The Enterprise started 2009 in Phoenix, AZ. A planned trip there for flying and filming was stymied by high loads on the airline making it impossible to ride standby. So the plan is now to attend The Salton Sea Paratoys event followed by Dune flying in Southern California and back to Phoenix for the Flying Circus. Then to San Diego, LA, Sacramento and, for the first time, Washington state. Haven’t ever been there for PPG—after all, when it’s nice there, it’s nice at home in Chicago. Time to broaden my horizons.
The scripts to all 4 Master PPG videos are done and editing/animating is underway as of Jan 3, 2009. Reading, improving, planning the video that will be seen along with how graphics will be incorporated. It’s fun, but it’s an enormous undertaking. It’s easy to spend several hours on an animation that will appear for 12 seconds. But that animation will make the covered concept easily understandable in 12 seconds, too.
Flying this year started out on turbined wings. If you gotta work, the Boeing isn’t a bad office. My first trip of 2009 takes me out to Portland, OR. Two nights there and one more night in San Diego. I’m hoping to get some footage from the Portland area flyers showing some details on flying the low hook-in swing arm type paramotors. And just hanging out with these guys is fun.
If the weather cooperates, I’ll get some flying footage showing close up details to support a part of the Master PPG launching video. Have camera will travel. Then it’s on to San Diego but, unfortunately, my overnights are too early to get any useful footage there. An Enterprise trip there in March, however, will provide plenty of opportunity.
Looking forward to warm flight with the Local IL boys of IPPGA.org and much other flying.
Here’s to a great 2009!
Tim Kaiser and I ushered in 2009 with a visit to Washington DC. We spent two full days immersed mostly in the National Air and Space Museum, including the actual 1903 Wright Flyer that started it all (above).