More fun flying The Predator.

[Vance]

The last flight of The Predator for 2016.

The last flight of The Predator for 2016.

Thank you Leigh; and a Happy New Year to you.

It seems there is always something to do at the hangar.

The other day a client was performing a preflight on The Predator after I had already done one before he arrived.

I find teaching too much of a distraction so I do my preflight before the client arrives.

He said the strobe lights weren’t working. He thought I was checking his work.

I was not and the anti-collision lights had worked when I checked them.

I checked them and he was correct so today was the day to find the problem and fix it.

There are eight single pole switches across the bottom of the panel and I have replaced most of them. They are not easy to get to and it is easy to drop the little brass screws when trying to hook them up. It was pretty straight forward and I only had to remove one other switch to get to the nut on the back side.

Mark Givans uses Loctite on the knurled screws and I don’t so I knew this was one of the originals. The brass terminal failed when I tried to unscrew the terminal screw and I ruined the knurled nut getting it off.

Fortunately my new switch had a similar knurled nut so it was pretty straight forward swap. Somehow I didn’t drop the screws and it all tested fine.

The repair finished it was on to the bigger project, a panel outlet for the power for my active noise reduction headset. I have had a panel mount outlet in the front for a long time and have been using a battery pack in the back. The nine volt battery last a long time but they seem to fail at inopportune moments.

It makes a wonderful difference on how loud the engine sounds to me and makes it much easier to understand both the tower and the intercom.

It meant installing an outlet in the panel behind the seat and wiring the filter and fuse into the system. I needed to mount the little package of electronics and find power and ground.

It ended up being pretty straight forward. To save time I didn’t take the side panel off so I had to manage the wire ties one handed because there is no way to get a second hand into the tower. This is not easy with the small wire ties but the longer ones are straight forward.

I want to fly tomorrow so I needed to get a maintenance flight in and I wanted to do it before dark.

Naturally I dropped one of the little screws that connect the wires for the navigation lights. By some miracle I was able to retrieve it and was finished with my preflight and check by a little after four.

I was not on my game so I slowed down and carefully used the check lists. The sun was in my eyes and I couldn’t read the numbers on the radio. I called ground on the tower frequency. I quickly realized my mistake and ground (the same guy) got right back to me.

The run-up went well and I asked for left closed traffic. By now I was on my game and the windless takeoff was elegant.

As I was coming in for my final landing of 2016 I needed a lot of right pedal despite the windsocks being flaccid. It is no wonder as a storm had just passed through.

The landing was nice as could be and I taxied to self-serve and monitored ground.

On my way back to the hangar I wished ground a happy new year and thanked him for all his help.

“See you next year Vance!” was his response.

The final flight of the year and finishing up the two tasks left me in such a good mood all I can say is Happy New Year!

And yes the brown grass at the airport has turned green form the recent rains.

 

[Vance]

A cold flight to Santa Paula.

A cold flight to Santa Paula.

I was ready for an early launch Sunday, January 1, 2017.

Open hangar day seemed like a good way to start the New Year.

The 42 degrees F slowed me down a little but I was encouraged by being able to see the hills on the other side of the Valley about 18 miles away.

I just purchased a brand new Nomex Flight suit and Ed spent a lot of time trimming threads and ironing it Saturday night. I was anxious to try it out.

It was too cold for her so I was solo.

Silk thermals, a couple of layers, warm socks and the flight suit had me feeling pretty good with the top down in the Roadster. I had Hank Williams on the CD; his rendition of Amazing Grace got me in the Sunday frame of mind and I marveled at the beauty that surrounded me as I made my way across the Santa Maria Valley.

I finished up the preflight that I had begun the night before and checked the weather.

Freezing levels were down to 3,000 feet with an AIRMET for moderate turbulence below 8,000 feet. The temperature/dew point spread was one degree C and my minimum is four so I worked at cleaning up the hangar waiting for things to warm up a little. The skies looked blue with some high wispy clouds.

It tends to be colder in the hangar in the morning so I had the doors wide open. I actually got a little hot from the activity.

10:30 and the ATIS had the temperature/dew point spread at four degrees so called Flight Service and asked the briefer for an abbreviated briefing.

She fired right up but almost died as I leaned to taxi prematurely.

There was a crackling popping in the radio that almost had me turning back to the hangar as I taxied to runway three zero. I did a couple of radio checks with ground and it was loud and clear.

Winds were calm and when I called the tower ready for departure I was told to hold short for a C130 doing touch and goes.

I watched the lumbering beast land and then crawl into the air and asked the tower if I could make an early cross for wake turbulence avoidance.

“Experimental Two Mike Golf, early left cross wind approved; runway three zero clear for takeoff.”

I was careful to keep her on the ground till I was past the touch down point and could feel the rotor being a little unsteady. The density altitude was -579 feet so we were off quickly and I turned left well before the point the C130 had lifted off.

I needed to cross the centerline for three zero to fly through the San Marcos pass and ATC kindly told me to go ahead because he didn’t have any traffic.

