903 Almost a No Fly Day ... Shell Creek Airpark

Today was the second day of Tony's instruction.  Yesterday we did some ground school at the house and messed with the wing a bit.  I replaced a line and showed him how to pack and lay out the wing.

This morning we watched a great sunrise while I set up for launch.  

The first attempt was aborted when I felt/heard a prop strike a line.  The second was a sckitchy launch with some of the lines getting under the keepers.  Once up, I scanned the lines to check the previous day's work and noticed that one of the mallions had the lines reversed and a brake line was under the main D that we replaced yesterday.  This wing has a tendency to break o-rings.  It may be the keeper and it my be that they are just old o-rings but it's something to watch out for.

The third attempt was another abort due to prop strikes.  I couldn't find any damage but will make a thorough inspection when I fix the twisted lines this afternoon.  I'm going to completely rebuild the keepers with heavy gauge coated wire and some foil tape to reduce friction where the lines rub against the outer ring.

Later, I swapped out the line I'd installed with Tony, addressed some denuded mallions and

corrected the brake line crossover. 

Note:  there is a great YOUTUBE video on how to install the O rings.  It's easy to forget if you haven't done it for awhile.