NetHeads, I got in ten more touch- n-goes on Sunday, despite light rain. The weather was supposed to be fine until 4PM so I was going to fly somewhere cross-country, but it was raining when I got to the airport at 10AM. Ceilings were above 12,000' though, and it was dead calm, and since I was in the mood to fly, why not? I flew around three local airports and did some more prop testing. There's a lot to be said for flying in such super calm conditions. For example I was able to nail my landing speeds with the GPS at 60 mph with flaps down and 68 with flaps up. That 8 mile spread is larger than I get during stall tests at altitude, probably due to increased ground effect with the flaps. My landing speed is so high because my wings are only 19' long, and my flying weight is normally right at 1000 pounds. That's one reason I plan to extend my wings this winter (you believe me, right?).
I did ten of the smoothest landings I've ever done in that super calm air. And I had the whole sky (and radio frequency to myself). The point of this is don't give up because it looks dreary outside...the ceilings may be way more than you need, and it might just be another great day of flying! I added another picture to the sunsets and clouds site, taken over central Tennessee. It's at http://home.hiwaay.net/~langford/sunsets/ . Mark Langford, Huntsville, AL mail: N56ML "at" hiwaay.net website: www.N56ML.com
