Clear of Cloud

My Batteries Are Charging

It took some while to troubleshoot why the battery wasn't charging but the the dodgy mains outlet was identified as the culprit and now HI's battery in charging and I'm working on some photos from a friend's wedding.

It's freezing in this hangar. Dubilin Airport is reporting temperature as zero degrees but it's the most comfortable I've been while losing sensation in my toes. Outside the hangar, my little Trangia stove flickering away safely, making a warming cup of tea, watching the lights of arrivals and departures from Dublin airport against a clear sky. Elbow singing in the background

"Are we coming across clear?
Are we coming across fine?
Are we having the time of our lives?
...
One little room and the biggest of plans.
The days were shaping up,
Frosty and bright.
Perfect weather to fly.

Perfect weather to fly."

I'm back inside now with my tea cooling rapidly and I notice, in the frosty fluorescent haze of the hangar, that I'm not alone with my flying machine. I'm sure it's way past his bed time but a robin has flitted up, checking up on this earth-bound flyer, perched on chair, plumped out in his winter coat, tap, tap, tapping away on his keyboard.

On a frosty clear night, in a countryside hangar, tending to a vintage aeroplane with robin and a mug of lukewarm tea for company: such is contentment.

This Evening's Task

... is to try and get this fellow charged! Brrr is it cold in this hangar

Here's another Tip.

Aeroplane's don't like to be left alone in the hangar with nobody visiting and boy did HI let me know today.

I went out to the airfield, donned my wellies and walked the full length of the field, looking for the wet or soft patches. It was a little squidgy underfoot and in one place there was puddling but I decided that it was at least good enough to try.  There was a reasonable headwind component and the runway direction was uphill, if she didn't want to fly I'd know early on and there was plenty of opportunity to to stop.

Back along the runway to the hangar I walked, thinking how good it would be to even get 30 minutes of flying in. When I got back to the hangar, I decided to ring and move a business meeting from 1 to 2pm.  If I was going to go flying, I didn't want to rush it.  I'm still new to this and I didn't want any pressures to land HI off any particular approach.

I did the walk around in the hangar, nice to be able to do.  Oil levels were fine and I had plenty of fuel for an hour of circuit bashing with reserve. Space is generous in the hangar at the moment and I've got a good system for manuerving her out, thanks to one of my Luscombe mentors, Pete. I pull her out from her spot using the the prop and front struts, then once she clear of the other aircraft, I pull her out of the hangar tail-first using a rope looped around the tailwheel spring.  This dog-leash technique is brilliant and a couple of people have commented on it's cleverness - I've had to assure them that its cleverness is more a reflection of the people I know than any inherent brightness of mine.

Here's the proof. Primed, master on, mags on, "clear prop!", push the button, whirr, tak, tak, tak, tak, tak, tak, clunk.  The prop struggled its way around.  I tried everything I could to coach her to life but it was pretty clear that the battery had gone flat. We haven't flown in nearly six weeks and even then it probably hadn't gotten enough charge from forty minutes circuit work.  I 'rested' the battery and retried a couple of times to no avail. Even very, very careful hand-swinging didn't work.  I think I may not be tall enough to get a good enough pull to start her - it's certainly not because it's a difficult engine to start.... ordinarily.

In the end, I gave up before I got either tired or frustrated which might have led me into stupidity. I put HI back carefully, offered my apologies and promised to come back next week with my battery charger.

Winter's Not Good for Flying

Here's a tip for you; or frankly a blinding flash of the obvious; if you buy an aeroplane, try to buy it at the start of the flying season not the end. It's been nearly six weeks since I've flown HI and I'm definitely getting withdrawl symptoms.The evening's are too short to go flying and all my weekends are spent trying to build a new home for us - or to stop that home sinking beneath the record breaking floodwaters Ireland is experiencing at the moment.  I should consider a float plane rating and floats for HI if recent weather becomes a regular feature of our climate.

Anyway, I'm off work tomorrow and I'm going to sneak off the ''strip.  Ceiling and vis look like they might be okay even if the breeze is a little stiff. The winds are forecast for between 10-15knots but straight down the runway.  Of course all of that presumes that the runway isn't completely waterlogged.

Variables,variables, variables. Still fingers crossed because I miss my flying aeroplane.