I know that I will get little sympathy from many folks who are stuck in the middle of subzero winter?.or the many more who are still working on their RV?s, and have nothing to fly (even if the weather was good), but I?m a guy who gets a bit twitchy when he spends more than a few days away from the sky, and the past few weeks have been tough. (I must confess that I fly a lot ? I have not been ?not current? in the 30+ years since I got my license?.) A combination of work schedules, a vacation, and the need to fly Louise?s -6 up to her home in D.C. the one weekend that I had free in the month have conspired to let the Valkyrie sit and brood in the hangar for longer than I like. Lots of low winter weather on the few days when I have been home has caused it to be several weeks since we last played around in the skies. A week of skiing was well-enjoyed, and even with the altitude, the views, and the speed?.its still not flying!
Today brought a welcome change! The warm moist air was swept away by a string of thunderstorms overnight, and the dawn brought cool (but not brutal) air, blue skies, and unlimited visibility. Coincidentally, I needed to take at least part of the day off to prepare myself for the upcoming Shuttle mission (working the graveyard shift again?), so I was out of the office after the morning tag-up and on my way to the airport. The Val looked eager to go, once I cleaned off a little dust and some cat tracks (I love cats, but not when the strays break in to my hangar and walk across my canopy!), and she seemed to forgive me for being away for so long. The crisp air made for good performance on the climb-out, and we were off for some quality time together.
Pull to the 45 up line, pop the stick over, and see how many rolls you can get before we?re 45 low?.three was a good number! Recover, pull again ? 45 high, roll inverted, let the nose drop, pulling just enough to keep the oil in the sump?.nose low, recover with a half roll back, build up speed, and up we go into a loop! Speed and altitude look good at the bottom ? how about another one? Well, halfway through, I decided, why not make it a Cuban? On and on as I wandered along the gulf coast, heading for a cheap fuel spot, rarely straight and level. The air was smooth, the sun bright, and no one else seemed to be flying ? what a glorious day! Hey, what else can you do when you?re pointed up at a steep angle? Let?s see, roll inverted, and pull through the back side in sort of a split-S I suppose?.yup, that works! I also enjoy turning a wingover into a roll, heading out at 90 degrees from the original course?
You can do a lot with an RV ? travel, adventure, or just these wonderful local hours of pure communion. Yes, my fuel bill is four times what I spend on groceries in a month ? but hey, flying is a passion, and when you are hanging upside down with ever-so-little ?G? on as you float over the top, looking back down at all those people on the ground, well, you know that all those years of building were worth it. All the fuel bills, the maintenance, and even the days spent stuck on the ground do to weather ? they are all worth it. I start to twitch a little if I don?t get to fly every few days, but when I do get back in the air, the time spent away makes the time in the cockpit that much more precious. What a marvelous gift we have in these RV?s ? a gift of wings, a gift of freedom. And it feels so good to get out and stretch them whenever you can!
Paul
Today brought a welcome change! The warm moist air was swept away by a string of thunderstorms overnight, and the dawn brought cool (but not brutal) air, blue skies, and unlimited visibility. Coincidentally, I needed to take at least part of the day off to prepare myself for the upcoming Shuttle mission (working the graveyard shift again?), so I was out of the office after the morning tag-up and on my way to the airport. The Val looked eager to go, once I cleaned off a little dust and some cat tracks (I love cats, but not when the strays break in to my hangar and walk across my canopy!), and she seemed to forgive me for being away for so long. The crisp air made for good performance on the climb-out, and we were off for some quality time together.
Pull to the 45 up line, pop the stick over, and see how many rolls you can get before we?re 45 low?.three was a good number! Recover, pull again ? 45 high, roll inverted, let the nose drop, pulling just enough to keep the oil in the sump?.nose low, recover with a half roll back, build up speed, and up we go into a loop! Speed and altitude look good at the bottom ? how about another one? Well, halfway through, I decided, why not make it a Cuban? On and on as I wandered along the gulf coast, heading for a cheap fuel spot, rarely straight and level. The air was smooth, the sun bright, and no one else seemed to be flying ? what a glorious day! Hey, what else can you do when you?re pointed up at a steep angle? Let?s see, roll inverted, and pull through the back side in sort of a split-S I suppose?.yup, that works! I also enjoy turning a wingover into a roll, heading out at 90 degrees from the original course?
You can do a lot with an RV ? travel, adventure, or just these wonderful local hours of pure communion. Yes, my fuel bill is four times what I spend on groceries in a month ? but hey, flying is a passion, and when you are hanging upside down with ever-so-little ?G? on as you float over the top, looking back down at all those people on the ground, well, you know that all those years of building were worth it. All the fuel bills, the maintenance, and even the days spent stuck on the ground do to weather ? they are all worth it. I start to twitch a little if I don?t get to fly every few days, but when I do get back in the air, the time spent away makes the time in the cockpit that much more precious. What a marvelous gift we have in these RV?s ? a gift of wings, a gift of freedom. And it feels so good to get out and stretch them whenever you can!
Paul
Nobody told me that an old retired teacher would run short of the fun $$$$$$$$$$$$$$. Anybody need a RETIRED BUT NOT TIRED MBA/EDUCATOR in the Saint George Utah area..........