I was seeing 84kts of ground speed at 65kts indicated air speed and still climbing at 500 feet per minute with the power pulled back for cruise. I found it hard to stop at 3,500 feet and had to pull the power back a lot. The Predator felt wonderfully serene responding gently to the moderate turbulence.

The air felt crisp and clean and I picked up a lot of very pleasant aromas from the still wet ground below. The hills are greening up nicely.

Santa Barbara Approach was surprisingly busy so I made an abbreviated call. He eventually got back to me and gave me a transponder code and position and altitude were verified.

When he lost me on radar near Lake Cachuma he told me to stay out of his class Charlie airspace so I climbed to 4,600 feet (the top of the SBA Charlie is 4,000 feet msl) and followed along the ridgeline. Radar contact was established and I again verified altitude and I descended to 2,500 feet. It was warmer down there.

I love the way the sun reflects off the water in a shimmering silvery way. The Channel Islands looked mysterious in the mist.

I canceled radar services over Carpentaria because the radio was getting weak and made my way through no name pass and over Lake Casitas. I found some strong lift and moderate turbulence over the hills.

The CTAF at Santa Paula was very busy because they had just changed from runway four to runway two two. This always causes a lot of confusion.

I had the power so far back descending over Saticoy was somehow a little spooky. I hit a sink at about 1,600 feet and had to quickly get the power back in before reaching the 845 pattern altitude.

I made my ten mile call and called near the Saticoy Bridge. There was still a lot of traffic so I ran her up to 85kts and reported the Junkyard. There were pilots unfamiliar with the area and reporting badly. Santa Paula has a close pattern because of the proximity of a hill on down wind. I reported down wind, turning base turning final behind a Baron. It was very turbulent over the numbers so I landed with some speed chirping the tires.

I was surprised to find the Fight 126 Café open and after securing everything I made my way to the busy diner. I was going to sit at the counter till some friends waved me down. I had a lot of fun catching up with their adventures. One of my friends is 84 and flies a YAK 52 and a Pits S1. He has a helicopter rating and may end up training with me for his gyroplane rating.

I stopped by Pat Quin’s hangar and it was well populated with interesting people.

As I was about to get my weather briefing Al Ball stopped by thrilled with his new hearing aid. He is hearing words he has missed for years. His beautiful 18A is still for sale. I was feeling a little pressed for time but it was great to have a two way conversation with Al.

The briefer had some pilot reports of turbulence near Santa Barbara. Sunset at SMX is was listed as 5:03PM PST and the ceiling was 1,800 overcast. I was surprised and disappointed that it had not warmed up more during the day.

I was wheels up by 3:40 between a Yak and a Stearman.

 

[Vance]

Homeward bound!

Homeward bound!

Over Lake Casitas I could see a thin layer of clouds creeping over the ridgeline.

I contacted Santa Barbara approach 20 miles from the San Marcos VOR and was given a transponder code and altitude was verified. I was already at 4,500 feet but I might need to descend through the San Marcos pass to clear the clouds and it seems a curtesy when I am close to their airspace.

The sun reflects of the mist making picture taking a lot harder in the late afternoon heading west.

We were pushing against an eighteen knot head wind so even at 70kts indicated air speed progress seemed a little slow. It got worse as we neared Santa Barbara and Approach reported moderate turbulence and mountain wave activity report from a Robinson 22. I didn’t like the look of the San Marcos Pass and decided to climb to 6.500 feet and fly over the ridgeline instead of flying through at 3,500 feet. I felt there was a good chance of the wind pressing the overcast against the hills and shutting off my flight path.

The head wind got worse as I climbed higher but the lift from the ridge was still strong. For what seemed like a long time I saw 42kts of ground speed at 70kts indicated air speed. I found the clouds, the low ground speed and the extra altitude disorienting. It felt as though we had just stopped in the air. I watched as some water on the windshield turned to ice in a snowflake pattern.

Once clear of the ridgeline I dropped down to 1,500 feet and it was surprisingly dark as I followed highway 101 toward SMX. I still had 15 mile visibility but the things I could see were a little fuzzy and dark. I found it intimidating and was glad to be over familiar territory. Things seemed to lighten up as I neared SMX as light streamed through a hole in the overcast. I noticed the ice on the windshield had not melted.

Because I was low it was hard to get the ATIS and I was pleased to hear ATIS November had eighteen hundred overcast and VFR. Runway three zero was in use. Winds were 030 degrees at 14kts and runway three zero was in use.

I reported three miles and runway 30 was clear to land. When I get cold I find my lips don’t work well and my radio call tend to be compromised.

As I approached I could see the windsocks were pretty much straight across and I prepared for the challenge by drifting right on the hundred fifty foot wide runway.

It is surprising to me how much faster the Predator sinks when I am flying uncoordinated testing my rudder effectiveness.

It was just dark and gray enough that it was hard for me to judge the distance to the runway and I was pleased when it all worked out and we set down gently at the taxiway. I had some difficulty getting the rotor slowed down below 100 rpm so I could engage the rotor brake. It was clear the wind had picked up since the ATIS and the hangars redirect the flow so it was hard to form a clear impression of the wind direction.

