Tales from the Log of the Ruptured Duck

[oldsparkey]

Check the valve assembly in the adapter where you attach the air hose to add air to the strut. It could leak a very little or none at all when it is cooler but then as the summer arrives and the weather heats up it would leak more. Then when you fill it a dust particle , dirt particle or just about anything else would let it leak faster due to the pressure increase when filled and from the heat rising. Or the center core is not screwed in all the way , another cause of a slow leak and they do work loose. With cars that is one cause of flat tires over a long time span ( My tire has a slow leak in it and I have no idea where it is .... excuse ) and for some reason no one ever checks it.

Or someone could be playing games with you. A BB placed under the valve cap and the cap lightly attached back on the valve stem will cause a slow release of air from the valve . When the owner checks it and takes the cap off the BB falls to the ground and is not noticed.
I understand that trick is a good one to use when checking on poachers cars parked out in the woods , when you have to leave the vehicle and go in the woods looking for them. It does not hurt the tire but it keeps the poacher at the vehicle for a while so you can get him.
Or so I have been told. :roll: Also I remember someone saying that if you do the front left and right rear tires then he will be there since few folks have 2 spares.

 

[Kayak Jack]

Thanks, Chuck. You're right about the Schraeder valve and the valve core. They are always suspect. No one is getting into the hangar to play trickery; it's locked.
I do like that trick of the BB, though, and will remember it. (What color was your Jeep? :| )
There are several inherent design faults in this strut. Over the years, most of them have been fixed.

 

[oldsparkey]

No one is getting into the hangar to play trickery; it's locked.
I do like that trick of the BB, though, and will remember it. (What color was your Jeep? :| )
.

Locks are only for honest people and the color of my Jeep is purple with a reddish blue tint and almost looks black unless it in the moonlight and then it appears deep green with a yellow tint to it on dark nights it appears to be ivory. So if you see it use the BB trick but hit all 4 tires since I really like using my portable tire infiltrator and I could use the extra BB's for the pesty Michigan vehicles parking in the middle of the road. :lol:

 

[Kayak Jack]

So, the Golden Goat is now purple. Interesting. :|

 

[oldsparkey]

So, the Golden Goat is now purple. Interesting. :|

Elderberries were ripe when I drove threw them. :lol: :lol: :lol:

 

[Kayak Jack]

Snow Fields And Sunshine

The Ruptured Duck has been in for its annual inspection for a few weeks. Problems with the nose strut leaking, being machined, rechromed, etc. Today, she was finally ready. Julie and I drove over to Charlotte pick her up. So, after lunch, we went to get her.

The engine sounded a bit rough, so Jason and I took her around the pattern once just to see. OK, she's smooth at altitude. While Julie drove the car back to Mason, I flew the Duck. Once we both got there, we got in and I initiated her to flying in the Duck. She's had experience in small, private planes, and isn't a novice. Nonetheless, she hadn't flown with me before, so we took time for a full passenger briefing as well as a full WX briefing. Then, off we went.

We flew three legs, one W'ly from Mason (KTEW) to Charlotte (KFPK), overflew it and turned SW'ly towards Marshall (KRMY), overflew the town and airfield, and then turned NE'ly to head back home to Mason. Snow, of course, is covering everything. Bright sunshine was too. Lakes are frozen over - and budding ice fishing shacks. (Last week, a few buddies of mine took off in their ski-equipped planes, and landed on several lakes in southern Michigan.)

As we were flying past Charlotte, Julie could see see the hangar we had been in an hour before, and the road she had driven on while returning to Mason. When we overflew Marshall, she could see the old, town fountain, a restaurant where we had lunch a few days ago, and the runway as it passed beneath us. As we approached Mason, she could recognize Meijer's (a Michigan chain of stores selling everything from groceries to shoes), the courthouse, the hangar where we had breakfast on Saturday morning, and (of course) the runway.

It was good to be in the air again. I hadn't been up since 7 December, the flight taking gifts to kids all over the state. It felt good again! Having cheated death three times, I figured it was time to go for coffee. Julie and I went to the BestSellers Coffee Shop, where she had a Milky Way Mocha - DELICIOUS! I had a simple cup of Earl Grey tea.

 

[Wannabe]

Jack,
Glad ya'll had a good time. My family enjoys Earl Grey Tea. Good stuff.
Bob

 

[Kayak Jack]

Thanks, Bob. This coffee shop and deli have spoiled me for any other ones. Food, coffee, tea, and people are all so darned good!

 

[Kayak Jack]

Looking For Signs Of Spring
On Friday, 7 March 14, Julie and I went aloft looking for sings of spring. We flew over much of southern Michigan, took pictures of her house, had a traditional "$100 Hamburger", and made five landings. Here's the story.

Weather was cold, so long johns and extra vests were in order. I had to wear gloves during the preflight inspection. And, the engine heat pad had been on since 10:00 o'clock the night before. (A few days before this flight, I hadn't gotten the engine heater pad turned on, and the engine barely turned over and didn't start.) The weather briefing confirmed high pressure over the Great Lakes area, and good flying weather.

