Flying at Toledo

7-31-2020

We went flying today and I tried a new way of parking so the windshield would not get so much sun in the morning.  It worked and we both liked it better than nose in.

Ken is heading out for a flight on his new plane he got from Steve's estate.  I got to help him with the trimming during it's first flight and it flew great.

I am launching a radio controlled Superman for Jim on it's maiden flight.

It flew but boy is it hard to keep oriented to what attitude it is in.

This is Jim after his successful first flight.  It seemed under powered but after correcting a couple of small things it flew much better on the second flight.  We left a little earlier than normal to beat the afternoon heat.  I fixed a loose collar on the Skylane's motor, cleaned all the dirt and grass off before returning it to the motor home.  I spent the rest of the day getting the blog up to date.

Catching up

Well this will be a big post, both Barry and Pam mentioned I have not been keeping up on my blog.

7-20-2020  I got the tractor loaded for a trip to Debbie and Josh's tomorrow to spray.  They are spending two days up by Randle camping so I didn't have to worry about the boys getting on it.

7-21-2020 Flying before going to Debbie and Josh's to spray.

I had a great time shooting touch and goes with the Skylane.

The sun came out later and it was a nice warm day for flying.

We went over the Toledo cutoff to get to Debbie and Josh's.  I unloaded the tractor and sprayed fifteen gallons of broad leaf killer on their lawn.  

7-22-2020 I was out looking for the comet which I never did see after trying several nights.  When I came back in I took this picture of the nasturtiums that I had put a solar light on.  The camera made it seem lighter than it was.

7-24-2020  We went up and I spent another day of flying.  I got the new F-4 Phantom flying today, I had done some reprogramming which means I read the instructions and it flew great.

7-26-2020 I was given this boat several years ago and have never done anything with it so I decided to give it away.  I put it on our club forum marked as free but have no results yet.

7-27-2020 We have had this fuchsia for 3 years and it has survived winters with no special care.  This year the deer decided it was good to eat so it is missing some blossoms and leaves.

7-29-2020 Vera spotted four deer outside our bedroom window this morning.

7-29-2020  When I came into the house about noon this deer was bedded down right by the blueberry bushes.  It was probably full from the big meal.  I talked to it for quite a while and it didn't move until I headed on into the house. 

7-29-2020  I heard the kids playing so I walked over to see what was going on.  The twins were having an early birthday party with Rielee, Jillian, Bridget, Tor and a girl I did not recognize.  They were having a water balloon fight and Steve was trying to get them to throw one at Dianne.

7-30-2020  I am in charge of watering and I have been doing pretty good at keeping things looking good this year.

7-30-2020  I got the Kitfox cowl painted and fitted it tonight.  I got a pretty good color match between Ultracote True Red and a Rustoleum Cherry Red spray can.

Family BBQ

7-16-2020

I started the day by doing some more polishing on the rear cap of the motor home.  I was about half done when it was time head up to Debbie and Josh's for the monthly family barbecue. 

 Josh had barbecued some excellent hamburgers.  Debbie and Vera had both made potato salad so I had Debbie's since I get Vera's on a regular basis.  Debbie had made it from Josh's Grandmother's recipe and it was great.

 Jacob is sure active, he was doing something the whole time we were there.

 The boys wanted to swing so Josh pushed them for awhile.

 We went up to see the chickens and turkeys, Jordon was right up there pointing them out.

 After checking out the pond and watching Jack jump in we went over to the Shop to see the new boat.  It looks really well cared for and had lots of nice equipment with it.

 Jordon and Jacob both wanted to try on Vera's hat.

 Then Jordon showed off his new light up shoes.

 Mik sent me this picture of the girls, I think Michelle and Debbie both have Cocoa Mounds in their hands.  We had a great time and sure was nice to see everyone and kind of catch up on what they have been doing.  After we got home I went out and finished up the rear cap on the motor home.

7-17-2020

I decided this morning to work on the Kitfox doors.  It went pretty good and I got both done.  Then I noticed I hadn't put a screw in the lower left corner of the left door.  I guess that will be tomorrows project.

Kitfox Covering

7-12-2020  I made good headway on the Kitfox's covering today.  I got the tail and stabilizer covered.

 7-13-2020  This morning we made a run to Fred Meyer and picked up our food order then we took the Delameter Rd home.  I got the elevators and rudder covered on the Kitfox this afternoon.  I also got the hinges glued into the stabilizer and vertical fin.

 7-13-2020 Vera's hydrangea has turned a very nice deep blue.

Right after breakfast this morning I washed the Mitsubishi and motor home.  I wanted the motor home clean so I could start polishing the end cap.  After it cooled off this evening I got the top section by the clearance lights done.

