The Phoenix rests in it's aerie

(click pictures to enlarge)

The hangar building is finally completed, so the Phoenix now has a permanent aerie to rest in between adventures. Even though it was late in the day after moving things from the temporary hangar to the new one , we went soaring for an hour before returning to "arrange the furniture". And yes, the wing tips have to be removed to fit the 50 foot wide airplane in to the 42 foot wide hangar (a three minute job).

This entry completes the Flight of the Phoenix, but the blog may continue. Tomorrow Jan and I fly to Ellensburg for breakfast and some sightseeing. We expect to be delighted!

A circus tent for the Phoenix

Tent? Pajamas might be a better name. The lovely white finish on the Phoenix is not as durable as the paint you would use on a metal airplane, so keeping it in a hangar, or covered when it's outside, extends the life of the finish many years. But, wow, there is a lot to cover, with it's 50 foot wing span and 150 square feet of wing and tail area.

(click any pictures to enlarge)

It came with a nice canopy cover, so we went to work on covers for the wing and tail. The tail was easy, taking only two pieces (left and right sides) about 4' each, joined with Velcro in the center:

The main wing was much bigger, about 4' by 17', and, of course, you need a piece that size top AND bottom!

Sewing the wing pieces together was a challenge because of the size, but also because the bottom piece needs a 1' by 14' mesh vent sewed into it. Jan managed it all without too much trouble, but she's thankful the material (a type of Tyvek made for covering things) isn't stretchy.

Besides the big piece you see her working on, there were two additional 8' long pieces, one per side, to cover the long wing extensions (look at the top picture at the bent up outer portion of the wing). The big piece and the wing tip piece are connected with Velcro.

Tomorrow I'll put them on the airplane for the final fitting. And finally, some good news about the hangar we'll be renting: it's finished, and we can move in tomorrow!

We tour the skies

(click on any image to enlarge it)

We finally had a sunny morning, so we used it for an early flight to see the spring water tumbling over Palouse Falls, a 30 minute flight from Richland. This was Jan's first flight in our new motorglider (we usually call it an "airplane" so we don't confuse it with the other motorglider we still own), and the third Phoenix she's flown it. She's still impressed with how fast it gets off the ground - it's a rocket, for sure.

I'd show you a picture of the Falls, but I didn't think to go down very low, so the pictures of it are pathetically small. Getting low is not something a glider pilot thinks about doing.

The electricians finished their work yesterday, so the hangar complex has power everywhere. The door to our hangar is functioning, and the drywall is painted. It's the only one with all the interior sides covered in drywall, thanks to it's central location that requires a firewall.

Most of the doors are working, but the city wants a few things modified before they'll issue an occupancy permit. It's going to be close, but it might still happen this month!

So, what'cha doing while you wait for the hangar to be finished?

I'm flying the Phoenix every day the weather permits (i.e., light winds and no rain), primarily to improve my landing skills, the hardest part of the transition from sailplanes to a touring motorglider. The landings since I got home - about 17 - have been smooth and consistent, so now it's time to fly in somewhat stronger winds, particularly for crosswind landings, because the wind does not always blow straight down the runway.

One other skill remains to be learned: landing with the engine stopped. This is something even airplane pilots learn, though, of course, they have no intention of stopping the engine (emergencies happen!). Since a motorglider is intended soar like a bird, stopping the engine is normal operation, and because there is no guarantee it will start later on (maybe hours later), the pilot must be good at landing with the engine stopped.

I have flown with other Phoenix pilots in soaring conditions, and with Jim Lee, the dealer, in my Phoenix while in Florida. This picture shows where we climbed above the clouds on rising air with the engine stopped. Note how the propeller blade is "feathered" (twisted to align with the air, reducing drag).

(click images to enlarge)

The hangar isn't finished! What's Plan B?

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 We had to tie the Phoenix outside when we got home Wednesday night, because the new set of T-hangars ("T" refers to the floorplan). They are close to done, but still need the siding for the doors (as you can see); the electrical work is just more than half done. The doors need the hydraulic system flushed, pumped up, and the 7 foot long cylinders connected (two per door) to the doors.

