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Is
it me or mother nature really annoyed? Maybe it's just a bad spell of luck. Tim Kaiser and I arrived in
Phoenix for their coldest weather in years. There's
a freeze warning for tonight. A freeze warning! That's not as bad as the
snowstorm in Albuquerque but remember, a prime Enterprise mission is to never
be winterized.
Alas, in spite of the coolness
forecast, our arrival day wasn't too bad. Sixty something for a high. So
it was, thanks to Ennis who showed us a new site, that we finally got in the
new year's first real PPG flying.
Tim and I were here for 4 days
and today is our last at an old, familiar staple, SR60 and Idaho. It's
nice to have flying available at a moments notice. After these paragraphs
are saved, I'll be headed out to fly. A relaxed, civilized way to enjoy
the day.
Rio Verde, Day 1
I'd love to see this with
sunshine. A few more degrees wouldn't hurt, either. There was greenery,
good launch surface and no wind. We could tear it up at will.
Getting here proved arduous,
though, for the Enterprise. Ruts and rocks dictate a more robust ride with
good ground clearance. The road is fine for a car of moderate means but
take it slow. It is not good for a motorhome!
The next night we had to run
the generator and got a carbon monoxide warning. Hmmm, never got that
before. Two days later, when Tim asked where the generator exhaust was, I
discovered it got turned up into the bumper and was blowing up towards the
cabin. No wonder!
Next up was to head out west,
looking for launches in a new area. I've flown out there, actually,
several years ago with Nick Scholtes, but those sites have certainly built
up by now. Alas the weather turned lousy and we opted for other plans.
Continued...
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1.
Tim launching.
2.
You can tell there wasn't much wind. Ennis set up in one direction, Tim
another.
3.
Ennis intently heads down the runway. Funny how that term applies so
accurately to us but not to airplanes? I mean we RUN down the runway,
airplanes ROLL down it..
4.
Ennis the river pilot.
 
 
1.
Tim and Ennis just before taking flight.
2.
He said it was his longest foot drag of the year. Of course it's also only
the 13th day of the year so I'm sure there's some longer ones to come.
3.
Can you imagine what this would look like when painted with some sunshine?
4.
Launch site flyby.
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