ETLB Squawk Forums — Archive

Well i got out and finished some last minute details this morning for christmas and then this afternoon i took advantage of low winds and went out to check the local airspace for any Hun activity. with only a little over an hour till sunset i begin a very thorough preflight since she the P51 and mighty merlin had not been airborne in almost 2 months. after ensuring she was in great shape and ready to go i opened the hanger door and wheeled her out into the sun light climbed in and pulled the straps tight. with the temps hovering just above freezing and a dusting of snow in the grass i primed the fuel lines and a couple shots to the intake and pressed the starter switch. she took a minute to awaken from her sleep but once she did that merlin sounded as powerful as ever.

After letting her temps start to come up off the bottom i started to taxi to the run up area. once there and a good mag check i taxied the rest of the way to runway 18. by the time i got there my CHT's were just over 200 and i pulled out onto the active and advanced the throttle. with the cold dense air, an 8 MPH headwind and a minimax anxious to fly it did not take long till she was climbing like a bat out of hell!!!!

I quickly turned to the north and headed out to ensure the Huns were observing the Christmas cease fire. With the tail wind and that powerful merlin i was covering ground fast. before i knew it i was overflying my friends private strip and turned and did high speed pass to ensure it was safe in case santa need to make a pit stop i climbed back out and over flew another local airport. satisfied all looked secure there i headed further north and checked out a neihborhood where family lives and making sure all their roofs looked safe for santa to land on and that there was no Hun activity i turned back home i first circled the field to announce my presence (who can miss the sound of a Merlin engine?) i buzzed the field at full throttle and attracted some local attention i came around for one of the best landings i have made yet on a paved runway.

It felt so good to be back in the air and also nice to see even the Huns are behaving themselves and waiting for Santa's arrival.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas with friends and family and wishing everyone many enjoyable building and flying hours in the new year.

Following Jake's lead, I made a Christmas Day flight in the Derby, Kansas area to ensure the Huns were observing the agreed upon holiday truce.  

Conditions here were good for aerial surveillance work; clear skies, wind less than 10 mph and temps hovering in the low 40's, and no snow on the runway. Although not ideal conditions, they were good enough for me in my open cockpit Hun Hunter.  It took almost 45 minutes for my body core temperature to sink to the ambient temperature, at that point my biological "stick shaker" took over and I had to land. Fortunately my surveillance work was over by then.

First potential target for the Huns would be the new Mulvane Casino that will officially open Monday.  They would just love to destroy that grand opening and all the fun gamblers would have. Circling the facility, all was quiet in the area, the Huns appeared to be behaving themselves.  On I went to the other side of town flying above the meadows and fields of winter wheat.  Their chartreuse color enhanced by the setting sun's low angle.  This also made the shadows extremely long.

Then I saw it, smoke.  Obvious evidence of Hun mischief.  Tracking now to the east side of Derby it was difficult to determine the smoke's origin because it was so dense and drifting in my direction.  The smell was acrid and made my eyes burn in spite of wearing glasses and having a windscreen.  

The Huns had attacked one house in the small urban French village just east of a major retail facility.  Smoke billowed from the chimneys, roof and gable vents.  Firefighters scrambled about on the street positioning their gear and planning a strategy.  Apparently their quick response prevented the fire from breaking through the roof and destroying the building.  Localized fire and extensive smoke damage will be what the residents will contend with.  I snapped a couple of photos for documentation then made a steep turn for the Selby Aerodrome.

Later I would send the photos to the local audio/visual communication system to let the community know that the Huns honor not even the Christmas Day truce.

My landing was unusually smooth (no one was there to score it) and I let my AirBike warbird roll to mid-field without braking.  Turning off the runway, I taxied into the open hangar, stopped at the door and logged the flight.  Refueled, parked and covered with tarps, I patted my AirBike's nose cowling and said good-night to her. Job well done, the women and children can sleep safely tonight.

AirBike Ace

Two more photos.