Parking outside isn't a good idea for a finely finished composite aircraft, so Thursday, Russ and I looked for hangar space.

• Plan B was a fellow EAA (Experimental Aircraft Association) member's hangar, but it wasn't big enough to hold the Phoenix without removing the wings entirely 
• Plan C was to borrow space in the former DHL hangar where the Viper Aircraft people have a small repair and production facility, but there was too much sanding dust and fiberglass fibers flying around from their work.
• Plan D was another friend's hangar that had enough space, but involved too much rearranging of other planes, equipment, and furniture (a home away from home) to make it worthwhile for the couple weeks I needed it
• Plan E  was to move into the uncompleted new hangar before they were finished, but that was scuttled by the need for an occupancy permit from the City. No chance of that until it was really done and inspected
• Plan F - ask Cliff of Sundance Aviation is he knew of any uncuppied hangar space. He made a couple of calls, and Bingo! He found a T-hangar that was empty to the end of the month, and now the Phoenix has shelter in hangar #5.

After that, Russ and I went flying, then placed the Phoenix in the hangar.

Home at last!

The night before, we decided to get an earlier start than usual, hoping we could get to Richland, WA, at least an hour before sunset. While the Phoenix is equipped for night flying, everything is easier and safer in the daylight. We arranged to be picked up at 8 AM at the motel, and Russ set the alarm on his phone for 7 AM.

When I woke up in the morning, my watch showed 7:10 AM. Yikes! We overslept - except I couldn't imagine sleeping through Russ's phone alarm, so I checked my phone: it showed 6:10 AM. I couldn't quite accept that, so I used my iPad to ask Google "what time is it in page az", and Google responded - 6:11 AM! Ah, right - Arizona is on Pacific time, not Mountain time. Russ didn't catch that, either.

New Rule: ask the first person we see after landing for the time.

We did get an early start, taking off in sunny, cool, and calm conditions, aiming for Ely, NV, as our first stop. That's 246 miles, taking about 2:20 hours with the light headwinds we encountered. Here's the track, produced by my Delorme inReach GPS tracker that uses the Iridium satellite phone network to send it's coordinates every 10 minutes:

(click to enlarge)

You can also look at the all the tracks for the entire trip (and future tracks) on the inReach website:

https://share.delorme.com/EricGreenwell

The landscape is a mostly uninhabited desert with some mountain ranges, but with a certain grandeur. We flew most of it at an altitude 10,500' MSL (means "above sea level") or about 4,500' above the ground, except when crossing mountain ranges. I need to retrieve my camera from the Phoenix before I can show you what it looks like - tomorrow, maybe I'll remember, and update this page.

I refueled the plane after we landed at Ely while Russ took borrowed a pickup to get some things from his motorhome that he left parked a couple miles from the airport after the soaring season ended last year. Soon we were on our way, now with Mountain Home, ID, as the likely landing place for refueling, stretching, and other personal needs. The Phoenix actually had enough fuel to get to Richland (plus an extra hour), but stronger than forecast headwinds would eat into that margin, giving us the choice of yet another landing to add fuel (and it's delay, risking running out of daylight as we get near Richland), or having a smaller fuel reserve, making it harder to divert to another airport if unexpected poor weather or strong winds at home made it desirable to land elsewhere.

From Mountain Home, it was mostly smooth cruising in modest 10-15 mph headwinds, so we averaged 115-120 mph. Because the terrain is so much lower than the Page-Ely-Mountain Home legs of the flight, we flew at 8,500' MSL until we began to descend about 20 miles out of Richland.

And finally, we're home! Well, I'm home and the Phoenix is home, but Russ is still 940 miles from his home near San Diego, but we'll pop him onto an airliner for that part of the trip.

We had to tie down the plane on the ramp because the new set of hangars are still unfinished. Bummer! I signed up for a hangar last August, thinking I'd be paying a couple months rent before the Phoenix was ready, but apparenlty building a motorglider is more predictable than a set of hangars.

Finally, good weather

The short story:

We sleep in, get out to the airport by 9 am, chat with Bob, the fellow that runs the maintenance, flight training, and other services at the airport. By 10 AM, we've stuffed our bags into the Phoenix, take off, and head for Moriarty, NM, in clear blue skies.

