As you look inside an aircraft engine, it does give you a sense of reassurance when you see how massive everything is built. Its overbuilt. It has two completely separate ignition systems, so if one would fail, the other system would keep the engine running. It doesn't rely on any sort of electrical system at all .. it doesn't need one because the ignition is supplied by magnetos. As long as I do my part when I assemble everything, this engine should run safely for 2000+ hours. Tomorrow morning after I check everything one more time, I'll assemble the case halves, and put it all together. Then I'll attach this engine, and another just like it on the other wing. When its all completed, I'll get to stand on the side of the runway while the plane leaves the ground and fly's off to places all over the country. I used to do all my first flights, but I've let my license lapse in recent years. Its always a tense time watching .. reassuring your self you didn't forget anything.
Learning skills in a kayak has been just like learning to fly, no short cuts .. butt in the boat vrs. time in the air .. same thing. Learning aerobatics ... aileron roll vrs. sweep roll .. same thing, learning something upside down, and counter intuitive. Navigation without a GPS is watching the shorline and looking for landmarks, even the charts are similar in so many ways. Lots of information is there, you just need to know how to use it. I bought a 1947 Luscombe in Colorado, and had to fly it back home to Minnesota .. all with just a chart on my lap, and a compass. Even the weather is such a dominating force to be reconded with, I used to stop at old grass strips in small towns, set up a tent under the wing and spend the night. Sure enough you'd wake up to fog, or howling winds.
The change over from flying to paddling has been a fun and challanging experience, all of the things I loved about flying, are here in paddling .. they were here all along.
2 comments:
Reminds me of my time in SE Asia. Although I was assigned to F-105's, the was an old Gooney Bird we used as a school bus for local hops. I don't think it every came home with both engines working
I would've enjoyed working on some of the old military stuff. Not many around anymore. There are a couple of T-28's here at the field .. most everytime they go up they do a some flyby's.
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