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Adam Bell lives in Phoneix and contributes cool
pictures to FootFlyer frequently. He went to Mo Sheldon's unique
gathering of activities and shares the experience.
Last year I flew my 182 into MoTown and had to watch all the PPG
going on, this year me and two of my boys drove out there and had
a blast sleeping in a tent, eating fire cooked meats like
cowboys, shooting guns and of course flying PPG!
Friday night it was myself, Frank (not PPGing due to a
shoulder issue) Dave from Tucson who flew his 182 in with all his gear
packed inside and Bill a UL trike pilot from Phoenix. The flying
that evening was incredible, nice 5-6 mph winds from the north which
gave us a straight shot up the N runway, it made for very fun foot
drags and power off, slider landings. (there's pictures of me doing
both).
I got a fire going in the old washer tub and after a while Mo
showed up with a van full of PA gear, food and drink. We all helped
organize and set up just after sunset. Don arrived with his wife and 4
young boys and everyone ate dogs and steak around the fire. It was
great fun. Some guys from Tucson also showed up that night and almost
blew themselves up with large faulty bottle rockets. Fun to watch from
a safe distance though.
Saturday was great fun, nice winds and even better temps. It was
getting too hot to fly in a jacket and long pants by about 9:00 AM.
Tough winter flying conditions out here in AZ! Many UL trikes and more
GA aircraft came and went throughout the day. I grilled burgers and dogs
for everyone and then a few began shooting pigeons (of the
clay variety). It was fun to watch some of the guys blow those
orange disks to bits, I didn't try it but it sure looked fun. Bill G
brought out some heavy sniper artillery which was impressive to look at
and hear.
Lot's of hangar flying went on and Bill Rowe asked me what time
it was while looking at my windsock. I said 2:00, he said wake me up
at 3:30 if it still looks like that (which was right down the N-S
runway at about 6-8. Well, 3:30 came and Bill laid out his wing, and
made a perfect reverse launch into light bumps and a good wind out of
the north. After seeing him lift up in about 20 feet, I copied his
launch technique and flight path to join him for some ridge lift seeking
to the north. There was a little in certain areas and we had fun
playing in and around the hills.
After a while, more pilots made it into the air and we could see some
dust trails from the roads leading into MoTown from our perch up high.
Sure enough more pilots were on a mission to join us in the sky.
Saturday afternoon turned out to be absolutely beautiful! Flying in
shorts with temps over 75 in November just can't be beat!
It was a great event, great people and lots of fun this year!
Here is a slide
show of MoTown 2007. |