The terrain is flat at first, but rises slowly, and becomes rugged. Easy flying in light headwinds at 8500", then 10,500 as we near Moriarty, elevation 6200".

I do a "go-around" when he first landing bounces too much; the second landing is good. We pull in and fuel. By then, a couple glider pilots we know have discovered us - Mark Mocho and Dan Marotta. Conversation enuses, we go to lunch, decide to skip the soaring museum to get to Page, AZ before it's too late in the evening.

Three hours of flying over unmostly uninhabited and unforgiving desert, we arrived at Page, AZ. The AWOS (automated weather station broadcasting conditions to aircraft radios) indicated a direct crosswind of of 8 knots, more than my experience, so I let Russ do the landing. 

We fueled, got a ride to a good motel in town, bought a couple salads to go and a bottle of wine at the nearby Walmart, retired to the motel room for our dinner, and went to bed. More later, maybe.

Get the heck out of Dodge

After a long, dreary day of thunder and rain in Minden, LA, we really hoped the Sunday evening forecast was correct, because we'd be able to leave town. We decided to get up an hour before sunrise (6 AM) to give us enough time to get breakfast, check the weather, and go to the airport early.

Well, we should've slept in. The storm left so much moisture, the ceilings (height of the cloud bottoms above ground) was less than 1000 feet for hundreds miles, probably due to the 2+" of rain dumped everywhere by the strom. We prepared the Phoenix anyway, expecting the ground and air to dry off some by early afternoon. 

About 12:30, that's what happened. We took off, heading for Gainesville, TX. It was low but not slow for the first 120 miles, with ceilings generally between 1800' and 2200" AGL (= "above ground level"). Gradually, conditions improved to 3000' AGL.

Two hours later, near Gainesville, our electronic map was showing a strong storm, or line of storms, moving to the southeast between us and Tucumcari, NM, our goal for the day. The storm is depicted in the middle of screen using colors: green = light rain, yellow = heavy rain, red = severe condiltions, with strong winds and likely hail.

At first, we considered landing short of the storm, waiting an hour or so for it to pass, then conitnuing, but it was too late in the day for that tactic. Soon, using the radar images (from ground based radar, radioed up to our instruments) we discovered a gap in the storm line. 

We changed course about 40 degrees, headng southwest. Now the problem was finding a suitable airport on west side of the strom that did not have the strong winds following fairly closely behind the storm.  "Suitable" means, in this case, low forecast winds, at least two runways should the forecast be wrong and the winds are strong (so we can choose one aligned with the wind), fuel, and a "courtesy car", so we can get to a motel. We had at least two hours more fuel than we needed, so a good outcome was not in dcoubt.

Sweetwater, TX, met all that criteria, though we investigated about ten airports ahead of us before settling on it. Four hours after leaving Minden, LA, we landed in calm winds. We filled the tanks, put the Phoenix in a hangar for the night, then took the courtesy car (a loaner from the airport operator) to a motel. Dinner was at a Texas barbeque restaurant with excellent brisket, ribs, and sausage.

That's Russ Owens on the left, my copilot and mentor, and the airport operator on the right.

Russ and Eric's Excellent Adventure

6:15 AM Sunday morning, I woke to hear distant thunder, or maybe pickup getting ready to leave the motel. A flicker of light made it clear it was thunder and not very distant. A quick check of the weather radar on my iPad showed a strong storm approaching; the National Weather Service forecast heavy rain and possibly dime size hail. Hail is not a pleasant forecast when your airplane is tied down outside.

The blue dot with the blue circle is our location - Minden, LA - and shows the weather later in the day, but not much different from the morning.

I woke Russ so we  could drive to the airport, where we might be able to move the Phoenix into one of the open hangars out there. It was still dark and raining when we went by the airport entry sign, and we didn't see it. Two miles later, I attempted to turn around at an intersection, but drove a couple feet off the pavement, putting the right front wheel in the ditch. Damn!