I felt like I had a mouth full of popcorn as I responded to taxi instructions.

The flight down had taken 1.3 hours and the flight back took 1.7 hours.

What a lovely way to spend three hours. The friends at Santa Paula added to the quality of the day.

I headed straight to the hangar and after hooking up the charger and a quick post flight inspection I headed for home still wearing my flight suit. My head was a little colder without the helmet but I feel wearing a helicopter helmet a convertible would attract a lot of unwanted attention. I had the heater blasting and it felt good as I relieved the flight. There were a lot of intoxicated people on the road so I was on high alert. The pedestrians stumbling around wearing dark cloths at dusk are the worst.

It was a fitting end to a lovely day to be back in the arms of my loving wife.

 

[All_In]

Always enjoy your flights Vance.
Thanks for sharing!

 

[Vance]

Cable Air Show 2017 January 14-15!

Cable Air Show 2017 January 14-15!

Thank you John, glad to have you along.

I am getting ready to fly The Predator in the 41st Annual Cable Air Show.

The National Weather Service is showing a 49% chance of light rain for Thursday January 12.

Practice day is Friday January 13 with a 26% chance of rain in Upland.

It is too far out for the predicted weather to have much accuracy.

The show lost a day to rain in 2015 and the weather has always made it a challenge to fly down and back.

I will be watching the weather closely as my departure date nears.

There doesn’t appear to be snow on the mountains at this time but I expect that to change.

The kids and grandkids are going to be in town so Ed is going to be enjoying being grandma. I will be on my own without ground transportation in Upland.

This will be my fifth time flying in the Cable Air show and it is my favorite Air Show.

The Predator is always well received and parties at the end of each day are a great chance to visit with old friend and meet new ones.

I feel a part of the Cable family and enjoy that status a lot.

Here are some pictures from last year’s show.

And a video that Gerald helped piece together:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LgNHnpCcQsM

 

[Vance]

A Transponder for The Predator.

A Transponder for The Predator.

December 24th I encountered rain at San Luis Obispo (SBP) and hail on the way back to Santa Maria (SMX).

The transponder in The Predator is kind of an afterthought and unprotected from the rain.

It is a Bendix King KT 76A, a very common transponder.

Coming back from Santa Paula Santa Barbara Approach let me know that my transponder was intermittent.

Flying to Cable airport (CCB) in Upland puts me into the bowels of the Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) class B airspace and beneath the mode C veil. A transponder is required and it is required in or above Santa Barbara’s Class Charlie airspace.

A transponder needs to be certified every two years so that it is not sending out wrong altitude information. I will be ramp checked by at least two representatives from the Riverside FSDO at the Cable Air Show. The will inspect the log books including looking for the transponder certification.

In anticipation of impending doom I went on eBay and bid on another KT 76A with a return in 14 days if it doesn’t work for you for $200. It came with the tray, antenna and altitude encoder.

Today The Predator’s transponder was pronounced dead at Coastal Valley Aviation and my eBay transponder was slid into place and certified. I love it when things work out.

The weather is still looking iffy with a 40% chance of rain on Thursday.

Friday is looking good but I will miss practice.

I am going to be prepared to launch Wednesday but there is currently a 47% chance of rain.

I love managing the details of participating in an event like the Cable Air Show.

 

[Vance]

Plan C is becoming probable.

Plan C is becoming probable.

Plan B was to leave today, Wednesday, January 11.

It looks like that is not going to work out.

Even if I could find a window to get out of SMX it is likely I would get rained on at Santa Paula or Upland.

Thursday is plan A. It is not looking good with more rain predicted along the route.

Plan C is to leave at 7:30 AM on Friday in the hopes of getting there before the TFR that will probably start at noon. It is not listed yet. Sunrise is 7:10 at KSMX and it is about a three hour flight plus a stop for gas at Santa Paula.

It is doable but not how I like to fly and doing the final preflight in the semi darkness is not ideal.

I will do the bulk of packing and preflight today. I have a new packing scheme and I am still working it out. It is harder to remove the rear stick with all the wires going to it so my suit case doesn’t work very well because it hits the stick with its new ratio. I purchased a large back pack and am still working on the details. Computer, helmet and warm cloths take up a lot of space. Fewer days make the job easier.

We had a great EAA meeting last night with a talk from a friend who has time in a U2. He had some great stories to share.

It is 4:00 AM and I am headed back to bed.

 

[Vance]

That didn’t work out.

That didn’t work out.

I saw some blue sky this morning and checked the National Weather Service hoping I could slip out after 12:00 local time.

It is supposed to rain all day today at Cable.

I called Mary to tell her I did not need accommodations tonight and it was so loud in her hangar from the rain that she couldn’t hear me. She yelled at me to fly safe and I called her back later.

It looks like an early start for me Friday Morning. I am flying almost the same direction as the storm is traveling so I will have to be careful not to overtake it.

They issued the TFR today and it begins at 18:00 Zulu (10:00 local) so I can’t get to Cable till after the TFR begins unless I was wheels up at sunrise (not likely) and had a very quick stop at Santa Paula for gas (not likely) and it lasts till 23:30 Zulu (15:30) local.

