Berrien County Youth Fair

August 15, 2019Misc:, Miscellaneous Ramblings, WalkaboutCounty Fair, Fair Week, Youth FairDWMack

It was a very nice day, meaning no rain and lots of sun, for me to travel over to Berrien Springs to see the August Youth Fair sights. Now the reason I even mention rain is that the last time I went to the fair you needed to have wader’s on or at lease calf high mud boots. This trip, not so much. The flip side of not having mud is that parking was a bear and you doubled your daily step quota just going from the REMOTE parking to the fair ground proper.

As usual I like to look at the horses and riders, take quick tour of the animal’s barns, and the commercial buildings then hit the midway to gawk at the people, ride riders and of course food vendors. I think the food requirements are corn dogs, elephant ears, and something to wash them down with.

Too much to talk about so I’ll use pictures since they are supposed to be worth a thousand words anyway. Here is a quick walking tour thru the grounds and a collection of Faces of the Fair. Remember, the Fair is for Kids, young and old 🙂.

Horses & Cowgirls- How can you ever go wrong with this combination!

Can you spot who is having a grand time AND who isn’t?

Don’t have to be Superman to enjoy the thrill rides!

Air Travels

August 10, 2019Fly Days, Miscellaneous RamblingsDWMack

Today’s travels involved flying from Benton Harbor, MI (KBEH) to Michigan City Indiana (MGC) then switching planes before flying to Lansing Illinois (IGQ) to pick up a passenger. Then it was back to Michigan City to drop off the passenger and for me to gas up the Clown Plane before going back to Benton Harbor.

As you can see by the picture’s I was checking out the major beaches along the lake shore while on the way to Michigan City.

Once at MGC, I taxied over to Mr. Dave’s and parked in the grass lot across from his hanger. From there I walked over to the DZ (drop zone) to check on the status of the required repack of my reserve parachute, and captured cameo shots of the tandem jumpers having a blast of adrenaline at “Windy City Skydiving”. After that I checked in with my aircraft mechanic friend Gary about adding a bit of brake fluid to my starboard brake, and then went to find my pilot buddy Dave. I found him and a bunch of other people in the Fixed Base Operator building (FBO) hanger flying which means everyone there was talking about flying.

Dave was getting ready to take a friend from work on his first flight in a light aircraft. Dave’s friend was there with his kids who were participating in the Young Eagles program and waiting their turn to fly with a “Young Eagles” pilot. The Young Eagles program was created by the US Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) and designed to give children between the ages of 8 to 17 an opportunity to experience flight in a general aviation airplane while educating them about aviation. The program is offered free of charge with costs covered by the volunteers. It’s generally a full house when these are offered.

When Dave completed his friend’s orientation flight, we refueled his plane an then we were off to Lansing, Il. Dave had just recently updated his avionic and we spent the flight testing out his new wings leveling system and auto pilot. I think I want an upgrade too!

As anyone who reads my posts know, it seems as if I do not go any place without my camera and true to form, I was snapping pictures along the way to and from Lansing.

After we returned to MGC we refueled the Clown Plane but instead of using standard 100LL Avgas I fueled up with Swift Fuels Unleaded UL-94 Avgas. It’s supposed to be better for the engine, keeps the spark plugs from fouling and is less expensive than the 100LL. Swift Fuels’ Unleaded UL94 Avgas is made of the same base hydrocarbon components as 100LL but without the addition of tetraethyl lead which the FAA, EPA and industry are partnering to remove from avgas.

It was Blue skies all day which was nice but the calm air in the morning gave way to being very bumpy and turbulent in the afternoon due to the sun heating up the surrounding area. When I initially flew to Michigan City the wind was calm but by the time, I left in the late afternoon going back to Benton Harbor it was gusting 16 knots and still very bumpy. Bumpy that is until I got away from the land by flying a half mile offshore over lake Michigan and following the shoreline home. No bumps over the lake.

All in all, a great day of flying and picture taking. Don’t you just love summer 😊

Warren Dunes -What makes you think its summer-

Glenlord Park-Overlook – Stevensville, MI

Windy City Skydiving – Michigan City, IN – KBEH

Landing w/ one plane landing and one ready to take off.

