I need more sleep.....

Looks like this upload thing is finally working!! So here goes. (I'm supposed to be studying for my pilot written test, but this has to get done, too. I read inbetween photo uploads.....)
First, here are a few pics of the newest family member, Paul and Candice's new babe... and Jen manages to get some exposure as well....













The next photo op came last Sunday when Bryn was here and Peggy handed out her anual Easter baskets which included a kite. So the kite was assembled, launched, de-treed, flown and crashed, etc.


Peg was the official launcher and rescue worker. She was kept busy and maintained a quite pleasant attitude through it all. I had the hard job of advising and photographing the event.








All's well that ends well, I guess.

Here are a few pics of the early spring beginnings. The woods is an interesting mix of tiny leaves on the aspen, and multiple shades of red and purple buds. Lots of catkins, too.






The maple in the back yard looks quite festive.


All covered with these huge flowery buds.


Cool looking things, eh?











Ground school is done, with the last session being last Thursday. Some of the people have already taken the Sport Pilot knowledge test, I'm scheduled for next Saturday morning. I'm reserving the next few nights for studying and doing practice tests. I went to Merrill last night and worked on getting the plane read for it's airworthyness inspection. I need to get that done soon, because I received my registration card in the mail, and now the plane is technically not able to be flown until the inspection gets done. What next??? So I installed the ELT (emergency locator transmitter) and it's control gizmo got installed in the cockpit area. This device is required by the FAA and supposedly will help search and rescue workers find you if the plane crashes.

Here is the bracket that came with the ELT and the wood adaptor I made to fit the curve of the frame tube.
Anyway, in a crash, the jolt of hitting terra firma will cause the ELT to start sending distress signals on an emergency frequency. You have to mount this thing so the mounting will withstand the shock of crashing. So this ELT is supposed to survive an airplane crash, yet on the box it was shipped in, it says "Delicate instruments. Do not drop!!" What??? If you can't drop it, how will it survive a crash? Go figure...... so here is the fabric opened up behind the cab, with the ELT (big orange thing)in place and the new antennae mount rivited on just to the right.

Steve showed up at the hangar and helped me get the plane onto three precision scales, one under each wheel. Then we leveled the plane to flight attitude, drained the gas, and recorded the weight figures shown on the scales. These numbers will be used to calculate the weight and balance specifications. Thes calcs are necessary for, you guessed it, the airworthiness inspection. Then I put all the placards on the plane (labels for what things are and how they work), and installed the fire-proof identification plate on the main frame. Now I'm pretty much ready for the inspection except for paper work. Oh, yeah, and some new tires. Eh???

I gotta go, Carlo