The truck was so tilted, the left rear wheel didin't have any traction. Standing on that corner didn't add enough weight; in fact, the wheel could almost be turned by hand. My phone didn't have a signal, even though it had a full signal at the airport, just two miles away. The nearby home had some vehicles in the driveway, but no lights, so I was reluctant to go knocking in the dim light and rain. 

Finally, lady on the way to church stopped to ask how we were. She tried to call on her cell phone ("I live close by and I have good service"), but it didn't have signal either. Finally, we decided Russ would stay with the truck, the lady would take me to the airport, and I'd contact an airport person. Once there, I talked to the airport manager. He was great, asking first if anyone was hurt, then if the truck was damaged, then said he'd have a tow truck come to the airport to get me. That was about 7:40 AM.

I stood in a hangar out of the wind and rain while waiting for the tow truck, peeking around the side to watch for it. Soon, a white Ford pickup appeared with it's yellow light (on top of the cab) blinking - it was Russ! A large pickup with a big rope and kind stranger had pulled him out of the ditch. Shortly after that, the tow truck operator drove up in a big SUV. Russ told him the situation, and he left; fortunately, he lives next to the airport and wasn't much inconvenieced.

By now, the airport lady that loaned us the truck showed up. She let us push the Phoenix into the nearest hangar with five other planes, but it was big enough we did not have to take off the wing tips. She also let us keep the truck, even after putting it in the ditch.

It's quite a comfort to have it in the hangar, knowing there are thunderstorms around with hail.

Russ huddles in his jacket, the plane and canopy cover are very wet, but we're glad the Excellent Adventure for the day has worked out well.

The tough get going

(This is a combined post for April 3, 4, and 5, in chronological order)

April 3: We hang around the motel, obssessing over the weathe; ultimately, we decided it's too uncertain, and give up.

April 4 (I'll catch up on this one later, as it was a really fun day, even though we just flew around the airport)

April 5: The strong front crossing Texas and threatened to bring hail to the Quincy, FL, area on Saturday suddenly dissipated overnight. The first 100 miles to the west had layers of scattered clouds,  broken clouds, and an overcast, but seemed likely to improve throughout the day. We decided continue our flight, knowing we might be working around the clouds and possibly not getting very far.

We took off in a light rain, hardly more than a sprinkle, but were surprised by some waterentering at the lowest point of the canopy, from between the canopy frame and the cockpit sill. A folded up paper on each side soaked up the water, and we were soon out of the rain. 

The first 100 miles was flown between 2000' and 3000' off the ground to remain clear of the clouds; eventually, the scattered and broken layers dissipated, and the over cast rose gradually, then also dissipated, leaving a clear, sunny sky.

Laurel, MS, was our first stop. Russ did the landing, as the crosswind exceeded my experience level. We filled the tanks with 9 gallons of fuel, not bad for 280 miles of travel, then got a ride to the nearby Hardees for lunch. Soon we were on our way towards Laurel, MS. The Mississippi River (below) has wandered for eons, and the ground showed it, with looping patterns in the flat terrain in both directions.

Nest stop - Minden! No, not Minden, NV, but Minden, LA. Most of this leg had a high overcast, so it was gloomy, but we easily cruised at 6500' MSL (height above sea level) and 110 knots (127 mph).

Another 10 gallons to fill the tanks (one in each wing), then we unloaded our gear, tied the Phoenix down, and headed for town in a Ford pickup borrowed from the airport business that sells fueil, does maintenance and related services (called an FBO - fixed base operator - in airport jargon).

Russ sorts through his baggage, hoping to get all the important stuff to the motel.

A pizza, some beer, and another motel. Time to go to bed!

Time to spare, go by air...

We had fog this morning, but that wasn't our problem; instead, it was the low ceilings to the west of us  for hundreds of miles. Typical reports were 1,500' broken clouds ( = mostly clouds with a few openings in them), 3000' scattered clouds, and 4000' overcast (heights are above ground level). As we waited for the day to warm and clear off some of the clouds, the winds increased as the cold front coming towards us from Texas brought higher winds with gusts over 35 mph in some places.