Pac 750 Jump plane holding on taxi way with Bi-plane overflight

Franklin street (US-421) to Michigan City Beach

Back to St. Joseph & Benton Harbor, MI

Thursday Thirsty – River Dive

August 8, 2019Scuba, Water-RelatedGrubbing, MI, River Diving, St. Joseph River NilesDWMack

Today was a rare day in that it appears that the St. Joseph river, as it flows along Riverview Park in Niles, MI is finely available for diving.

Normally, we are in the river at least once a week by this time in the summer but last year’s river flooding and this year increased rain fall has resulted in high water levels, lousy visibility in the water and extremely fast currents.

Add in the extreme riverbank erosion and resultant embankments being under washed has resulted in unheard of numbers of uprooted trees and riverbank shrubs in the water’s edge. This has increased the dangers of impalement and entanglement and entrapment.

But with that said today we cautiously entered the waters from Capt. John boat along the far shore embankment.

There were 4 of us diving, all experienced in fast river current and aware of the entrapment hazards. It was noted that the usual use of an inner tube float and basket with diver down flag was not feasible in today’s dive as the basket would act as a sea anchor and drag you down stream and most likely in an uncontrollable manner.

We securely anchored the boat about 15 feet from shore in water about 7 feet deep. We put dive flags on the boat and two trailing 20 feet behind the boat. Then put out a line from the front of the boat to the rear.

One diver went in first with his river stick and made it to the shallows and stood up and gave us a report on the current effect and bottom features felt or seen. With that information the remaining divers suited up and entered the water.

By keeping close to the shoreline, usually in less than 5 or 6 feet of water one could see 2 to 4 feet if not in someone’s silt path. The river is very strong and there were lots of snags, tree limbs and shoreline brush BUT being slow and very careful it was dive able.

Grubbing resulted in several nice bottles, china, and misc. ceramic items recovered.

The river is open BUT with the current is ripping, visibility 2 to MAYBE 4 feet, with the riverbank full of snags and sharp pointy things we strongly recommend only experienced rivers divers entering the waters at this time.

Down trees and shrubs have created a rich environment for entanglement, impalement and entrapment – Observe extreme caution at all times.

Even the water birds are staying out of the water.

Fly Day – Companion flyer

August 3, 2019Fly Days, Miscellaneous RamblingsCompanion flyer, FlyingDWMack

August 3: Fly Day

As always, when there is Blue Skies above I get the urge to get in some engine time on the Clown Plane. Why you may ask? For one, one of the worst things you can do with an airplane is not to fly it.

Ok, why is it bad not to fly your airplane you ask? Aside from frequently flying helps keep you current and in practice, it helps keep all the parts and pieces active and moving. And in reference to metal parts helps keep them lubricated. The gremlins of aircraft are corrosion, rust and depending on the aircraft, delamination.

Ideally, you’d fly often in order to keep your engine happy (distributing clean oil throughout the system to protect against corrosion and heating it enough to drive off water from the crankcase). Some consider you inactive if your not running the engine at least 5 hours a month and some old school consider 10 hours a month a minimum. In Michigan the winter months most often make this hard to do.

One option you have is to preserve your engine in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions, often called “pickling” the engines for the winter. Now this is a lot of work and prevents you from flying on those nice winter days when your hanger doors are not frozen shut and the taxi ramps to the runways are clear of ice (or most of it).

Another option is to ground run you engine and taxi around for maybe 30 minutes or so. at least monthly. This keeps the tires from taking a set and helps keep things moving and lubricated. But I always preheat my engine any time the air temperature is less than 40F before starting my engine. Its never a bad thing to warm the battery either.

If you’re not properly preheating your aircraft in cold temperatures, you’re likely causing substantial––not to mention expensive––damage to internal engine components. In fact, running a cold engine for just 60 seconds can cause as much wear on your engine as 500 hours of normal cruise operation. And, if the temperature drops low enough, one cold start can cause major destruction of your engine right after takeoff. That’s why it’s so critical that you take the aircraft preheating process seriously.

So now you know why frequent flying is a good thing so lets get back to going flying.

Number one item I check is the weather. I want to know what is the visibility. Is it VFR (visual flight rules) or IFR (instrument flight rules)? Next is the ceiling (how high are the clouds) and how windy is it. Since I am a VFR and a “fair weather” flyer that’s important. My next check is the wind speed, direction and is it gusty?

If all of these items are satisfied I then check the NOTAM’s ( Notice to Airmen) which is a notice filed with an aviation authority to alert aircraft pilots of potential hazards along a flight route or at a location that could affect the safety of the flight. Items like are the runways closed at my airport or the one I may be flying to? Or notifications of runway/taxiway/apron status with respect to snow, ice, and standing water.