The cell number I have for the Air Boss (Ryan) appears to belong to someone else now. Mary thinks Ryan will be on the CTAF and can ok me to enter the affected airspace in between practicing aircraft.

I would like to get some practice in myself but I need to be briefed and The Predator inspected before I can fly. I suspect this will pose some logistical challenges.

My rucksack is working out great as I keep pulling cloths out of it as the number of days gets shorter. I am down to three days. I found a new use for one of those AOPA bags. It fits perfectly in a little compartment in the top of the rucksack and handles my toiletries and chargers (cell, radio, GPS, still camera and Video camera) nicely. I think it will be a big improvement over my suitcase. Ed managed to roll up the cover for The Predator well enough to get it where the sleeping bag is supposed to go so worst case I can say somewhere like Santa Paula and still make it in before the show starts. That is plan D.

I just had a call from Philip in Tujunga who saw me fly over his house both ways last year. He is coming to the show on Saturday but still wants to wave as I wander by. I am a little over 1,000 feet AGL there beneath Burbank’s class Charlie airspace so I am going to try to wave back this time.

I don’t like being down to not having a weather day. I am hoping tomorrow goes well.

I will be heading back Monday but I don’t have any clients scheduled till Wednesday just in case of weather or something wrong with The Predator.

 

[Vance]

I made it without getting wet and was able to practice.

I made it without getting wet and was able to practice.

I was finished with preflight and ready to go at 7:00.

I checked the weather and it looked like the storm would stay ahead of me. The only bade news was scattered showers were expected at Ontario at 2:00.

I spent a lot of time waiting for the temperature dew point spread to reach four degrees and there was frozen fog over Santa Ynez. I was wheels up by 8:45 fighting a 20knot plus head wind all the way to Santa Paula fir a 1.7 hour flight. I visited with Al Ball for a while and then headed off into the threatening sky.

I had to make circles for a half hour while an aerobatic pilot had the air box. I was inspected by three nice fellows from the Riverside FSDO and got to practice some before the TFR expired at 3:30. I hope I fly better tomorrow.

I am off to the first party at Mary’s hangar and will write about all this when I get back to Santa Maria.

After talking about all the battery chargers I forgot to bring one for the computer.

 

[Vance]

Home safe from Cable!

Home safe from Cable!

I spent some time this morning enjoying the wonderful family I have at the Cable Airport. They treat me well and I love being a part of the magic. I did a very careful preflight at the hanger and I finished breakfast at Maniac Mikes around noon.

I called for a weather brief and except for some mountain obscuration and cold things looked great for my return flight.

She climbed out well in the cold air (there is still snow on Mount Baldy) and I made my way west calling each of the airports along the way to Santa Paula. It was smoggy so I didn’t take pictures on the way to Santa Paula.

I had a 20kt tail wind over the riverbed so runway two two was in use. I made an upwind over the city and crossed over the departure numbers for a left downwind for runway two two.

A helicopter CFI, Tony Santeramo; stopped by while I was fueling her up and we shared some instructing stories. Nice man. Part of the fun of flying The Predator is everyone wants to know about her and I meet the most interesting people.

I got another briefing and it was as benign as the first.

For some reason I picked up the speed a little and it felt good.

The hills have turned green from the recent rain and the air was thick with the fragrance of spring.

As I neared the runway at Santa Maria I was not ready for it to end and regretted speeding up.

Lots of friends were at the airport and a few of my clients.

There was a hangar party every night.

The way I flew it was 167 nautical miles (192 statute miles) and I loved every mile of it.

I will write about flying in the air show when I settle down. Now I just want to take a hot shower and hold Ed.

I have a client for training tomorrow.

 

[Vance]

A part of the magic.

A part of the magic.

Victor Archer took the most amazing picture of The Predator while flying in the Cable air show. I feel it is simply magic so I figured I should share it with my friends.

 

[Vance]

Flying in the Cable air show 2017.

Flying in the Cable air show 2017.

Because Ed was on grandma duty I didn’t have a photographer so I am posting some pictures from the face book page of Friends of Cable Airport. https://www.facebook.com/groups/102881936415728/permalink/1187572474613330/

Overcast skies and the possibility of rain moved a distant client to cancel today and more his session to the weather day I didn’t need for the flight back from Cable. I was pleased when he understood the importance of no rushing the flight home. He had his best day yet with all of his takeoffs, landings, radio calls and pattern work were to practical test standards. I feel like he is developing a feel for the aircraft and anticipating rather than being behind the aircraft.

My rucksack worked great, much better than the suitcase I had been using. It was easier to secure and didn’t interfere with the rear cyclic. It easily held my extra helmet, four days of warm cloths, my extra Garmin 496, my computer, toiletries and chargers. Unfortunately I forgot the charger for the lap top but I would not have had time to write about the event as it was happening because I was hurrying from 5:30 AM to 11:00 PM each day.

