fiebichpvSeptember 5, 2013, 1:29pm
McPherson, Kansas
Fly-In 08-24-2013
Getting started
What started out as a beautiful morning flight to McPherson, Kansas' "When Pigs Fly" fly-in, progressed through a “Tail of Whoa,” displayed aircraft, and antique cars, to a “Tale of Woe.”
Two weeks earlier, James P. Wiebe, owner of BeLite Aircraft Company, and I decided we would make this flight together to test the compatibility of my AirBike and his ULTRACub. If our planes' performance was close, we intend to fly to AirVenture 2014.
Let's start at the beginning. At 6:15 AM (before sunrise) I taxied my AirBike across the dew-laden grass to Selby Aerodrome's runway 18. Dew had already begun to collect on my windshield, but not enough to obstruct my view. Advancing the throttle, my little AirBike scurried down the sod runway and in short order, lifted off.
The flight
At runway's end, I turned east and climbed to 800' AGL. A light breeze on the ground turned into a fairly strong constant wind aloft, hitting my side until I turned north and it became a fantastic tailwind. Soon I was ripping along at 106 mph ground speed!
Landing at the glider port where James keeps his plane, I found him already cleaning the windshield of the ULTRACub. He boarded his plane, I swung the prop, the engine sprang to life, and soon both of us rose from his field as the sun poked above the horizon. A beautiful way to start the day!
A light haze obscured long range vision but the sun was under it and highlighted both our low flying planes and the terrain. In less than an hour we arrived at McPherson, Kansas airport (MPR) landing in trail behind Brian FitzGerald in his Quicksilver.
Fly-in activities
A hearty breakfast was free for fly-in pilots. We then wandered the grounds looking at items of interest, there were many. The Model A club had driven from Wichita and had already formed a display line. The Bar-B-Q contestants were firing up their smokers whose aroma wafted everywhere.
About 45 airplanes made a stop, some to eat breakfast and leave, others remaining. We were among the ones remaining. Skydivers made individual and tandem jumps all day, Plane Talk Air Show announcers worked the crowd. Other than a 15 mph wind, the day was beautiful, no clouds, bright sun, temperatures in the mid 80's and density altitude about 3000'.
Tail of Whoa
The McPherson Saddle Club has a division called Silver Saddles. Ten riders in colorful western gear performed numerous well choreographed routines. They did weaving figure 8's, double 8's, circled in trail, ran abreast, and carried flags representing the State's organizations. During this time a tram pulled by a John Deere tractor carted visitors on a tour around the area. Kansas is a mid-western state, that evidence was abundant today.
Lunch of pulled pork sandwiches was another freebie for pilots; I topped off the meal with homemade ice cream. A vendor using a Hit & Miss engine churned away barely keeping up with demand. A tractor pull and kids rides was ongoing.
Because of the strong and increasing wind, James had refueled and left for home about an hour after arriving. He stayed low, about 100' AGL across the patchwork of wheat, soybean, and hay fields to reduce the headwind's effect.
Tale of woe
Having refueled earlier and seen as much as I wanted at the fly-in, I decided to leave about 2:30 PM. As usual, people always come around to talk whenever I am near my plane. Even though it delays my departure, I enjoy this interaction and the spectators like to learn about my low tech airplane. It is so simple and approachable; they are like moths to a porch light.
With the engine running and warming up, I sat quietly contemplating my flight home. When checking the instruments for temperature readings I noticed that one of the four steel tubes going from the cockpit, to the engine mount and then to the forward wing attach point was moving. That in itself isn't unusual as the wind was severely rocking my plane. However, my concern was elevated when I noticed that the lower portion of the tube wasn't moving with the upper portion!
Decision time
A close examination revealed a broken tube! Without this tube doing its job, the other three would have to pick up the load. I was unsure if that was a reasonable expectation. What else might be broken? Maybe the Huns had entered the airport and sabotaged my plane? I decided not to fly the plane home. This turned out to be a one-way flight.
I hangared the plane and caught a ride home with one of the Plane Talk announcers. My son and I would return the next day and trailer the plane home for repairs. That is another story, watch for it. Other AirBike pilots will want to know about this tube failure and its repair.
