Day 947: Line Repair and Cycling

This morning I went out to fly.  My first launch attempt failed, and in the process of taking off the motor I hurt my back, so that was the end of that.  I did notice a problem with one of my lines, so I took my wing over to Michelle’s shop.

Michelle was working on a wing that ended up in the prop:

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The sheathing on one of my lines was damaged.  We pulled the sheathing apart to check the Kevlar core of the line: 

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The core is good, so I’ll be saving the line as a spare.  Michelle made a new line for me and showed me how to install it.  Thanks!

I went for a ride this afternoon which included a visit to this massive radar dome:

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While I was gone, Trish and B made a cake to celebrate yesterday’s 100th solo flight:

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Good Shabbos from the Paramotor City Glider Shop!

Day 946: PPG Flight 100 to Concrete Arrow

This morning, in honor of Rosh Chodesh Adar, a month in which we increase our happiness, Trish made green scrambled eggs to enhance our sense of whimsy:

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I took my wing over to Michelle’s wing shop for repair.  A wing was being inspected:

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Back on Day 861, I had laid out the wing and tried to kite it up to verify that the lines weren’t tangled.  A twig attached to the ground snagged the wing as I tried to kite the wing.  With the wing held back, my pulling on the lines caused a seam to fail where a “C” line attaches to the wing:

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I called Michelle and she told me how to patch the wing, which I did:

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Today, Michelle said the patch looked good but we decided to fix the wing by sewing it anyway.  I would post a photo of the repaired area, but it now looks like all the other “C” line attachment points so I’m not sure which one it is.  Thanks Michelle!

I photographed M’s overstuffed Junior Ranger wall hanging:

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Tonight I launched milestone flight #100, an RV storage area in the background:

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PPC pilot Ron took off right after me:

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My goal for the flight was to find a nearby concrete arrow, the base for the 1930s LA-A #68 navigation beacon.  I spotted it along the ridge directly above my feet:

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It was exciting and appropriate to “discover” this relic of aviation history from the air:

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I would have flown lower to get a better view, but strong winds were creating turbulent conditions along the ridge, so I opted to stay up high.

I flew back to Michelle’s field.  Kirk was just taking off as I flew over:

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I checked out a nearby radio controlled airplane field.  They must fly some really large R/C planes here:

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Hooray for 100 post-training flights!

Day 945: NM Mineral Museum, Salinas Pueblos NM, Emergency Welding

Today we drove over to New Mexico Tech to visit the New Mexico Mineral Museum:

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The sample in the center is Trinitite, which is fused sand formed by the Trinity nuclear bomb test:

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Big chunks of gold and silver:

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These mineral samples have not been altered.  They are as they were found:

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The radioactive display:

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We drove north and east to Abo Pueblo, one of three sites managed by Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monument:

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Spanish Franciscan monks came here from Mexico in the 1580s to convert the Puebloan Indians who lived here.  In the 1620s the mission at Abo was built:

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To persuade the local Indians to help in the construction of the mission, The monks told the local Indians that the new mission would include a Kiva for Indian rituals.  Once the mission was completed, the “Kiva” was used as a garbage pit:

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Droughts and Apache Raids (in retribution for Spanish slave-capturing raids against the Apache) caused the Salinas Pueblos to be abandoned around 1670:

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The kids completed the Junior Ranger workbook sections dealing not only with Abo Pueblo, but also Quarai Pueblo and Grand Quivira Pueblo, and the section for the main visitor center in Mountainair, so they received all four location ribbons for their badges:

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We drove on to visit the main visitor center in Mountainair.  The rear wheel was sitting a little funny, and after a bit of investigation I found that the rear leaf spring hanger had broken.  The part indicated by the arrow had broken off the frame of the RV:

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The rear leaf spring more or less stayed put because it’s attached to the equalizer in front, and the axle is attached on the other side to the other leaf spring with the intact equalizer and rear hanger.  Nonetheless, we needed to get the broken off hanger pieces welded back on without too much driving. 

I asked the ranger in the visitor center about local welders, and she asked the other ranger for direction.  The other ranger is a coach at the local high school, and he called the shop teacher, Mr. E.  Mr. E. happens to be a certified welder, and he asked us to drive over to the high school.  We crawled our way from the visitor center to the high school, hoping everything held together.  We arrived successfully:

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I disconnected the ground wire from the battery to protect the electronics in the RV from damage from the electrical current imposed on the frame by the welding:

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Mr. E.  used an angle grinder to prep the frame and the broken parts for welding:

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I jacked up the frame to unload the equalizer so the rear leaf spring could slide into place.  Mr. E simultaneously pulled a chain tightly around the rear axle to encourage it into place:

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Welding ensued:

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Mr. E did an amazing job and we were ready to get back on the road!  Thanks so much for your help, and it was a pleasure to meet your students!

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We drove on from Mountainair to arrive at Michelle’s flying field and wing shop, where my wing will be repaired.  See the trip map for today’s drive and our current location.

Day 765: Baking and Biking at Merrymeeting Field

Continued bad weather here at Merrymeeting Field is preventing PPG flights.  We managed to have a productive day of homeschooling today, and Trish did some more baking:

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I went for a great ride on the rural roads of Maine:

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As sometimes happens, the weather turned perfect just in time for Shabbos.  Hopefully this good weather will hold and I can fly on Sunday:

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Good Shabbos from Merrymeeting Field in Bowdoinham, Maine!