OY! That's quite the toy you have there Mr. Youreit!!! And an outstanding paint job!

OMG. Where is DH putting his toy together? Not the living room floor I hope. When it's done and fully armed, can I borrow it as a ~friendly~ reminder for the Toxic One? :-)

Evil Me

Very cool! What kind is it? I don't know much about planes myself, but I think they are so interesting! My uncle rebuilds War Birds and until he recently retired to Idaho from CA did alot of maintenance for many of the birds on the show circuit. Used to do some judging too.

Anyway I digress.... I think your plane is outstanding, especially 'cause you've done it yourselves!

Be safe! S

He put that thing together in the (expanded) garage and driveway, Chicka, otherwise, someone would have had injuries (hint: not me...). LOL Oooo, I LOVE the idea of using it as a Toxic Neighbor deterrent!! *evil grin*

Sarah, it's a Kolb Firestar ultralight plane. Here's what it looked like before the it was damaged in a wind storm and sold to DH. I much prefer the NEW paint job!

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That's so interesting about your uncle!! DH has always wanted to attend the Reno Air Race, but no joy yet. :D I used to live in Meridian, ID, just outside of Boise, and I loved living there! I hope your uncle enjoys his retirement!

DH's uncle flew P-40s with the 80th Fighter Group (The Burma Banshees, lesser known FG cousin of the Flying Tigers) in the China-Burma-India theatre in WWII. Sadly, WWII vets are, literally, a dying breed, and it's always nice to see "young'uns" taking an interest in preserving those parts of history we're quickly losing.

And *I* digress! LOL The only good thing about the wind we've been having is that "Chuck Yeager" can't fly the beast until it stops! :D My nervousness doesn't show, does it? LOL

Brenda

Holy Kamole! I love it Tattoo!

At first glance I had a duh moment(normal for me) trying to figure out why the rear emblem was upside down!

BTW, what's wrong with having one's must have XY toy in the living room?! My beloved moutanin bike LOVES it there! 8-)

But I digress. Mr. Chuck Youreit is definitely more adventerous than myself. Thanks for reminding me why I never wanted to join the Air Force!:-)

I would gladly allow Mr. Yeager (Yeagermeister? LOL) to dally with his toys in the front room....as long as he allows me to garden in the "man cave" (a.k.a. garage). :D

DH just told me that this toy is loosely based on the WWII Piper Cub reconnaissance planes (L-3, L-4, L-5...). The paint job, mainly, IMO. LOL

The wind has stopped, and he's playing with engine stuff today. The semi-good news is that the wind returns tomorrow through Thurs. Good for Mrs. Yeager's heart, bad for Mrs. Yeager's garden...

Tattoo

Completely hypothetical question, of course....

What would happen if the night before the maiden flight a critical part, say the engine or a wing, just somehow came up missing?!?!?! You can inform Mr. Youreit that the incident was loosely based on the attack on Pearl Harbor. He can resume his mission with a more conventional, somewhat safer, ground attack. Heck, it seats 2 so it can even be a family project! :-)

Forgot to mention that I am fairly certain that thing would also work GREAT with the Toxic 1.

LMAO!!! The only problem with that idea is the Kommandant and I would be fighting over who got to ride shotgun. LOL

I'm sure I mentioned this before, but I WAS considering putting sugar in the fuel tank prior to the maiden voyage. And then DBIL, the mechanic, informed me that it wouldn't take effect until Chuck was airborn. Nein!

Brenda

You're a better woman than me, I'm not sure I could be so supportive! Are there helmet laws in California?????

I do like the paint scheme, he did a wonderful job, and I reallly hope it stays like that!

"I WAS considering putting sugar in the fuel tank prior to the maiden voyage."

LOL! As Sheepco's little critters would say: "That's a baaaaaaad idea!!!".

Tatoo, we definitely don't want to see you on one of these forensic science detective shows trying to explain to the authorities that you were actually trying to help Mr. Roarke. :-)

"You're a better woman than me, I'm not sure I could be so supportive!"

