Canadair on the Duckpond

...finally flying off the pond

The field where I often fly was prone to flooding at the southern end; an event which occasioned the influx of birds of all kinds and the occasional kangaroo something for a splash.

However, unfortunately the sports club didn't share my enthusiasm at an inundated playing field and so instituted an engineered solution to pump the flood waters away. Happily, after a year or so, this fiendish system has failed, heralding a triumphant return of the ephemeral pond.

I had often been tempted to get something flying off the pond but for some reason never got around to it. However, for once, I managed to get to the field with a float plane while the pond was still full and when the weather was OK, in this case with the Canadair.

Unfortunately, as far as the video was concerned, the sun dipped away behind the clouds just as I the Canadair hit the water, so the video quality was frustratingly compromised. Despite that technical hiccup, the flying was a success, making the wait worthwhile...

Happy Sunny Show

...the wing-cam likes the sun

The sunny morning actually made for a nice quality video; amazingly the wing camera being much happier with the morning light conditions. I had expected the low sun to cause problems, however it seems that the electronics cope with this much better than the low-light conditions of dawn!

The sun also makes the Walrus's white propellor more evident, although I think the circle of streaks is quite groovy. I have ordered a pair of carbon propellor blades, so I might change over the original blades to make them less visible.

It didn't really seem that apparent at the time, but on my first landing approach I came so near that tree, and then almost put the Walrus into the duck pond. Happily though I did neither, but ended with a nicely flared landing in the dewy grass...