hydroguy2
Well Known Member
Great Northwest Air Race III
I was looking forward to a few days off and Kris and I heading over the Ephrata Washington for the GNAR III. Kris had an issue at work and cancelled, so I was going solo. The flight over was beautiful and smooth at 12500 but had a 30kt headwind. Oh well I had a nice view.
looking south west into Idaho as I near the MT/ID border near Mullen pass
This was looking north towards Lake Couer dAlene' site of the Aug 18th Pappy Boyington Cup Race
Landed at Ephrata 2.4hrs, later around 0930 local time and spotted Bob Axsom’s Race 71. Apparently we were the first arrivals. Race director John Smutney strolled over with a bottle of ice cold water…perfect!
One of the highlights for me was meeting Mr Van himself. It is not often a person gets to meet the designer and engineering behind their airplane. He seemed very down to earth and soft spoken. We talked about drag reduction, wing tips and also Bob Axsom's meticulous testing and documentation of results. Bob is a true experimenter. My impression of Van after my short 20 minutes...he's just a regular guy, in spite, of all his fame in the Experimental Aviation world. Before he left to go launch his electric powered motorglider, I asked him for a photo op in front of Aurora.
Racers trickled in and Bob A drove some of us to lunch. Back a while later and a few more folks had rolled in. I was content to hang out and visit with many of the racers. Many folks were making final race preps, while others met at the Mexican Restaurant for a little friendly banter.
Back at the field, Team Ely was applying a special formula speed wax. It appeared they had also moved out of their house from the pile of gear they unloaded.
Best SARL logo goes to The Canadian Rocket...a first timer!
The next morning the place was abuzz with final arrivals and prepping. John gave a well prepared briefing and off we went to calm the nerves and light the fires.
I was looking forward to a few days off and Kris and I heading over the Ephrata Washington for the GNAR III. Kris had an issue at work and cancelled, so I was going solo. The flight over was beautiful and smooth at 12500 but had a 30kt headwind. Oh well I had a nice view.
looking south west into Idaho as I near the MT/ID border near Mullen pass
This was looking north towards Lake Couer dAlene' site of the Aug 18th Pappy Boyington Cup Race
Landed at Ephrata 2.4hrs, later around 0930 local time and spotted Bob Axsom’s Race 71. Apparently we were the first arrivals. Race director John Smutney strolled over with a bottle of ice cold water…perfect!
One of the highlights for me was meeting Mr Van himself. It is not often a person gets to meet the designer and engineering behind their airplane. He seemed very down to earth and soft spoken. We talked about drag reduction, wing tips and also Bob Axsom's meticulous testing and documentation of results. Bob is a true experimenter. My impression of Van after my short 20 minutes...he's just a regular guy, in spite, of all his fame in the Experimental Aviation world. Before he left to go launch his electric powered motorglider, I asked him for a photo op in front of Aurora.
Racers trickled in and Bob A drove some of us to lunch. Back a while later and a few more folks had rolled in. I was content to hang out and visit with many of the racers. Many folks were making final race preps, while others met at the Mexican Restaurant for a little friendly banter.
Back at the field, Team Ely was applying a special formula speed wax. It appeared they had also moved out of their house from the pile of gear they unloaded.
Best SARL logo goes to The Canadian Rocket...a first timer!
The next morning the place was abuzz with final arrivals and prepping. John gave a well prepared briefing and off we went to calm the nerves and light the fires.
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