AirBike Ace
Fly-In 08-24-2013
Getting started
What started out as a beautiful morning flight to McPherson, Kansas' "When Pigs Fly" fly-in, progressed through a “Tail of Whoa,” displayed aircraft, and antique cars, to a “Tale of Woe.”
Two weeks earlier, James P. Wiebe, owner of BeLite Aircraft Company, and I decided we would make this flight together to test the compatibility of my AirBike and his ULTRACub. If our planes' performance was close, we intend to fly to AirVenture 2014.
Let's start at the beginning. At 6:15 AM (before sunrise) I taxied my AirBike across the dew-laden grass to Selby Aerodrome's runway 18. Dew had already begun to collect on my windshield, but not enough to obstruct my view. Advancing the throttle, my little AirBike scurried down the sod runway and in short order, lifted off.
The flight
At runway's end, I turned east and climbed to 800' AGL. A light breeze on the ground turned into a fairly strong constant wind aloft, hitting my side until I turned north and it became a fantastic tailwind. Soon I was ripping along at 106 mph ground speed!
Landing at the glider port where James keeps his plane, I found him already cleaning the windshield of the ULTRACub. He boarded his plane, I swung the prop, the engine sprang to life, and soon both of us rose from his field as the sun poked above the horizon. A beautiful way to start the day!
A light haze obscured long range vision but the sun was under it and highlighted both our low flying planes and the terrain. In less than an hour we arrived at McPherson, Kansas airport (MPR) landing in trail behind Brian FitzGerald in his Quicksilver.
Fly-in activities
A hearty breakfast was free for fly-in pilots. We then wandered the grounds looking at items of interest, there were many. The Model A club had driven from Wichita and had already formed a display line. The Bar-B-Q contestants were firing up their smokers whose aroma wafted everywhere.
About 45 airplanes made a stop, some to eat breakfast and leave, others remaining. We were among the ones remaining. Skydivers made individual and tandem jumps all day, Plane Talk Air Show announcers worked the crowd. Other than a 15 mph wind, the day was beautiful, no clouds, bright sun, temperatures in the mid 80's and density altitude about 3000'.
Tail of Whoa
The McPherson Saddle Club has a division called Silver Saddles. Ten riders in colorful western gear performed numerous well choreographed routines. They did weaving figure 8's, double 8's, circled in trail, ran abreast, and carried flags representing the State's organizations. During this time a tram pulled by a John Deere tractor carted visitors on a tour around the area. Kansas is a mid-western state, that evidence was abundant today.
Lunch of pulled pork sandwiches was another freebie for pilots; I topped off the meal with homemade ice cream. A vendor using a Hit & Miss engine churned away barely keeping up with demand. A tractor pull and kids rides was ongoing.
Because of the strong and increasing wind, James had refueled and left for home about an hour after arriving. He stayed low, about 100' AGL across the patchwork of wheat, soybean, and hay fields to reduce the headwind's effect.
Tale of woe
Having refueled earlier and seen as much as I wanted at the fly-in, I decided to leave about 2:30 PM. As usual, people always come around to talk whenever I am near my plane. Even though it delays my departure, I enjoy this interaction and the spectators like to learn about my low tech airplane. It is so simple and approachable; they are like moths to a porch light.
With the engine running and warming up, I sat quietly contemplating my flight home. When checking the instruments for temperature readings I noticed that one of the four steel tubes going from the cockpit, to the engine mount and then to the forward wing attach point was moving. That in itself isn't unusual as the wind was severely rocking my plane. However, my concern was elevated when I noticed that the lower portion of the tube wasn't moving with the upper portion!
Decision time
A close examination revealed a broken tube! Without this tube doing its job, the other three would have to pick up the load. I was unsure if that was a reasonable expectation. What else might be broken? Maybe the Huns had entered the airport and sabotaged my plane? I decided not to fly the plane home. This turned out to be a one-way flight.
I hangared the plane and caught a ride home with one of the Plane Talk announcers. My son and I would return the next day and trailer the plane home for repairs. That is another story, watch for it. Other AirBike pilots will want to know about this tube failure and its repair.
AirBike Ace
