Six Flags Over Georgia

Amusement Parks.... Amusement Parks....

This is bringing back fond memories of happy times during my childhood. Ludo parks and myself : this is a very long story. I guess it all started in 1986 when I first visited Florida and experienced most of the parks over there : DisneyWorld, Epcot Center, SeaWorld, Bush Gardens.... Surprinsingly, last time I visited one was quite some time ago during the Summer of 1991. It must have been either DisneyLand or Hollywood Studios in Los Angeles.

Sure, in the meantime I have been to temporary parks but it is not really the same. The quite famous "Foire de Rouen" in October and November comes with all kind of attractions and is supposedly one of the largest in France. But it does not have the same flavor. November in Normandy often sees mist, bitter colds and freezing winds ... yesterday's outing to Six Flags was a real blast with cool temperatures and a slight breeze. I went there with a few friends of mine and that was a real treat..

It was more than the park itself though. I did not realize it first but as time went by, this place reminded me of something, something I knew very well but to which I could not put a name on. And suddenly it all clicked in my head. No wonder I enjoyed my time there ... it was the same atmosphere and the same kind of environment one may recognize while watching the end of the movie Grease.

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Grease, I watched it at least nine times to look like, to behave and to dance like Danny Zukko. Grease was my very first stage demonstration and I was the one playing Danny for the final "You're the one that I want"(Video here). It was already three years ago ... but I still remember the choregraphy and lyrics as if it were yesterday. One of my friends told me recently that 'memory is selective and you remember mostly the good moments of life'. I guess she is absolutely right...

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I got chills

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They're multiplyin'
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And I'm losin' control

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'Cause the power you're supplyin'
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It's electrifyin'!
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You better shape up

'Cause I need a man

And my heart is set on you

You better shape up

You better understand

To my heart I must be true

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You're the one that I want, o, o, honey

The one that I want, o,o, honey

The one that I want, o, o, oo

The one I need

Oh, yes indeed
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So where are the pics ? Allright, here are they coming. Welcome to Six Flags over Georgia in Atlanta. Enjoy !

Superman... You may not believe it but the entire ride is upside down... From the very begining to the very end, you're looking downwards a bit as if you were skydiving. So smooth and so unusal. Absolutely exciting.

Another picture of Superman showing the upside-down ride. Was it designed by Aussies down under ?
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Next is Goliath. Unfortunately, I did not get a chance to try it. Guess I'll do that in a week or two...

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After the exciting roller coasters, something much smoother : the flying chairs. Travelling back in time to Vienna of the early nineteen hundreds...

Getting ready for the ultimate Great American Scream Machine experience...
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We dubbed it the ultimate shaking machine : a roller coaster completely made out of timbers.

Scary...

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First teddy-bear hugging of the night for Greg.... That one was with a duck...

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And second one with a rabbit for a change...
Greg loves teddy bears and it shows....
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And I do too...

Dragon Fly

A few days ago, I wrote a little something about my new toy : an electric powered radio controlled Lancair airplane. It is a really nice bird and I really do not want to crash it. So in the meantime, I ordered another smaller and less complexed airplane.

The reason behind is that I have not successfully flown any radio controlled model for the last four years and my skills are more than rusty. Therefore, I elected to start easy and slowly with a slow and forgiving three-channel model. Three channels to control the electric engine, the rudder and the elevator.

Wing Dragon II : the easy beginner model...

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The box comes as a 'Ready to Fly' so there is not a lot of work remaining to put the plane in airworthy conditions. Basically putting the wings together, setting the elevator, adjusting the servo control rods and screwing the main landing gear.

Straight out of the box...

There is something that will be completly new to me : an airplane with a thrust not aligned on the center of gravity / longitudinal axis. Guess what ? I am pretty sure I will get some strong nose-down pitching moments while adding thrust. Anyway, enough talking now. Here are a few pictures of the model flying. By the way, did I mention she looks cute ?

Friday Flying

And for the first time... it was all good weather. What ? A Friday morning with good weather... Yes that does exist too... Anyhow, cloud-less skies with a light breeze and just a bit of haze around 4,000 ft sounds like a perfect day to go flying. And especially to practise visual flying.

