I was sharing the air with Charlie Papa, but only saw him when he was taking off.
Tuesday, August 02, 2011
Friday Morning Flight
Since Friday was supposed to be a holiday at work, I decided to fly before I went in. I took off from Taylor and headed toward the building I work in. We have a large field in front, so it was easy to make some low passes. As I was getting close, I saw a hot air balloon. I thought it would be neat if it flew over the building so I could get some photos.... then it did just that! It was a nice morning for a flight.
I was sharing the air with Charlie Papa, but only saw him when he was taking off.
I was sharing the air with Charlie Papa, but only saw him when he was taking off.
Monday, August 01, 2011
Finding Beauty
Sunday was one of those perfect days. I got up early, as I normally do, and Bruce joined me at Taylor. He said it’s not a normal thing to see him out there that early, but I may have converted him! It was so calm and cool out. It’s the time of year where it’s over 100 degrees every day and that means it’s still 95 when we would normally try to get in an afternoon flight.
By 6:30 I was up. Bruce was still setting up so I circled the airport, did a few touch-n-goes on the runway, and waved at a family that stopped to watch. I knew this would be a great day for flying, it was perfectly smooth.
Soon Bruce took off and we headed to the lake. I flew along the shore waving at boaters and campers as they came running out to see what the noise was! The water was so calm you could follow a boat’s trail all the way across the lake. We flew over the dam, then behind it, then on the other side! Bruce even disappeared below it! As we flew away from the dam, I started a climb to 2500 feet and shut the engine off. I took my headset off and wished I could just stay up there. Nothing but the sound of the wind (and the creaking of my PPC!).
We headed back toward Taylor, flying low over fields and taking a bunch of photos. As we were getting close I heard two airplanes entering the pattern and one of them said he had the balloon in sight. I could see it from 3 miles away, but by the time we got there it was put away. We circled them a few times to show them what it’s like to turn and to land in the same place we took off from!
After that, we landed and reflected on how great the flight was. What a day!
Circling over the airport.
Going down?
Stealth mode.
Almost at 2500 feet.
Bruce is way down there!
Granger in the background. This is where they filmed the new True Grit movie.
Leaving the lake.
Hello Bruce!
I was expecting my ride to get pretty rough about now, but it never did.
Shadows
Looking back at Bruce.
I like this one!
Very cool shot. Looks like shag carpet!
Bruce with two shadows! Hard to sneak up on a guy with the sun behind you!
Beautiful trestle… notice the power lines.
This is a memorial for a friend of mine, [URL="http://aircrashed.com/cause/cDFW05LA138.shtml"]Clayton Young[/URL]. I was out for a drive with my wife when I saw the road blocked by state troopers. I looked over and saw what was left of the plane. The trooper motioned me to go by, but I stopped. He walked over and I asked him if it was Clayton. He said yes and asked if I knew how to contact his wife… I did. Please, watch out for power lines. Clayton left behind 5 children.
Dock reflections.
Even rusty culverts can be pretty!
Bruce coming in for a landing.
By 6:30 I was up. Bruce was still setting up so I circled the airport, did a few touch-n-goes on the runway, and waved at a family that stopped to watch. I knew this would be a great day for flying, it was perfectly smooth.
Soon Bruce took off and we headed to the lake. I flew along the shore waving at boaters and campers as they came running out to see what the noise was! The water was so calm you could follow a boat’s trail all the way across the lake. We flew over the dam, then behind it, then on the other side! Bruce even disappeared below it! As we flew away from the dam, I started a climb to 2500 feet and shut the engine off. I took my headset off and wished I could just stay up there. Nothing but the sound of the wind (and the creaking of my PPC!).
We headed back toward Taylor, flying low over fields and taking a bunch of photos. As we were getting close I heard two airplanes entering the pattern and one of them said he had the balloon in sight. I could see it from 3 miles away, but by the time we got there it was put away. We circled them a few times to show them what it’s like to turn and to land in the same place we took off from!
After that, we landed and reflected on how great the flight was. What a day!
Circling over the airport.
Going down?
Stealth mode.
Almost at 2500 feet.
Bruce is way down there!
Granger in the background. This is where they filmed the new True Grit movie.
Leaving the lake.
Hello Bruce!
I was expecting my ride to get pretty rough about now, but it never did.
Shadows
Looking back at Bruce.
I like this one!
Very cool shot. Looks like shag carpet!
Bruce with two shadows! Hard to sneak up on a guy with the sun behind you!
Beautiful trestle… notice the power lines.
This is a memorial for a friend of mine, [URL="http://aircrashed.com/cause/cDFW05LA138.shtml"]Clayton Young[/URL]. I was out for a drive with my wife when I saw the road blocked by state troopers. I looked over and saw what was left of the plane. The trooper motioned me to go by, but I stopped. He walked over and I asked him if it was Clayton. He said yes and asked if I knew how to contact his wife… I did. Please, watch out for power lines. Clayton left behind 5 children.
Dock reflections.
Even rusty culverts can be pretty!
Bruce coming in for a landing.
Saturday Flight
I've now flown three days this week. This one was the second flight and I took my youngest daughter with me.
We got to the field early and it was perfect. Every day here it's breaking 100 degrees, so I like to get up early and enjoy some time outside.
We took off to the South as the wind was predicted to come from that direction when they picked up. We flew low over some ponds with her pointing out rabbits, dogs, cows, and horses.
We also flew over to two different private strips where I know the owners and did some touch-n-goes. The first one belongs to Mark who owns a Beech 18 which always poses for great photos!
After awhile we headed back to the airport to see if Travis had shown up. He had, but was still setting up his PPC, so we climbed to 2500 feet and shut off the engine. My daughter really loves this and wanted to do it even though she was really ready to land and go eat! After we came down and started the engine again, she wanted to do it again, so back up we went.
We then headed back to the airport to land. We watched Travis do some touch-n-goes and packed up... well, to be honest I did. She headed back to the truck to play Angry Birds on my iPod.
All in all, another great flight and the best flight is still to come. Sunday was the best flight and the best photos, so standby! I'll try to write that story today.
You can see how low this tank is. We're in the worst drought I can remember.
We got to the field early and it was perfect. Every day here it's breaking 100 degrees, so I like to get up early and enjoy some time outside.
We took off to the South as the wind was predicted to come from that direction when they picked up. We flew low over some ponds with her pointing out rabbits, dogs, cows, and horses.
We also flew over to two different private strips where I know the owners and did some touch-n-goes. The first one belongs to Mark who owns a Beech 18 which always poses for great photos!
After awhile we headed back to the airport to see if Travis had shown up. He had, but was still setting up his PPC, so we climbed to 2500 feet and shut off the engine. My daughter really loves this and wanted to do it even though she was really ready to land and go eat! After we came down and started the engine again, she wanted to do it again, so back up we went.
We then headed back to the airport to land. We watched Travis do some touch-n-goes and packed up... well, to be honest I did. She headed back to the truck to play Angry Birds on my iPod.
All in all, another great flight and the best flight is still to come. Sunday was the best flight and the best photos, so standby! I'll try to write that story today.
You can see how low this tank is. We're in the worst drought I can remember.
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