Yesterday was a rough one. Started by heading to the valley to drop a handful of cucumbers off at the co-op before heading over to Saltese to go try and fly.
I parked and the winds were moderate so I got hiking. By the time I got to the mid top the winds were pumping pretty hard. There were cycles and lulls but the lulls were not that long.
I setup and waited for a lull which took a bit.
Took the chance in a seeming lull and brought my wing up.
Wing looked good so I turned and began to run forward.
The wind caught my wing and pushed me to the left which threw me into the downwind direction and I had little control over my wing.
I was braking to the right to work the wing back into the wind but id didn't respond.
I was moving pretty fast and I was seeing the direction I was being taken and tried my hardest to steer to the right.
I could tell this was not going to be good.
At this point I was on both brakes but the wind was from behind and was just pushing me.
I could tell that I was going in and all I could think was to hold onto the tree for all I was worth.
I hit the top of the tree going 18 mph. I put my feet forward and my hands out to grab the tree as I hit.
I plowed into the tree top and my wing continued forward and all my lines got draped over the tree, my wing ended up in between trees and I was hanging from my lines and from the branches I had a death grip on.
My first concern was staying in the tree and not falling down but my lines were over the tree which held me pretty well. I then had to disconnect myself from my risers, remove the speed system hooks then attempt to extract the lines.
I was in the top of a 20 foot tall tree and thankfully the branches were more than strong enough to support my weight as I had to climb way up in the tree and way out on the branches.
You can see my wing hanging through the tree. I eventually climbed down and took my harness and helmet off so I could go back up and work on extracting the lines.
It took me over half an hour to get the lines all removed, I had to make multiple trips up and down the tree, the lines were a complete mess, my legs were quite sore from the impact, but in the end I managed to get it packed into the bag and then I hiked down the hill to my truck.
On my way down the trail I found this little snake stretched across the trail.
I was quite sore as I drove across the city to go pickup the wing and aileron.
It fit, sorta. I managed to get them strapped down and made the trip home with ease.
They got set next to the garden for now. I am stoked as I now have a complete spare set of ailerons and flaps, in blue. I am most likely going to swap out the pink ones on the plane now for these blue ones.
I had stopped at North 40 on the way home and got fuel filters, wheel chocks, a master key switch, primer bulb, gorilla tape to repair the tear in the fabric, and a couple clevis pins to see if they will work for some points on the plane that could switch for bolts.
This is the right leg and the left leg got hit good behind the knee. Thankfully we have spray cold anesthetic which helped immensely.
It took me a while but I finally went and laid my wing out to inspect. I was AMAZED to see it came out completely unscathed. I looked all over for holes, tears, or rips bit saw nothing.
I then was able to untangle the lines! I was a bit concerned that I would have to open the malions but in the end I managed to get them both untangled and all the lines look perfectly fine!
Seriously, I am amazed that my wing survived.
After the wonderful revelation of my wing's survival I then had to get to work. The hay bales had to get moved but I figured out that I only needed to move 3 from the right side to the let side. The first was easy.
The middle one I managed to roll up the pallet but the bottom one I had to roll down and around to get it up to the area where I could roll it onto the pallet. Holy balls are hey heavy and don't really like to roll. I still have to cover the bales today.
After picking the boys up from school I began the battle. I had cut this tree down many years ago but the stump is right in the way for the hangar. I started by digging around it to expose the roots.
Then I cut through the roots with the chainsaw.
Next I had high hopes for the chain but it let me down in grand fashion. I hooked it up in 3 different directions, with my truck in 4 low, every time it just slammed to a solid stop. The stump is seriously stout.
So I decided to go at the soil with water. Soaking the soil makes it a ton easier to dig and I was able to use the water like a monitor to wash the dirt from the base of the tree.
It worked well and I got a lot of mud removed. I then refilled the hole and let it soak in for the night. Today I will be back in the battle.
I was really surprised I could soak with the scratches so painful but I managed which was seriously needed on my poor aching body.
Today my fuel lines will deliver so I can get them all swapped on the plane then after some carb cleaning I should be able to get the motor started - I hope. I will be back at war with the stump, harvesting as I didn't yesterday, I need to wash clothes and then tonight is the co-op board meeting.
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