Unfortunately, it was something else that I was planning to practise. I wanted once more and once again to do some instrument flying. So how is it done when the sky is plain clear with no cloud in sight and nothing but a bright sunny disk up-above overhead? Well, basically we just wear a special hood that has view-restricting capabilities. It is designed to limits the field of sight to the lower portion of the cockpit.

Welcome to the alienized world...

Of course, that is not perfect. First because you need a safety pilot in order to ensure traffic avoidance when flying under the hood while visual flying conditions prevails. Then even if a pilot cannot technically see outside of the cokpit, the pilot still has some cues about the attitude of the aircraft due to lighting and shadows on the dashboard.

Readers may understand now why I was so eager to fly in bad weather during the past weeks. There is simply no better training or skill-sharpening shall I say than flying in actual instrument conditions i.e. in clouds. But well, for those of us living in places with great weather all-year round, that is not always easy. So this is simply an 'ersatz' and it is how most of the pilots train for their instrument ticket. And it has worked so far.

To come back to the flight itself, we flew to Lagrange Callaway Airport (LGC) next to the Alabama border about 70 nautical miles South of Atlanta and then to Carrolton - West Georgia Regional Airport (CTJ) approximately 40 nautical miles due West of Atlanta. Highlight was obviously on our way to the South while overflying Hartsfield-Jackson International airport. It simply feels gooood to fly right over those big metal Airbus and Boeing jets...

Atlanta International on our way to the South.
Five parallel runways, six concourses and a brand new control tower... gigantic

Radar track of the flight

For those already inquirring about the erratic flight path of the plane, well...no I was not drunk. I just practised a few instrument approaches at Lagrange airport. Hence those curvy radar tracks...

For those already inquiring about the 'diverted status' of the flight, well...no I did not hijack my own plane. I just changed my destination airport mid-flight...

And finally for those wondering whether I made it to the Advanced Flight Dynamics class, well...no, not in time...

Lancair Aircraft Model

I hate to stay inactive and I love to have projects on my hands... So here is a short preview of my on-going project. A radio-controlled electric powered Lancair. A Lancair is a true real world two seater aircraft that may be purchased and built by amateur aircraft builders as a kit...
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As far as I am concerned, I elected for a 1/10th scale of the real bird. It better fits my student-budget... Contrary to usual, I bought the box as an "almost ready to fly" kit and this for several reasons. I do lack time right now with Quals coming soon and secondly here in the United States I do not have all the tools I would require to start the project from scratch. And I do not want to start sanding balsa and plywood inside my rather small university room. Still, there is quite a bit of work to be done before calling it done.

. Nice box that came through UPS late last week...

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As said before, there is still some work to do and once the box is open we have a fair view of what remains to be done. Well...bind all those elements together....which should not be too long. I still need to buy a radio transmitter though...

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The different parts as they come out of the box.

Nice fiber-glass fuselage. Both strong and lightweight...

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Technically, a four-channel transmitter should suffice since the four usual suspects are present in this model : aileron, throttle, elevator and rudder controls. However, I am planning to add some flaps to this model by decoupling the two servos required for the ailerons. By doing so, I will have to use five channels and four servos. The two aileron channels will be mixed so that the actuators will control both aileron and flaps at the same time. When the airplane is in cruise configuration, the ailerons are streamlined in the trailing edge of the wing and act as usual ailerons. During approach, the ailerons will both drop slightly down and increase the curvature of the wing while still performing the functions of ailerons to control roll. This is called the flaperon mode which incidentally may be observed on Airbus A330 and A340 during landings.

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The wing root and fairing may be observed in this picture. The holes drilled into the wing-box allow for the control cables to go through.

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Finally below is a picture of what the project should look like in just a few weeks. Stay tuned for the factory roll-out scheduled for early November. Entry into revenue service is scheduled a couple of days latter on November 10th with Mile High Airlines - The World Most Experienced Airline.

What my Lancair should hopefully look like in a matter of weeks.

