For a Saturday.
Hit Gillespie at 1000 for to add some hours to the total in tailwheel aircraft. Citabria 8643 beckoning, like. On account of I have the keys.
Out past El Capitan to work on the airmanship bit. Prior to heading up to Ramona, for to practice landings. Once back at Gillespie I found a Bücker Jüngmann, of all things, waiting at the refuel pit. An airplane about which we have lately spoken.
I gave the man my card.
The 3-point landings have become – in still air – more or less non-events. Just keep them feet happy on the rudder pedals and all is well, and all will be well, and all manner of things will be well. But I still hadn’t quite mastered the wheel landing, malgre the fact that I’ve been signed off for ‘em.
The thing is that the tail tends to sag if you’re not right on it in a wheel landing. Which consequentially increases the angle of attack, getting you airborne again. Nosing over for a second attempt is considered poor form. On account of the crow-hopping and propeller gouging that’s in it. So you’re forced to choose between cobbing the power and milking her airborne in ground effect, or hauling aft on the stick and converting your wheel landing to a 3-point. Which has become not as hard as once it looked.
I headed back to Gillespie with doubts in my mind warring with a fierce determination. In my salad days I yielded nothing to no man afore he’d properly beaten me. In these our waning years, I remain unwilling to yield place to those who went before, all them hoary old gents for whom a single wheel in back remains fixedly “conventional” and for whom the tricycle contraption is something of an innovation. Loth though I am to ball some other bugger’s craft up, yet did I want to increase my ever diminishing store of mastery.
Things went much better, back at the home ‘drome. For I had remembered – keeping the nostrum that “nose attitude controls airspeed” – to keep the throttle in mind for rate of descent. What runway picture could not be perfectly sensed on roundout could be compensated for with throttle until the mains kissed earth. Then it was stick forward, and the devil take the hindmost. The last two landings were perfectly acceptable. Although, for the record, I will point out that my full stop landing was on three points.
It’s a wee, short runway there, on the left.
‘A was a bit of a antique aircraft/antique auto meet-up such as I noticed taxiing back. The which I stopped by and took some pleasure of.
Then!
Back to Montgomery, where the 1300 crew was half way late. Or at least, half of them were fully late. Because of the traffic coming south from Long Beach.
I briefed, we flew, your man kept his breakfast attentive to his duty, and earned two kills out of three bouts before his playing partner decided that, on the whole, he’d much prefer straight and level flight. So back we came, and I found – not for the first time – that recent currency in tailwheel aircraft makes for excellent tricycle gear landings.
At which point, our own FbL found herself at the aerodrome, clad for air combat and game as game could be whilst shaking in her core. Wondering what was it that she’d gotten herself into, and why she’d ever considered this to be a good idea.
We briefed, strapped in, taxied down to the hold short and found that the spark plugs managed by the right magneto were not entirely the thing. On account of the out-of-tolerance RPM drop associated with it. ‘Twas back to the line for to let maintenance wizard Skip do his magic. Which duty he did do, after some casting about and sotto voce mutterings about prissy jet pilots rejecting perfectly acceptable piston engines.
It might be that I just imagined that last bit.
We took off some time after 1630, and the day was hazy. “Ooh,” she said, after the wheels broke earth. “Oh,” she said after we broke away to the north, up the coastline.
The rest I will leave to you, and her.
The rest I will leave to you, and her.
Now what did you go and do that for, Lex! I’m not sure I remember it all–some of it was rather hazy…
Okay you rabid people, I’ll do my best to tell the story. But probably not until tomorrow.
I’ll be checking yer Blog at first light. No pressure…
I’m with the CiT!
LEX! I’ll be in town on 25 April to dedicate the A-6 on board Midway in the name of two VA-115 valiant crew (Mike and Alan) if you’re handin’ out discount chits I may be in the market!
http://www.arlingtoncemetery.net/usn-aircrew-01101973.htm
-JC
JC
Nice post.
Good to remember, better to never forget.
Lex – while the state of CA may be bankrupt there are certainly a fortunate few with the bucks to enjoy the finer things. “Rhythms” at $22.95 a pop = $1.50 to author. for a $125K aerotoy you only needs 84000 of us to pony up. Nottaproblem.
