Sunday, June 30, 2019
Patturns Of Highperactivity: Dragonfly Daze 2019
Patturns Of Highperactivity: Dragonfly Daze 2019: It might be dry in the desert but the sun sure can fry your brain. Especially days like today when it's near 100 and too much moisture i...
Dragonfly Daze 2019
It might be dry in the desert but the sun sure can fry your brain. Especially days like today when it's near 100 and too much moisture in the air. When the humidity is low it's lovely. Now.. not so much.
Ballooning this weekend.. nada!
it was a down weekend to get stuff done around the homestead.
I got a lot done! I have a lot left to do.
The highpoint was replacing my cage on my inflation flan. pictures below.
Beside that was pond cleaning, muck moving, week relocation, and box processing.
To do one project you first have to do another project to do another project to get to the initial thing you wanted to be done. A very good person with works calls it "knock back". I call it Stacking.
For me, it was.. Move stuff out of the house to declutter, To do that there had to be space in the garage for that stuff so I had to clear space in the shed for that stuff from the garage I wanted to keep.
See...
It was a trap!
I did end up clearing the shed which enabled me to clear part of the garage which allowed me to move unneeded things from the house. Partially.
I had to stop the process in the garage and shed because it was too hot and I didn't want to spend the night in the hospital.
So I have some stuff to finish but it was a very good start and I feel happy for the little ticks I can scratch off on my list.
it's a long list.
Here are the shots of the fan process....
This isn't exciting stuff even for balloonists.. but it's a good way to be sure of your equipment... and fans are the most dangerous part of our gear.
Fan blade itself is in good shape. some chew marks along the edge but that's normal. Composite blade.
That cage though.. whew eeee.... Old welds that broke.
Missing stringers is not good.
Then we have those that break as soon as you touch them. This won't do! If a fan blade shatters this cage may not capture all those shards. Off it goes!
Four main bolts removed. Checked for damage or stripping threads. Clean! Now to get that main Allen wrench nut behind the blade.
It was tight but not too tight and off it came. Hub and plate look good. Some discoloration but solid.
Cage is held to the frame by six nuts and bolts and metal strips. Lining it up is going to be fun!
Off and cleaned up a bit. That's a smoke smudge on the right. It will be back that way the next time I run it so I didn't even clean it off.
Back cage on and aligned top and bottom and sides.
Only had to adjust it twice. See that it's not straight up and down. that's due to the six retaining nuts and metal strips.
I had planned to attach the front cage with pipe clamps but this cage clipped together easy as pie so I didn't need them. I did add one at the top just in case. Never can have too many levels of safety. Ready to go the next flight.
I also looked at how my envelope bags were set and they were always in the way across the trailer. If I moved my AERCO built tarp bag to the corner and then have Patturns Highperactive in her dry bag after and then Patturns In Czech after... the basket will fit right behind her and you can get to everything. There shouldn't be a fuel spill as the fan is locked down with an oversized strap to the floor but the dry bags that the envelopes are in will protect them in case of that.
See. nice and roomy and space for my Lindstrand basket on the left. The black bed liner makes it easier to slide off the trailer. I can get my basket out of my trailer by myself if I ever had to. I even have a padded rail down low for the wicker to rest against when she is strapped in. Take care of your equipment and it will take care of you!
Now to get the basket back in the trailer! We have a plan to do that easy but not today.. too hot don't you know.
While I was working on the above ground pond I spotted a big orange dragonfly. He landed on a piece of bamboo and I grabbed the phone camera to get some pictures. They were crap. There was too much of a breeze to keep it in focus so I got the Sony out and I got some very close up shots.
His head was a might bit farther away than the center of his body so it's slightly out of focus. The wings are amazing!
Backing off a bit.
So many little fish in the in-ground pond. I have to have someone come in and capture them all and move them to the above ground pond. Lots of snails too.
A productive but very tiring weekend.
Hope you enjoyed yours as much as I enjoyed mine.
This 4th of July my Son is flying and the following Saturday I plan on getting In Czech out to check her repairs and get some air above the Earth again!. Pictures maybe.
Videos I have been too busy to sit down and do yet.
Ballooning this weekend.. nada!
it was a down weekend to get stuff done around the homestead.
I got a lot done! I have a lot left to do.
The highpoint was replacing my cage on my inflation flan. pictures below.
Beside that was pond cleaning, muck moving, week relocation, and box processing.
To do one project you first have to do another project to do another project to get to the initial thing you wanted to be done. A very good person with works calls it "knock back". I call it Stacking.