We fussed over the weather for hours, but finally gave up about 2 PM. Later, the winds backed off, suggesting it might have been worth continuing, but that was too late. So, one more night in Midway, FL, where the motel is, with the plane in a hangar at the Quincy airport, about 10 miles away. Tomorrow, we start over again, and hope the storm has tracked more northeasterly, so the weather here improves.

The Phoenix begins the trip home

We had a huge change in plans: I decided the original plan for Jan and I to fly the plane home was much to ambitious because I didn't have the training or experience for that kind of flight. It took a couple of weeks, flying with the dealer as weather permitted, for that to become clear.

How to get the Phoenix to it's new home in Richlan? Neither Jim nor John (his assistant) had the 4 or 5 days needed to make the trip until late April - early mail. Jim suggested another owner could make the trip with me, and immediately I thought of Russ Owens, a glider pilot I've know for years. Miraculously, he was free and eager to help.

One day later, he arrived in Melbourne at 1 pm, we packed our baggage into the Phoenix, and left about 4 pm, headed northwest. It was sunny skies, light winds, and the flight went well, except Russ's headset developed severe scratchiness that made contacting air traffic control a bit irritating.

 

We landed at a small airport near Quincy, FL, about 15 miles WSW of Tallahasse, FL.

 After some converstation with Doug, of the two or three pilots still hanging around, offered us a hangar for the Phoenix and a ride to town to a motel. Doug has quite a man cave!

It's now 11:09, Russ and I are both tired (Russ left San Diego at 10:45 pm last night), so it's bed time.

It has 25 hours already?

Yes, our Phoenix just got it's 25 hour inspection, but it's only 23.1 hours old. Actually, it was just the inspection required by the engine manufacturer (Rotax) to meet warranty terms, including things like inspection of the external parts, examining the oil and oil filter for metal particles, checking carburetor synchronization, testing the propeller clutch, and more.

No, I did not put all those hours on it: it had about 11 hours when I got there, some if it by the factory in the Czech Republic, some of it by the dealer for flight testing of the instrumentation installed after it got here, and licensing requirements. The remaining hours I spent with Jim Lee, the dealer and a flight instructor. The engine inspection trip was similar to many of our flights.

The maintenance facility is Lockwood Aviation in Sebring, FL (yes, where they race cars) about 62 miles from Melbourne, FL. We planned a cross-country flight to Sebring for today. A restricted airspace area used by the Air Force lies between the two cities. A call to the FAA Flight Service determined the restricted area wasn't active, saving us the 25 miles needed to fly around it. The weather looked good: low winds, sunny.

We made a couple of touch and goes at Melbourne before departing for Sebring. Along the way, I used the autopilot to fly us most of the distance, including the climb and descent, and used some of the other features (and it has many!) of the "glass panel" (LCD screen displaying maps and instruments). Lots of learning going on, but with one pilot watching outside and the other working the panel, it's safe. It's a real asset, once learned, but it has a steep learning curve.

The return leg of the trip mirrored the first leg: a few touch and goes landing practice at Sebring, a direct flight to to Melbourne, a couple more touch and goes, and back to Jim's hangar. We spent an hour looking for the cause of mild radio interference with weak radio transmissions from other aircraft and ground stations.

The flight time was about 1.5 hours, but the inspection took over 3 hours, so with the preparation, it was full day. 

We kick back for a day

May 22 - Saturday

I was ready for a break from the training, and Jeff Macki needed a full day to finish his training to keep to his schedule, since he's not retired. Well, I kicked back - Jan has had to kick back most of the time we've been in Melbourne, so she was ready to go somewhere! There are only so many quilt shops one can go to, and a latte a day doesn't take up much time. Her love/hate relationship with her new iPad has settled down so she's been able to keep up with personal emails and her various sewing and quiliting newsgroups.

Jan and I drove along the barrier islands east of Melbourne, stopping at some of the beaches, but skipping the surf shops. Florida at it's best, I think.

A short cross-country flight

Jim had me plan a flight from Melbourne to Sebring, FL, and return to Melbourne, about a 55 NM (55 Nautical Mile = about 64 miles) and 40 minute trip. A Restricted airspace lay in the way, requiring a substantial detour or using Flight Following, an ATC (air traffic control) advisory service. Glider pilots, even motorglider pilots, don't normally use the service because we wander too much to fit into the ATC system, but a touring motorglider in "airplane mode" does fit well. 

