After my exhausting effort serving breakfast to thousands of hungry flying groupies at the Wright Flyer Gathering (see separate article in this issue), and then after some serious hangar flying in Bill Mills comfortable aerodrome, I drove to my Mother's house in Downers Grove. Because I had to leave early on a flying adventure the next morning, I wanted a staging point much closer to Clow than my home near Wrigley Field in Chicago.
Sunday morning I got up at 6 (ugh), but when I was done showering my Mom had breakfast waiting for me just like when I was a kid! After scrambled eggs, coffee, and several of those sticky cinnamon buns that come from the tube, I left her house at 6:45. Ah, the joys of being close to your destination. Rather than my usual hour-long trip first down the Kennedy and then out on I-55, I was able to travel empty local roads and get to the airport by 7:10.
My preflight completed, I loaded my back seat with the subject of my adventure: brand-new landing gear! I had purchased a new trick air shock telescopic nose strut and fork from a fellow named Bill Volcko who was recommended on the Challenger Yahoo Group. I also got new fiberglass main gear with new, larger wheels and tires and new Hegar hydraulic disk brakes from Mike Harrison in Arizona. It was time to install them.
I was in the air by 7:30 and had an excellent 45 minute flight (glass smooth and clear) to a small grass strip near Kankakee (3KK) where Frank Beagle was waiting for me. After chatting a bit, and after his Frank's 3rd cup of coffee (at least in my presence) and a couple of smokes, we started in working at around 9:00. Much of the work went smoothly, but some didn't. Every now and then we'd have to stop so that Frank could go to the airport machine shop to drill a hole in something. Once we had to stop so that Frank could make a run to Ace hardware to get washers and additional Dextron III Transmission Fluid to use as brake fluid. And, we spent a lot of time just sitting around doing nothing and shooting the breeze. Other guys would occasionally come and go, chatting and occasionally lending a hand. Ken Swasas was one such guy. He had flown in to see what was happening on the field, and the next thing he knew he was sweating with a wrench in his hand. I owe that guy a beer!
With the able assistance of a fellow named Rick, Frank and I finished bleeding the new hydraulic disk brakes by 4. It had been a long day, but Mother nature had at last cooperated by offering up a great day in which to do this kind of work. Most of the day there was extensive cloud cover making for shady, cooler wrenching conditions. And, wonder of wonders, it started clearing up nicely when we were finished.
To celebrate our efforts. Frank, Rick and I decided to fly to the nearby Jurassic Landings ultralight strip, only about 14 miles WNW of 3KK. Because of all the earlier cloud cover, we were spared any annoying thermals. The three of us -- Frank in his Challenger ("Air Male"), me in my Challenger, and Rick in a nice Air Creation Trike -- took to the skies.
Jurassic is a nice, smooth E/W grass strip bordered by a handful of expensive houses -- each with it's own brand-new hangar. One couple, Paula and Lee Crevier, have a HUGE hangar behind their house. They are Flightstar (and Phantom?) dealers and instructors, so one side of the hangar housed a beautiful two-place Flightstar 2SC; an attractive Flightstar single place, and a really wonderful Kolb. The other half of the hangar had the biggest, nicest machine shop that I have seen outside of NASCAR. They could easily assemble one, or perhaps two, planes within its confines.
After enjoying Paula's hospitality I said goodbye to her, Frank and Rick. I took off to meander NW with the ultimate goal of heading to Cushing. Jurassic is just East of the Braidwood Nuclear Plant, and south of the old Dresden Nuclear Plant, and I swear I felt all tingly just being in the vicinity. But while I was there I noticed just how incredible the visibility was: from that location I could easily see the cooling towers of the Byron Nuclear plant West of Rockford!
After threading myself through the nuclear plant maze, I saw that Morris was directly between me and Cushing. How terrible; that meant that I would have to fly that much longer on a wonderful evening to get to my destination.
I ultimately made it to Cushing, where the trikes and hang gliders were having a convention. I saw that Larry Gehrig had a student, and I didn't want to disturb him. So, finding no one else to play with I left to go back home to Clow. All the way I flew low, buzzing the cornfields and popping up over tree lines. I stumbled across Vance's place and harassed him with a flyby. I eventually got back to Clow at a little after 7:00. Calling on 122.900 for the active runway, I was answered by Rickey who was monitoring the radio from the ground while futzing with an interface between his GPS and his Palm.
I lined up for a landing on 18 on the grass -- something I was always reluctant to do with my old landing gear. The conditions were so calm that I was able to fly 3/4 of the length of the strip, putting my wheels down smoothly only feet from my hangar door. Hey, why taxi there when you can fly there!
Another fabulous day in paradise...
Where To Now?
Bill's Excellent AirVenture, Part 2
Hartenbower: "Can't Get There from Here"