"Mile High Airlines is particularly proud to be the launch customer for this new two-seater aircraft that will soon become the flagship of our airline, flying to our most prestigious destinations while introducing new levels of comfort never ever seen before. With our unique two-seat abreast configuration and our completly revamped inflight entertainement, we will introduce a paradigm shift in air transportation and revolutionize the travel experience"

"Celebrations for the maiden flight will start early November. In the meantime, Mile High Airlines is pleased to provide its fans a quick preview of our new advertisement campaign with these songs"

Mile High Airlines - The World Most Experienced Airline
Get Up In The Air
You Can't Beat The Experience
We Fly The World Wants To Fly
Just Say Hello To Pan Am

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Friday-morning flying

Since the weather keeps on being ugly on Friday mornings.... well..... I keep on flying on Friday mornings... Around 8am, the weather was described as overcast at 400ft with wind gusts from 14 to 18 knots and thunderstorms in Southern Georgia moving to the North.

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And as may be infered from this photo, weather was indeed ugly. The tip of the mighty Bank of America pencil-like tower was not to be seen, hiding itself in clouds. Even the smaller AT&T tower -formerly BellSouth- had transformed itself into a cloud-scraper...

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Bank of America tower hidding itself behind the AT&T one and resting in a deep soup of low-level stratus

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Aviation Atlanta minimums for instrument operations call for 200ft above published minimums. ILS at Dekalb-Peachtree Airport missed approach altitude is a mere 200ft above ground so it was technically allright to go for a ride.

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I went to the airport and shot two ILS approaches at PDK. Luckily we broke out of clouds at 800ft above ground. During the manoeuvers to establish the airplane into its final approach path, we reached 4000ft and flew right above the overcast layer. It was plain sunny and shiny up-above with magnificent views over the peaks of the Appalachians just emerging from a napping of clouds.

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So when people ask me why I keep on flying on bad days, I have a new pre-formated reply... Well you know, I am just taking care of my tanning and complexion so I went up-above to a place where the sun shines... After all, paradise is up-above. Right ?

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Baldwin and the Whiffles

Sh-Boom

Hey nonny ding dong, alang alang alang

Boom ba-doh, ba-doo ba-doodle-ay

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Oh, life could be a dream

If I could take you up in paradise up above

If you would tell me I'm the only one that you love

Life could be a dream sweetheart

Hello hello again, sh-boom and hopin' we'll meet again

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Oh, life could be a dream

If only all my precious plans would come true

If you would let me spend my whole life lovin' you

Life could be a dream Sweetheart

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Now every time I look at you

Something is on my mind

If you do what I want you to

Baby, we'd be so fine

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Oh, life could be a dream

If I could take you up in paradise up above

If you would tell me I'm the only one that you love

Life could be a dream Sweetheart

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Sh-boom sh-boom Ya-da-da Da-da-da Da-da-da Da

Sh-boom sh-boom Ya-da-da Da-da-da Da-da-da Da

Sh-boom sh-boom Ya-da-da Da-da-da Da-da-da Da, sh-boom

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Sh-boom sh-boom Ya-da-da Da-da-da Da-da-da Da

Sh-boom sh-boom Ya-da-da Da-da-da Da-da-da Da

Sh-boom sh-boom Ya-da-da Da-da-da Da-da-da Da, sh-boom

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Now every time I look at you

Somethin' is on my mind

If you do what I want you to

Baby, we'd be so fine

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Life could be a dream

If I could take you up in paradise up above

If you would tell me I'm the only one that you love

Life could be a dream Sweetheart

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Hello hello again, sh-boom and hopin' we'll meet again

Hey nonny ding dong, alang alang alang

Ba-doh, ba-doo ba-doodle-ay

Life could be a dream

Life could be a dream, Sweetheart

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Life could be a dream

If only all my precious plans would come true

If you would let me spend my whole life loving you

Life could be a dream Sweetheart

Life could be a dream

Sweetheart

Instrument flying

There are some delightful moments in life, yes truly delightful. What’s more than taking advantage of bad weather to experience ultimate fun?