We took off, and with Jim leading me through the steps of contacting ATC on the radio, we obained flight following for the trip to Sebring. ATC determined only a portion of the airspace was active, requiring only a minor deviation from a direct flight that cut 20 miles off the trip.

Approaching Sebring, it's automated weather station was reporting winds that were not aligned with the runway. They weren't too strong for Jim, but I don't have his experience. We diverted a few miles to Avon Park Executive airport (I have no idea what "executive" means in this context - it was a normal small airport), where one runway lined up perfectly with the wind.

After landing, I added 5 gallons of fuel to each wing, the first time I'd fueled it. Most small airports have self service pumps, similar to the gas pumps we use for our cars, but able to pump at a much higher rate. Rate isn't an issue with the Phoenix holding a maximum of only 26 gallons, but a faster four seat airplane might hold over 70 gallongs.

The return to Melbourne along the same path was unevertful, but visually striking as we climbed much higher to fly over the clouds, rather than below them. "On top" the air is smooth, cool, and clear, allowing higher airspeeds (about 125 mph in this case). 

Just the short tips on today, to make the landings a bit easier in the wind.

With the autopilot holding it on a steady course, and the motor purring at cruise power, all the pilots have to do is smile...

Jim Lee on the left, Eric on right.

Another Phoenix owner starts training

This post is for Aug 19, even though it was created Aug 27 (still catching up, or at least not falling behind).

Jeff Macki, a partner in a Phoenix with another pilot in the Seattle, WA, area, arrived to begin his flight training. Jim was busy, alternately flying 2 hour segments with Jeff and myself. Jeff has less gliding experience than I do, but his 300 hours in a Taifun motorglider is far more relevant than my experience, and he's adapting more quickly than I am.

Jeff (left), waches John Sepulveda add fuel to the Phoenix. John is a pilot working on his CGI-G (glider instructor) rating, so he can help train customers in addition to his other responsibilities with Jim.

Aug 20: More landings and takeoffs at the Melbourne International airport, and then at Sebastian Municipal airport 18 miles to the south. The "commute" between the two airports provides time to use the electronic flight instruments for navigation, detecting other airplanes that might be conflicts, and using the autopilot. In some ways, learning the basic flying skills is the smaller part of the whole aircraft experience.

Catch-up continued...

Mar 18 (cont): Jim and I flew a couple of hours, getting familiar with the Phoenix. It's quite different than the gliders and motorgliders I've flown before, including:

Side-by-side seating vs a single, centered seat: The sight picture (what it looks like ahead and to the sides) means I have to relearn where "straight ahead" is, and be able to determine drifting left or right of the runway center line, even though I can't see the runway on the right side of the glider (the pilot sits in the left seat in the Phoenix).

A main landing gear with two wheels about 5 feet apart (left and right side) vs a single, centered wheel: The two wheels mean it's best to land with the wings level, so the wheels touch down on the runway at the same time; the single main wheel of most gliders is insensitive to the wings being off-level. The advantage? When the wind doesn't blow directly down the runway, it tends to push the glider towards the downwind side. Banking the glider slightly into the wind will counteract that drift, and - if it has a single main wheel - it can be held in that bank while it lands on the runway. The Phoenix, with the two wheels spread apart, makes that manuever very difficult, and a good landing harder to do.

But before we dealt with the landings, we took advantage of the sea breeze induced lift to do some soaring with the engine off:

At the end of the day, Jan and I visited the beach near Melbourne, where the sea breeze produced a "Kramer effect" with my hair.

So how come no updates?

Well, it turns out, being on vacation is way more time consuming than staying home. Irony, isn't it, that when you aren't doing much, you have plenty of time to tell people about it. I'll skip the part about how the ever so elegant iPad mini can fumble some of the simplest stuff, like updating a blog, that an old  XP laptop can do easily...

I'll try to catch up with a synopsis, then fill in some details over the next few days. Mar 13 was the previous entry, so continuing with ...