While I was waiting for the temperature to cool off I hooked up the cables to the rudder.  Then I fitted the tail wheel and main gear to see if everything was going to line up.  It has been a quiet week, other than the trip to Fred Meyer we have only made one mail run and Vera went to bible study today.  I have been going out each night looking for the comet but no luck yet.

Mowing, spraying and flying

I went out to the shop last night after I finished my blog and covered the right side of the Kitfox's nose.  Now I just have the tail and ailerons to cover and paint, then I can start assembling it.

Today we went flying.  I took the mower with the sprayer on it because there is a lot of dandelions in the runway and pits.  I test flew a couple of planes for other members so it was noon before I flew one of mine.  One of the planes I test flew had a smoke system and I had a good time doing some aerobatics with it turned on.  When I taxied out for my first flight with the Bob Hoover Mustang I nosed it over and broke the prop.  I put it aside for the day and flew the Lancair instead.  After everyone left I finished up the mowing I started this morning and then started spraying.  I ended up putting on two tanks full and did about 3/4 of the area.  The guy who crashed on the 4th stopped by to thank the club members for helping him.  He had some nice bruises and was sore but doing fine.  After visiting with us he went over and repaired the fence.  It was a long day by the time I finished spraying, we got there at nine and left at eight this evening.

Family Pictures

Today was my sister Laury's sixtieth birthday, so I hunted up this scan of an old slide and put it on Facebook.  She is in my 1960 MGA coupe, time sure flies I was twenty one when she was born.  Barry stopped by today and we had Papa Pete's pizza for lunch with him.

My cousin Richard had been putting some family pictures on Facebook, this is my Grandma Piercy with her children.  My dad is on the right and Richard's mom is next to him.

This is Richard's dad who is 6'2" with his brother Ivan who is 7'3".  Chris and Ivan were both very nice people.

When Richard posted this one he asked who the kid was with Grandpa Piercy.  It was me when I went to Comox BC with them.  I broke my finger while I was up there so I am wearing a sling and have a bandaged up hand.  I remember having problems eating left handed so they moved me to the head of the table where no one was close to me.  It is sure interesting seeing these old pictures, the one of me is one I had never seen before.

New Vent and the Kitfox

 7-6-2020  I ordered a new powered vent for the motor home and I decided to install it today.  The old one was small, noisy and did not move much air.  This new one has ten speeds, a thermostat and can exhaust or pull air in.

 The job went good, the worst part was getting the sealant off the old one so I could remove it.  This one is designed so it can be open in the rain.

 The nasturtiums are really starting to bloom.  We are trying to figure out why I only have two colors over by the shop when there are many different ones here.

 7-7-2020  I have been putting off covering the Kitfox fuselage because of these fillets by the stabilizer.  I finally got ambitious today and they didn't turn out too bad.

 I added the white on the rear fuselage before calling it a night.

7-8-2020  I got most of the lower fuselage done today.  I have one more piece on the other side of the nose and the red will be finished.

Kitfox, Flying, Crash and Fireworks

 7-1-2020  I started covering the Kitfox's wings today.  Covering the underside is time consuming because it has under camber and the covering tries to pull up as it shrinks.

The white on the top of the wing is much easier.  It is going to be a fair sized plane as the wing span is 87 inches.  I had to make a few changes so it will fit into the motor home.

 7-2-2020 The deer was back for more plums today.

7-3-2020  We went flying and Dan was just finishing up sweeping up the clippings from the mowing he did.

 I love those solar panels!  We have the Dish satellite system running all day and I charge batteries the whole time.  The batteries are still fully charged at the end of the day.

 Everyone is good about keeping the social distancing.

 7-4-2020  We went flying again today.  We had more excitement than we really needed when a powered paraglider crashed just North of the flying field driveway.

 The pilot released a flag to trail behind it and it got tangled up in the propeller killing the engine.  Club members helped the pilot until EMT's showed up.  The pilot was lucky none of the barbed wire hit him.  He did have one cut that was bleeding pretty good.

 It was a good day for flying, this is Dan's Raven coming in to land. 

Leonard has been flying his Vortex with a flag design on the 4th for the last ten years.

I hadn't flown the yellow P-51 or the F-15 for quite a while so I brought them out today.  The dark covering on the P-39 gets hot in the sun and wrinkles so I have the cover on it.

When it got dark I went outside to watch fireworks around the area.  James Wood and Hannah were visiting James' mom and setting off fireworks.  I wandered over to watch and had a nice visit with them, I found out they are getting married soon.