Sunday at SLOW Club Field

Managed to get in two great flights with my Circulator 2. Lots of problems. Had to wait out two passing thunderstorms. Started with two inverted landings due to engine quits. Had to disassemble my ST NVA at the field and start from scratch on trying to set the needle. My first time flying in six months! (Working many hours trying to make ends meet.) Managed to get in 2 good flights. Not many people at the field for some reason. The field is in beautiful shape. My battery ran out of juice after the second good flight. My backup battery was home getting charged. And everyone had already left the field. So could not borrow a battery. Really wanted to get in a couple more flights. Oh well, it is the first time flying this year. Out of practice with equipment maintenance. But I can still do overhead eights, vertical eights, lazy eights, loops and wingovers. So all is not lost. Only took pictures of the Circulator 2 on the new extension to the paved part of the circle. No other planes out there to take pictures of.

During the winter, I replaced the landing gear on my Circulator 2. The old gear was not holding up well. The aluminum was not a strong enough grade. So I found some stronger looking aluminum gear in my stash and installed it. The new gear passed it's first test with flying colors.

A couple of the guys (Paul and Joe) at the field mentioned that they noticed I was not at the club field when the takeoff strip was doubled in length. Evidently the guys all showed up one Saturday and did the work themselves. They poured concrete. Hard work. They did a beautiful job. I have worked every Saturday since I started my new job. Saturday is usually the busiest day of our work week. Everyone at our company works on Saturday. So I was not able to show up that day to help. Evidently guys my age are supposed to be retired and available. Believe me, if I ever find enough money, I will retire and be available on Saturdays.

I asked Joe why we needed such a long runway, since all of my planes takeoff in about a third of the old strip. He said a couple of the guys are planning to build a B-29 and a B-24. "Still crazy after all these years!"

Wanted to find out how much it costs to drive to the SLOW Club field from Walkersville at todays gas prices ($3.95 a gallon for regular). So I filled the tank before leaving and again after the trip. It costs $24.80 for one round trip to the field from here. One more reason why I can't make it out to the club field as often as I used to. Oh well, maybe the gas prices will come down someday. LOL!!!

I have to admit that it was very disappointing that there were so few people at the field yesterday. I wonder where everyone went...