Summer is here on the Kenai

[N95179]

I'm slowly introducing myself to off airport strips, and just had to smile at how this picture turned out. Who says you can't have fun with 65 horsepower anyways?

[CraigH]

Re: Summer is here on the Kenai

Nice! Looks like a lot of fun.

[N96337]

Re: Summer is here on the Kenai

Awesome picture!!!
JH

[Dan Mahalak]

Re: Summer is here on the Kenai

that does look like summer on the kenai!!!

[Len Petterson]

Re: Summer is here on the Kenai

Ok fellows you have use your imagination for this as I dont have the few pictures I taken developt yet.
65 hp is all we need if we don't expect to much and use our head.
My story is from the Morning of June 4 th.(;f
I still would like to make it to AK!
Len

[af1zaf1z]

Re: Summer is here on the Kenai

Thanks for that picture! I'll try to post one of N44103, in O'Brien, Fl. (FD71) Mark

[rotaxflyer]

Re: Summer is here on the Kenai

Len,

I was flying on Sunday too. In the evening it was gloriously smooth. best way to waste four gallons of gas I can think of. I'm all checked out now. Plane is running great. It is truly a joy to be able to fly without the enormous racket of a rotax three feet from my head. I guess it might be time to consider a new user name.

I love flying around norfolk on Sunday evenings. If you are really lucky, you can smell the steaks cooking on the BBQs

How close to The Falls are you comfortable going? I hear there is a lot of traffic there.

Andy

[whake]

Re: Summer is here on the Kenai

Great picture..I noticed you have lights on your bird... do you have a rechargable portable battery if so, what make

[N95179]

Re: Summer is here on the Kenai

No battery, I guess the previous owner put them on there just because. I suppose I could save a little weight taking them off.

I do wish I could get a bigger battery for my handheld though. I go through the AA's way too fast, and I only use it for getting in and out of Kenai, then the ear plugs go in.

[Jim Hartley]

Re: Summer is here on the Kenai

I do wish I could get a bigger battery for my handheld though. I go through the AA's way too fast, and I only use it for getting in and out of Kenai, then the ear plugs go in.

Atta boy! I am with you...keep it simple and have a ball.

Nice looking bird you have there.

Jim

[VictorBravo]

Re: Summer is here on the Kenai

If you are willing to spend a few bucks, get a model airplane Nickel Metal Hydride battery pack of 12 or 14 volts and 1500-2000 mAh capacity. You will have to get a special charger for it... the NiCad handheld radio chargers will not work correctly. You'll spend $30 or so on the battery and another $30-40 on a decent charger for it. Go to the local R/C model airplane club and find a guy who is into electric airplanes for guidance. You will wind up with double or triple the useful capacity than an old NiCad at little or no weight increase.

(Do NOT mess with the new style Lithium Li-Po batteries unless you are willing to sit with the charger in person for hours while it charges... you CANNOT safely leave a Lithium battery charging in your hangar or your home by itself... period. they can and have burned houses down, they need to be watched and have a protective ceramic bucket to prevent a tragedy if they overheat)

[N95179]

Re: Summer is here on the Kenai

Good idea on the batteries! I've flown RC airplanes since I was 13, getting close to completing a 1/4 scale Taylorcraft right now. Lotsa fun!

Thanks

Chris

[dedrekon]

Re: Summer is here on the Kenai

Summer's here in the Great Northwest too!
I went camping this week up in the Washington part of the Cascade Range on Rimrock Lake. We flew the Stinson into Tieton State airport on a wild windy day....it's a one way, steeply sloped, rough strip with no go around if you miss, surrounded by steep mountains.
The approach is over the lake and the field starts right at the water line. Normally it's piece of cake, being 2400 ft long, but the day we flew in we had a quartering tailwind of 18 knots with gusts up to 30. There were white caps on the lake. I'd say the pucker factor was about a 7.3.
Yesterday when we flew out it, it was calm as could be with a mere zephyr of a headwind.....headed back down the hill into the wind, we were in the air in about a 100 feet.
It's a beautiful spot, no one around but us, and I highly recommend it if you're looking for a NW get away.

Please excuse the picture quality, I took them with my phone camera.
Vincent

[N95179]

Re: Summer is here on the Kenai

Looks like fun. Nice Stinson! Wish I could haul enough the Taylorcraft to set up a camp somewhere. Still have the hammock baggage compartment which is about good for my lunch and spare batteries, and that's it

But keeping it light sure lets it leap off the ground. I'm amazed with the difference in performance with just myself in it versus a passenger and full tanks. My grandpa used to figure 6 inches per pound increase on takeoff distance for the Super Cub ... wonder what it would work out to in the Taylorcraft.

[dedrekon]

Re: Summer is here on the Kenai

That's a beautiful TCraft you have!

They fly great light, but they'll haul a serious load if you need to and still get in and out relatively short, 1,000 ft is plenty at 1500 lbs....if you ever loaded it that heavy which, of course, I would NEVER do...really. Not many airplanes can comfortably carry their own weight.
Wally Olson told me he routinely carried three people (one was probably very uncomfortable), PLUS building supplies in one of his T's back in the day.

Practice does make perfect too, they'll hang in there with the low horespower Super Cubs with the right guy flying. Looks like you'll be having some serious fun this summer.

V