How about shifting your paradigm and adding some excitement to your life. You know your not getting any younger and you crave something more on the edge. Something that makes your friends eyes widen when you tell them about your new hobby.
Flying your ultralight airplane !! Yes you could do it, it not that hard to take some lessons and you don’t need a pilot certificate to fly them. You can buy them from about $5,000 on up.
The sensation of flying these is amazing and are they safe you ask? Accidents are usually caused by carelessness like any other thing. Thousands are enjoying the sport of flying ultralight aircraft and it becomes a big part of their life.
Do you know that less than 10% of people set goals and that less than 10% of those that do set goals achieve them. Why? Because you have to leave your comfort zone to do this.
Leave your comfort zone for awhile and learn to fly. You will feel so good and when you look down at the earth from the sky all your troubles will be out of mind and a big smile on your face
The Predator B unmanned aircraft has landed at EAA AirVenture. This is the first time that the Air Force has landed this plane at a civilian airport. It will be on display at the main Aero Shell Square.
Developed in 2000 and first tested in 2001, the Predator is a long-endurance, high altitude, unmanned reconnaissance aircraft. It can do multiple mission including surveillance, targeting, weapons delivery and research. Its internal payload is 800 lbs. and the external on 6 wing hard-points is 3,000 lbs.
A typical mission might have the Predator flying off either remotely piloted or full autonomous. Its 66 ft wingspan could carry it to an altitude of up to 50,000 ft. The aircraft can then survey the intended area and stay aloft for as long as 30+ hours. If a target is located the Predator could drop bombs or fire missiles.
The Predator is built by General Atomics Aeronautical, has a turboprop engine, weighs in at 10,000 lbs. and can fly at a slow 222 knots
This years EAA Airventure will feature Elvis. Elvis is the Erickson Air Crane that will be parked on the Eero Shell Square for all to see at this years July27-Aug2 airventure. The worlds most versatile, powerful and cost efective helicoptor is this monster of a machine.
The Air Crane can lift 25,000 lbs and is very efective fighting fires with its ability to carry high loads of water, fire retardant and foam to the blaze. Its rotor diameter is 72 ft and the two Pratt and Whitney engines produce 9,000 shaft horsepower.
Also at AirVenture this year is the first landing and display of the unmanned aeirial vihicle the Pradator at a civilian airport.
The campgrounds are starting to fill up for the mecca of the aviation world. Aircraft are arriving daily and the weather looks good. The economy has not lowered the expectations for the shows attendance, although it looks like there will be more campers this year in the 700 acre mini city saving folks some lodging expenses.
Last Sunday aircraft designer Tom Peghimy joined the small group of flyers piloting electric aircraft they designed. Peghiny flew his e-Spyder at an altitude of 400 ft while obtaining 55 mph. The e-Spyder is based on the Flightstar ultralight frame and used a 20 kilowatt brushless motor from china. 40 minutes of flight time is expected from the motor and lithium polymer battery.
Electric powered aircraft are just become viable with the current batteries available, they run very quiet and are reliable due to the simplicity of the motor.
Another electric airplane that is just becoming available for sale is the ElectrFlyer-C that was shown at the Osh kosh AirVenture last year and Sonex aircraft and others are busy developing electric aircraft for the future green side of aviation.
The future of electric airplanes may include some technology as nanowires and ultracapacitors. This combination is being researched to suplement batteries. The CAFE prize offered for a contest to demonstrate alternative technology in aircraft has been offered for 2011. This is hoped to spur some breakthroughs in electric powered aircraft.
Just retuned from a short camping trip with my Challenger ultralight. It was a great way to fly somewhere different and enjoy the fun of camping with an airplane. This trip was with a buddy flying his challenger also. We touched down at a small farm with a small grass strip. After setting up tents and gear we flew around the area flying low over the corn and doing touch and goes.
Camping by aircraft is popular at fly-ins but a great way to enjoy your airplane and try somthing different is flying to one of the many small private landing strips found out in the country. This small farm was owned by a flyer who had lots of local freinds who would fly in every sunday morning for coffee and some flying . My freind who flew with me on this trip new the owner and although he was gone for the day we arrived told us to make ourselves at home.
You can find these small grass strip owners though your flying clubs and through other flyers. They are usually tickeled to have someone come in and see there little private airport and you get to meet new folks.
The weather was great for camping and flying and when we packed up and left the owner flew along with his plane around the area and showed us the strips of his flying buddys so we might set down there with our planes in the future if we desired.
“If black boxes survive air crashes – why don’t they make the
whole plane out of that stuff.” – George Carlin
Da Vinci 1452-1519
Leonardo Da Vinci is well known for being the Renascences man who
mastered numerous arts during his lifetime. One of the more interesting
Interests Leonardo pursued was studying the flight of birds and designing
and building models from his studies. There is no evidence that Leonardo
flew, but there is proof that some of his designs would indeed work.
Leonardo had studied the wings of the bird in detail and sketched
studies of the structure of the bones and shapes of the feathers.
He discovered the important fingers of the birds wing, known as the
alulae. He was aware of center of gravity and stability. Leonardo
even diagramed the vortices of the ends of the wings. (Vortices
are turbulent swirls of air left behind a wing’s tip, created by the
wing’s lift. When flying, vortices are to be understood so that you
may avoid them or are prepared for them, as they disrupt your wing’s airflow)
1.1 Billion dollars in stimulas money has been awarded to 300 airports in the nation. Department of Transportation press secretary Sasha Johnson says “we were looking for projects that airports in the areas around the country desperately needed to be done for safety and security”
How about 15 million for the Alaskan town of Quizinkie, population 165 ! (think the bridge to nowhere) Or $800,000 for Purdue University’s tiny airport to keep animals off the runway, The last incident was 10 years ago when an airplane hit a skunk !
A quick look at the money awarded demonstrates the continued disfuntionality of our govenrment, although I’m happy to see small airports share in the handout because it’s where many pilots learn to fly and their numbers are decreasing.
Think about a new paradigm for yourself
Have you ever sat in traffic or been amazed at the number of automibiles around you trying to get somewhere? If you had looked up in the sky you would have probably found it empty of aircraft or close to it. We spend our whole lives trying to feel unique. You might think about learning to fly!
