I figure there are probably some folks hankering for a recounting and a few pictures of the trip to Cameroon.  I figure there’s no way I could tell the whole story in one post.  Probably, I could tell it in three to six posts, but that would take some serious time too.  Instead, I think I’ll let the story out in the form of anecdotes as they come to me.  Herewith is part 1 of at least 2.

When we first got to Cameroon, Terry and Tom swapped out the spring steel right landing gear leg of Tom’s Glasair Sportsman (N211PH).  Then we attempted to get her running.  Amongst other problems, the battery was dead, so we went to town to seek a battery that would fit an airplane.  Keep in mind, that this is a country, larger than California, that boasts around 15 airplanes.  Naturally we went to the motorcycle battery store to look for the proper size and voltage cell for an airplane.

Well, would you believe that in a city of 500,000 it took us half of the day to find the only battery in town with the right length and width, but it was to high?  And would you believe that the fellow who aided us in our search offered to cut the top off the battery and shorten it for us?  As you will read in part 2, I found that these Cameroonians are skilled at salvaging parts, so I believe he would have done it and done it well too.  Since it was for an airplane, however, we declined.

In the end, N37JN had to ride the pines so N211PH could use her battery.  The latter was a larger ship and could transfer people and supplies much quicker.

For Valentine’s Day, I asked the bride of my youth to fly with me for an hour.  She needs to gain some confidence in my abilities so it was an opportunity to gradually introduce her to flying in a Cessna 172 with a romantic overtone.  We started off practicing some takeoffs and landings and I soon realized that with passengers who are new to small airplanes, the pilot may need to shallow out most of his turns.  The winds were fairly gusty, they were quartering from the right, and my crosswind landings still need work, so we decided to do a little sightseeing instead.  We flew over to Omro and back to Oshkosh and then landed and let C get out while we practiced a few more crosswind landings.  My technique is getting better, but I still need to get better at correction.  I am looking forward to practicing some more.

Afterward, we stopped for dinner at Fratello’s on the Fox River and had the privilege of seeing a bald eagle.  We figured it was unusual to see a bald eagle in the city but probably the birds that normally hang out to the west of Oshskosh had come to the open water to find fish.

During lesson 16, I took my first solo flight.  It was a gorgeous day for flying, with temperatures at 20 degrees, calm winds, and sunny skies.  You really can’t ask for better.  My good friend CP was excited to hear that I might solo and wanted to bask in the excitement and ambiance of the airport in January, so he came along to hang out.  When we got onto the airport, it was apparent that several others wanted to play in the sun too.  Among others, we shared the perfect weather with a gyrocopter, a Cessna 182, a Citabria, and flight of two consisting of an Ercoupe and a Cessna 120.  Those aren’t all aircraft you see every day.

We started with three dual takeoffs and landings. 

Lesson 15 consisted of more takeoffs and landings practice.  Today was a pretty nice winter day and the winds were from 330 at about 5 knots, so there wasn’t much side slipping required on the landings.  Again, we ran a few takeoffs and landings on runway 27 and then a few more on runway 36.  There was a simulated engine failure and a forced go-around for practice, which I think I handled competently.  That was about the extent of the lesson.

I think I am finally starting to feel the flare and time it correctly.  I ballooned once, but it was minor and I did the right thing to correct it.  Also, I believe my precision was back up to previous levels and may be improving again.  I still have some work to do on crosswind landings, but today, all of my landings were pretty soft, so I’m ecstatic.

Finally, we were able to take to the skies again.  The weather has been crummy all December so I guess we just had to wait till January of Aught-Nine and I’ll tell you one thing, it was a gorgeous day — bright sunshine and crisp air, but breezy.  There was a 30 foot long snow drift in front of the hangar so we started by shoveling a path for the airplane.  Upon starting the engine, I noticed immediately that I had failed to latch the left cowling hatch.  Apparently, waiting till the last minute to unplug the engine heater threw me off my game.  One must remember that when his routine is disrupted, he can forget simple things.  Most likely I shan’t forget that item again though.

The winds were from 290 at 9-10 knots so we took off on 27 and there wasn’t much of a crosswind.  We began the lesson by heading out to the practice area and trying out some sideslips and then some forward slips. Well, that was an adventure.  In coordinated flight, you always feel pushed straight down into your seat, but in a side slip and especially in a forward slip, your really are thankful for you seat belt and sometimes you use the OCHO (O Crud Hang On) handle.  After getting the hang of slips — which are relatively easy at 2200′ AGL — we headed back to KOSH for some touch-and-go practice.

