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.

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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

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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).

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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:

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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.