For me, it was.. Move stuff out of the house to declutter, To do that there had to be space in the garage for that stuff so I had to clear space in the shed for that stuff from the garage I wanted to keep.
See...
It was a trap!
I did end up clearing the shed which enabled me to clear part of the garage which allowed me to move unneeded things from the house. Partially.
I had to stop the process in the garage and shed because it was too hot and I didn't want to spend the night in the hospital.
So I have some stuff to finish but it was a very good start and I feel happy for the little ticks I can scratch off on my list.
it's a long list.
Here are the shots of the fan process....
This isn't exciting stuff even for balloonists.. but it's a good way to be sure of your equipment... and fans are the most dangerous part of our gear.
Fan blade itself is in good shape. some chew marks along the edge but that's normal. Composite blade.
That cage though.. whew eeee.... Old welds that broke.
Missing stringers is not good.
Then we have those that break as soon as you touch them. This won't do! If a fan blade shatters this cage may not capture all those shards. Off it goes!
Four main bolts removed. Checked for damage or stripping threads. Clean! Now to get that main Allen wrench nut behind the blade.
It was tight but not too tight and off it came. Hub and plate look good. Some discoloration but solid.
Cage is held to the frame by six nuts and bolts and metal strips. Lining it up is going to be fun!
Off and cleaned up a bit. That's a smoke smudge on the right. It will be back that way the next time I run it so I didn't even clean it off.
Back cage on and aligned top and bottom and sides.
Only had to adjust it twice. See that it's not straight up and down. that's due to the six retaining nuts and metal strips.
I had planned to attach the front cage with pipe clamps but this cage clipped together easy as pie so I didn't need them. I did add one at the top just in case. Never can have too many levels of safety. Ready to go the next flight.
I also looked at how my envelope bags were set and they were always in the way across the trailer. If I moved my AERCO built tarp bag to the corner and then have Patturns Highperactive in her dry bag after and then Patturns In Czech after... the basket will fit right behind her and you can get to everything. There shouldn't be a fuel spill as the fan is locked down with an oversized strap to the floor but the dry bags that the envelopes are in will protect them in case of that.
See. nice and roomy and space for my Lindstrand basket on the left. The black bed liner makes it easier to slide off the trailer. I can get my basket out of my trailer by myself if I ever had to. I even have a padded rail down low for the wicker to rest against when she is strapped in. Take care of your equipment and it will take care of you!
Now to get the basket back in the trailer! We have a plan to do that easy but not today.. too hot don't you know.
While I was working on the above ground pond I spotted a big orange dragonfly. He landed on a piece of bamboo and I grabbed the phone camera to get some pictures. They were crap. There was too much of a breeze to keep it in focus so I got the Sony out and I got some very close up shots.
His head was a might bit farther away than the center of his body so it's slightly out of focus. The wings are amazing!
Backing off a bit.
So many little fish in the in-ground pond. I have to have someone come in and capture them all and move them to the above ground pond. Lots of snails too.
A productive but very tiring weekend.
Hope you enjoyed yours as much as I enjoyed mine.
This 4th of July my Son is flying and the following Saturday I plan on getting In Czech out to check her repairs and get some air above the Earth again!. Pictures maybe.
Videos I have been too busy to sit down and do yet.
Sunday, June 23, 2019
Skipping through the boring parts.
Really there hasn't been many... but I missed last weekend because I was so tired from the trip to Angel Fire and with the bug I caught just had no strength to deal with it. Not much better but fighting it. Also 8500 feet... no air...no air!!
Angel Fire as fun. Three days of flying which was really two due to a miscalculation and funny winds. Better safe than sorry.
Great sponsors and fun crowd of people. We thought this might be our last time going up but that got thrown out right away.
Here are some shots of it with explanations...
The little daisies I got to lay down in were very nice. Granted I had to be ferried over there.
Serious birds. All off to the local watering hole.
Mo and Alan striking poses by accident while we wait for our Sponsors to arrive.
Police presence for traffic control.
Morning brief. Lots and lots of people.
More little yellow flowers and the side of my foot.
The static display on day 1 as it was too frisky in the wind department to fly.
Lots of weight on the edge of the basket.
People walked up the taxiway and around the trucks and in the grass. All good sports.
Day 2 and Mo was off first. He just had to.
I'm off with my passengers and family and crew below shooting pictures.
Burning Desire lifts over Black Magic Woman. Everyone going their own special way.
The farthest South balloon. I never could find a wind going that way. Always zig-zagging about then stopping me dead in the sky,.
My passengers enjoying the view though Grandma didn't want to lift the granddaughter up so much. Kids are heavy!
