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I don't remember when summer began, only that it seems halfway over.
I've traveled for all of my recent outings so local flying in summers
warmth, without the usual accoutrements of cold, was especially
enjoyable. The flight was nothing special, really, but it was home and
smooth and lush and green. No, there weren't any mountains or canals or
foreign homes, but fields of the familiar have their own appeal.
Tim and I went out for an all-evening traipse that was perfect. Even
though the forecast calm eluded us, it was nice enough to tickle various
vegetation with our feet. Some new parks offered up empty paths to
scrape soles on.
Ahhhhh, how nice. And man do I love the Miniplane/Spice
combination. After cranking the Mistral around the Alps for 8 days it
was extremely nice to get back aboard my responsive handling little
Spice. There's just nothing like it, especially with the weight shifting
miniplane. I've had to give up that nice carbon fiber prop for a while
because it apparently belonged to someone else. Lord willing I'll have
another soon and sure hope it's as good as the one I sent back because
this wood version sucks in comparison. My max climb rate on the carbon
fiber was 370 fpm, on this prop it's 270. Obviously the motor is working
harder just to fly level and there's less thrust for climb.
I moved the Miniplane's hang point back slightly so I stand a bit
more erect on landing. Indeed that helped and made landing slightly more
comfortable. I've been doing some spot landing practice and continued to
do so on this flight.
Upon returning we encountered a convergence of sorts. The wing
changed 120° and I experienced unnatural lift. The northwest wind became
east/southeast. Strange. But it wasn't particularly bumpy.
    
   
Polo Field
Yesterday (Friday) morning we headed for the Polo field and were
pleasantly surprised to find local pilots Gary and Pete already there.
They had both already flown, with Gary landing last. He reported trashy
air, surprising given the lack of wind. Of course I had to find out and
so did a little flight myself. Yup, just like he said, trashy. I worked
off a couple spot landings and called it a day.
Speaking of spot landings, don't miss out on the competition.
Go
here.
Tim couldn't get his motor started so he didn't fly, nor was he that
disappointed after hearing of the bumps. Thanks to "Gadget Gary's" stash
of goodies and expertise, we figured out Tim's kill switch was bad. No
spark whatsoever. Disconnect the kill switch and she lit up like
lightening. Easy fix.
In spite of flying's brevity, it was fun hooking up with Gary and
Pete. We'll all be spending the weekend down at Kankakee in a couple
weeks which promises some great flying
As an aside, Remy Swaab, Panama canal flight organizer, will be
coming to join us in Kankakee. Don't miss out!
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