A nice day of flying at Toledo

 8-6-2020  We went to the Vancouver Costco this morning and took advantage of the senior hours from nine to ten.  It went great and we were back home shortly after eleven.  After unloading I spent most of the remaining day loading up to fly on Thursday.  I had my pedometer in my pocket and we walked 4000 steps in Costco.  Of course I remembered I wanted some oil that was on sale when we were in the pharmacy and the oil was at the opposite corner of the warehouse.  Then Vera asked one of the Costco employees where the air freshener was and naturally is was clear on the other side from where we were.

8-7-2020

We got to the field shortly after eight this morning.  It was after lunch before I remembered to get the camera out and take some pictures.  The first thing I saw was a group discussing what repairs were needed on the boxes.

There was a pretty good turnout today, I counted 6 rigs there most of the day.

Ken was flying his P-47 Thunderbolt today and he made some great landings that had everyone applauding.

Teresa has just taken off with her Timber.  On the bench is my F-15 that I put the new fan into.  It flies and sounds great now.

Audrey is shooting a touch and go with Mt St Helens in the background.  It is nice to have the ladies flying, I didn't get a picture when Victoria was flying.

There is not much snow left on Mt St Helens.

After we got home I set up the scaffolding and started cleaning the top of the nose cap.  I found all kinds of dirt around the INTRUDER decals, I don't think it has ever had a good cleaning.

Saturday and Sunday

Saturday

I spent the day doing some maintenance on my Voodoo Mustang, it started by me changing to a different prop so it would go faster.  I discovered a problem with the fuel tank.  I had to pull the engine to get the tank out to repair it, then I found the engine mounts needed a little work.  It wasn't too long before my thoughts of flying it Sunday were shot down.  I did some cleanup in the computer room after installing the printer.  I found an extra toner cartridge for the old printer during the cleanup, so I put it on the Longview Freecycle.  I had a response from a guy that wanted it in less than an hour.  I got my batteries for flying Sunday all charged up during the evening.  I forgot one set that was charging, only remembering them when I was in bed.  I had to get dressed and run out to the motor home and disconnect them.  They probably would have been OK, they were on a fully automatic charger, but I did not want to take a chance.

Sunday

I headed to Toledo about 9 this morning for some flying, it was supposed to get up to about 55 degrees, but I don't think it made it!  The sun played Peak a Boo with us all day.

My new Stinson flew great, I put three flights on it today and all it needed was a couple of clicks of trim.  I also flew my Sukhoi SU-29, F-15, F-4 and Lancair.  Counting me, there were 9 flyers out there today and my propane heater was a popular spot again.  It has been a life saver this year.

Play now, pay later!

I was out taking pictures of flowers and took this picture of moss in a pot on our deck. The Macro feature of the digital cameras can sure turn something ordinary into an unusual picture.

We went flying Saturday at Toledo. Boy was it a nice day, we had 13 members flying. Everyone was happy to be out enjoying the sunshine. I think we spent more time talking than flying.

The guys had not seen James for awhile. I thought he might be a little rusty, but he took off and put on one heck of a show of low level slow flight. He says it is from playing video games, but I think he learned to fly so young that he will never forget.

James leaned a little too far back once. We spent about 3 hours there until the wind came up and it started getting cooler. We stopped in Toledo and picked up a pizza for dinner. Their combination weighs a ton! James mowed the yards after we got home. All the activity kind of caught up with me, my knee swelled up pretty good and got pretty stiff. I iced and elevated it all night and it is doing fine today. The doctor said 8 or 9 weeks recovery, but it feels so good that I am probably pushing it at times.

Hope you got to enjoy Saturday, because Sunday is sure not as nice a day.

Sunday Flying

Sunday I went flying at Toledo. Once the clouds burned off it was a great day for flying. The winds were light to calm all day. I got in 15 flights while I was there. Then it was home to watch the Seahawks I had recorded, good to see them win! My knee was really sore after being on it all day. Ice and heat were the order of the night. I will be glad when the 17th. gets here and I can see the Doctor again.

Flying with the kids

One of the planes James flew today, his Yak 55P.


Auna, James and Parker at the field.

James making a fly-by. There was lots of laughter and giggling going on.

The telephoto lens makes it look close to them, but it was much closer to me than them. I got out another plane that is a little simpler for Auna and Parker to try. All three of them ended up flying it and having a great time. I wish that I had thought to take pictures of them doing it, but I was having too much fun watching.

