Oshkosh - Airventure 2010

As part of a trip back to Minnesota to retrieve Marlys, Bill (who took advantage of the retrieval to not buy a airline ticket home) suggested that we head over to the EAA Airventure Airshow.

I had n0t been there since 2001, when I would take Derek over, so I was really looking forward to it.

So after a 20 hour drive to Bill's place to drop off Dusty in northern Minnesota, we got back in the car for another 8 1/2 hours for the drive to someplace near Oshkosk t0 layover before hitting the show bright and early on Wednesday morning.

After stopping in Wausau at about 9:30, we headed out at 5am to finish the epic drive east from Colorado.

We were walking around the show by 7:30 and one of the static displays was a Global Hawk UAV. You hear about these unmanned aircraft being used in Iraq and Afghanistan, but you really don't get a feel for how big they are until you stand next to one.

These are really a full size aircraft, look at the person in the background standing by the wing.

As was the norm in 2001, there is too much t0 see in one day, but that was the time we had.


One aircraft that really impressed me was this helicopter from Mosquito Helicopters in New Zealand. It was FAR Part 103 compliant (similar to ultralights, hang gliders, paragliders), so no special license is required, but I am sure much practice as it is after all a helicopter.

It was very impressive to watch fly. I may need to look into one of these, I wonder if they would have enough juice to hover at 8500 feet?

Mosquito also had a turbine powered one seater, using a aircraft APU as the power plan, it was very cool.

While waiting for the helicopter to fly, I watched a guy reading his for take off, and he had a somewhat "wired" look, like he had or was coming down from drinking too much coffee. It turned out that he flew his Kompress Helicopter from the south of the France to Oshkosk across Europe, the Atlantic and Canada to get here. I guess I would be a little wired too.

Bill and I spent 40 hours over the last 3 days in the MKX (luckily Bill did not suffer from gaseous eruptions like Herb did after Sunday's walk up Bierstadt), so today there will be no driving as we are back in beautiful urban-like Laporte, MN.

We snag another one!

It was another early morning start with departure at 3am. Herb, Bill and myself arrived at Guanella Pass parking lot at 5:15 am and hit the trail to the summit of Mt Bierstadt at 5:30am.

It was a great morning with no wind and temps in the 40's.

On the way up we passed a couple of groups returning from watching the sunrise...must have gone up in the dark, but full moon lit night.

The hike was pretty straight forward until the boulder field just below the summit. This is what gives this hike a Class 2 difficulty.

We made it to the top in just under three hours and back down in just under two.

Grays and Torreys: Herb Gets His Mountain Mojo Back

Yesterday was the second trip up some 14ers this season. We were going to try and bag two peaks Grays and Torrey's.

This would also be an occasion for Herb to get his 14er's legs back under him after falling prey to the evil cold pizza breakfast that stopped him on Elbert in May.

But he was also coming back off a week of the liquid s..ts, after visiting his brother and family in Montana. 

On hearing this Bill and I thought he was getting the excuse ready early.

We started up at 6am on the 8.25 mile round trip (if we hit both peaks) in a big wind, with a lot of company. These are two of the most popular 14ers in the state due to their proximity to Denver and they are very accessible.

We were passed by quite a few groups, but funny thing is we re-passed most of them before the summit of Gray's.

We topped Gray's at 9am, spent a few minutes taking pictures, eating and hydrating.

Herb let us know at this point that he had no interest in going on to Torrey's. We said we would work down Gray's toward the saddle between the two peaks and make another assessment about going up Torrey's then.

By the time we hit the saddle and Herb could see Torrey's top just up the other side, he had changed his mind and we were off for number two of the day.

It took us about an hour to get from the top of Gray's to the top of Torrey's.

This is a picture of Herb coming up the final few feet to the top.

Gray's is in the background and you can see the trail crossing back and forth on the right side of the mountain to the top.

There was quite a crowd on Torrey's and Herb's signs were again a big hit.

Herb was asked by a Catholic Priest (in his roman collar) to take his picture for which he received a blessing.

We were down by 12:20pm making for a little over six hour round trip.

On Sunday we are off to Mt. Bierstadt.

Breckenridge Ski Resort in the background and Keystone on the middle right.

The Bad Boys of the Rockies Arrived Today

Pinon Rock seems to be a natural stopping point for humming birds. Since May the Broad Tails have been in residence, but today the Rufous' arrived... in a big way.

After our morning 5 mile trek to Delila Peak, Marlys saw 1 Rufus at a feeder. By the end of the day there are now a couple of squadrons in residence, doing their dog fighting over who will control the feeders.

Their copper color with a hot pink throat, on the males, is pretty spectacular.

The Broad Tails are attempting to hold the fort, and even though they have a size advantage, the overall numbers of the Rufus' I think will take the day.