We started on runway 27 and I could tell I was a little rusty from not having flown in three weeks.  The flares just weren’t coming back naturally.   In fact, I ballooned twice.  Also, on one takeoff, I got confused about holding aeleron against the wind and drifted to the right of the runway.  I think T may have explained something to me a little different than he had originally, but my mental lapse was just one of those things that happens to you when you’ve got more information trying to get into your brain than it is trained to process.  Well, we practiced a few more on 27 but since the winds were at 10 knots, it was prime time for some crosswind takeoff and landing practice, so we switched over to runway 36.

Crosswind takeoffs are a challenge.  You have to use your side slipping technique so that you can keep the airplane moving in a straight line (holding position on the ground but slipping into the wind) and still pointed straight down the runway.  You do this by lowing the windward wing and using opposite rudder to keep the airplane from turning.  Mostly there is a lot of hand and foot movement to get the position correct but you have to constantly adjust for wind and your position on the runway.  This is just a skill that will require a lot of practice.

The rust on my skills was also apparent in a generally lower level of precision.  For example, I did not hold altitude as well this lesson as last.  In the last lesson I generally stayed withing 20′ of pattern altitude, but this time I was sometimes more than 100′ above or below the pattern altitude.  Correcting these is just headwork, but sometimes that’s the hardest thing.  As the saying goes, practice makes perfect.

It has been quite some time, but last week I encountered another toilet talker.  To be specific, he was a toilet whisperer, and no, I didn’t feel uncomfortable at all.  I just laughed on the inside.

Why the furnace quit working last week:

Lesson 13 was more practice takeoff and landing.  We practiced several on runway 18 and then moved over to 27 to practice cross-wind.  I was able to handle all of the flying without any correction or assistance.   The first few landings, I over-controlled and was pumping the elevators a lot during the flare, but during the last few, I finally got the hang of things and the flares were relatively smooth.  On cross-wind landings, I need to work on two things: 1. Continue to hold aileron against the wind after landing and increase it as the airplane slows down.  2.  Side-slip into the wind.  This is a skill I have just started to use so I will need to get a feel for it.

During December so far every other lesson has been cancelled due to weather, so hopefully we can get a better streak going in the second half of the month.

It was about 7:15 on Saturday morning and a doe and two fawn showed up about 100 yards away at the end of the marsh to the east of Island Two.  They browsed for a few minutes and I thought maybe I should shoot the doe, but since I hadn’t made up my mind before-hand, I decided to pass.  They walked away.  About fifteen minutes later, I saw a small 6-pointer booking it from Island One towards Island Two.  I decided right away to pass him up and it was a good thing because as soon as he got abreast of me, a beautiful 8-pointer appeared, also trying to get somewhere fast.  In my estimation, they were running from something (a hunter), not to something (a doe).  Well, all I saw was that long rear tine and decided he was a shooter.  I couldn’t find him in the scope at first because he was moving through thick brush and I had my scope on high power.  When he was right in the middle of my shooting lane, he paused to scan to his rear so I put the crosshairs on the middle of his left shoulder and squeezed.  He ran about fifteen yards, stumbled in thick underbrush, and expired.

He is my biggest buck to date.  I wouldn’t call him a monster, but he was called by various members of our party “really nice,” “a fat pig,” and “a bruiser.”  Anyway, he is a symmetrical 8-pointer with a 17″-plus spread. His rack is thin for it’s width and height, but here is an interesting dimple in the left main beam, probably damage caused while in velvet.  There was also a hole in the left side of his chest.  It was definitely not caused by a bullet or broadhead because there was no damage inside of his chest and the hole went all the way through his chest wall.  So we guessed it was a battle wound.

By way of protocol, LK and I discussed the matter of mounting and decided that anytime you harvest your largest buck to date, you have a right to have a shoulder mount made without being questioned or harassed by your party.  Moreover, you have a responsibility to have him mounted in some fashion.  Keep that in your clip for future use. I have decided to have a European mount made.  A European mount is when you mount just the skull and antlers.

Here are a few pictures.

Lesson 12 was the third straight session practicing takeoffs and landings.  Again, we reviewed pattern procedures, talked over a couple of questions, and then went flying.  We took off on runway 22, which was directly into the wind and a runway I hadn’t used before.  We headed straight for Fond du Lac (KFLD) and I got my first experience landing there and landing on an uncontrolled airport.  Using the CTAF (Common Traffic Advisory Frequency) was interesting.  There really isn’t much to it.  You just announce your position approaching the field, and then on the downwind leg, base leg, and final leg.  Also funny (funny “huh”) was that KFLD was busier than KOSH at the time.  A Citation and a Skywagon landed after our first and second touch-and-go respectively.  So the CTAF can work pretty well too.

Well, things went reasonably well at KFLD.  We headed back up to KOSH and ran two more touch and goes and one final landing there.  I think I’m beginning to get the hang of landing and can’t wait to get out and do it again.