Lots of flying today!

 I haven't done much this week to post about.  I puttered in the shop, watched it rain and checked on the gutter guards to see if they were working.  They seem to be doing their job as even the granules off the shingles don't go into the gutters.  Wednesday I had a dental appointment.  I was really excited because there were none on my schedule for the rest of the year.  That didn't last long, my dentist made a referral to a specialist on gums.  Then I got a call from the dermatologist that she had made a referral also to a MOS clinic.  Friday I got the Halloween bags made up, washed the motor home and car.  I also moved one of our security cameras to a different spot.

Today we went flying at Toledo, it was the last day without rain for the next seven days.  It was pretty foggy when we got there but I had two helicopters with me so after I got setup I flew them until it was clear enough for the planes.  I haven't had this Super Cub out for over a year so it was the first airplane flight of the day.  Right off the bat I couldn't remember how the battery was supposed to go in.  I finally forced it in but when I sat the plane on the ground the hatch fell off so I flew without it.  I discovered later that I was putting the battery in backwards.  The flight went fine without the battery hatch.  Some boys from the neighbor hood came over and I had a good time visiting with them and showing them how things worked.  They noticed my electric screwdriver that looks like a gun and had a great time playing with it.  That is probably why the battery ran down as I was taking planes apart to leave.  Two other flyers showed up during the day and I had a nice visit with them.

After everyone left (No Peer Pressure) I got the Paramotor out to try it again.  With Vera helping me it only took four tries to get it in the air today.  It is really sensitive to any cross winds on takeoff.  After I got it trimmed out it was so slow and stable that I could set the transmitter on my chair and take pictures as it flew by.

I had a great time with the Tigercat and Skylane today.  When I flew the Tigercat for the boys they wanted to see more aerobatics.  I told them it was a scale plane with limited flight envelope and was more for watching as it flew by.

The Super Cub was the last flight of the day.  It may not look like it in the picture but it was dark enough that the lights showed up pretty good in the air.

As I was putting things away the sun was setting so I took this picture.

This is how it looked as we were getting ready to head home.  I had a great day, I flew seven different models and got in fifteen flights.

Nadra's 90th Birthday Party

Today we drove up to Burley WA for Nadra's 90th birthday party.  We left early so we could take the back roads all the way.  We were making such good time that we decided to stop at Costco on the way up rather than on the way home.

We got there a few minutes after two and found out Jimmy was supposed to bring Nadra at about two fifteen.  The first thing I did was get a picture of her birthday cake.

Then we did some visiting with Nadra's sister Kaye and met some of the different cousins there.

Nadra was totally surprised when we all shouted "Surprise".

The first place she headed was where the babies were, there were a total of four babies there today.

I was told everyone there was family except for one person.  There are quite a few grandkids in this picture.

This picture was taken from the other end of the room, we were going to sit at one of the center tables but Nadra's sister Linda insisted we were to sit next to Nadra at this table.  It was nice talking with Nadra and showing her some pictures of our kids, grandkids and great grandkids.

Nadra is talking with Becky, Jimmy's wife.  Jimmy and Becky organized the party.  There was a very good lunch that they had catered. 

I had Vera take a picture of Nadra and I.

This is Keith Jarvi and his granddaughter.  I met so many people today that I was a little overwhelmed to remember all the names. 

Vera then went and got this picture of Jimmy, he probably goes by Jim but Jimmy is always the way I will think of him.

This is Karl Hibbs, Kaye's son who is the president of the club I belong to up there.

We left a little early so we could be home before it got dark.  I noticed these clouds over Mt Rainier and stopped close to the flying field to take this picture.  It was a great day everything went smoothly, we had a great time at the party but it sure felt good to get home after six hours of driving.

A very busy week!

10-16-2022

Vera took this picture out our North window of the leaves turning.  We haven't had a freeze yet so I think the hot dry weather is doing it.

10-18-2022

We went flying at Toledo today, the last nice day before the rain starts Friday that I have a chance to go out.  My first flight of the day was with the T-REX 500 since I could keep it close because it was pretty foggy. 

Well, the third flight of the P-40 didn't go as planned!  I took off, retracted the landing gear and made a couple of passes doing rolls.  Then I pulled up into a split S and as I pulled out it snap rolled a couple of times into the ground.  I should have taken a sack to the crash site but a couple of other flyers came with me and we were able to pack all the pieces back in one trip.  There will be no rebuilding of this plane, it is a total!

Later when we left there was a back up on Jackson Hwy.  We went a couple of hundred yards and then it was stop and go for the next mile and a half.