The first leg of our day was short - from Mason (KTEW) to Charlotte (KFPK) for fuel. I also wanted Julie to see the field from the air. She had driven with me a couple of weeks ago to pick up the Duck after maintenance, then drove the car back to Mason while I flew the Duck. Today, she got to see how a town and airfield look while flying over one and into the other. Al Ayotte was in the terminal at Charlotte, giving an exam to a young, student pilot. Al had given me my check flight over two years ago, and is a good friend.

Taking off from Charlotte, we flew to a GPS waypoint I had inserted into WingX, the flight software on my iPad. I'd marked Julie's house so we could circle it and she could get piccies. Afterwards, when we looked at the pictures, they are all white with just a few dark details. Bright sunlight washed out most of the contrast. Summertime awaits better picture taking conditions. From there, we flew to and landed at Marshall Air Field (KRMY) where Amelia Earhart had flown into a few times. Julie is very familiar with the town of Marshall, and again, I wanted her to see the town and field as we flew over and came in for a landing.

We taxied back to the approach end of runway 28, took off and went directly to Coldwater (KOEB) for lunch. The Prop Blast restaurant in the main building serves good soup/salad/sandwiches. A bowl of chili and a Reuben sandwich later, we relaxed over a last cuppa coffee. An old straight-tail Cessna 172 was taxiing in. In the 60's, Cessna streamlined the vertical stabilizer with a distinctive rearward slant. The first few years, the 172 (world's most popular airplane) had a tail sticking straight up, thus the straight tail nickname.

I recognized the pilot and passenger as Ken and Vickie Vandenbelt, friends from Mason. Of course the gals hugged and squealed when they saw each other. Ken and I shrugged and said "Hi", like guys do. He hangars a few doors down from me, and we don't get real excited about seeing each other several times a week anyway.

After passing the time of day a bit, Julie and I pushed the Duck back away from the hangar, and cranked her up. A crosswind from the left made taking off a bit more exciting than usual, and we were off for Marshall again. Julie's car had been in for repair, was complete, and her daughter had driven down to pick her up so she could get the car and drive back home. I pulled up near the FBO terminal, shut down to let her out, recranked the engine, and lifted off for home solo. She would be home in a couple of hours following along on the ground.

We were not able to see many signs of any approaching spring. Snow lay 1-2 feet deep in most places; and much higher in drifts. Lakes had snow mobile tracks all over them, as did a few fields. We plan to fly to Hell and back in a couple of days. Right now - Hell is frozen over. Who knows what it will look like two days from now?

 

[loafer]

Spring has sprung Down South
trees and shrubs are blooming like crazy
heck it will be summer by the the time you get down here
been running the air conditioner all this week

LOAFER

 

[oldsparkey]

Spring has sprung Down South
trees and shrubs are blooming like crazy
heck it will be summer by the the time you get down here
been running the air conditioner all this week

LOAFER

Same thing over here in Florida , Shorts and "T" Shirt weather. Bumble bees all around , flowers in bloom , the sound of lawn mowers cutting grass. Trees bursting out in that light spring green foliage , Pollen dusting the vehicles and changing there colors to alight yellow. Most of all my favorite , BBQ's sending out all sorts of good aromas from the back yards in the evenings , Spring has Sprung.

 

[Kayak Jack]

Yesterday, while still on the ground, we started seeing signs of spring here. High school kids' trackteam out running - in SHORTS and TEE SHIRTS! One young fella had no shirt on at all. Robins, snow melting, and lots of sunshine. Aye god spring is in the air.

 

[catfish]

k jack don't get your hopes up yet. :roll: :lol:

 

[Kayak Jack]

Ahh - but hope springs eternal.

 

[Kayak Jack]

HELL IS FROZEN OVER

Today, Julie and I flew the Ruptured Duck over Hell. It's a tiny, Michigan burg. I've written about the area before today, Hell was frozen over. However - it did show signs of thawing soon.

There are spaces of green showing from edges of snow banks. Freshets are flowing into streams, streams are flowing into rivers, and rivers are flowing into the Great Lakes. The Maple River Valley has fields with standing water. Farmers are going to have to wait a while before planting time.

Horses, with blankets on them, are gamboling and running across paddocks and pastures, getting ready for spring days and nights. Even raccoons are out now - AARRGGHH!! March has a reputation, "In like a lion, out like a lamb." Soon, balmy evenings, wine coolers, seegars by the river, fireflies on evening lawns, and bats picking off mosquitoes in mid air.

About 13:15, we returned the Duck to her barn, and went to lunch. A delightful couple with a precocious 5 year old were there. Julie and I got a little bit acquainted with Alexandria, and her baby brother. Then, they were off to other places. And, we came home.

