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Has anyone seen my Russian?

Vlad,

The weather system is diving southeast and dissipating and is presently east/northeast of St. Louis. In another hour or so, a route across central ILL just SE of Chicago should be good.

dd
 
The day of heavy flying ended somewhere in Ohio. In a defense industry town (wheat) with strict laws. You can not buy any fermented liquid here on Sunday night. Airport manager issued me a van the size of troops carrier and took my RV as collateral.

Rereading the thread from comfort of top notch hotel is much more entertaining then sporadic browsing over Wyoming mountains. Thank you all the supporters. The so so part of the day is the room rate. For that money I could buy fuel enough to bring me from point AKT to point BLI. Well, at least I can brag I spent a night at Holiday Inn Express :D
 
You'd better get a move on if you want to be back today! Get past Pittsburgh into the Harrisburg area and re-evaluate the weather. Sometimes you can get stuck west of Pittsburgh for days!
 
......from comfort of top notch hotel........ so so part of the day is the room rate. .......

but really that rate is amortized over a a 4 day adventure, so most likely a real bargain. You seemed exhausted on Saturday night.

We should all be so lucky, fly safe my friend....hey got any more of those clocks?
 
APRS Configuration Question...

In monitoring Vlad’s flight path I clicked on “Station Info” and the following statement appears:


Last path: KC2TPD-7>APBL10 via WIDE2-1,qAR,WB3JMF Seriously Bad Path
This station appears to be flying at high altitude and using digipeaters, which causes serious congestion in the APRS network. The tracker should be configured to only use digipeaters when at low altitude


What is considered to be "high" altitude and what other APRS tracker configurations are available for inflight monitoring?
 
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Tom,

The APRS configuration Vlad uses is the optimal compromise. Vlad, me and others have worked with the broader APRS community on these settings.

The APRS.fi website has add coverage circles based on an algorithm which does not take into account terrain, available digipeaters or iGates.

The WIDE2-1 setting says that at most one repeat between the original packet transmission and the iGate. If there were more iGates, then the setting could say "no repeats". However, the WIDE2-1 is the optimal compromise given the coverage of digipeaters and iGates and the variability of terrain and aircraft altitude.

There has been discussion about a GPS altitude dependent toggle in the firmware of some trackers but it would still be an incomplete solution since what is really needed is a toggle based on AGL.
 
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Tom,

The APRS configuration Vlad uses is the optimal compromise. Vlad, me and others have worked with the broader APRS community on these settings.

The APRS.fi website has add coverage circles based on an algorithm which does not take into account terrain, available digipeaters or iGates.

The WIDE2-1 setting says that at most one repeat between the original packet transmission and the iGate. If there were more iGates, then the setting could say "no repeats". However, the WIDE2-1 is the optimal compromise given the coverage of digipeaters and iGates and the variability of terrain and aircraft altitude.

There has been discussion about a GPS altitude dependent toggle in the firmware of some trackers but it would still be an incomplete solution since what is really needed is a toggle based on AGL.

Thanks for the explanation Glen. I had a first generation Spot but discontinued using it several years ago because of its unreliability. After monitoring the impressive flight following results of Vlad?s trip, it has renewed my interest in researching the APRS system.

Looking forward to Vlad?s posting of his photo journey of the trip.
 
Tom - Vlad's APRS setup is different from mine and I'm sure he will be happy to detail it (for food) :D

I installed my tracker in a wingtip with one of THESE great little antennas. ;)
 
Vlad - not around for free food!

:rolleyes: Vlad now I know why you didn't respond to my post offering you free food for last Sunday. You were flying for food else where in the country. You could have met some of the guys from Elton MD they stopped by for brunch last Sun.

Talk when you get back
 
Looks like your Russian is back home . . .

safe and sound! APRS has him on the ground at his home airport. Great trip Vlad - after you rest up post your photos:)
 
What a guy

Flying would really have to be edited to hold audience interest for a reality show and he may be a less effective communicator in person but he certainly breaks out from the rest and has developed a following here. A breath of fresh air in attitude and action.

Bob Axsom
 
Great trip Vlad, what a Machine... and what an Aviator !!

Round trip coast-to-coast on a long weekend, something for Van’s Sales Brochure right there. Fun tracking you on APRS too, ordered my MT-RTG today.

Would have been nice for you to land on the Beach, one of the 10 Strangest Airports in the World…. (#10 on this list)
http://www.1000funfacts.com/amazing/10-strangest-airports-around-the-world/
but there is always next weekend.

Thanks for the inspiration !
pk
 
Thanks all. I run quick numbers on the trip. Three days of intensive flying wallet bleeding profusely after losing $1,023 on fuel only. Fuel stops were selected prior, some 91 octane was burned. 38 hours high quality x-country logged and enjoyed every minute of it. Write up to follow in a week. Here are some teasers :D


Trying to make a Pass. :)


throughthepass.jpg




Ever flown RV on Mars? :D



onMars.jpg




At evil gun point. There is a way not to wake the Spirit of the Tower.


gunpoint.jpg




Who is driving? This plane doesn't have an autopilot :eek:


whoisdriving.jpg
 
As ugly as that plane is without paint...it flies straight and true!! No autopilot needed. He told me on his trip to Florida he got a solid 2 hour nap after he trimmed everything out. :eek:
 
I wanna know who made the seats in your plane Vlad? That's some serious arss time you put in. If you tell me your back side isn't tired after that trip, then I'm ready to place a seat order today. :D
 
It is a special part of the country to fly over

I've flown across the country out west many times but last week when I flew to Washington is the first time (twice actually, east to west then west to east) up at the Missoula latitude. I never take photographs in flight usually but I reached for my camera on that trip. I had left it in the truck. I will be going up to Three Forks, Montana for the race on July 7 maybe I'll take some then. I look forward to your report.

For those that haven't gone there, it is worth the effort.

Bob Axsom
 
I wanna know who made the seats in your plane Vlad? That's some serious arss time you put in. If you tell me your back side isn't tired after that trip, then I'm ready to place a seat order today. :D


Mark,
My back was not tired after that trip. Click on RV Interiors by Classic Aero Designs under the Green Button and order from them. Worth every dime. They don't sell muffs though...


DSC_0152.jpg



You can fly sidestick like Cirrus too. Comfy interior, suited for long legs. :)

DSC_0143.jpg
 
He is writing a tour book!

Finally I figured out what he is doing. He pretends to be starving and hunting for food. Actually, he is compiling information to write a book on "Vlad's North America Tours by Flying RV". It is kind like Rick Steves tour books. Here is the cover of the proposed book:

Untitled%25201%2520-%2520OpenOffice.org%2520Impress%25206252012%252084844%2520PM.jpg
 
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