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Posted by Ray
on 9/3/2008, 6:03 am
72.230.154.40
First I'll reiterate my brother Chuck Z's compliments for all those who made our replacement Blanik a reality. Although it did yeoman service on Saturday and Sunday, on Labor Day itself I found it sitting neglected even well after noon on a beautiful day. Rick K reported little if any usable thermal activity, but did mention "something" going on over Dave's Gulch. Since this was my first flight in a ship which had just undergone extensive repair, I did an extra-vigilant pre-flight inspection, likewise for pre-flight cockpit checklist. Everything seemed fine, but shortly after takeoff (~ 100 feet) it seemed as if someone else was on the stick. I asked my front-seat passenger Cynthia, she said she "hadn't touched anything", as I had previously requested. Everything went back to normal. Then, a few minutes after getting off tow, there it was again. When applying back stick, it felt like some invisible hand was resisting. I squirmed a bit in the seat, and it got worse. Not good. Must have a loose item in the cockpit...no, I had checked that prior to takeoff. Could some tool or object have been left inside the fuselage after repair, interfering with a control rod? Couldn't believe that, knowing Chuck Taft. No need to panic (sympathetic nervous system), just take a deep breath (parasympathetic input), and keep flying the aircraft. I finally looked down, to see the seat had moved forward a couple of inches. The forward edge of that seat has an embedded wooden brace in the cushion, and that was the problem. At first the stick only pushed on the soft cushion, but with more travel it encountered the wood, stopping it cold. Solution was simple. Loosen all of the straps, lift up my fat butt, and put the seat back where it belonged. Now, I have had many, many (hundreds) of Blanik flights, and this has never happened before...but as the saying goes, "there's always a first time". In hindsight, in the last ten years, I have put on over ten pounds...maybe the extra weight, plus squirming, caused the problem. Or maybe something else. One thing's for sure, next time I fly it, I will find some way (restraining strap or some such) to preclude this.
By the way, she is a dream to fly. Quiet. So smooth on the controls, so easy to coordinate steep turns. Thanks again to the "Blanik restoration crew", and especially their leader Chuck Taft!
Ray
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