Tales from the Log of the Ruptured Duck

[Kayak Jack]

A POSTER CHILD

Our chapter of the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA# 55) is runnung several events over the summer. To publicize these, we put out posters. Last year I was putting up posters in businesses around town. Being a bit sneaky, I made sure that the deli and the ice cream store were on my list. ;-). This year I volunteered to put up 6 posters at other airfields. Today, I got two of them.

Jim Spry and I flew to Linden Price Field 9G2. I haven't personally met Mr. Price, but know that he both organizes and flies Wings of Mercy flights. These furnish transportation to needy patients who have to get to faraway hospitals for medical treatment. He wasn't avilable at the terminal today.

We had to rearrange a few things on their bulletin board to make room for our posters. No biggy.

Next, we're off to Livingston county Field KOZW in Howell. This is a favorite stop for Julie and me. We put up our posters, signed the pilots' log, talked a bit, and hied ourselves back to Mason. Cheated death again.

This is the first time I've flown with Jim, and will likely do it some more. Maybe next time, in his RV-8. It's a faster bird than mine.

 

[Kayak Jack]

HANGAR WARMING PARTY

Well, the Rultured Duck is now "officially" settled into her new nest. Even though I've flown a few flights from here, today was the official hangar warming party. Lots of friends showed up, and we had food galore. Again, much of what makes General Aviation (GA) so great is the people involved.

One of Julie's sons joined us, with his two daughters. I'm proud to be able to introduce the aviation types to him. It's important to me that he sees the people with whom his mother associates.

The hangar owner brought his granddaughter, a sweet, little 5 year old with a shy smile and a precocious skipping step. A buddy brought his brittany. There was a match made in heaven!

Three canoeing buddies showed up too. One of them is also a pilot. And one was at Oshkosh (EAA's annual air show at end of July) a couple of years ago. His Dad flew DC-3s (the venerable C-47) in WWII. They located, by serial number, the very plane his dad flew. So Kev, his mom, and his brother were all invited for a reunion with his dad's old squadron mates.

I had set up a croquet rig for folks to play, laid out checkers, and that frustrating little triangle game with golf tees from Cracker Barrel. But, food and talk fulfilled the socializing agenda sufficiently. I just wanted them hsppy, so it worked out well. Some folks commented that they hadn't playrd croquet in 50 years. When I played last year, Julie whipped me twice. I need more practice.

Now, the Duck sleeps more peacefully. Maybe, I will too.

 

[Wannabe]

Any excuse for like minded people to get together and enjoy each others company is a good excuse. I'll bet the Duck enjoyed the attention.
Bob

 

[Kayak Jack]

She did - and she didn't. To have room in the hangar, We pulled her outside. There was a 16-20mph west wind, wind-tunneling in between two hangars directly opposite. The accellerated wind had her wagging her tail and nodding her head. She did, however, calm down for a few minutes when the little girl petted her.

I hope she's resting peacefully whist we're away.

 

[Wannabe]

Between tow hangers in - mph winds. That's putting the Bernoulli effect into high gear.
Bob

 

[Kayak Jack]

A MAGIC CARPET

An airplane - much like a canoe - is strictly, 100% the result of engineering. The mathematics are so intense that even an accountant would yawn in boredom. And yet - just like a magnificently designed canoe - planes are a magic carpet.

First off, not everybody can or does engage in them. So, right away, you're in a smaller group of self-selecting people. Not all of them are friendly, but the vast majority of them are glad to meet and greet. And then, of course, stories and experiences pass back and forth, and friendships begin to develop. Groups form, both formal and informal. Informal groups meet once in a while for breakfast or maybe a party, plan some jaunts together, and a few members will get even more closely attached. Qualification for belonging is often nothing more than expressing your interest, and being accepted by at least a majority of the group. There are no administrative procedures as people come and go.

Formal groups will have administrative procedures, qualification requirements, permanent positions for running the group, people who are periodically selected and installed into these positions for specified times, and perform certain duties - all to keep the group and organization alive.

Traveling in these marvels brings wide varieties of experiences, almost always memorable experiences. Just as scenery along a river slides by as we canoe along, so do wide swaths of countryside and city scape slide along under an aircraft. When the air is relatively smooth and stable, and flying is easy, it's almost like just sitting in this magic chair, or riding on a fabled magic carpet, as beauty and the world travel toward me, passes along side, and then continues beyond me and out of sight. To me, these are truly remarkable experiences. Marvelous periods in my lifetime that blend and merge together, and yet stand as outstanding episodes never to be forgotten.