10-19-2022

I had a 2:00 dermatologist appointment this afternoon so I worked on the church's laptop while Vera was at bible study.  The hard drive needed replacing and Windows installed.  After the appointment I got the SSD installed and started installing Windows.  I finally got done with it at 11:00PM so I could deliver it after my dental cleaning Thursday the 20th.

10-20-2022

No pictures today, the dental cleaning went ok, only one cavity that I am getting filled next week.  We met Pastor Allison and got the laptop returned to her.  I spent the rest of the day on the computer and trying to get two of the biopsies the dermatologist did to stop bleeding.  Being on blood thinners sure made that hard. 

10-21-2022

We went to Mik's mother Margaret's funeral today.  It was a nice service with Mik telling about his mothers life.  There was a reception afterwards and I got this nice picture of James, Vera and Debbie.  James was one of the pall bearers.

Michelle came by a little later and I got this picture of her and James.

Jordon's Soccer and working with James

 Vera went to Jordon's soccer game this morning and took these pictures.

Jordon got to play in the first quarter or what ever they call it in soccer.

Jacob was enjoying sitting on his grandma Natalie's lap.

Michelle was at the game also so Vera took a picture of Debbie and her.

Jordon looks a little cold while sitting on the bench.

There must have been more kids there because they were playing four on four today.

James came up at nine this morning to clean up the limbs and trees I had cut last week.

He sure makes things go faster.  By the time we quit he had everything hauled off.  It sure looks a lot different now.  This evening I corrected a couple of issues on the Paramotor so it should fly better next time.

Flying the Paramotor

This plane was hauling jumpers up today and made many trips up with the jumpers.  I thought it was a Short Skyvan but after studying the pictures and doing some research online I found out it is a CASA C-212 Aviocar.  I later found out a company is training Army jumpers at the Toledo Airport.

They all have the same kind of parachute and use the same landing pattern.  The most I counted on one jump was twelve and it was impressive to see them all in a line coming down to land.

Some of them were carrying lots of gear.

Others didn't appear to have any extra gear with them.

Joel, another member showed up with his new D-18 that looks like it flies great.

Here is Joel's D-18 coming in to land with the gear and flaps down

I flew the Skylane first again today and then had a very nice flight with the P-40.  The adjustments I made to the P-40's elevators really helped.  Then I got the Hobby King Paramotor out for a test flight.  To give you an idea of the size of it, the parachute is ninety four inches across.  I must have made twenty attempts before I made a successful flight.  I would launch it, pick it up, untangle the lines and try again.  Launching it seems to be the hardest part according to what I see online.  After a couple of really short flights I found some things hooked up wrong.  Then I discovered it would take off the ground.  Vera came out to watch and the last take off scared her back into the motor home but I kept it in the air.  By the time I figured out what combination of control inputs would turn it I was way out across the road.  I got it back and lined up with the runway then made a successful landing.  This picture is how it looked on the runway before picking it up.  It was a good day, we stopped at Betty's for hamburgers on the way home.

Jordon's Soccer and Drone

We went to Jordon's soccer game at the Castle Rock Middle school this morning. He is playing in the five and six year group this year.  It is great fun to watch.

They play three on three with no goalie.  In this picture they had just scored and are waiting for the ball to be put in play by the other team.

Most of the time this is how it looks, all six of them chasing the ball

This is Jordon getting ready to put the ball in play after it went out of bounds on their end of the field.

After the game the parents formed a tunnel for the teams to run through and get hi fives.

Jordon got a new drone with a camera on it at Costco.  It pairs to the phone and is controlled from it.  Jordon took this picture of Debbie and him with it.

P-40 Test Flight

I took this picture last night after I got all the planes loaded in the motor home.  There are three more that don't really show in the picture.

As usual I got the Skylane out and put the first flight of the day in with it.  I shot lots of touch and goes plus did a few aerobatics.  The conditions were perfect, very light winds and the fog cleared off before I was all set up.

My second flight was with the P- 40 Warhawk.  I was surprised by how fast it was, I tried one loop and got about a three turn spin before I got it straightened out.  It turns out the elevator throws were not even.  My other test flight of the Delta ended up knocking the motor off on a minor bump without getting in the air.  I was surprised that I had not done any reinforcement of the motor mount with carbon fiber.

I had changed out the bad rudder servo and made some adjustments to the ailerons of the Fokker DR-1.  It's test flight went good with just minor trim adjustments needed while flying.

I had a great flight with the Tigercat.  I looped, rolled and did some stall tests.  Then I played with the flaps and shot a couple of landings.  By two it was getting pretty warm and the wind had come up as forecast so we packed up and headed home.