Mar 14: We spent this at Seminlole Lake Gliderport, where the Seniors Soaring Contest was in progress. I flew in it in 1999, a couple years after I retired. Some of the same people where there, along  with friends we don't see very often anymore, now that I haven't competed in contests for several years. About 50 pilots were competing during the 6 days of the contest.

 

Mar 15: The AAA guidebook made the Dali Museum in St. Petersburg seem worth the trip. It was an easy drive through the middle of Florida, which has several large wildlife management areas nearly devoid of human habitation. The museum was quite new, beautiful, and I had no idea Dali had such a range of paintings. 

Mar 16: We spent the day at friend's hangar, admiring his new glider, then helping his hangar partner remove the engine from his glider preparatory to replacing the fuel lines.

Mar 18: We meet Jim Lee, the Phoenix dealer, at his hangar at the Melbourne International airport, where we see our Phoenix for the first time. Here you see it with the short wing tips, giving a 36 foot wingspan that let's it fit into the hangar:

Now it has the long wing tips for a 50 foot span, making it a much better glider. The transformation takes only two or three minutes.

We are in Florida - one week to go

It's Thursday evening in Groveland, Florida, about a week before we start home with the Phoenix, our new touring motorglider.

There's a limit to how much the plane can bring back, so even though it's going to be at least a three week, and maybe a four week trip, we pared our luggage down as much as possible:

• A carry-on (mostly clothing) for each of us
• two smaller personal bags with the usual necessities (tickets, prescription meds, iPads and Kindles, cameras, etc)
• one checked bag with the things we'll need in the Phoenix (portable aviation transceiver, non-polarized sunglasses, cables to charge cell phones and iPads in flight, a multimeter to trace any electrical problems, oximeter, and so on)

It was a bit of a grunt getting here, getting up at 3:45 AM, then 14 hours of travel from Richland - San Francisco - Chicago - Orlando, and finally getting to the Orlando motel at 11:50 pm. The morning found the motel overwhelmed by people getting breakfast (how can that be surprise?), but we got some ceral and coffee, then back to airport for a rental car, and off to see our friends in Orlando.

By evening, we were comfortably settled in their motorhome at their nearly completed home on Lake Lucy in Groveland, and our rythyms began to return to normal

It's on! Getting our Phoenix, that is...

Our Phoenix has flown, so it's on it's way to being a licensed aircraft, ready to fly across the country. The avionics installation is complete, and after just two flights for a total of 45 minute, it's back in the Merill Island avionics shop to get the position and landing lights installed (the fuselage was trailered from the avionics shop back to the Melbourne airport, where the wings and tail were installed so it could fly back to Merrill Island).

(click any image to enlarge it)

To the left is the instrument panel in the Phoenix, with the "glass panel" LCD screen to the far left; the soaring computer display in the top center, with the radio and intercom below it; and the backup airspeed and altimeter mechanical gauges on the right.

To the right is the "TV set", the LCD screen that displays the aircraft parameters (left side), the "moving map" used for navigation (center), and the engine parameters (right side). The layout can be changed in-flight, allowing any combination of the three elements, and in different sizes, according to the pilot's preferences.

 

I've bought our one-way tickets to Florida; tomorrow I'll reserve a car and find a motel for the first night in Florida. My training in the Phoenix is scheduled to start March 18, but we'll go to Florida a few days early to spend a day at the glider contest at Seminole-Lake gliderport (30 miles west of Orlando), see some sights, and visit some friends.

Above - 25 feet of carbon fiber and epoxy wing shine in the Florida sunset. The other wing is just as long, of course  :^)

The schedule suffers a two week delay

Not completely unexpectedly, the sequence of our trip is good, but the scheduling is still subject to change. The avionics shop is taking longer than expected, due in part to a couple things that are more time consuming than planned, and some flight training scheduling conflicts with other new owners emerged because of that delay, so everything is now delayed about two weeks. 

Jim (the dealer)  says, "Don't buy your tickets yet - test flying, certification, and registration can still screw things up". You can see the revised revsion of the estimated schedule in What's the schedule for this adventure?