After all these years….the cry of “Author! AUTHOR!” has not died.
As Tony Robbins said last weekend “It will happen when a ‘should’ becomes a ‘must.’
Getting a plane to call one’s own…a ‘must?’
I have known for years, an author coach, who took her own journey to write her first book, and wrote a book “How to Write Your First Book.”
I’m thinking a copy in Lex’s hands could get him on the road to funding his future endeavors.
So…I’d pay for a copy, even though I read it each time a “chapter” hit the pages…
Rabid? Moi?!?
No way. My insatiable blood-thirst is completely *natural*…
It’s up: http://fuzzilicious.blogspot.com/2010/03/fuzzy-flight-full-aar.html
Like the ole Pioneer commercial, I’m glad your 1st order of business is to bring ‘em back alive.
Lex, you really need to buy your own plane. Hopping from plane to plane is like trying on someone else’s underwear. They might fit, but they won’t ever be right.
Dunno, Guy. I’ve been with the same gal for going on 30 years. I kind of like the notion of cheating on airplanes
Now THAT’s funny!
No matter who you are!
Ooh, is that some kinda WACO I spy in one of those pics? With the red cowl, and all? Oh, be still, my loins! (Hey, you knew I was queer for airplanes when you picked me up!)
Will be tuning in tomorrow to hear the skinny on our host’s VIP guest.
As to the wheel landings — oddly enough, I always felt more comfy nudging the mains into that gentle kiss than I ever did trying to get.all three points to do likewise. Glad you got it dialed; nothing quite like that feeling of getting the motions connected together beyond the mental/acedemic proceedures.
Then again, that may just be evening’s whiskey talking…
If all had been right with the world, it would’ve been me and The Pearl against our own Lex and FbL – and I dare say that having two Marines going hellbent for leather would’ve made for a fine furball. And yes, FbL, I would’ve paid the Pearl any amount of additional fundage to ensure that we skated home 3-0.
I may be a gentleman & a scholar, but not when it comes to combat – even the simulated type!
The bad thing Mr. Chaplain i Training is the other AC has USAF in big letters on it. Worse, the one FbL was in has Navy on it. A Marine just can’t win in this one it seems.
I would’ve paid the Pearl any amount of additional fundage to ensure that we skated home 3-0.
So Lex: Is Earl a better pilot if there’s an incentive? Who is the better pilot? (Of course every fighter pilot has the same answer…)
The gun camera footage is already on YouTube, of the Flight of the Fuzzybear, in her Fuzzybear Corsair:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z6nuO793POo
She probably shouldn’t have shot down the commuter plane, though.
Mr. Lex – thanks for sharing! My dad soloed in a Waco many, many years ago.
thanks,
Phalanx08
“all is well, and all will be well, and all manner of things will be well…” You must have been wearing your St. Julian medal that day (or was it an Eliot?)
You crack me up. Your waning years? You are but 5 years older than I, and although I don’t remember the exact month of your birth, I believe you to be 6 mo younger than my better half. I am so excited about the prospect of my 50s. Not that I don’t LOVE my 40s,because I absolutely do, very much, 100 fold better than my 30s, but I have 7 years and 3 months and my children will be out of the house. Good Lord I love them to death and would give my life for any or all of them… but in 7 years and three months I have a career change ahead of me, one where I am not so tethered to everyone else’s schedules. I keep saying to my husband with great enthusiasm, “What are we going to do?! Hunh? HUNH?! We have so many things to think about!!!!” He’s not quite so enthused. I see so much dang potential, even if it is only on the weekends as we’ll both be working full time!
NOT WANING YEARS!!!
Bou,
Alas, ’tis true. The day’s ahead are fewer than those behind. More so for me and others. That is why we are grabbing the gusto with relish and determination. I flew three times this week which, from all I have heard is time spent that God Himself does not detract from our lifespan on earth. Double for tailwheel airplanes. Best to you and your clan too!
Dust
P.S. You and the Hubs won’t have to look for stuff to do. It’ll find you!
This means flying an Extra 300 will actually make me younger.
November.
Great story FbL – and you still suck.
Is the first picture (IMG_0339) a Ryan ST-M?
I believe so, yes. It was certainly some variant of Ryan.