Relaxation and flying

  Been pretty content the last couple weeks. Work slowed down and provided me with many opportunities to visit friends. The really cool thing is that I didn't blow those opportunities by being an isolationist or trying to run everything! I just was who I am and let life unfold. Good times.

  Been doing a lot of flying lately. Its therapeutic and terrifying. There is a tremendous amount of exhilaration that comes with taking the little remote plane up, flying it around, and safely landing it! When you screw up, and a crash looks highly likely, that's when the terror comes!

  I had crashed many planes in my day. I am grateful to say that I haven't crashed any since I picked up the hobby again. Maybe I am being too cautious? Maybe today my pleasure in flying is the experience of hanging out with my friends, rather than just the flying, so I am not flying as risky of maneuvers.

  We flew off of a couple frozen lakes. The first one had fishermen so we had to walk out quite far to fly. There was some sort of long legged bird out on the ice who stretched its wings out and yelled at our planes whenever they came near. Grumpy old bird. We flew around and had great landings. Success!

  The second lake was wide open. No fishermen and no peeved bird. We were set up for great fun. Trevor had just installed ailerons on his plane and was hoping to graduate from trainer to intermediate pilot. But, he hadn't planned on the wind. 10-15 mph winds with gusts over 20. He had flown in heavy winds before, but not with ailerons. A smooth takeoff and gentle turn were quickly followed by moments of terror and a modern day reenactment of lawn darts. Despite hitting the ice straight down, his plane is repairable, and that was a relief.

   It was my turn. I took off and the plane bounced around. Testing the slow speed flight was spectacular with moments where the plane would just drop five or six feet. Would my plane be able to land in all this turbulence? That's when adrenaline started flowing. I managed to land it safely and even went up for another flight. We decided then that I needed to be first up, so I can please the flying gods by offering up a descent first flight. Well....maybe its to check the wind high up....flying gods....really?!!

  Speaking of flying gods, starting work on my old remote planes reminded me of an axiom in the hobby.

  Be careful hooking up the electronics, there is a genie inside. If you see the magic white smoke escape, he will never return to function properly again.

  No magic white smoke has escaped any of my planes lately. So I am good. The hobby has been much more rewarding than ever before. Trevor set aside an area in his garage for working on them. There is a wood burning stove and even a bag of coal! It is truly a man cave. I love it!

  The times spent with him and my nephew are very rewarding. We all have plane projects and we hang out and build them. These are the best moments of my life. I am doing something I love, and people I love are doing it with me.