I never tire of watching the Midwest countryside slide along order our wings. Canadian geese are returning. Sunshine is all over the place. Hot coffee helps us enjoy landing and coming to town. To all of you, from the Ruptured Duck, enjoy Life!

 

[Wannabe]

Thank you Captain Jack,
The plumb and pears are blooming here and new leaves are coming out on the fig trees. It's too wet to do much in the garden though. Glad you had a good day.
Bob

 

[Kayak Jack]

Thanks, Bob. I enjoy hearing about your garden produce. Gardening is an honorable pastime.

 

[Kayak Jack]

FLYING A THREE CORNERED ROUND ROBIN

A couple of days ago, a large high pressure system covered the central US. Effects stretched from the Sault Sainte Marie, southward to the Gulf of Mexico. Michigan was CAVU (Ceiling And Visibility Unlimited). Julie and I took off.

We flew from Mason Jewett Field KTEW to Linden Price 9G2 and made a full stop landing. This is an air park, where homes have hangars underneath - hangars with planes in them. A nice, new terminal building is there, and we stepped in for a few minutes. Ahh, I feel better now.

As we lifted off and got about 300 feet high, a hawk was directly in front of the plane. I banked to my left first, and then s/he banked left too. I could see it's posture change when it looked up and realized we were on a collision course and then it banked.

We landed at Owosso Municipal KRNP. I hadn't been here since 7 December when Dan and I were delivering packages for kids' Christmases. It's a nice field next to a couple of nice towns - Owosso and Corunna. We'll be back with the bikes to tour the towns. For today, just refuel the Duck, defuel us, and then refuel us. Doug Haskins gave us a ride off field, to the local Subway sandwich shop. BOY! Are Subway sandwiches good! I've enjoyed them for a long time now, and like the variety you can get.

Later, we walked back to the field for a cuppa coffee and chat with the local airport geezers. Every field has:
A. Resident geezers, or
B. A dog, or
C. A resident kid or two, or
D. All the above

On the ride home, it was a bit bumpy. The sun had generated a few thermals, and we found a few. Landing back at our home field was uneventful, and welcome. As we were pushing the Duck back into the hangar, Ernie Lutz drove by on the way to his hangar. I've mentioned Ernie before; he flew over Omaha Beach on D Day. Last year, a fellow, commented to Ernie about his getting up early every morning to walk. Ernie says, "No, I jog."

Much of the snow is gone now. Much of the standing water in the fields is gone too. Streams and rivers are nearly at - or already in - flood stage.

Coffee at the Bestsellers coffee shop and book store polished off the day. Cheated Death again.

 

[Kayak Jack]

Three States - 40 Seconds

On Sunday, 30 March, we flew to the junction of Michigan, Ohio, and Indiana. This is just a few miles E'ly of Angola IN. We're following strings of lakes left behind by one - or more - of the three glaciers that came this way tens of thousands of years ago. Michigan is known as "The Water Wonderland", with all of its lakes (over 11,000), rivers, streams, and Great Lakes shoreline. We sometimes ask, "Where in he## did all that water come from??!!"

There are many strings of such lakes, mostly in a N'ly to S'ly orientation, but some lines are askew. Similarly, there are eskers - long, sandy, serpentine hills that are left behind as glaciers melt and retreat back N'ly. Streams form along the tops of the glacier. Rocks and soil that had been scraped up along the way are now released as the stream erodes the ice. This detritus is dumped at the end of a glacier, and left behind in a snaky trail as the glacier melts its way backwards. Some of these glacial features are near the tri-juncture of the three states. These are what were we scouting from the air.

This time, instead of stopping for lunch at Coldwater, near Michigan's southern border, we continued on northward another 23 miles to Marshall. There, since in the late 1800's, has been a hotel or restaurant on one location. Since I was a kid, Schuler's restaurant has occupied the spot. VERY good eating. Right after we landed, two other aircraft from Defiance OH came in behind us. Those couples were going to Schuler's too. We called for the courtesy car and off we went. After lunch, they gave me a frequent flyer card. Every three fly-ins, we get $25 credit towards our meal! Can't beat that with a stick.

Earlier in the flight, we had landed at Hillsdale Field, hoping to have a nice cuppa coffee. A big vulture got a surprise as we were touching down. And, off on the field, we saw three more vultures on the ground, "enjoying" a meal of winterkill.

No coffee - no such luck - it was Sunday, and James was home. Most FBOs and terminals in Michigan have a coded lock on the door. All doors in Michigan have the same code. But, just a simple lock here, so no entry at all. This, of course, had other implications - no restroom was available either. AARRGGHH!!

After lunch, we flew back to Mason for a leisurely cup of gourmet coffee at BestSellers as usual. We'd cheated Death three times already, and had no intention of risking our tails any further.

 

[Wannabe]

Love the geology Jack,
Three States in 40 seconds, you sure get around, and fast. In days gone by I thought all those lakes and ponds might have been created by a huge meteor shower in the distant past. Thank you for the edumacation.
Bob