Thanks for the story Paul...and the nice photos...its a shame to see someones home burnt, I hope all are well for the occupants.

Ive had the fire brigade at my home 10 years ago due ageing electric wiring...so its a horrible feelling.

Nice clean shoes to .....with laces...lol....pilots are too smart for velco..LOL

Merry Christmas.

cheers Arthur

I must have just missed  you as I got out to the hangar a bit after noon and got the Tcraft ready for flight did some work on her and was in the air about 2pm flew down to make sure the Udall boys were safe then flew over to the Alley field to see if the new Champ might be on the field.  Seeing all was safe I to made the flight over to the new Casino to make sure it was safe.  The Huns had previously made an attack on it so since Paul and I both flew cover today I am sure they will be staying away from the place for a while.  Returned to the field and landed pretty smooth myself as most of us do when no one is looking.  Notice some sabotage on the Hangar doors when I got there seems the Huns are trying to mess with the wires to the motor that lifts it.  Will try to go out tomorrow and see if I can hook the wires back to the door. If the weather holds I will be putting new o rings in my primer and testing the air again. I left about 4 and from the looks of the shadows in your pictures you must have gotten there about the time I left.

Returned to the Selby Hangar to do some repair work on the door when I heard such a rumble I spring to my feet to see what was the matter.  Coming in over the tree tops and just over the slug pond was this mystery White Champ as it touched down with the slightest of whispers of the tires touching grass I realized to my surprise it wasn't Santa coming back to bring me the rest of the stuff I need to do all the work to my Tcraft but it was Terry Alley in his new white champ.  After much inspection and a lot of ahhhing it was determined it was an excellent plane.  A few picture were taken to prove it does exist and he was off again that 85 horse cont of his getting him in the air in less then 600 ft and he was gone to chase huns... below are a few pict I was able to take to prove he does exist.

It was good to get out today and back in the air.  Bill I'm glad you were at Selby today for proof that i made it over there.  I have to admit, the landing at selby was alot more relaxing than comingin to the home base, Alley Field.

Paul: Do authorities allow to fly that low over populated areas, or that picture was taken with  zoom?

Yes I just haven't the balls it takes to land at you field yet but am sure if you are making it in with the champ I can.  Was glad my cell phone was able to pick you up on take off so you can have a pic of it.  The Huns must be quaking in their boots knowing you and your dad are back in the air and we at Selby are upgrading our planes to protect the fine ladies of Kansas.

Ricardo, we do have a limit of 1000' of vertical space between our planes and communities. In this area we fly between the floor of McConnell AFB's and the ground which is only 750 feet. Going higher puts us into tanker-turbulent air space.  Wichita tower will cancel radar tracking and communication if we get into McConnell airspace, that requires us to reduce the 1000' gap. It is more dangerous to go higher than lower.

I took these photos with a zoom lens and then cropped them for posting on the board. After cropping and enlalrging the photos I had to sharpen the image to regain some of the clarity. I loitered for less than a minute then got clear of the area and made the remainder of my flight over agricultural area.

Terry, nice to see your good looking plane grace the sod at Selby Aerodrome.  Also glad to have the reinforcements that help keep the Huns at bay.  I think they will be held in such awe when seeing your plane that they wouldn't shoot at it.

Always carry a camera, keep the guns well oiled, and the bomb racks full. We need to get a formation flight to Stearman Field for lunch sometime fellows.

AirBike Ace

I am hoping to get away for some flying on Friday.  It looks like the weather is going to be nice.  If you want to fly to Benton, let me know and I'll bet I can twist dad's arm to stop cutting firewood and go fly.

Terry

oh sure... you retired guys and school teachers have all the fun... supposed to be in the 60's on friday and I will be stuck at work..... well shoot a couple huns for me.... and a cheeseburger....lol

yea I plan on getting some air time one of these beautiful days this week maybe two

I am hoping to fly some on Sat morning before I have to get the house ready for a party that night... if not maybe Sunday.... 60's at the end of December....what a deal.