Louise rolled ?Mikey? (the RV-6) to a stop on our taxiway as the sun disappeared behind our neighbors hangar across the runway. She had a smile on her face because she?d finally had tailwinds BOTH ways on her daily commute to work in College Station. I had our hangar doors open, and the Valkyrie (RV-8) pulled out on the pad, mostly so that I could end up with the coveted front parking spot, but the thought of a quick flight before dinner had crossed my mind. ?Well,? she said as she opened her canopy, ?What are you waiting for? The air is smooth - you better get going!? Who among us needs more of a prompt than that? I figured I had twenty minutes as she greeted the dogs, so I strapped in and launched for the practice area.
As I lifted off, the Garmins switched from day to night mode - the lower limb of the sun had touched the horizon to the west. Looking out past the left wingtip, a nearly full moon hung large and bright about ten degrees above the horizon. All the way around the rim of the sky, the air glowed orange and purple (no "Mountains of Majesty" unfortunately), the post-cold-front air crisp and clear with a few high clouds near the sun providing an added touch of beauty. I set aerobatic power and climbed to 3,000?, the sun rising back above the horizon as I went. Accelerating to level flight, I cleared the area with a couple of quick rolls, noting that Christmas lights were appearing in the yards and houses below as I looked out the top of the canopy. It?s a nice time of year to fly at dusk. A tug on the shoulder straps, then a quick turn to the left and I was pointed at the moon.
The textbooks all say to pick a point above the horizon about which to Barrel Roll - it doesn?t get much better than that! Round and round the horizon went, with the moon in the same spot on the windshield. Then I dove a little to recover my speed, and pulled up into a loop, the moon disappearing below the cowl, the sky brightening as the top of the sun came back into view as I came over the top; then down the back side and into the twilight once again. A rolling turn at the bottom put the very top of the sun back on the right wing, and into a second loop I went, this time adding power to make the loop larger - which brought the sun back up above the horizon once more, magically, as if lifted by some cosmic stage mechanism. Then on the down line it sunk once again, and I was back in the shadow of the earth. This was an interesting game - with a celestial body split by the horizon, for that golden moment I could control the heavens! The moment was all too brief however, for the RV is but a small mote in the vast cosmos, and time rushes onward, as do the spheres?.
Sunrise and sunset, all in a moment - and all overseen by a bright silver moon that seemed so close that I could almost touch it. This is why I love the bubble canopy of the RV-8 - there is nothing like the feeling of being out there in the sky! I turned from the sun, and toward the moon for a few more rolls before pulling the power and diving for home. Louise and the dogs were walking in the shadows alongside the runway as I touched down - it was time for dinner!
Paul
As I lifted off, the Garmins switched from day to night mode - the lower limb of the sun had touched the horizon to the west. Looking out past the left wingtip, a nearly full moon hung large and bright about ten degrees above the horizon. All the way around the rim of the sky, the air glowed orange and purple (no "Mountains of Majesty" unfortunately), the post-cold-front air crisp and clear with a few high clouds near the sun providing an added touch of beauty. I set aerobatic power and climbed to 3,000?, the sun rising back above the horizon as I went. Accelerating to level flight, I cleared the area with a couple of quick rolls, noting that Christmas lights were appearing in the yards and houses below as I looked out the top of the canopy. It?s a nice time of year to fly at dusk. A tug on the shoulder straps, then a quick turn to the left and I was pointed at the moon.
The textbooks all say to pick a point above the horizon about which to Barrel Roll - it doesn?t get much better than that! Round and round the horizon went, with the moon in the same spot on the windshield. Then I dove a little to recover my speed, and pulled up into a loop, the moon disappearing below the cowl, the sky brightening as the top of the sun came back into view as I came over the top; then down the back side and into the twilight once again. A rolling turn at the bottom put the very top of the sun back on the right wing, and into a second loop I went, this time adding power to make the loop larger - which brought the sun back up above the horizon once more, magically, as if lifted by some cosmic stage mechanism. Then on the down line it sunk once again, and I was back in the shadow of the earth. This was an interesting game - with a celestial body split by the horizon, for that golden moment I could control the heavens! The moment was all too brief however, for the RV is but a small mote in the vast cosmos, and time rushes onward, as do the spheres?.
Sunrise and sunset, all in a moment - and all overseen by a bright silver moon that seemed so close that I could almost touch it. This is why I love the bubble canopy of the RV-8 - there is nothing like the feeling of being out there in the sky! I turned from the sun, and toward the moon for a few more rolls before pulling the power and diving for home. Louise and the dogs were walking in the shadows alongside the runway as I touched down - it was time for dinner!
Paul