Thursday night, I was coming back from a Hustle party when I noticed on the Internet that they were forecasting aweful weather for both Friday and Saturday. Ding ding… I took my phone and reserved a Cessna. After all this is the right time to practice some instrument flying and shoot a few instrument approaches...

Last time I filed an instrument flight plan was in May when I was doing my training in Mississippi. I have never flown IFR around Atlanta before, nor have I flown in really-bad actual instrument meteorological conditions.

So I was absolutely excited and when I woke up Friday morning it was over the top. Low clouds, overcast layers as low as 500ft and mist. Even the top of the mighty Bank of America tower was imerged in a low clouds layer. Sure that sounded exciting so I packed my stuff and off to Marta.

Upon reaching the airport, I checked one last time the weather and started doing the preflight. Well 500ft ceiling is enough to practice a few ILS (Instrument Landing System) approaches. Lawrenceville was forecasting 800ft ceiling in mist which should even be enough for non precision approaches such as a LOC (Localizer) or NDB (Non Directionnal Beacon) approach.

Half an hour later, I took of from Dekalb-Peachtree Airport and just a few seconds later we were in the soup. Climbing to 4000ft, we eventually reached the top of the overcast layer which must have been around 3900ft. Skimming along the top of an overcast layer in clear blue sky, how exciting. I guess that’s what made me fall in love with airplane. That’s the magic of flight.

Soon enough, we were descending to shoot an ILS approach at Gwinett County Lawrenceville Airport (LZU). And here comes another sight that is truly amazing. Having been in clouds for about 20 minutes, having only seen plain white and raindrops on the windshield, the sight of the runway lights suddenly appearing right in front of the aircraft while breaking out of a 600ft-high overcast layer has simply no equivalent I can think of. And I am not bragging, I honestly think there is no ‘ersatz’ to that. Along with this memorable experience comes an immensely profound sense of achievement. It is hard to explain because after all it is just plain maths. Still there is this touch of magic to it.

Anyway, after a touch we continued with non-precision approaches as the ceiling was clearing a bit. First a NDB approach with a holding pattern and finally a localizer approach. Around 12:30pm, it was about time to head back to Atlanta as I was supposed to go to my Advanced Dynamic Class at Georgia Tech at 2pm sharp. Return trip was uneventful with a cruise entirely in the soup followed by an ILS approach at Dekalb Peachtree Airport (PDK). This time, we broke out of the clouds at 1500ft above ground.

Touchdown was a few minutes after 1pm. Headwinds and funny radar vectoring during our return trip did not really helped us ... I reached Georgia Tech at 2:15pm…well too bad for the flight mechanics class... Guess I’ll have to catch it later…

Part of the flight that was under radar coverage
http://flightaware.com/live/flight/N6204F

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I did not get a chance to record the approach. But here is what it looks like.

Similar ILS approach in a Cessna 172

Just a thought...

Claude François

Le Vagabond

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Comme un enfant qui a perdu son père
Et qui le cherche en courant sur la Terre
J'ai voyagé dans vingt pays
Et j'ai vingt fois recommencé ma vie
Tous les métiers, je les ai fait je crois
J'en ai gardé un peu de muscles au bras

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Hier encore, un débutant
Et tout a coup au premier rang
Je ne me sens jamais chez moi
Toute ma vie, je resterai je crois

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Un vagabond qui passe et chante
Et qu'il faut mieux ne jamais rencontrer
Un vagabond sans importance
Et qu'il faut mieux ne jamais aimer

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Je vais dormir quand les autres se lèvent
Je suis un fou qui embrouille ses rêves
Toujours à part, toujours déçu
J'ai cru aimer, je n'ai pas su
Et je me dis que malgré moi
Je ne serai toute ma vie je crois

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Qu'un vagabond

Qui passe et chante
Et qu'il vaut mieux ne jamais rencontrer
Un vagabond sans importance
Un chien perdu et jamais retrouvé

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Oui, un vagabond sans importance
Je suis perdu, laissez-moi passer
Ohohoh laissez-moi passer

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