I went to relaunch I must have been careless because a line went into the prop during inflation and band that was it for the Eden until I replace some lines.

Relaunched with the PowerPlay Sting 250 and had a nice flight. Below Marak was practicing takeoff and landing.

That afternoon Chip and Sean climbed the hills west of the house and did some free flight I went out to the boat and work on getting it livable. The offer for an electric slip is enticing.

#403 #404 Simms

0700 hours 27 degrees Very Light Breeze. Best part of the flight was boating around the field at 25 to 50 feet. Gas was low…I think there is about 1/3 of a gallon when the spy tube hits bottom. Maybe 20 minutes of air time. Snowboard pants and midweight ski gloves were just fine to keep off the cold.
1730 hours Flew with John Black in the afternoon. The guy can fly.
Denver Skyline at sunset

#401 #402

When I got to Simms there was a cop sitting on the west side of the round a bout. I waited him out for 10 minutes and finally parked the truck by the roadblocks and No Trespassing sign. I figured it was time to see if they were going to enforce the restrictions to recreational users. He watch me unload the Falcon and when I was about to wheel it into the field he graciously drove off.
So… ‘m thinking that they are more interested in people dumping in the field than anything else. Good for us!

The air was light and I launched without trouble even though the trimmers were out and the breeze turned at the last second so that I was launching downwind ( 1 knot downwind… no big deal).

Nice Flight

Flying Easter Sunrise Service at Red Rocks

Flight 399 and the Big number 400
It was 27 degrees at 0600 hours. The skies were clear with no discernible breeze. I’d left the Falcon in the truck so it was just a matter of pulling on my cold weather gear and getting on the road. One of the best things about living with Chip is that Simms is only 5 minutes away. The field is looking better than it has in a couple of years. The heavy wet snows have packed the weeds down and other than a general bumpiness I’ve no complaints.
The first attempt was botched when the wing came up crooked. The breeze had picked up a bit and I missed the shift. When I set-up the second time I adjusted and took off without problem to the West. Looking at the wing I thought the brake lines looked wrong. One line (left inside) seemed unusually slack. I couldn’t see a problem and when I tried some input it reacted ok, but… it didn’t feel right so I turned back and landed by the truck. On the ground I still could not find a problem, so I re-set and launched. The air was good and did not feel as cold as I knew it was.
It was more comfortable with the seat positioned more upright but the brake lines are still too far aft. It pulls my arms back and stresses my shoulders. I’m not sure what the fix is…move the seat back… put some kind of line guide on the hang point rails. Maybe I just need to work on upper body strength. It’s better but there are still a few tweaks to get it right.
The Falcon was climbing great. At 3400 RPM I had 290 ft/min and when I adjust the prop a little more I’m sure that will improve. Considering that I was 300 RPM below optimum 375 ft/min should be attainable.
As I traversed Bear Creek Park it started to get bumpy. I had a clear view of Red Rocks, there were lots of cars in the parking lot but it didn’t look like a full house because the top 2/3rds of the seats were empty. It looked like the wind was going to pick up, there was a bank of hard blown clouds to the North. Concerned that I would get into a wind storm or strong turbulence from the up slope meeting the down slope…I decided to turn back so that I would be over home field if I needed to get down in a hurry. It would have been nice to buzz the amphitheater but no sense pushing it.
The landing was good; the wind had come up considerably with a gust that popped me up on final. Fortunately I had plenty of room and landed close to the truck.
This was a good thing to do. Getting ready yesterday and climbing out of bed before dawn occupied my mind giving me a little respite from the troubles that have been consuming my attention the past several months.

#398 Snow flake

Typical shifty spring air. I waited 2 hours for it to calm down and launched at 6 pm. The Falcon was climbing 100 ft/ minute at 2600 RPM. If the air had been better I would have stayed up and done a proper test flight but I was getting tossed around and landed after just a few minutes.

I’m confident that this machine is going to be a champ at high altitude.

Bill & Joe’s Excelllent Adventure Day 11

( at anchor Key West)

0045 hours Came of deck at 0000 hours. bill thinks we may need to shut down the autohelm so that we will have power when we arrive at Key West. He has asked me to load the channel markers into the C-176 in case we lose the instruments and have to hand steer the final approach to Key West.
The stars are amazing tonight. there is a huge spectrum from very bright to the faintest. The milky way is so well defined that it looks like a big highway up there. Between shifts I layed in my bunk and watched the sky bob and weave through the hatch. it’s night like tonight that cause people to refer to the stars a s jewels in the sky.
About 10 minutes ago the wave action got dramatically higher… the water temp went up 2 degrees and the speed over ground dropped 2 knots while boat speed stayed constant…. Yup we must be in the Gulf Stream… Thank you Mr. Hemingway.
The traffic has increased allot and it is getting nerve wracking. I just overtook and passed a passenger liner who is literally crawling into Miami. I’m amazed he has steerage. A large tanker crossed my bow going like a bat out of hell. At first I couldn’t tell his course and wasn’t sure if I had to change course to avoid him but before I knew it he was crossing 2000 yards ahead of us.
It’s hard to get a good view of the whole horizon from the pilot house so every 5 minutes or so I go out to the port and starboard wings to check the blind spots. This time just as I popped my head out the bow dipped and I got a face full. Seems like I catch one at least every watch.
0445 Hours Bill is pulling overtime, I think he is jazzed to get to the U.S. and right now we are still in the Gulf Stream and only 6 hours out. The wind is against the current which has built the seas to 6-8 feet with short intervals. I’m glad we are catching it on the quarter instead of the nose. I’ve had enough of the “rocking hose treatment”. We are surfing along very nicely.
Kinda fun! The moon is lighting up our trail and making a beautiful scene. It’s not an angry ocean but it sure is a powerful one. The Coast Guard is broadcasting about a mayday that was reported earlier but no word from them and they are not sure if it is for real or not.
0830 hours One hour out of Key West! We are trailing 3 ocean liners. A dolphin came out as if to welcome us back. Funny we only saw dolphin on the first hour of the voyage and the last hour. The coast guard cutter came by for a look and I’ll bet they have already crossed checked us with the position report they took leaving Puerto Rico.
We passed over the Gulf Stream Ridge 40 minutes ago and the bottom is slowly coming up … 180 feet right now. Here comes the “Coasty” who has taken position 2500 yards off our port beam as we enter the approach to he channel. It’s beautiful, Key West ahead and a beautiful sunrise, trailing seas…what more could I ask for? The end of a great voyage.

(final night dinner)