January 13, 2002 - Casa Grande (McCartney), Queen Creek

Summary and Images
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Mo writes:

Sunday Report

I was at the field at a little before 9am. I called David and Dan and they seemed to had had a little too much fun the night before. In addion David said he was really hurting from getting Mike C.'s old glider up into the air. We seemed to have a miscommunication since they headed back home while I waited for them in the field. No big deal, I had a great time just flying, watching the RC guys do thier thing, and shooting the breeze with so many fine folks.

Dale showed up with his ParaPlane, supposedly the first of the PPC's. It was a vintage 1984 model. And what a technical wonder it is! Very advanced for it's time. The powerplant was two (yes, 2) Solo 210 engines operating two props independently on the same shaft, but in opposite directions. I understand this helps to keep the torque effect low and to help inflate the wing with a "clean" blast of air (rather than "dirty" air with it spinning as it does with one prop) Square chute. Small, but very sturdy trike made of square aluminum rods. Convex mirrors everywhere, to check the chute, gas level, props, and even yourself. Foot controlled steering guided by a set of wires on pulleys to control both the front wheel and wing at the same time.

Dale didn't fly in the morning at McCartney, but later in the day at Queen Creek he and his friend had their maiden voyages. They both seemed to have nice take-off's, flights and landings. And the glow in their faces showed how much they enjoyed their flights.

The winds were very minimal, with variable puffs almost all day. This made PPGing quite an experience with a lot of running to get off the deck. I flew around 5 flights with my wing and motor for onlookers. When Albert arrived with his wife and daughter and wing. We unpacked his huge Apco Fiest tandem wing (42 meters!). Kiting this giant wing with little wind was a real challenge. I offered to fly it and after several forward launches, I could just not get it up. Albert had the idea to pull the front of my harness and this was the trick. Once overhead and thottle at full, the wing swept me off my feet with little effort. It climbed well and had a glide ratio that just went on and on. The wing seemed very cumbersome to steer: like driving a bus. Just to do a modest turn I needed to pull the brake control to my butt. I flew very conservatively and didn't try any fun stuff like big ears or low level flight, etc. considering I was over 100 pounds underwieght for the wing. For the landing I took a wrap of the brake lines as Albert had suggested. Touchdown was smooth and slow. After, I unpacked my wing and flew a short time doing a few turns around the field to show Albert and his family the differece in wings. Once I landed, we all decided to call it quits.

As I was dirving home at around 3pm, I decided I wasn't done yet so I headed to Queen Creek. When I arrived there was a group of folks there watching a "weed jumper" ultralight. Nice little plane that looks easy to fly, considering how many first time flights I saw with it. Also, Dale was there with his ParaPlane and I saw him and his friend successfully fly. I had two flights, but it was really dificult because of the light and variable conditions.

This was a record day for me: 9 flights! Also, Albert's tandem wing was a first for me in terms of flying such a giant wing. Great weekend overall.

Images
Flying the monster wing.