Trust me, I'm not, Jean! I really had no say in the matter, so I figure, whatchagonnado? I mean, a woman can only b*tch so much before exhaustion and hunger sets in. :D

Amen, Fi guy! I mean, there really is no perfect murder...especially one whose methods are posted online. LOL

Brenda

Has he fledged yet????

LOL!!! Not yet, Jean! Yesterday would have been the perfect day for a first flight...except it was FRIDAY THE 13TH!!!!! Not on MY watch! :D We have other plans today, but...maybe tomorrow? *whimper*

Brenda

ROTHLMAO! x 13 +

Sorry Brandy but my little Chickadee brain cell now envisions your DH anxiously on a poopy ledge and getting up the courage for that first flight of a fledgling.

Up on the ledge. Nope! Too scary! OK. OK. I can do this. Up on the ledge ... EEEEEKKKK! Back down. Take a deep breath or five. OK. We can do this. Back on the ledge! DANG! that camera is watching me......... :-)

I just read that to DH, Chicka, and he said, "That sounds about right!" LOL

I'll be in charge of the poopy ledge. :D

No flight today!! Too much of a breeze. Whew. Now he's talking about putting in the new landing gear...and brake pedals. That's the spirit! I've never loved procrastination so much in my life.

Brenda

Procrastination is a VERY good thing!

DH just announced that today is a good day..."I'll be heading out soon. I need to do this."

Where's the wind when I need it?! Mommy Nature? Hello? *WAAAAA*

Brenda

Have a safe first flight Mr. Youreit! Set a good example for Marvin and Co. :-)

Brenda, where are you???? We need an update, I've been sitting on the edge of my seat all day waiting! Please tell us all went well .....

Jean, I'm SO sorry!!! A few minutes after I went offline yesterday, DH said it was too breezy, and he cancelled...BUT he DID leave at 5:20 this morning. It still looks fairly calm out there, so I'm trying to tune in my spidey sense and keep an ear open at the same time. He said, "Be ready with the camera for a flyover photo op." And I am. :D

The young man from next door went with him, thankfully! DH also assured me he would only take off if he felt completely confident conditions were right. He said, "I may just taxi around, do a few touch and gos, who knows?"

I know he's scared, too, but this is his lifelong dream, and I can't fault him for that. :) To be honest, I just want the 1st flight to be OVER so we can start on the road to Routineville. LOL

I'll keep you posted!!

Brenda

Just wanted to report that DH is now backing the plane back into the driveway, and according to him, "No flights today." I guess the landing gear needs to be changed out, because the way the wheels are splayed, the plane gets really squirrely** when he approaches takeoff speed. He said he got up off the ground a couple times, but no actual flight yet!

Thanks for putting up with this madness, everyone! More reports as they become available. :D

Brenda

** - definition of "squirrely"

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This is a marvelous adventure, in my opinion. What is DH's flying passion? Must be a licensed pilot, have any particular experience?
Mike

Heaven help the wives of adventurers everywhere. Brandy, I know I would be a nervous wreck but then my DH doesn't handle tools well and thankfully doesn't like heights very much so his hobbies are not so risky.
Mike, I think your wife would prefer you to stick to the pond rather than the flying machine. Sandy

I'm thinking you don't need a pilots license for an ultralight.

Brenda, if it helps any my father piloted small airplanes for many, many years without any problems. I grew up flying with him and I honestly trust riding in them more than an airliner - they are able to glide and manuever without power, not so with an airliner. Ironically, he was killed in a car accident.

I **LOVE** that squirrel pic! Copied it to keep forever ... if that's OK? A very safe, happy, long procrastinated first flight, Mr. DH! May the Air Force be with you and yours!

Oh Jean! I am soooooooooooooo sorry for your loss! :*( The ride in a glider is so different from a ~real~ plane, isn't it?!?!? I think they are waaaaaaaaay safer than the commercial planes. (I do still need to have a puke bag handy either way. ((Sorry. Too much information.))) :-)

Mike, it truly IS an adventure! I'm just used to watching adventures on the Discovery channel and not in my driveway. :D

Jean is right; no license required for this bad boy. Not sure if that's a good thing or not...