Traffic overhead. Nothing very close though.
A view of Eagle Nest Lake and the fog.
811 call before you dig balloon. Nice view North West.
A broad view. Since everyone went every which way getting a pack shot was difficult if not impossible but this shot just gave me a nice wedge of balloons.
Kisses of Fire dances up close for this picture with the lake behind.
Packing up Mojo in a field on the Girl Scout Ranch. Watch the horse apples!
Burning Desire was closer to those apples. I watched where every foot went.
It was a good time and the drive back was quiet and uneventful.
This weekend we had a framily reunion fam flight. Winds were squirrely and frustrating but with a ton of help, I got off the ground. unknown to me I had torched two spots of my envelope down low to the throat due to the way the wind shifted. That will be fixed this week. We got off and had a fast straight line flight North East then as we were getting ready to drop in and land on a nice green field the winds changed and corkscrewed us to the East then South East then South .. but we came in over some houses and landed in this nice cup of space that the wind was hidden from. Stand up and soft landing.
Here are some shots.
It was very hazy from the fires in Arizona. Made the sunrise special.
Lofting over this balloon. Some false lift but with the Lindstrand burners easily overflown with a squeeze on the burner.
Everyone else is trying to get up and off. Mo helped everyone else out and ended up not being able to fly due to the frisky winds after we left.
Still very hazy. Looking at 11 mph straight North East. Yay! Even though it's not the greatest composition for a shot I liked it because you can see the atmosphere we were cutting through.
Looking back at the struggle!
A fun time but busy flying. It's more fun when you can relax a bit and ground track and play chase the wildlife about. This was all processing. To get to point B you must do the next set of programs...
Today we did day two but the winds that were supposed to be nicer we nothing of the kind. Only one of the balloons in our flight flew and that was a quick hop and an Adams Pop Top drop.
This is a ride balloon. There are four passengers in there I think. One of them ( Girl in tan hat ) does not look really happy.
A meeting of the minds! Its what we do. Stand in the middle of dirt fields and decide who is silly enough to temp the winds. We said no.
Pibal by the moon. Moon going West and pibal going East.
We moved West and North to get some space to do a quick flight. Robert figured he could get up then down and fly low and pop her around where we were first. It almost worked.
Inflations are fun with a breeze pushing your side in. Good control on the throat lines helps out a lot.
Just a little extra on the side of the basket to keep it from running to the end of its tether.
Off they went. Happy people in that basket.
Looking down the valley and Shawn got in the air. From reports, he landed way South of town.
The top popped right in front of me as they got to the road. Nice job. A load of laughs from the basket and some juggling on who needed to exit first.
Basket out in the bushes. Envelope just everywhere.
Winds picking up much more.
The nice thing with loads of crew. It's so much easier to pack up. They could have walked the envelope out and not had one-bit touch the ground.
The basket retrieval was made by putting the truck in four-wheel drive and backing to it. It was still heavy with fuel but that liftgate came in real handy for that. I stayed out of the way.
Packing the envelope back up until the next time.. and hopefully nicer winds.
A really fun time with a lot of fun people.
When I got home we unloaded my basket so I could rearrange my envelopes so they can go to get repairs done without the basket being in the way. I also had to bolt down my carb on my fan. That meant removing the fan cage front.. yeah.. fun.. not. Once that was off I had to wiggle the socket into where the bolt was then tightened them both up... dropping the socket five or six times... but it got done. Putting the cage front back on was a load of fun and I knew I would catch a finger somewhere but didn't and it did go back on. Sadly its close time for a new cage. It's pretty old and gone through three or four different balloons.
A busy couple of weeks.
A few interesting web sites I ran across since I have the time...
Mummy brown is really mummy!
https://www.messynessychic.com/2019/06/20/night-of-the-living-painting/
Cement and its uses. Ahead of his time...
https://www.amusingplanet.com/2019/06/thomas-edisons-forgotten-passion.html
And lastly the pied piper... still no clarity on that ...
https://folklorethursday.com/folktales/a-pied-piper-mystery/
Now to brace for the remainder of the day...
Angel Fire as fun. Three days of flying which was really two due to a miscalculation and funny winds. Better safe than sorry.
Great sponsors and fun crowd of people. We thought this might be our last time going up but that got thrown out right away.
Here are some shots of it with explanations...
Serious birds. All off to the local watering hole.
Mo and Alan striking poses by accident while we wait for our Sponsors to arrive.
Police presence for traffic control.
Morning brief. Lots and lots of people.
More little yellow flowers and the side of my foot.
