Is anyone else going to Homer Bell's fly-in this week? Homer is saying that this will be the last year for the fly-in. It does look like the weather will be pretty scorching hot, so probably not much flying in the afternoons. But, there should be plenty in the mornings and evenings. With people knowing this is the last one, maybe we'll hit 70 helicopters there this year. I'll be there Thursday afternoon until Sunday morning. Stop by and say "hi" if you come.
Ron
Homer Bell's 2011
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Ron Spiker
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Re: Homer Bell's 2011
HI RON homers fy-in should be over by now hope you had a great time... and a good return trip.i want to hear how it went.. know it was hot but any way lets hear those great flying storeys you have and maybe a few photos.....wish i could of went..thanks tom
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Ron Spiker
- Founding Member
- Posts: 530
- Joined: Sat Mar 22, 2003 5:33 pm
- Location: Pittsburgh, PA
- Contact:
Re: Homer Bell's 2011
Yes, it was hot, real hot. Heat index each day was over a hundred, up to 110°. Even so, it is always great to be there with all the helicopters flying around and to see old friends and meet new ones. I think the total ship count was only in the 40's this year, which is quite a bit lower than expected.
There was a film crew there also this year. The director is the son of a long time RotorWay guy, and had come to the meets some when he was a youngster. Since this was Homer's last year, he (the director) wanted to do a documentary of helicopters, especially experimentals, and the group of guys that meet in a soy bean patch each year. They were on the field all day every day filming helicopters on the ground, in flight, interviewing pilots, etc. I look forward to the time he has it completed and we see it on TV.
I usually do quite a bit of flying there, but this year was the most I've done. It was almost nonstop on Saturday. I ended up with over 18 hours flying over the 3 days of the event, and the XC flight back home. If I count correctly, I had 17 flights while there. The high temps and humidity caused performance issues while hovering, but once in the air the ship flew great and the breeze felt even better. It is so valuable to know how to handle these machines when low on power, and how to get through translational lift to get in the air. Real life low rpm recovery training is so much better than pretend.
It will take me a little time to get my pictures into an album online, but on this other site the guy already has links for each day posted. I met and flew with the poster. He has a helicopter flight school in Colorado. Here is the link to his forum post. You'll see quite a few of my Brantly. It was the only Brantly there except for a little while on Saturday, when a newer one came in for a few hours. I've only had this Brantly since Feb of this year.
http://helicopterforum.verticalreferenc ... s-oshkosh/
There was a film crew there also this year. The director is the son of a long time RotorWay guy, and had come to the meets some when he was a youngster. Since this was Homer's last year, he (the director) wanted to do a documentary of helicopters, especially experimentals, and the group of guys that meet in a soy bean patch each year. They were on the field all day every day filming helicopters on the ground, in flight, interviewing pilots, etc. I look forward to the time he has it completed and we see it on TV.
I usually do quite a bit of flying there, but this year was the most I've done. It was almost nonstop on Saturday. I ended up with over 18 hours flying over the 3 days of the event, and the XC flight back home. If I count correctly, I had 17 flights while there. The high temps and humidity caused performance issues while hovering, but once in the air the ship flew great and the breeze felt even better. It is so valuable to know how to handle these machines when low on power, and how to get through translational lift to get in the air. Real life low rpm recovery training is so much better than pretend.
It will take me a little time to get my pictures into an album online, but on this other site the guy already has links for each day posted. I met and flew with the poster. He has a helicopter flight school in Colorado. Here is the link to his forum post. You'll see quite a few of my Brantly. It was the only Brantly there except for a little while on Saturday, when a newer one came in for a few hours. I've only had this Brantly since Feb of this year.
http://helicopterforum.verticalreferenc ... s-oshkosh/