Little Wings in Mentone 2003

[mcbirdman]

Thought I would show you a few photos that I took last year.

[mcbirdman]

Ron Gives a wave....

[mcbirdman]

Little wing cool Wave

[mcbirdman]

Little Wings resting

[mcbirdman]

Little Wing different front radial

[mcbirdman]

This is on my list of the neatest experiences in my life. I had to - ok others asked me -to bring the Little Wing even though I am not done and it hasn't flown. I drove it down from Michigan instead of flying in with our Archer. My flying partner called and said he would come down with food from his restaurant. He said he couldn't find anyone that wanted to come down. I told him to call my dad and see if he would come. My dad is retired which means he is non commital to anything. He has a 3 page running project list that he crosses things off one line at a time. He is busier now that he is retired than when he worked in the experimental lab at GM. Anyway, knowing it was a long shot I asked if he would come see me and let him know that how many times in your life can you jump in a plane and be in another state to see flying gyros ? I was so excited when he came in and grabbed a photo when the door opened. All these last few years of gyro talk and build and they both were going to finally see what I was talking about. Once we got the plane parked and the food unloaded we sat under our canopy and ate restaruant food. We were just sitting there watching everyone flying around and they kept asking questions. We were like a bunch of kids. It was obvious they were awestruck by the simplicity and nimleness of these machines.

After lunchI took them to meet Ron. Vince was seen for this photo (guy on left) but then not again until he decided he was leaving. I was working on getting them a ride with Steve McGowen and he said no problem. After the showcase however Vince said well - gotta get back.... and that was it. I can't tell you how important that was for me to have my father come and see me and do it in a unique way. The next couple photos mean alot to me.
It was also neat to say good bye to them on the radio as they flew off. They answered and rocked the wings..... as my dad got another ride back to where he started from.

I also kidded them and asked them about - you know how I like yellow? My sailboat I built and this and the next gyro? I was answering why there was a yellow flag at the end of the runway. I told them that I thought yellow really is special in that we had a minority class flight (fw) come in and since the crew of this flight coming into the hornets nest aren't used to gyros we had to warn everyone else about them.... They just laughed....

But it sure meant alot to me to share such an experience with people I care about and show them what I dream about as it is coming closer to reality. Flying is so much more than just sitting in the seat. I am looking forward to meeting more people this year and photographing what I see.

[mcbirdman]

Here is my dad and Vince before he disappeared amongst all the tents and aircraft.

[mcbirdman]

Ron is very personable and caring. I hear him answer the same questions over and over and over - like many other vendors. I sure respect people like this and Ernie. Only a small fraction of people are actually going to buy something but they treat everyone like they are the most important people in the world. They love what they do and they put all their energy in it and share it with others. It makes a difference.....

Note: look at all the hardware in the background....

[mcbirdman]

Okay not a Little Wing but along the lines of previous comments.... People who care and put their energy into something they love to do... and do it well...

This year I bought a new lens with Vibration Stabilization built into the lens elements. It should allow me to let the blades of the aircraft swirl/blur more while still keeping the handheld lens stable enough at that shutter speed to freeze the action without having everything else blur. I tried it last year with some of these photos with limited sucsess. This year I think it will greatly improve and I am looking forward to recording some more action photographs.

jtm

[mcbirdman]

Mentone flight with Ernie

[richard lidke]

:) :) Hello Jim. Just wondered, you are always snapping shots, did you get any good ones at this year's Mentone show? If yes, how about posting a few. Thanks Littlewing Booster Rich.