Friday I was fortunate to be able to get into the airport during the TFR and the representatives from the Riverside FSDO were kind enough to inspect the aircraft and allow me to read and sign the TFR so I could practice. Usually if you miss the pilot’s briefing you don’t fly that day.

My practice went badly. Some suggested it was the turbulence from the passing storm; I feel I was just not flying well. I lost 150 feet during one maneuver that I should have been able to do in 50. My efforts to salvage the maneuver were fruitless and late. On my low pass at 25kts I was up and down more than ten feet. In my first engine at idle landing from slow flight I was almost 100 feet past show center. I was having trouble maintaining both altitude and airspeed in my slow (30kts) tight (30 foot diameter) 360 degree turns.

I shared a hangar with some remarkable air show performers and was given the keys to the Cable airport crew shuttle; a suv wrapped in Cable signage and pictures of cool airplanes.

I just had time to check in to the DoubleTree when it was time to go to the party at Mary’s hangar with great tri tip barbeque and linguica. It was fun visiting with old friends and making the new people feel welcome. I talked to a nice lady about flying in the Hangar 24 Air Fest at Redlands and it may come to pass. Bob Cable came by at the right time and told her we would be a good fit.
http://hangar24airfest.com/

When I got back to the hotel I found there was no parking so I circled the buildings for a half hour before I found a spot. The Double Tree is a big place with lots of buildings and I was concerned I would not be able to find the car in the morning.

The Pilot’s briefing is at 7:00 so I was up at 5:30am. It was still dark and I was able to find the car by pressing the unlock button and looking for the lights. I had a quick breakfast and made it to the briefing hangar by 6:45. I talked to a representative of the Riverside FSDO and he had gone to the trouble of looking up the definition of aerobatic flight for helicopters. In a fixed wing it is more than 60 degrees of bank and 30 degrees nose up and nose down. For rotorcraft it is 90 degrees. He had done this because I had told him I would be exceeding both the bank and nose up/nose down and felt it was not aerobatic flight. He complimented my flying the day before when I was flying so badly.

The waver was explained and lots of pictures of the air box were shown. The rules and procedures were articulated with special emphasis on emergency procedures and not directing energy at the crowd.

I was on the schedule after Dan’s hang glider at 10:40 and again in the afternoon after Dan at 2:45. I like flying twice because so many people stop by and say they missed seeing The Predator fly when I have a flight early in the show. It is nice to fly after Dan because he is a professional and very consistent. He is in a wheel chair and needs to be removed from the runway after his show so I take off on the very bumpy north taxiway to keep things moving.

Preflight went well and I called the temporary tower to taxi across the runway to my parking spot. Mary was going to try to get a special area so the kids can get access to The Predator and it never happened.

Several friends came by to visit and it was hard to get focused at 10:00. There are no props turning near the crowd line and the taxiway is up hill so several volunteers help me push her each time after I check in with the air boss.

Ryan, the air boss is very informal and calls me by name on the radio. I feel funny responding with my name in the read backs so I use Two Mike Golf. “Vance, start and taxi to run up runway 24” doesn’t work for me. I have heard that referring to yourself in the third person is a sign of insanity.

I taxi up to run up and shut down till Dan starts his performance. His performance is eight minutes long and that is long enough for me to warm up. If I warm up first I have to make a hot start and that can be a challenge with an IO-320.

“Vance, clear to cross runway 24 and depart on the north taxiway, the air box is yours.”

I delay lift off till I am show center and climb to about 300 feet AGL making a 180 degree turn and make a 100 mile per hour pass 50 feet above the hangars and then do a steep 180 climbing turn back to show center at about 300 feet. Steep turn, slow tight turns, slow flight, pull the engine to idle and descend vertically and call for a stop and go. Because I am usually a little high I point her nose at the ground seeing around 80kts with the engine at idle and flair aggressively at the bottom touching down near show center. I climb back up to show center after the stop and go and depending on how long the air boss is trying to manage the schedule I demonstrate the maneuverability. I usually do a slow (25kt) low pass waiving at the crowed if things are going well.

An ATP for UPS stopped by very excited about learning to fly a gyroplane. She feels as I do that a gyroplane flies in a magical way. I sat her in The Predator and took her though the takeoff sequence. I suspect she will be a great pilot under instruction and quick study.

Several clients stopped by and Kyron was kind enough to let me use his chair.

The second show did not go as smoothly because Doug had canceled his second performance to give him time to load his trike with pyro techniques for his night show. They substituted an RV formation flight but the coordination with me was poor. I was ready when the call came and the routine went well. The Ryan asked for an extra five minutes and I did some more low passes, another stop and go and then screwed The Predator into the sky making a 60 foot spiral and then came straight back down in a vertical descent. I have to be careful about adding time to the routine because since I have already done the things I have practiced I want to try something I haven’t practiced. I feel that is dangerous and I don’t like to be distracted by exercising self-control. I may have the days confused for the extended routine.