And then there are the TFR’s (Temporary Flight Restrictions) telling me “airports and areas” that are temporarily not available for me to fly in or around because important people like heads of state (i.e.: president/ VP) are there. And lots of other important information that helps me make a decision to fly or not.

And today all the criteria I have set for myself were met and we went flying.

With all that said, today I had a friend of mine along whom I am working with to be a companion flyer.

The purpose is to help make my frequent passenger more knowledgeable so if I need assistance they can help and not suddenly be thrust into a panic situation cause they have no idea what to do.

These flying periods are fun, informative, and designed with the non-pilot in mind. The companion / frequent flyer learns to be an effective cockpit crew member and become more comfortable in light aircraft so flying is more enjoyable!

Over the course of the flights they get to be knowledgeable of how the airplane flies and responds , how to read an aeronautical chart to find an airports radio frequency, run way lengths and directions, how to talk to on the radio, what the instruments tell you (airspeed, altitude, level indicator), what to do in an emergency and much more.

I have found that those individuals who fly with me often enjoy are much more comfortable and confident when we are flying. A win for me and them and a good day of flying was had by us both.

Bristol Renaissance Faire

July 27, 2019Miscellaneous Ramblings, WalkaboutRenaissance Faire, RenFairDWMack

The Bristol Renaissance Faire is a Renaissance fair held in a Renaissance-themed park in the village of Bristol, Wisconsin.

It recreates a visit of Queen Elizabeth I to the English port city of “Bristol” in the year 1574.

With few exceptions, I think the people who enjoy the Faire the most are the kids and the young at heart no matter their age. As always, pictures are worth a thousand words. Enjoy!

July 14 – Dive the shipwreck “Havana”

Today was a blue sky day with very moderate sea’s so a few Muddies and I went to dive the wreck of the schooner “Havana” and then do a little bottom searching on the way back in to shore. We had some old “targets” (potential wrecks or underwater structure) that we wanted to see if they could be relocated. The picture’s give you a little look at what we see leaving the DNR docks in Benton Harbor to the entry to Lake Michigan.

We had a second boat that came out behind us that was going to spend more time searching of additional bottom targets. As the seas picked up at the end of the day it became too bouncy to get decent results on our bottom scanners and we all went in.

The Havana is called a sand wreck or rubble wreck because she is shallow, about 50 feet, and has been down for over a 100 years. Being shallow storms and currents have taken a toil on her. Depending on the season and shifting sands, portions of the wreck become uncovered or recovered. Being shallow, wave action and currents do have an unpredictable effect on visibility and temperature at depth.

It is an excellent wreck dive for the less experienced and newer diver.

As you can see, the river is high and the docks are almost underwater.

The Inn – newest hotel on the water front.

USCG station at the entry to the North pier.

Looking at the lake bottom while going to and from the “Havana” wreck.

Havana Buoy – Placed by the SW Michigan Underwater Preserve in 2019. The Havana sank October 1887 with a lost of 3 of the 7 crew. She was carrying 800 tons of ore (yep- sank like a stone)

Today was a low visibility day but you can still see the vast accumulation of Quagga mussels on the ships deck and side ribs.

Mack & Kirk geeking the GoPro on the acsent line

Entering the harbor – the south pier and Silver Beach were crowded today

All ashore- preping Capt.John’s boat for travel

3 Days of “Air Supremacy over Goshen”

July 13, 2019Fly Days, Misc:, Miscellaneous Ramblings, WalkaboutAircraft, Goshen Airport Indiana, RC AircraftDWMack

July 13 – 3 Days of “Air Supremacy over Goshen”

Last week I went to the Goshen Municipal Airport in Indiana to watch the Freedom Fest Airshow. This week it was hosting 3 Days of Radio Controlled Airshows. This was a RC Aircraft event for Giant scale military and civilian classics where the aircraft at this event are modeled from the full scale equivalent.

Typically, these aircraft have an 80 inch wingspan or larger! They are replicas of military and classic aircraft from the period of 1914 to the present day. The pilots at this event are some of the most talented builders, designers and pilots in the country. The R/C airshow demonstrations featured: WWI, WWII, Jets, Multi-engine aircraft and more!

I will tell you that If you viewed these aircraft from a distance you could not tell they were not the full scale aircraft and the jets are just flat out awesome.