This has been a dream of his since he was a kid. Not exactly sure what set it off, but some of it must have to do with it being in his blood. Long line of crazies in his family. LOL A friend let him take the controls of his Cessna one day a few years back - a couple of touch and gos and a lot of flying around. That's the only experience he's had. And DH is afraid of heights! I can't explain it, folks, I just report it. :D

Sandy, I keep thinking that I could be married to someone who loves needlepoint and romantic comedies, but...ok, no, I couldn't. LOL

Jean, I, too, am sorry for your loss. DH mentioned that about the ultralight being able to glide even with loss of power, so your confirmation of that is comforting!

Chicka, I "borrowed" it from this site - http://www.abdolian.com/thoughts/wp-content/uploads/2007/07/armed-squirrel.jpg - so you can, too! :D

Brenda

Aww, thanks for the condolences. He's been dead for 28 years but his presense is with me every day. When my son was six I told my Mom that I wish that he had been able to fly with him as we did when we were young. So she paid for an airplane ride for him. We went to one of the local airports where they sold rides. We were greeted by a man in his seventies (or eighties!) but I kept telling myself that Dad would have been that old and I would have trusted him. But the first clue that maybe this was not the same as riding with Dad was when he couldn't FIND the airplane! We followed him around the airport looking in the hangars for 15 minutes until he remembered where he parked it! He taxied up to the fuel pump where we waited for him to find the ladder (the tank inlet was on the top of the wing) which was leaning against the pump. I'm getting a little worried now but I don't want my son to be scared. We finally taxi down the runway and I'm hoping he will close his door BEFORE we take off, which he does just as we lift off. The ride was pleasant enough and I'm just starting to feel a little more comfortable with the pilot when he banks to land and the stall horn goes off! Needless to say I haven't ridden with anyone since.

I wouldn't ride with anyone after that experience, either, Jean! LOL!! @ not being able to find the plane!! Funny now, not then, I'm sure.

I'm very thankful this ultralight is a one-seater. DH already has ADD issues....he doesn't need any more distraction! LOL

Brenda

Holy winged creatures, he just flew over the house!!! AHHHHH!! Maiden voyage, and he took the dem camera! I'm shaking like a dog you-know-whating razor blades! *hysterical giggle*

He was "YEE-HAWING" and waving, and I was screaming, "Hands on the...wheel...or stick, whatever!!! HANDS ON!" *more hysterical giggling*

I need to change my shorts....

Brenda

Congratulations DF! (Dear Fledgling.) WooooHooooo! :-)

Congratulations Brenda! You can tell your physician that you have passed a stress test that should last the next 13 life times! Yee-haw!

Absolutely great adventure. A good flying career is defined by as many landings as take-offs--may he enjoy that career

YooHoo!!! Well, did he love it??? Did he take pictures from the air???

LOL mgeca, not heard that definition but it's so true!

I'm so sorry for not posting sooner! Been another crazy week here. Not bad crazy, though. :D

Thanks, Chicka, Mike, and Jean!! I told him about the DF name, and he likes that, Chicka. :D

He was scared poopie at the thought of landing, Mike! LOL But after a few touch and goes, he set her down sans drama. I'm just glad I wasn't there to witness that...not just yet.

Speaking of poopies, those are bird ones on the left wing. They must have been pretty excited to see that crazy thing in the air to have left such presents. "What the...?! EEK!" LOL

He TOTALLY loved it, Jean! He didn't take pics from the air. One-handed is dangerous for him in two ways - possible fast descent due to operator error...and fast butt whooping if he dropped my camera. LOL

He did get a couple before takeoff, though. Next time, the camera stays with me, and I'll get some ground-to-air shots. :) He won't be flying again until the weather cools down. Better control when the air isn't so warm.

Those power lines in the background continue toward our house about 2 miles or so to the left. He flew over them when he did his flyover at our house, and I about had a heart attack! He said he had plenty of clearance, though...

