310 & 311 East Springs Airport

It's a good thing I got up early because the thermals were starting to kick up by 7:20.

This morning is the warmest of the year 63 degrees at 6:00am...Light breeze from the North.

Two short Flights 20 minutes and 10. First to 1200 feet and the second to 500. I cut the first one short to greet the new arrivals and should not have because the good air didn't last.

Kevin later explained to me that, often the dawn breeze is from the North or else calm. It might stay that way for several hours but eventually it starts moving either to the east or south.. If it switches to the East...watch out for bumpy air. Also, the more Westerly the SW breeze also makes for bumpy air.

Jerry Kerr

I launched just ahead of Jerry and we stayed together for awhile. He kinda hung off my left side at 8:0clock and then flew over the top. The difference in our climb rate was dramatic. I think our decent is about the same but I'm guessing that he has a 100 ft/min or better advantage. I hope the Power Fins will do the trick ...I'll settle for a noticeable improvement at least 175.

Oops! Forgot my Helmet

Once again ...It seems like when ever I change the routine I forget to put on the helmet. Today I'll blame it on the new thigh mount for the Garmin 176-c. This time I was grooving to Cirque Du Sol ...getting al cosy with my lap toys and meanwhile, my helmet was on the ground next to the buggy. I must have rolled over it during the initial power-up, ...I do remember a slight hesitation before I started to accelerate. Anyway it must have been rolled in the prop wash because it was full of vegetation. No harm done ... at least it didn't go through the prop like my Monument Valley Cap.

Equipment Notes

I look forward to getting my radio back from Capt. Black. I'll actually be able to talk with my friends...imagine that? I haven't had radio communications in the air since my second flight with Brian Smith and I've missed some good opportunities because of it.

Jerry and I were talking about seat belts and the value of a 5 point with quick release. After thinking about it, mine does have a good quick release and do I really need shoulder straps? It might make it hard to reach forward. On the other hand if I have a really hard landing or roll it will keep me under the roll bars better.

John Black showed up late. His flight to the coast fell through and he needed to burn off a little anger. So... Jerry Kevin and I hung around and shared a soda pop. I teased a little about the latest video and he made like his starter button was fouled by water. No hard feelings ...it was a non-event. The winds were variable and after switching from reverse to forward he went up for a quickie and came down with a smile. Below is the second instalment of Capt. Blacks incident videos. No Crash Dummies were injured in the making of this video.....

Capt. Black and the Pond of Doom

By Alex Donaghy

John Black's famous fall