Of course, Jan and I are disappointed, but there are some positive aspects: the hangar I will be renting will definitely be finished before we get home, and the warmer weather will make the trip safer and more pleasant.

The glider (yes, it does look like an airplane, mostly, but it's certified as a glider, and is intended to be used with the engine off for hours at a time) is in the avionics shop, looking quite unfinished.

(click any picture to enlarge it)

There are a lot of "black boxes" and wiring that go in before the pretty instrument dials and displays are mounted on the three panels, which mount on the openings you see. These panels hold the engine controls and instruments, navigation displays, soaring flight displays, radios, and all the switches and breakers required.

"Hmmm", says Carl, "this different than the last one"

Unseen are the position, strobe, and landing lights, plus their wiring; the oxygen cylinder and dual flow controller; and the autopilot servos.














They've made good progress on the hangar in the last few days, putting up most of the roof and interior beams. Still lots of work after those are done: siding, roofing, insulating, electrical wiring, and mounting the 42' wide, hydraulically operated door for each hangar space.

Still a month to go ...

Jim Lee, the Phoenix dealer, has taken our Phoenix (serial no. 26, registration number N42EJ) to the avionics shop, but the previous Phoenix is still there, not quite done. Starting on ours later this week, and likely taking 3+ weeks to finish the equipment installation, makes it about the end of February before it's ready for delivery. If so, we'll be heading home about the second weekend in March.

I'm disappointed it won't be ready sooner, but the warmer weather in March will make the trip home more pleasant, and give us more flexibility to visit friends and family on the way back. Not by choice, but perhaps a better outcome.

But what is going into the glider that takes three weeks? It comes ready to fly with basic instruments, but nobody stops there, with most owners getting what I'm getting:

• Dynon "glass panel" - a display panel about the size of an 8" tablet (eg, iPad mini), and sensors for the engine parameters, air speed and orientation, GPS for navigation, and more.
• Communications radio and transponder, both from Dynon.
• Pitch and roll servos for the autopilot
• Soaring instrumentation (soaring flight computer and variometer) from ClearNav
• Two person oxygen system
• Strobe, position, and landing lights
• bits and pieces, odds and ends

To see what the panel will look like, mostly, visit The Phoenix cockpit post, and see the revised schedule for the timing of the trip.

It's hangar might be ready in time!

Because I'm not getting a trailer for this glider, but will treat it more like an airplane that is kept assembled and ready to fly, I went looking for a hangar about 8 months ago. All the hangars were full, but fortunately, someone was going to build a new one with about 12 individual hangar spaces. By September, they were ready to pour the concrete pads; in October that, and the paving to the hangars, was done. Great progress! Done before December!

Then, nothing happened until Jan 23, 2014, about a month from actually needing it. I was becoming concerned, but in two days they made considerable progress, getting the entire structural portion erected.

 (click to enlarge)

The hangar building that the Phoenix will inhabit is erected

The siding, roof, insulation, electrical wiring, and door installation with take longer, but if they keep at it, it should be ready before we bring the glider home. Worst case: I'll have to tie it down on the ramp, or find a space in someone's hangar for a couple weeks until my unit is ready.

With the glider in Melbourne, FL (and the pictures to prove it), and now the hangar going up, the whole thing is starting to seem real, and not just a dream.

It's in Florida!

Today, the container with our Phoenix arrived at the dealer's (Jim Lee) hangar at the airport in Melbourne, FL. Here's the fuselage (click to enlarge):

And here are the wings (left), long (7') wing tips (center right), and the horizontal stabilizer (right); in the background, someone else's bits.

 

"It's like babies, they all look the same", you say? Well, yeah, but they look "different same" to their parents, right? 

The major work for a week or two will be at the avionics shop, installing the "glass panel", other instruments, auxiliary battery, and  the strobe, position, and landing lights required for night flying. When Jim gets it back, he'll install the oxygen system, check out all the systems, flight test it, have it inspected, and get it registered with the FAA. When we get there, he hands me the keys, we jump in, and fly off into the sunset - after about four days of flight and maintenance training.

For a look at what's in the cockpit and  on the panel, visit an earlier posting on the Phoenix cockpit (or scroll down three postings).