Fun flight without pictures

[StanFoster]

Another hour of fun flying today. My computer is still giving me fits, so no pictures. Get out your crayons! As usual, when I start from my hover and go thru translational lift, I enjoy actually seeing the vortices in front of my rotor as I catch up with it, and roll right over it . You can see debris recirculating then the cabin runs right thru it. My rotors is now thru the vibration period as it is now happily gobbling up fresh undisturbed air and telling my reflexes to lower the collective. Just a few seconds and I am busting out of the woods exiting the chopper channel and on to some unknown missions dictated by whymsical thoughts that steer the chopper. .................................................. ..Lots of farmers out harvesting and working the fields. I just never tire of "helping" the farmers get their work done while I am in my Turbinator hover taxiing alongside of them. This must stem from my when I use to farm years ago, and how I remember sitting out there hours on end harvesting the crops. Now as an X-farmer, I enjoy having a ringside seat just out of the dust arena getting kicked up by the combine. I find it cool that I can burn the same fuel the combines and tractors are burning. Such a divergence in machine design. The huge heavy combine compared to my small light helicopter. ........................................ It was windy today so I had no problems with reingesting crop trash through my rotor, or having the inner rotor vortice bringing debris up through my rotor center. The turbine loves to sample this dirty air and I constantly watch when my airspeed isa low for recirculating debris. My air filter is just a screen with 1/8 inch square mesh. ...............................the farmers all seemed to enjoy me watching while hovering alongside of them. Everyone was waving, at least I think they were waving! Yikes!! Actually, I would think it would give their long day some excitement. I found a doctor that I had built a white oak stairway for, out mowing his estate. I had a ball hovering alongside of him for awhile. He was waving and had a huge smile. Next I moved onto a pristine golf course and hovered down some fairways. A foursome stopped and were waving me to land like last time, but I just borrowed the air down to 3 feet and did not touch down as I had no permission to. Even if I did, I would not want to leave my typical elliptical exhaust print on that pristine grass! .......................................Next whymsical thought was to go fly over dads farms which are scattered around the county. I over flew each one and found it interesting how this years record drought changed the looks of the crops from a normal year. ..................................More stuff that I won't mention here, but my best flying just can't be captured with pictures. That feeling of flying down in the terrain stopping on whim just can't be captured. ............................I was enjoying my fresh slightly tightened control feel. The feedback thru the system seemed quicker or smootherm. All systems were normal and I still spend very little time working on this machine after 25 months of flying it. Next Saturday I am planning on flying to Chapter 18's cookout near Chicago. Love the flight up there and back. Hope I can figure out my computer glitch by then. Stan

[GyrOZprey]

Awesome descriptive writing Stan...... made me feel I was right there with you - getting hopeful the winds will allow me some progress this week then I can share my flying also!
Thanks for having us along & sharing your passion!

[Ronnie328]

Stan, i'd love to see the pics. If there's any way you can email them, i'd happily post them for you.

Ronnie328@msn.com

[Vance]

Nice description Stan.

I was right there with you.

I love the joy that your background brings to things.

Thank you, Vance

[Resasi]

You had us there Stan, goofing around and saying hi to folks on the ground. It was fun.

Hope you get your computer back soon, and we get our airfield back. Been confined to going for rides with you guys for months now as we at Rissington wait untill our security clearances and permission come through to fly from an airfield we were flying out of for years. Very frustrating.

[StanFoster]

Leigh-Chris and Vance--------Glad to have you along. My biggest frustration is the fact that no way can pictures capture the feeling of these typical flights I make. To be flying along then see something to stop and look at is like watching a movie, seeing something interesting, zoom in and pause, then just scroll around taking it all in. Makes me shake my head and go wow as I use the the ability to accelerate air just enough to hover. Maybe a remote controlled belly cam with video would get the feel. My computer is working fine except for some screen that comes up when I try to get on the internet. I just haven't a clue what to do with it. My typical course of action is to go buy yet another computer, but I am actually enjoying just getting on with my cellphone instead.

[JEFF TIPTON]

What does the screen say that comes up?

[StanFoster]

Jeff- I will post tomorrow what my screen says. Stan

[okikuma]

Hi Stan,

Your description of your flight yesterday was just grand. Reading your explanations without pictures reminded me of the old saying about radio, "Theater of the Mind." I definitely was there with you.

Like a US Marine, there are no ex-farmers. As a child in Nebraska, my Dad worked on farms (during the depression too). That life never left him even though he became a full fledged metropolitan city man. He always smiled looking at a field of corn and well in his 80s, he could pick over a 100 lb of cherries, apples, or pears within an hour all by himself. He did that for fun!

Keep it up Stan,

Wayne

[Resasi]

Well Stan I sure hope that you get the computer back, though I am sure that while it is down you can turn your mind to some new position to put a camera...to get those pie dishes being sucked up through your rotor, or some other meorable moment

Yup we remember these things too, you make memories we all share with you whizzing down that chopper channel with your markers to spit out and up to hunt for combines to hover near.

Got the news today that we are getting our clearences and are going to be back at our field. Email came in this afternoon.

Of course the summer has gone, the temp is dropping and I really hate the cold. That 'Under Armour' I bought at Bass Pro is coming out, plus the cotton Long Johns and thermals that go over those. But then on the plus side is those lower temps make for some crisp air for those rotors to bite, engine gives a bit more, and if it's sunny, well then that rotor slap when you crank it round just sounds so much better.

[StanFoster]

Leigh- I soon will be putting on one full door, then in November I will put the other full door on. I am thinking about putting a Go-Pro remote camera under my belly. It won't be a fish eye lense as I just don't like the distortion. Much rather see less field of vision undistorted than a wide angle all bowed looking. Someday I will add some more videos.