So, even though the craft themselves that carry us are purely mathematical in origin, the experiences they take us through are not. Those experiences can be heart warming, exciting, dangerous, sublime, and never to be forgotten or taken for granted. The magic carpet carries us into a fantasy land of realities.

 

[Kayak Jack]

OVER HELL, OVER RIVERS, OVER LAKES, AND BEYOND THOSE PLAINS

In her own little way, in her own little time, the Ruptured Duck travels selected pathways. Today, she took my daughter-in-law and granddaughter onto some of those paths. First, was my granddaughter.

Jasmine has ridden along in the Duck before. Today, was her second run. We flew to Gregory, 69G, a favorite destination to use as a turning point. Today, as we approached Gregory, a tow plane, with a glider in tow, passed underneath. As we were heading ESE'ly, they were heading W'ly, about 500 feet below us. "Grandpa Jack! There are two planes down there!" she said, pointing straight down.. "One is pulling another one, like they do at the field back home. Only now - I'm looking DOWN at it."

"Lansing, One One Yankee. We're turning right, now, onto the southerly leg. Does your radar show the tow plane and glider below and behind us?"
" One One Yankee, turn and fly your route. We have no indication of those two planes. They're below our radar."

Joslin Lake went by. Hell is off to the northeast a few miles. (Naming towns seems to be a game. Just think of the Pennsylvania town that changed its name from Crossed Keys, to Intercourse!). Nestled with the 100 or so other lakes, ponds, and streams in the Pinkney Recreational Area, Joslin stands out as one of the largest. Further south, we saw fishermen sitting and watching bobbers, power boaters stirring up lakes with their curving wakes, and a buzzard or two. Further on we flew past the Southern Michigan Speedway. Nothing going on there today, or we would have had to give it a wide berth. Other days NASCAR's engines roar around the track.

We approached Brooks Field KRMY jusr outside of the historic town of Marshall. Julie, my son Eric, and daughter-in-law Joanne were driving down to meet us. We parked, secured the Duck, and walked into the terminal. Soon, along came Julie. On our way into town, we motored on past the Dark Horse Brewery. God bless micro breweries. But, I'm not visiting today. In town, several restaurants are closed for either the Holiday weekend, or just because it's a Sunday.

On the walk along Michigan Avenue, the main street of Marshall, we passed a Museum of Magic. Being hungry, we voted to delay gratification here, and enjoy lunch first. All along the sidewalks, are bightly painted, 6" dots. They correlate with interesting places to see. Next time, we'll bring along the tourist guide that explains them, and stop in. Today we'll just eat and walk.

Back at the field, it was Joanne's turn to ride in the Duck. While we had been tarrying around in town, the sun had been busy, heating the air. We lifted off to the east, gained some altitude, and turned left to a heading of 055 degrees. Past Duck Lake, past an antennae farm, and on to our home field. But, along the way, we got bounced around a bit. The thermals that give buzzards free rides give us some upward thrust too. But, while the buzzards like it, we aren't as enthusiastic. No sweat.

One aircraft was ahead of us in the pattern back at Mason. He landed; we followed. Cheated Death again. Time to visit the Daily Scoop for ice cream. Ice cream doesn't fill us up. It just melts around the corners. Nice

 

[Wannabe]

Jack,
Glad you had a wonderful day.What was the tempt. there today. Hotter- n -blazes here. At least there was no rain. Driving around I'm starting to see a good bit of hay cut. Some fields will have a big patch of un cut grass in it because the ground is still too wet so they get what they can. Glad you had a good day.
Bob

 

[Kayak Jack]

Thanks, Bob. We've been having a good, family visit. Thanks.

Farmers here are getting ready for the second cutting of hay, and also combining wheat later on this month. I was surprised a month ago when we went through Kansas - they were cuttung hay and combining wheat! Our corn was only about 6" high here, and their wheat was already ripe.

BTW, the irrigation around Kearney NE was mainly from the Platte River, I think. Maybe pumping out some of that quicksand to spray onto fields? ;-). I noticed a new spray pattern there. Spray heads were aimed down instad of up. Less air distance to travel, so less evaporation. I even saw one circular sprayer here in Michigan like that. With all of our water here, we have enough humidity that evaporation isn't all that much of a problem, I'd guess.

 

[Kayak Jack]

RUSTY PATTERN

Like other things in life, flying is a perishable skill. Lack of currency affects even the duties that Julie does to support the flight. We hadn't flown in a couple of weeks, and went up today.

I'd originally wanted to fly along a river north of here, land for lunch, and then come back home. But the clouds weren't clearing off as originally predicted. A strong high was over Chicago, moving along Michigan's S'ly border towards Toledo. Unfortunately, it didn't sweep away the clouds. Lowering ceilings would squeeze the Duck too close to the deck. I opted to just fly locally, in sight of the field.