The Rufous are very feisty as they swarm.

This is a week or two early as they normally arrive late July.

The hummingbirds have been a little off this year, we believe because the wild flower crop is not as abundant as last year.

The Evolution of the Skiadirondack

Version 1.0: The first ski adirondack I made. The frame was originally from an all cedar chair built in 2000. The boards were 1/2" and even though it has held up pretty well it is ready to be dis-assembled and recycled.

This frame has been the basis for the templates used in making all of the newer versions that followed. The proportions and angles seem to be just about perfect. In fact, I always test Adirondack chairs when I come across them and have yet to find one that sits as well.









Version Plywood: An experiment when the plywood scraps had piled up in the shop and winter was getting long. If was an effort to speed up the coming of Spring.

Plywood in this case did not hold screws, did not look good, just plain did not work. The skis were also from manufacturers I had never heard of.

This chair was never given a chance to be good. It had bad karma and will be burnt this Winter.










Version 2.0: The first truly successful chair in that it now used 3/4" Cedar, along with being both glued and screwed. This is a solid performer. The upgrade in thickness really made for a more substantial chair

We (with this version Marlys has taken over sanding and finishing) built 3 of these.

They sat well, and I am in the process of updating then to Version 2.5 spec's, due to a design flaw, namely the even number of skis used on the back. This flaw is obvious to the those with an artistic eye (my son), but I totally missed it. You will see in Version 2.5 that is does make a real difference, but burns through the ski inventory a little faster.





Version XC: If you recall last year Marlys picked up a bunch of skis at garage sales on Fridays. Some of these were cross country skis. This was the first use of the odd number ski back, not due to better design, but just to fill it in a little better.

These are not bad chairs, but I think they need to have at least 7 skis on the back to work visually. Maybe they will get an updated spec someday too.

We made two of these and they are still in use today.









Version Low Rider: This was another late Winter, lets try and rush Spring chair, actually a love seat. Its back angle is slightly more relaxed, hence the low rider moniker.


It used the thicker lumber spec'd since the V2.0 release, along with a third set of legs in the middle to support two people. The back spreader was also beefed up to handle the span.


The skis and board were not really matched very well (this has become more important as more chairs are made visually). It even used three pairs of children skis. It does though add color to the front of the shop.


Version 2.5: This particular chair is a beauty. The stainless steel Volant skis really make this chair. The 5 ski back is the major change from the V2.0's.


I am in the process of updating V2.0's as mention above. Part of this up date will be to better match the skis used both in looks, but also in era. The age of the skis and the technology used in building them has become more critical, because of its impact on the upper edge type, finish and color.


Even though these Volants match well on this chair you can see there are from three different eras (beyond their sidecut) by the typeface used in the name and the color usage and patterns.


So far there is only one V2.5.


Version 3.0: This is a major step up in materials. After watching these chairs in the elements for a number of years now, this version uses only pressure treated 5/4" lumber. Since the lumber is still fairly moist when being assembled
Gorilla Glue is used.


The chair feels strong and heavier then previous versions as expected and with the 5 ski back looks great.

The deck stain that Marlys uses makes the treated wood look as good if not better then the cedar and pine used in the earlier chairs.


There is another change which was a move from 7" to 6" wide arms because of the treated lumber width. It is pretty hard to tell the different when looking at them side by side.

We have built two of these so far.




Version X.0: Marlys wants to try some painted frames to match/compliment the ski color, I want to look at hidden decking fasteners for attaching the seat slats, but I have logs to saw for the dresser Marlys has moved up on my priority list and a hot tub pergola to finish first.

FM Antenna & Marlys' Dr. Who Booth Update

During the recent trip to Wisconsin during the stop in with Scott and Barb, I saw that Scott had all sorts of antenna elements in his garage and, me being me, I asked what gives?

Scott told be about how he has been making antennas for use in in the new digital world of over the air TV. If should be noted that TV is a family business for Scott, but the amount of info I was able to wean from him during the course of about an hour helped me with one of the problems I have had in the shop since dropping XM radio, namely how to better draw in a FM signal for 95.5 (remember this) HPHT in Pueblo which is a great oldies station.

The station is close to 50 miles away and there are a couple, if not more intervening mountain ridges. I could kinda of get it, but once I turned on the fluorescent lights in the shop it was gone.

Scott explained what makes up a FM antenna and it is pretty simple, some 300 ohm wire and you are pretty much ready to go. He mention that by adjusting the length of the primary element the antenna could be tuned to a particular frequency. He even gave me some 300 ohm wire to use.

Once back I googled to find out what length was needed for 95.5, and came across this site that explained what Scott had already told me and the formula for tuning the length to match a certain freq: http://www.kgnu.org/ht/helpfm.html#makeantenna .

It works great and I will be moving it to the roof of the shop to improve it even more.