On the way home we stopped at Bettie's in Toledo for treats. The kids spotted this deer on the hill as we came down into Toledo. They bailed out of the motor home and ran out to look at it. Auna was back in a couple of minutes for the camera and James took this picture of it. We had a great day. It was one of the noisier rides to the field and back I have had for a while, but fun.
They are a good bunch of kids!

Chilly Flying

It would have been nicer flying if the wind would have died. It was 2-3 Mph when we got there and was up to 4-5 Mph with gusts to 11 Mph by the time we left. We were dressed for it so I had fun regardless. My friend Bob came down also and I test flew a plane he had bought from me. The plane in the picture is one I built for James but it never got flown much as he liked the one with the bomb bay better, so when Bob was looking for a plane I sold it to him.

After flying, I came home and attacked the leaves with the mower. After emptying many mower bagger loads of leaves, I blew the rest into the brush with the mower. That seemed like lots more fun. It looks like maybe half the leaves have fallen of the maples, so I will have another session in a week or so.

Tuesday Flying

We had the Toledo Field all to our selves today. It was a little chilly in the morning, but once the sun came out it was real nice. I put in 7 flights and decided to call it a day. I had a motor to deliver to Bob in Chehalis, so we called and they were home. We drove up and ended up having a nice visit with Bob and Nancy. Their house is surrounded with Oak trees and there is a bumper crop of acorns this year. Walking on their lawn is like walking on marbles. I drove by the field on the way home and it was so nice I stopped and flew twice more. As I was finishing up the last flight the clouds rolled in, the picture is looking South Southeast from the flying field. St Helens has lost most of the snow from last week. The tree on the right is a plane eater, in fact it got one already this month.

Flying at Willow Grove

James and I went flying at Willow Grove today after breakfast at Burger King with the other flyers. We had a great time, there were six other flyers there also.

James had a good time visiting with the guys he had not seen for awhile. He also did a good job flying.


The highlight of the day was when one guy had some problems and lost control. The end result was he hit his own pickup and busted out the tail light. It did not do the plane any good either!

After flying we stopped at one of the flyers home to check out his new plane. Then it was home for some playing with the cousins and some Xbox. Not that I am any good at Xbox.

All in all a fun day.

Monday Flying

Great Day of flying today! I had two new planes that I test flew today, the Stearman and the F-4 Phantom above. They both flew fine and I had a good time with them.


The planes I flew today, I got 12 flights in.

On the way home we stopped at Lewis Counties South Park to eat dinner. We sat in the motor home and watched the geese while eating. Then I got out and took pictures of them for awhile. It was a very relaxing way to end the day.

More flying at Toledo

We went flying at Toledo again today. I had a good time, did lots of flying and there were 7 other flyer's to visit with. Lunch was good, we had left over Papa Pete's Pizza from last night. In fact, there was enough left that it was dinner tonight also. This T-28 flew in just before we left so I stopped and took a picture of it over at the airport. We did not get to bed quite a soon as planned last night, but the boys had fun. I managed to make it through the day without a nap but I will probably hit the hay early tonight.

Flying and Working

We went up to Toledo today to fly and treat the tables with Thompsons Water Seal. It was a great day for flying and a little warm for working. A fellow club member showed up with his new Edge 540. Great flying aircraft that reminded us of the Red Bull Air Races we are watching on FSN. The majority of the Red Bull pilots fly Edge's.


My Cobra is not in the picture, but this is what else I flew today. I managed 5 flights between working, visiting and eating lunch.



The tables now have a Cedar color that was in the Thompsons. I did not like it on our deck, hopefully it will wear off there soon. After we were done there, we came home and cleaned our decks and treated them with clear Thompsons. The evening went well when the Colts won.

Hope you were able to get out and enjoy the sun, Alan

Time Flies

Time sure flies, it has been 6 days since I posted here. Football games (both James and the Seahawks), Flying and Parties kept us pretty busy. I filled in between things with several naps.





Sunday was the club Electric Fly In and Tail Gate Swap Meet. I was happy to get rid of almost everything I took up there. James and Michelle came up and had lunch with us, afterwards James got in some flying.


After the Fly In we had a Pizza Party for Jackie before she left for the Moses Lake Job Corps. We had a great time and everyone was in a good mood.
Barry and Mona had brought down the two rabbits Bev is bunny sitting with so the exchange took place in Papa Pete's parking lot.


Is it time for a nap yet?
Alan

Flying 9-10-2009

Nothing else going on today so we went flying at Toledo. I have been wanting to test fly James new plane. He won it in the raffle at the last club picnic. I made a few modifications to it and converted it to electric power. I am happy to report that it flew great! We had a nice day flying and visiting with our friends.

Alan