Straight an level gets boring after awhile – and especially so when you’re doing it with the autopilot flying on a long cross-country. I am realistic about it, and know that the autopilot can hold heading and altitude more accurately for a lot longer than I can, saving fuel and time in the process, so it gets to fly much of the time – and recently, long cross-countries have been my game. Houston to Virginia and back, out to California and back, then out to West Texas…..the Val was complaining that she needed to get upside down and stretch her legs a bit! And who was I to argue?
After seeing Louise safely off on her way back to Virginia this morning, I strapped in and took the bird up to work the kinks out. Did the normal stuff – loops and rolls, playing with variations on the rolls to stop and look at things directly underneath me. I was also playing with my new A-210, and had maintenance work to do, so I decided I’d do a short flight, and go back up in the evening.
The evening session, had me remembering what Doug wrote about the other day – pulling up to 45 degrees, rolling inverted, then letting the nose fall until 45 low before rolling back upright, keeping just a touch of positive G on to keep the oil where it belongs. I started playing with these and had a ball – we couldn’t get enough! Of course the fact that the air was smooth and cool, with the sun sinking low didn’t hurt….these machines are magical in ways other than pure transportation, after all….
I looked down from one of these little whatchamacallit’s, and saw a friend’s private strip that Louise and I had visited just the other day. A couple of great guys that we know (both RV’ers, so you know they’re good people…) purchased a Legend Cub earlier in the year, and like to make it available to folks who know how to fly rag-wing tail draggers… Louise hadn’t had a chance to go Cubbing before, so we took her -6 down and touched down lightly on the smooth turf runway, taxied up to the hangar and swapped stories while looking at airplanes for a little while before taking the big-winged wonder up for a little evening joy ride. The Legend is great – doors on BOTH sides make you feel like you’re really out in the breeze, and we floated along at a thousand feet, enjoying the first cool air of the season, the sun, and just being pilots in a great plane. So different from an RV, yet in enjoyment, so very much the same. (Louise looked out the side at 1200’ and said “You know, I’ve rappelled into pits deeper than we are high….yikes!)
After about a half hour, we wafted back down and I made one of those rare landings where I said “OK, I can’t do any better than that…we’re quitting with that one!” more hangar talk, and then climbing back into the -6 to once again feel the pure performance of an RV lifting off the grass in less than 500 feet. About the same distance as the Legend, but it climbed a whole lot faster….A few rolls on the way home (Hmm, my rolls to the right are better than to the left in the -6, opposite that of the -8….oh yeah, I’m flying with the other hand!!)
Aviation….slow, fast, experimental, LSA….what a great life!
Tomorrow…more Whatchamacallit’s….and maybe I’ll invent my own kind of Thingamajig!
Paul
After seeing Louise safely off on her way back to Virginia this morning, I strapped in and took the bird up to work the kinks out. Did the normal stuff – loops and rolls, playing with variations on the rolls to stop and look at things directly underneath me. I was also playing with my new A-210, and had maintenance work to do, so I decided I’d do a short flight, and go back up in the evening.
The evening session, had me remembering what Doug wrote about the other day – pulling up to 45 degrees, rolling inverted, then letting the nose fall until 45 low before rolling back upright, keeping just a touch of positive G on to keep the oil where it belongs. I started playing with these and had a ball – we couldn’t get enough! Of course the fact that the air was smooth and cool, with the sun sinking low didn’t hurt….these machines are magical in ways other than pure transportation, after all….
I looked down from one of these little whatchamacallit’s, and saw a friend’s private strip that Louise and I had visited just the other day. A couple of great guys that we know (both RV’ers, so you know they’re good people…) purchased a Legend Cub earlier in the year, and like to make it available to folks who know how to fly rag-wing tail draggers… Louise hadn’t had a chance to go Cubbing before, so we took her -6 down and touched down lightly on the smooth turf runway, taxied up to the hangar and swapped stories while looking at airplanes for a little while before taking the big-winged wonder up for a little evening joy ride. The Legend is great – doors on BOTH sides make you feel like you’re really out in the breeze, and we floated along at a thousand feet, enjoying the first cool air of the season, the sun, and just being pilots in a great plane. So different from an RV, yet in enjoyment, so very much the same. (Louise looked out the side at 1200’ and said “You know, I’ve rappelled into pits deeper than we are high….yikes!)
After about a half hour, we wafted back down and I made one of those rare landings where I said “OK, I can’t do any better than that…we’re quitting with that one!” more hangar talk, and then climbing back into the -6 to once again feel the pure performance of an RV lifting off the grass in less than 500 feet. About the same distance as the Legend, but it climbed a whole lot faster….A few rolls on the way home (Hmm, my rolls to the right are better than to the left in the -6, opposite that of the -8….oh yeah, I’m flying with the other hand!!)
Aviation….slow, fast, experimental, LSA….what a great life!
Tomorrow…more Whatchamacallit’s….and maybe I’ll invent my own kind of Thingamajig!
Paul