Thanks Scott!

Also the updating of the phone booth for its new mission is complete. Tom's custom TP and sanitizer dispenser from last years anniversary party has been installed and the chemicals put in the toilet.

A few sticker to provide entertainment while sitting and contemplating life have also been added.

I am going to black out at least the lower windows to provide some privacy.

UPDATED: Adam wins his flight @ the Guffey Chicken Fly

It was classic Americana. Kids chasing chickens with nets. Small one being held by their folks to launch a chicken on it hopefully record setting flight and at least in the past some controversy from the PETA.

Yesterday was the 25th Anniversary Chicken Fly in Guffey Colorado. Guffey is about 20 miles from our place. Guffey is made up of antique stores that never seem to be open and 3 places to eat.

On July 4th each year they have the Chicken Fly. It's pretty simple, a kid signs up to sponsor a chicken, then when it is their turn they (or the folks help if they are real young) take their chicken to the launch platform and put it in to a mailbox with the back cut out, insert a plunger and when the door is opened on the front give it a push. The bird that flies the furthest wins.

Now some just walk out ans sit on the edge of the door, but the record is a flight of 138 feet. Its almost as much fun watching the kid capture the chicken once it has landed.

Guffey is very animal-centric in that the mayor (the town is unincorporated) is a dog or cat.

UPDATE: One of the local (Autumn Creek) kids, Adam Bartkowiak won his flight at the chicken fly. Congrats Adam. You can watch him at: http://www.9news.com/news/article.aspx?storyid=142392&catid=188 .

Fluidmaster and another chance meeting.

As many of you know, since moving to an arrid region, I have become pretty obsessive when it comes to water usage.

Our well recovers at ~250 gallons in a 24 hour period, so we have a 1700 gallon cistern that operates like a water battery storing it for when it is needed and attempting to make the best use of the well recovery rate.

You have probably also read about the two times the cistern (1700 gallons) was emptied overnight due to a leaking toilet in the sauna room. Since those occasions I have been turning the toilet water off when there is no one visiting and using that toilet.

I have been on a search for a toilet that recognizes a leak and stops trying to fill itself. I have looked at full house leak detectors, of which there are many, but the cost is pretty high (vs. turning off the water to the toilet). I have seen a number of electronic devices, but there is little feed back available, and they look prone to failure.

So taking advantage of a chance meeting at the NASCAR race, previously posted about, with a guy who works in the quality testing group at Kolher, a major US plumbing fixture manufacturer, I had to ask about this situation...kinda like cornering a doctor at a party and going through the "what ails me lists."

After going through the whole story, and I sure boring him to death, we said go to Walmart and get a Fluidmaster water filler with a "Leak Sentry". I have to tell you that as he explained how it worked, I couldn't really picture it. Once I picked one up though, it became very clear on how it worked.

Basically, as the float is raised during the tank filling there is a small slip brake under it that moves with the float up the pedestal of the water fill valve. If the toilet leaks the slip brake keeps the float from dropping and turning on the water fill valve to run water into the leaking tank and in our case draining the cistern.

During normal operation. when the flush lever is depressed lifting the flapper valve to flush the toilet, it also pulls a chain that releases the slip brake allowing the float to drop and a normal tank fill to occur.

Very cool!

Now to be fair since, then I have researched this type of valve on the net and there are a few other companies that also make them. But I haven't found one that also has a bowl refill valve to keep from overfilling the toilet bowl itself. This come as part of the Fluidmaster W43LS.

Fluidmaster also makes a conversion Dual Flush Toilet Fill Valve that enables a small flush for fluids only, and a normal flush for the more weighty results of a library reading session. This is all the rage in the toilet world right now because of its water saving, but we are still part of the "If its yellow let it mellow, if its brown flush it down" crowd.

Now it there was only a triple flush...small for fluids, normal for when only a few kids are being dropped off at the pool, and the "Tsunami flush", so that I can retire my plumbers helper (plunger).

An Expensive Oil Change

The truck has seen a lot of miles in the last month and I scheduled a oil change/servicing for bright and early Wednesday morning.

I try to get this done first thing because we will be waiting around, usually going to Mac & Don's for breakfast while the work is being done, then we can get to the other stops for our day in town, e.g. Walmart, City Market, etc.

Yesterday started out as usual until we were walking back to the Ford Dealership (Faricy Ford) from MacDonalds.

Marlys said we should see if Martha is in and ask about driving a Edge. Martha is the salesperson we bought the truck from in 2008.

Long story short Marlys ended up driving a Lincoln MKX (Lincoln's version of the Ford Edge) home later that day.

Marlys Audi is going to a good home in that we are giving it to Derek now that he will be in Las Cruces, but I felt bad moving it out of its normal spot in the garage to the other stall.