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Brenda

That's fantastic! What an awesome da plane he's built and then to fly it ... I can't imagine how happy he was to have done it. And how happy you were for him and his safe flying and landing.
:-)

Thanks, Chicka!! This is his life-long dream, and as much as I joke about it, I'm truly happy for him. :))))

DH took up the plane for his 2nd flight yesterday! He flew for about an hour and 15 minutes. Then he found out from the crop dusting place just north of here that he can park his plane there! So much more convenient, and he has a runway at his disposal - as long as he "keeps out 'the way of the crop dusters," said the owner. LOL

He made his 3rd flight when he moved the plane over there from where he landed it down the road earlier in the day. He said he had a rough landing thanks to the warm air conditions, so he'll refrain from making afternoon flights from now on. WHEW! :D He's already talking about going this morning. I'm plugging my ears and "lalala-ing"! LOL

I looked over and saw the ol' neighbor guy watching him fly yesterday morning. He flopped his arms in amazement and disgust - at technology as a whole. LOL!!

I was able to get 2 fuzzy pics (zoomed all the way in) and a movie before the batteries went dead on the camera. I just have to remember to watch him either with the lens or without....not both. LOL Easier to keep him in view that way. :D

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Brenda

Brenda - gutsy, as adventures are supposed to be. All I recall you saying was that he took a ride in a light plane, loved it, and here we are.

He must have done more, learned more. Its like someone takes a sail with a friend and then goes single-handed to England. I guess the only way to fly a single seat plane is by your own seat of the pants, hoping the theory about flaps and aelirons etc works in practice.

It is just awesome, soaring high and free in body and spirit. The crop dusters sound like a great school for him as they are pretty loose themselves. Maybe a new career lol
Mike

OY! That is sooooooooo awesome! :-)

HiiiiIIIIIIIIIIIiiiiiiiiiiiiii DF! ~Waving hankie!!!~

Thanks you two! :D

Mike, my Darling Fledgling (great nickie, Chicka!! :D) says that it has always been a passion of his to fly. He loves anything and everything to do with planes. He started with models when he was a kid, then up to R/C planes (electric and gas-powered), which he's flown for many years - from a Giant Aeromaster trainer, to building and flying some of Martin's micro Flying Machines, and even building and racing a WWII replica of his uncle Robert's P-40 Dikam Death (of which I can't seem to find a picture right now....).

He's only been able to fly planes twice - a Stearman bi-plane in which the pilot at an airshow let him take the stick for a while, and his friend's Cessna. In neither case did he land or take off; he merely flew. No practice, no training, nada. Sooooo, you can see how I was a bit freaked out by this whole ultralight thing. LOL

Oh, he would LOVE to be a crop duster pilot! *sigh* What a couple we make! Me, attached as I am to my home and terrestrial pursuits in the garden, and DF, with his head in the clouds. A match made in heaven! :D

Brenda

...No practice, no training, nada....

OMG! I'd faint at the thought of it all! How do you keep your sanity, Brandy? Determined Fledgling is a very skilled pilot to be able to ~wing it~ then. :-)

Stay safe, DF! Take your blood pressure pills, Brenda!

As you probably well know, Chicka, sanity is highly overrated. I start drinking at 6am and pass out by noon. LOL Just kidding, of course. I really DO plug my ears and "lalala" a lot, though. Ignorance is bliss! :D

Pill poppin' Brandy

So very cool - I am actually quite jealous, I would never have the guts to try it - kudos to Mike! (So sorry, Brenda, feel free to hide that comment from him :^)

I think he needs a silk scarf blowing in the wind!

Sanity? I do not know that word. It is foreign to me ... Is it related to something known as "sleep?" Please explain the meaning .............. :-)

LOL!!! @ my darling fledgling with a silk scarf!! Oh, this could be the gag gift of all time.

Only problem is that the prop is behind him when he flies it....scarf a la Isadora Duncan! YIKES! LOL

sleep - that elusive time when the body is at complete rest.
rest - see 'post mortem' :D

Brenda

Oh, the silk scarf is perfect--toss in a leather Snoopy helmet for great derring-do look (like he needs help - lol)

This post and your DH's adventure absolutely have captivated me, reminds me of a few things I would be nuts to do again, if I could. This sanity stuff, however, is well over rated and best reserved for older age when you lose it anyway!

Head in the clouds - you are a lucky woman Brenda.

Mike