The static display on day 1 as it was too frisky in the wind department to fly.
Lots of weight on the edge of the basket.
People walked up the taxiway and around the trucks and in the grass. All good sports.
Day 2 and Mo was off first. He just had to.
I'm off with my passengers and family and crew below shooting pictures.
Burning Desire lifts over Black Magic Woman. Everyone going their own special way.
The farthest South balloon. I never could find a wind going that way. Always zig-zagging about then stopping me dead in the sky,.
My passengers enjoying the view though Grandma didn't want to lift the granddaughter up so much. Kids are heavy!
Traffic overhead. Nothing very close though.
A view of Eagle Nest Lake and the fog.
811 call before you dig balloon. Nice view North West.
A broad view. Since everyone went every which way getting a pack shot was difficult if not impossible but this shot just gave me a nice wedge of balloons.
Kisses of Fire dances up close for this picture with the lake behind.
Packing up Mojo in a field on the Girl Scout Ranch. Watch the horse apples!
Burning Desire was closer to those apples. I watched where every foot went.
This weekend we had a framily reunion fam flight. Winds were squirrely and frustrating but with a ton of help, I got off the ground. unknown to me I had torched two spots of my envelope down low to the throat due to the way the wind shifted. That will be fixed this week. We got off and had a fast straight line flight North East then as we were getting ready to drop in and land on a nice green field the winds changed and corkscrewed us to the East then South East then South .. but we came in over some houses and landed in this nice cup of space that the wind was hidden from. Stand up and soft landing.
Here are some shots.
It was very hazy from the fires in Arizona. Made the sunrise special.
Lofting over this balloon. Some false lift but with the Lindstrand burners easily overflown with a squeeze on the burner.
Everyone else is trying to get up and off. Mo helped everyone else out and ended up not being able to fly due to the frisky winds after we left.
Still very hazy. Looking at 11 mph straight North East. Yay! Even though it's not the greatest composition for a shot I liked it because you can see the atmosphere we were cutting through.
Looking back at the struggle!
A fun time but busy flying. It's more fun when you can relax a bit and ground track and play chase the wildlife about. This was all processing. To get to point B you must do the next set of programs...
Today we did day two but the winds that were supposed to be nicer we nothing of the kind. Only one of the balloons in our flight flew and that was a quick hop and an Adams Pop Top drop.
This is a ride balloon. There are four passengers in there I think. One of them ( Girl in tan hat ) does not look really happy.
A meeting of the minds! Its what we do. Stand in the middle of dirt fields and decide who is silly enough to temp the winds. We said no.
Pibal by the moon. Moon going West and pibal going East.
We moved West and North to get some space to do a quick flight. Robert figured he could get up then down and fly low and pop her around where we were first. It almost worked.
Inflations are fun with a breeze pushing your side in. Good control on the throat lines helps out a lot.
Just a little extra on the side of the basket to keep it from running to the end of its tether.
Off they went. Happy people in that basket.
Looking down the valley and Shawn got in the air. From reports, he landed way South of town.
The top popped right in front of me as they got to the road. Nice job. A load of laughs from the basket and some juggling on who needed to exit first.
Basket out in the bushes. Envelope just everywhere.
Winds picking up much more.
The nice thing with loads of crew. It's so much easier to pack up. They could have walked the envelope out and not had one-bit touch the ground.
The basket retrieval was made by putting the truck in four-wheel drive and backing to it. It was still heavy with fuel but that liftgate came in real handy for that. I stayed out of the way.
Packing the envelope back up until the next time.. and hopefully nicer winds.
A really fun time with a lot of fun people.
When I got home we unloaded my basket so I could rearrange my envelopes so they can go to get repairs done without the basket being in the way. I also had to bolt down my carb on my fan. That meant removing the fan cage front.. yeah.. fun.. not. Once that was off I had to wiggle the socket into where the bolt was then tightened them both up... dropping the socket five or six times... but it got done. Putting the cage front back on was a load of fun and I knew I would catch a finger somewhere but didn't and it did go back on. Sadly its close time for a new cage. It's pretty old and gone through three or four different balloons.
A busy couple of weeks.
A few interesting web sites I ran across since I have the time...
Mummy brown is really mummy!
https://www.messynessychic.com/2019/06/20/night-of-the-living-painting/
Cement and its uses. Ahead of his time...
https://www.amusingplanet.com/2019/06/thomas-edisons-forgotten-passion.html
And lastly the pied piper... still no clarity on that ...
https://folklorethursday.com/folktales/a-pied-piper-mystery/
Now to brace for the remainder of the day...
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