In the Air Again

...flying with the birds

The winds finally abated to modest single-figure speeds, and the light rain which had fallen overnight ceased long enough to have a quick fly. The clouds were still leaden and, with streaks of rain visible falling here and there, it was clear that rain would reach the field sooner rather than later.

The Phoenix 2000 was all prepped and ready to go, so it didn't take long to get it into the air. Launch was happily uneventful and I powered up into climbs and practiced a few loops and stalls. There were plenty of birds flying over this morning, and one particularly large wings of what I think were ducks. Lovely to see.

I also tried out the flaps on the Phoenix for the first time. They're pretty big and also, with my transmitter being very basic, I can't control the servo travel on my auxiliary switch - it's either on or off. So the flaps have full servo travel and open right down to about forty-five degrees.

The Phoenix was flying back towards the field, a little high, so I thought I'd give the flaps a go. Well, let me say quite categorically, that the effect of them is startling. 

The Phoenix slowed right down and then went nose-up, gaining a few feet in height. I was expecting it to stall, however it just ploughed its way through the air, slow and steady. All I needed was to level the wings a little before it slumped in for a landing.

Not exactly elegant but certainly highly effective...

No-Fly Day

...but still lots of interest

No flying today unfortunately. The forecast was for 12 km/h winds but arriving at the field it to be gusting around 20 km/h, just a bit too much.

Still I did get to say hello to the kangaroos who’d ventured onto the field for the soft green grass. Also the cattle were in residence, the first time I’d seen them closeby in the morning for quite a while. Heavy rains over the weekend had swelled the pond to generous proportions but, oddly enough, there weren’t any ducks about. Perhaps the rains had produced enough ponds around for them to be spoilt for choice.

I took a drive around to another field, where I’d had my tree climbing sorties, but found the winds there much the same, the trees not providing much of a buffer. So flying was pretty much ruled out for the day. Some noise in the trees across the field attracted my attention so I took a walk across.

A flock of the large black cockatoos at work, stripping bark and looking for breakfast. They have long straight wings and fly with a curiously wooden action, like a wind-up bird might look. However, they have a remarkable ability to make very rapid changes in direction, seeming to stall one wing and then spin vigorously before flying again. This trick seems particularly useful when they’re playing with their mates in the boisterous manner characteristic of cockatoos.

On my way back I pulled up to watch some ducks, half a dozen very small brown ducks (I don't know what type, some homework for me to do) were standing near the roadside fence near a small pond. I had seen these ducks come flying at speed across the field I had just been at, before banking sharply and dropping out of sight behind the trees. Very impressive flying for such diminutive creatures.

The Magical Things

Mornings mists are magical. They're not to be found in built-up suburbia around houses or on roads, they appearing only on the wilder stretches of bushland and paddock. That’s why they're a magic, a product of the earth yet suspended in the air like a wisp, pure and ethereal. One of the things I enjoy about going flying these cold mornings.

Another is the sunrises, or often, the vivid splashes of colours painted on the clouds before sunrise. These too are ethereal and ephemeral, colours changing as you look at them, so gorgeous and yet intangible. I’ve taken that many photos of the sunrises, yet looking back at them is somehow never boring - the images manage to retain some of the magic.

Of course the kangaroos are another source of enjoyment. Sweet-natured and very shy, they will be observing you with absolute intent long before you can even see them clearly, standing straight up and with the dark shows of their ears perked up and aimed straight at you.

On a few occasions they have been on the sports field when I have arrived, nervously edging along the fence as I walk down. I try not to frighten them, and funnily enough they don’t seem bothered by the planes, only if I approach them too close. In any case, they jump over easily enough - I’ve flown the plane for a short while and then looked around again to see if they were ok to find all four or five of them having silently disappeared...

Then the ducks occupying the duckpond-end which fills up after a few heavy showers. It is amazing how happy these creatures are with a small expanse of water a few inches deep - I find it quite touching. And the herons fly in occasionally as well.

The cattle, large and black moving slowly through the pastures, from the  swampy lowland to the sunny hillock, grazing contentedly. Unlike the shy kangaroos, they are very interested in you - first motionlessly and intently staring, then almost imperceptibly, you realise that one, no that one too, no actually half the herd has started to amble towards you looking expectantly.

Time to get out of there...