Luscombe gathering at Columbia
That time of year again and what an absooutely great day
I arrived during the flour bomb and spot landing contest
Pretty good turnout this year, much better weather than what we had last year (and even last weekend)
I did a couple of 360's overhead for photo-ops
How's this for multitasking - pilot, observer and photographer all at the same time
I'm counting close to 40 planes down there and there were at least four or 5 in the pattern for the contest
I wanted to land on the grass but didn't want to interfere with all the traffic using 17 for spot landings
Babysitting this old 150 I figured that by flying it up here I'd be so riddled with humiliation that I'd vow to never let it happen again
and thus increase the chances of finishing my project before next years meet
Fortunately I was able to park way down by the windsock and sneak away from the Ce**na before anyone noticed me.
Not a Luscombe but the star of the show nevertheless
In the picture for a scale reference
I took a lot of pictures and had a tough time chosing so I'm going to forego the usual witty captions and let the pictures do the talking
Don't worry, we're getting to the Luscombes here eventually
One of this years missions is the study and photography of lower cowl sections since I'm going to be fitting mine from
a new Univair blank. I'm looking for obvious problem areas where cracks form and stuff like that
Some Big Iron
One of my favorites, a previous champion and very similar to my goal
I think that's a Lang tailwheel
I'm also looking for one of these so if anyone has one they want to get rid of...
Despite it's looks it's obvious from the polished surface of the rudder pedals that this airplane gets used regularly
AHA!! a flaw!
Polish them enough and the blind rivets start to look like regular ones
You mean "perfect"?
This is the first time I've seen the Phantom outside of the hangar
It's got a new owner now
This is called the Phantom II and has the Australian Rotec engine - I believe it's the R2800
Aesthetically it's not a perfect fit in my opinion
Also, despite it's looks, it sounds nothing like a traditional radial engine. It's geared and runs at 3600 rpm
so it sounds kind of busy rather than lumbering and laid back
It's also got flaps
and a big honkin' burlwood panel
Flaps appear to be electrically actuated
I walked into town for lunch and noticed the old house that was slowly rotting away
It's been sprayed with some sort of coating that I swear looks like truck bed liner
Had a roast beef sandwich at the Saloon
How to build a round tipped stab end
on a picnic table in the woods
Jack Norris
Time to head back
Filled now with renewed inspiration
Back at the hangar I take stock of my situation
There's much work to be done and it seems overwhelming at times if you look at the whole scope of it
But each day and each week I chip another little piece off the list
each small task
Taking me one small step closer to my goal