Today we have a warm front moving into the area and temperatures are supposed to be at 60 degrees over the next 48 hours. As you might think, high pressure areas give you wind too. Today they are supposed to be up to 40 MPH gusts! I have flown a MicroLight G2 in this kind of wind before but it is not fun to fly in this kind of wind.
A simple weather assessment skill that I have used over my flying career is "clear skies (Read High Pressure Area/HPA) bring winds" & low ceilings (Read Low Pressure Area/LPA) bring poor visibility and low to no winds. Another trick is to put your back to the wind and point your left arm directly to your side left side...that my friend is where you will find your LPA, low ceilings and low winds. If you have to fly in that direction, you could be in for some more challenging flying. If your flight is departing in the direction of your right arm. Your are in for great ceilings and higher winds. In the Gyroplane you can handle both situations. :)
That prelude brings me to what I want to write about this morning. At this stage of the company flying "just for the love of the Gyroplane" is precious time for me. I really don't get enough of that. My flying time is usually spent testing out or approving certain systems on one of the G2 frames and occasionally giving rides in the 2PT. The G2 Platform offers such huge margins in stability that it will make up for things that can happen along the way, but it is not a magic carpet. These huge capabilities have to be managed...get the emotions out of it, make the tough decisions when you need to make them, not when you have to. Caution is the better part of wisdom. Customers who know us, know this to be true.
Well yesterday was one of those days when the flight was really just for me. It was clear, about 15 MPH wind and there was some fine snow in the area. During this flight, though a fun flight, it was a way for me to "sign-off" on a tweak on the exhaust change for the EcoTec. I would call it Phase II of the design and we should have the final fix done by end of the week...in plenty of time to pack it up for Bensen Days/SNF events.
After the initial run-up of the engine and completing my HATT-M (sounds like "hat-m") checklist (Heading-Altitude-Time-Transponder-Mast...for those that have flown with me) I worked my way to the taxiway and started pre-rotation and finished the rest of my pre-flight checklists en route to the active. At 27 Degrees --wind chill 19 degrees-- it takes a little longer to get your coolant and oil temperatures up to where they need to be before takeoff. Once my engine warmed up, I began taxiing for a departure on Runway 30 to the West. I called out my intentions, got the rotor up to speed, at 35 MPH the rotor was already through 275 RPM's....off we go climbing at 1,400 FPM to 2,700' MSL. Things were going great, it was just very cold and even colder at that altitude. Have I mentioned that it was cold yet? At 2,700' West of Hastings about 4 miles I ran head long into snow, fine crystallized snow that made it seem even colder. At 60 MPH and snow I decided to head back to the airport for the rest of my flight.
When I took off there was no traffic and nothing going on at 9D9 meaning that short of possible inbound traffic the airport was all mine....further meaning an impromptu air show was in the cards. When I get this kind of a setting that means lots of minimum forward speed flight/MFS, vertical descents, right and left side-wards flight, stationary flight, flat turns around/at/on a point and maximum speed flybys to maximum rate climbs! I actually set a new personal record yesterday. I flew a MFS approach from 1,800' to Runway 30 to 10' off the deck, accelerated to 82 MPH at that altitude and transitioned the G2 Tandem into a 2 - 3G initial climb and watched the VSI go through 2,200 FPM! When the climb settled into a max rate Vx climb I was climbing at a sustained rate of 1,400 FPM! At 2,700' MSL. Time for a corkscrew descent to the deck and start something else! The 2PT is a rocket and yet it feels like one of our MicroLight's when you fly it at 35-45 MPH. It really is a great Gyroplane!
When I took off, I left two of my biggest HoneyBee G2 Fans on the ground. One was Dave Yant, the guy that is faithfully behind the scenes handling all the myriad of details for the G2's. The second one was my wife and best Cheerleader, Louanne! They loved the show....and so did I!
You really need to come fly with me! Maybe on a warm day?
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