The show closed down at 4:00 and we taxied back to the hangar. On my way back to the car the short cut is across the runway. I called the temporary tower with my handheld to cross runway 24. I had a little trouble explaining I was without 142 Mike Golf. “Two Mike Golf are you in the white BMW?” Negative, I am on foot behind the B25. “Two Mike Golf, cross runway 24, no delay, Ryan on final.”

I went to Wall Mart for a universal power supply that only sort of worked and headed back to the airport for the night show and the party at Bob Cable’s hangar. Kyron joined me, the show was great and we had a lot of fun. I was back at the Hotel by 10:30 and was a little quicker to find a parking place.

Sunday was a lot like Saturday with some friends showing up and visiting.

A friend flew in his red Calidus so The Predator was not the only gyroplane there.

Dan flew both spots so things were a little easier. For the second show there was an APU near the taxiway and Ryan made me aware of it and I should make a short takeoff roll. The rough ground can get the rotor blades bounding up and down delaying getting to flight rpm so I refused the clearance and took off from runway 24 when Dan was clear.

I had been refusing to give rides all weekend but just after the TFR was shut down Ryan asked me to take another tower controller up. I was glad I had packed the extra helmet. She was a fearless woman and liked the vertical descent the best. We were flying in the air box and Ryan asked me to fly closer to the crowd. I was quite a bit higher and harder to see. It was a fun hectic ending to the Cable Air Show.

At the survivors party in Mary’s hangar I always feel I am standing with giants. I heard a lot of great stories and had a lot of fun. The lady from the Hangar 24 Air Fest liked the show and felt we would be a good fit. Lots of people asked about Ed and liked it that she made her grandchildren a priority.

I was back at the Hotel by 11:30 still with no parking.

What a lovely way to spend four days.

Thank you for coming along.

 

[loftus]

Thanks Vance, awesome as always.

 

[kyron]

Fun at the Cable Air Show

Fun at the Cable Air Show

Because Ed was on grandma duty I didn’t have a photographer so I am posting some pictures from the face book page of Friends of Cable Airport. https://www.facebook.com/groups/102881936415728/permalink/1187572474613330/

Overcast skies and the possibility of rain moved a distant client to cancel today and more his session to the weather day I didn’t need for the flight back from Cable. I was pleased when he understood the importance of no rushing the flight home. He had his best day yet with all of his takeoffs, landings, radio calls and pattern work were to practical test standards. I feel like he is developing a feel for the aircraft and anticipating rather than being behind the aircraft.

My rucksack worked great, much better than the suitcase I had been using. It was easier to secure and didn’t interfere with the rear cyclic. It easily held my extra helmet, four days of warm cloths, my extra Garmin 496, my computer, toiletries and chargers. Unfortunately I forgot the charger for the lap top but I would not have had time to write about the event as it was happening because I was hurrying from 5:30 AM to 11:00 PM each day.

Friday I was fortunate to be able to get into the airport during the TFR and the representatives from the Riverside FSDO were kind enough to inspect the aircraft and allow me to read and sign the TFR so I could practice. Usually if you miss the pilot’s briefing you don’t fly that day.

My practice went badly. Some suggested it was the turbulence from the passing storm; I feel I was just not flying well. I lost 150 feet during one maneuver that I should have been able to do in 50. My efforts to salvage the maneuver were fruitless and late. On my low pass at 25kts I was up and down more than ten feet. In my first engine at idle landing from slow flight I was almost 100 feet past show center. I was having trouble maintaining both altitude and airspeed in my slow (30kts) tight (30 foot diameter) 360 degree turns.

I shared a hangar with some remarkable air show performers and was given the keys to the Cable airport crew shuttle; a suv wrapped in Cable signage and pictures of cool airplanes.

I just had time to check in to the DoubleTree when it was time to go to the party at Mary’s hangar with great tri tip barbeque and linguica. It was fun visiting with old friends and making the new people feel welcome. I talked to a nice lady about flying in the Hangar 24 Air Fest at Redlands and it may come to pass. Bob Cable came by at the right time and told her we would be a good fit.
http://hangar24airfest.com/

When I got back to the hotel I found there was no parking so I circled the buildings for a half hour before I found a spot. The Double Tree is a big place with lots of buildings and I was concerned I would not be able to find the car in the morning.

The Pilot’s briefing is at 7:00 so I was up at 5:30am. It was still dark and I was able to find the car by pressing the unlock button and looking for the lights. I had a quick breakfast and made it to the briefing hangar by 6:45. I talked to a representative of the Riverside FSDO and he had gone to the trouble of looking up the definition of aerobatic flight for helicopters. In a fixed wing it is more than 60 degrees of bank and 30 degrees nose up and nose down. For rotorcraft it is 90 degrees. He had done this because I had told him I would be exceeding both the bank and nose up/nose down and felt it was not aerobatic flight. He complimented my flying the day before when I was flying so badly.

The waver was explained and lots of pictures of the air box were shown. The rules and procedures were articulated with special emphasis on emergency procedures and not directing energy at the crowd.

I was on the schedule after Dan’s hang glider at 10:40 and again in the afternoon after Dan at 2:45. I like flying twice because so many people stop by and say they missed seeing The Predator fly when I have a flight early in the show. It is nice to fly after Dan because he is a professional and very consistent. He is in a wheel chair and needs to be removed from the runway after his show so I take off on the very bumpy north taxiway to keep things moving.