We did only a couple of practice landings - nearly lunch time by now. With an 80-90 degree crosswind, it was right ailerons, left rudder, slip it in. WHUMP! Not my smoothest or softest landing sigh. Let's try that again? Next one, though not a greaser, wasn't nearly as bad. Cheated death again. Time for lunch.

Tomorrow, we're going to wash the Duck. She needs a bath.

 

[Wannabe]

Was that landing like the one where the pilot said that he made the Most beautiful 3 point landing and his buddy said, yep he did, on the 3 bounce. They can't all be perfect ya know.
Bob

 

[Kayak Jack]

With three bounces, some guys would log 3 landings.

 

[Wannabe]

With three bounces, some guys would log 3 landings.

NO! That can't be. Please tell me that's not true. :roll:
Bob

 

[Kayak Jack]

I don't, but I've heard of it. I also don't do touch and go landings, only full stops. They both count, but touch and goes can get busy, and it gets easier to make mistakes.

 

[Kayak Jack]

ZARZUELA'S

Once in a while, these small, family-run restaurants just pop right out. This place, in Marshall Michigan, is one. It's a Spanish restsurant, and all menu items are listed in both Spanish and English. Meaning that, it takes longer to work your way along the menu. And their food! Joey Dupre' would LOVE this stuff. Marvelous tastes!

Julie and I flew a semi-devious route to there this morning. Rather than fly directly from Mason to Marshall, we went along Bellevue Road. I'm always a bit curious about these local roads that are named after the neighboring town to which it runs. In this case, Bellevue Road doesn't run all the way to Bellwvue. It runs W'ly out of Leslie, and actually ends in the town of Olivet, about 3-4 miles shy of Bellevue. So, I have to wonder - why isn't it named Olivet Road? Oh well.

Bellevue Road does run the proto-typical southern Michigan farmlands. Lakes, ponds, streams, the state's largest river, railroads, small towns, an oil pipeline, and highlines full of high energy electricity are all down there. Also a couple of interstates, tall radio towers, a small college, and the obligatory golden arches.

Air traffic control (ATC) advised us of some local traffic, and released us from flight watch. We overflew Marshall Field, turned a right 270 and entered the pattern. Fuel was priced low here today, so we refueled. Unfortunately, I forgot to close out my flight plan, and ATC had to call me. Shamefacedly, I thanked them and apologized.

Should you ever wander into this neck of the woods, Marshall's Zarzuela Restaurant is definitely a place to visit. Let me know, because I'd like to enjoy the place right along with you.

 

[Kayak Jack]

ON ANOTHER DAY

Some days were made for flying. Two, maybe three, large high pressure systems can dominate the Great Lakes Region. Cooler temperatures overlay the lands. Humidity is low so that visibility is more than 20 miles in all directions. Winds are gentle and consistent, both on the surface and aloft. It's picnic weather all over! Flying is enjoyable, fulfilling, and exciting.

But, this isn't the day. Today the skies are leaden, gray, and kinda leaky. Today, a few thunder bumpers are prowling around the sky, punctuating the area with flashes of lightning and long rolls of thunder. "No, that really isn't Henry Hudson playing nine pins up there. It's water being electrolyzed into its component parts, nitrogen being released and recombined into compounds that will dissolve into surrounding rain, then Falls to enrich the earth. It's electrons transmitting energy at the speed of light." But mainly - it's just frapping rain.

The Ruptured Duck will not be asked to fly today. Her pilot has no yen to challenge this part of Mother Nature. But, we will travel aloft again, both of us together - on another day.

 

[Wannabe]

Up and downy lightening (my Wife's term for it) is not nice. You had any Heat up there Jack?
Bob

 

[Kayak Jack]

Yeah, it's been hot and muggy here for a couple of weeks. Off and on for a week or so yet. I'm looking forward to Indian Summer.

BTW, no matter what direction lightning appears to be going, it's Nature's terrible swift sword. I read that lightning actually travels up. A sensitive feeler comes down, finds a good ground, and THEN the charge goes up. Sure looks to me like it comes down, though.

 

[Wannabe]

It's faster than a speeding bullet.
Bob

 

[Kayak Jack]

But, an aircraft in a thunderstorm isn't much threatened by a lightning strike. Inside the aircraft, people are in a "Faraday cage". The electricity travels the fuselage and exits. Not grounded.

It's the severe winds, turbulence, hail, and rain that are the dangers. (Andy Oldbufpilot can probably add/correct some here). I'm not saying that I want to be struck by lightning. Only that historically, that isn't the dangerous part. Not the fun part, either.