Preflight went well and I called the temporary tower to taxi across the runway to my parking spot. Mary was going to try to get a special area so the kids can get access to The Predator and it never happened.

Several friends came by to visit and it was hard to get focused at 10:00. There are no props turning near the crowd line and the taxiway is up hill so several volunteers help me push her each time after I check in with the air boss.

Ryan, the air boss is very informal and calls me by name on the radio. I feel funny responding with my name in the read backs so I use Two Mike Golf. “Vance, start and taxi to run up runway 24” doesn’t work for me. I have heard that referring to yourself in the third person is a sign of insanity.

I taxi up to run up and shut down till Dan starts his performance. His performance is eight minutes long and that is long enough for me to warm up. If I warm up first I have to make a hot start and that can be a challenge with an IO-320.

“Vance, clear to cross runway 24 and depart on the north taxiway, the air box is yours.”

I delay lift off till I am show center and climb to about 300 feet AGL making a 180 degree turn and make a 100 mile per hour pass 50 feet above the hangars and then do a steep 180 climbing turn back to show center at about 300 feet. Steep turn, slow tight turns, slow flight, pull the engine to idle and descend vertically and call for a stop and go. Because I am usually a little high I point her nose at the ground seeing around 80kts with the engine at idle and flair aggressively at the bottom touching down near show center. I climb back up to show center after the stop and go and depending on how long the air boss is trying to manage the schedule I demonstrate the maneuverability. I usually do a slow (25kt) low pass waiving at the crowed if things are going well.

An ATP for UPS stopped by very excited about learning to fly a gyroplane. She feels as I do that a gyroplane flies in a magical way. I sat her in The Predator and took her though the takeoff sequence. I suspect she will be a great pilot under instruction and quick study.

Several clients stopped by and Kyron was kind enough to let me use his chair.

The second show did not go as smoothly because Doug had canceled his second performance to give him time to load his trike with pyro techniques for his night show. They substituted an RV formation flight but the coordination with me was poor. I was ready when the call came and the routine went well. The Ryan asked for an extra five minutes and I did some more low passes, another stop and go and then screwed The Predator into the sky making a 60 foot spiral and then came straight back down in a vertical descent. I have to be careful about adding time to the routine because since I have already done the things I have practiced I want to try something I haven’t practiced. I feel that is dangerous and I don’t like to be distracted by exercising self-control. I may have the days confused for the extended routine.

The show closed down at 4:00 and we taxied back to the hangar. On my way back to the car the short cut is across the runway. I called the temporary tower with my handheld to cross runway 24. I had a little trouble explaining I was without 142 Mike Golf. “Two Mike Golf are you in the white BMW?” Negative, I am on foot behind the B25. “Two Mike Golf, cross runway 24, no delay, Ryan on final.”

I went to Wall Mart for a universal power supply that only sort of worked and headed back to the airport for the night show and the party at Bob Cable’s hangar. Kyron joined me, the show was great and we had a lot of fun. I was back at the Hotel by 10:30 and was a little quicker to find a parking place.

Sunday was a lot like Saturday with some friends showing up and visiting.

A friend flew in his red Calidus so The Predator was not the only gyroplane there.

Dan flew both spots so things were a little easier. For the second show there was an APU near the taxiway and Ryan made me aware of it and I should make a short takeoff roll. The rough ground can get the rotor blades bounding up and down delaying getting to flight rpm so I refused the clearance and took off from runway 24 when Dan was clear.

I had been refusing to give rides all weekend but just after the TFR was shut down Ryan asked me to take another tower controller up. I was glad I had packed the extra helmet. She was a fearless woman and liked the vertical descent the best. We were flying in the air box and Ryan asked me to fly closer to the crowd. I was quite a bit higher and harder to see. It was a fun hectic ending to the Cable Air Show.

At the survivors party in Mary’s hangar I always feel I am standing with giants. I heard a lot of great stories and had a lot of fun. The lady from the Hangar 24 Air Fest liked the show and felt we would be a good fit. Lots of people asked about Ed and liked it that she made her grandchildren a priority.

I was back at the Hotel by 11:30 still with no parking.

What a lovely way to spend four days.

Thank you for coming along.

Vance,
I had lots of fun watching the show and talking with you. It's such a pleasure to learn from you. All the best, Kyron

 

[All_In]

Hi Buddy
Looks like so much fun!!! Thanks for sharing the Airshow.

 

[Vance]

Thank you!

Thank you!

Thank you Jeffrey Hartog.

It is always nice to have you along.

I like to think about how you think about things.

Thank you Kyron Brimmer.

It was a lot of fun sharing the event with you.

Thank you for the use of your chair; that helped a lot.

Thank you John Roundtree; it was a lot of fun.

I am happy to share the fun with my friends.

I feel like I am living a dream and sharing it makes it seem more real.

 

[Vance]

A jerky video from The Cable Air Show.

A jerky video from The Cable Air Show.

I keep finding new ways to screw up video at airshows

Out of four flights I captured one on video sort of from Sunday afternoon. It plays very jerky on my computer, sorry.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h9aUjtWB3Pk&feature=youtu.be

This is my basic routine with The Predator, about seven and a half minutes.

I have some basic things I want to demonstrate and then get her on the ground.

I don’t like doing the same things over again when I need to extend the routine because the next performer is not ready and I don’t like to do things I haven’t practiced.

The “high speed pass” looks slower than it was. The GPS had it at 94kts (108 miles per hour).

Saturday’s show was 98kts (113 miles per hour) because there was some wind. Not much wind on Sunday.

The slow pass was at about 16kts.

I never got over three hundred feet above the ground.

The tower is just past show center.

 

[Vance]

Progress or Pointless?

Progress or Pointless?

The weather has been nice for flying and the hills are turning green.

I have been working on recording flight instruction with a Garmin VIRB Elite that I purchased refurbished for $130 and a memory card for $19.

Like so many things in aviation there was more expense to it than that.

I purchased a chord for $21 to record the radio and it works very well. I am pleased with the quality of the audio. I am already making some changes in my microphone muff based on what I have learned.

I mounted the camera on my helmet and the glare shield stops me from reading the instruments and the head movement drives me crazy.

I have a chest mount coming that cost $22.

I feel the audio will help clients get better at radio communications. It allows questions like; Was that useful information? What was left out? What words or phraseology would have worked better?

In my last test flight I recorded some great examples of bad radio. One pilot would not answer the question in a succinct way; “what are your intentions?” He was using nonstandard phraseology about patterns and pattern entry and made a “base, gear down” call that I didn’t understand the purpose of.

Another pilot stopped on the runway and would not articulate where he wanted to go. After multiple badly answered inquires ATC said; “That doesn’t mean anything to me, exit runway three zero at Alpha Three; no delay.”

My fantasy is to give the client a memory stick with the recorded lesson so they can work on their flying and radio calls at home or back at the motel.

I like the Garmin VIRB Elite because it has a larger battery than the GoPro and will record ground speed, Gs and various other GPS derived data.

I am going to need help extracting that information and that is a part of my learning curve.

I have a client coming on Tuesday for flight training in his aircraft and I hope to be further along on my learning curve and have my chest mount by then. The helmet camera wouldn’t work in his Cavalon.

I can see where this may grow into a much larger project as I learn the value.

I have also purchased a slightly bigger, taller windshield for the rear in the hopes of improving the audio from the back (less wind noise).

I am going to mount it slightly differently because the recent changes to my rear cyclic have caused the windshield mounts to get a little close in extreme cyclic positions (full forward with full left or right cyclic). It is like so many things, when I get the idea out of my head into reality and I can see how I could have done it better. I have several large tubs full of concepts that I later enhanced or discarded.

 

[Vance]

Progress on a rainy day!

Progress on a rainy day!

It has been raining off and on most of February.

I received my chest mount for the Garmin VIRB and it looks like it is going to work great. It also has a shoulder mount on each side so I should be able to get useful video of flight lessons. I haven’t mocked it up yet because I have been busy with the new rear windshield.

The new ratio on the rear cyclic caused the top of the grip to come too close to the knobs that hold the windshield in place. I was still getting too much wind noise through the microphone in the back so I decided to go with a slightly larger, three inch taller windshield with a new mounting scheme keeping the knobs well clear of my hands.

I have been slowly working through the process and after holding it in place for many hours I figured out that a big part of the problem is the mount is flat and the windshield is curved. It makes it hit my knees because I have them splayed out to clear the cyclic.

I feel windshields should be curved because it makes them stronger and it releases the air with less turbulence so I still wanted it curved at the top.

We put it back in the oven at Rifle and un-curved the bottom leaving the top two thirds curved.

I moved the upper mounts up and in.

I moved the lower attachment knobs further out and down.

Now there is no way for my hand to get pinched between the knob and the cyclic now.

I was fortunate to get help laying the windshield holes out from my friend John. It would have been very difficult to hold the windshield in position and mark the holes.

There is nothing to reference so we had to draw reference marks and then imagine what the lay out would look like and lay it out based on our reference lines.

This is one of their standard motorcycle windshields so there are some extra holes in it. I will plug them for now and may have Rifle make me one in the future when I know how it should be shaped and what size it needs to be.

I was worried that I would break the plastic windshield drilling it and had special acrylic drill bits. They worked very well. Unfortunately I don’t have a big enough drill bit for the final hole so I am going to have to work around the problem.

The studs that mount the windshield are in place through the windshield and everything but my indicated air speed and altimeter work fine. I will have to trim the windshield to make room for the instruments and bracket after I get the windshield properly mounted so I know how much to trim.

It was raining so I snapped some quick pictures inside before I left the hangar.

I am hoping the larger, taller windshield will do a better job of managing the air in the back seat and make for less wind noise on the rear microphone.

 

[JEFF TIPTON]

Have you thought about using a uni-bit?