Today I was looking up the exact spelling of the word Eunuch and came across the my nick name on a web site which is “Unick”.

When I was in the navy, it is typical for everyone to call each other by their last names, such as Seaman Jones. My buddies started calling me Unick since they couldn’t easily pronounce my last name. My name was shorten to Nick U, then eventually became Unick.

Since then I just love the word Unick which is my way to shorten “unique”. Unick or unique seem to fit me as most everything I do is unique in some way. I think differently than most. An out of the box sort of individual.

I have a saying when someone points out I am really different: “I am a unique Unick, but certainly not eunuch!”

Anyway enough BS. While looking up the spelling of eunuch, I came a cross the Urbane Dictionary in which I found the more accepted usage of the name I love so dearly “UNick” . When I read it I was shocked!!

1. Unick (Americanized version of the word “Eunuch”. )

After leaving the Seattle area, I flew to the Portland area (1.5 hrs) to stay with Bruce Smith. The flight was terrific and I had an opportunity to see Mt Reiner which was truly an impressive sight.

Bruce is working on a LongEZ and is actually planning to use a Lycombing engine. Wow, I almost fell over. He is a retired airline captain and is working hard to get back in the air and is planning to keep it as stock as possible. We took the opportunity to drive over Al Wicks airport to check out his cozy 4, Subaru 6 cylinder installation. It is a VERY impressive install with a constant speed prop hanging on the end. I ask Al if he would start the engine and he said sure thing, mind you I pointed out to Al he had junk all over the strakes with the cowls off. Screws, sockets, washes, wrenches, etc. He said no problem and just cranked it up. NOTHING MOVED. The engine didnt vibrate or shake on startup, just a vroom! As he rev’d it up a few times and the engine just purred. There was no vibration on the plane at all. I was floored. Al said he is going to taxi test the plane in the next few weeks. Cant wait to hear the results.

Bruce and I spent the day together, driving around the country, hiking up waterfalls, etc. What a great time. This area of the county is certainly nice to visit.

When I headed out to the airport for my next leg to San Fran on (tuesday 8/7), the area was IFR (300 ft). After taking off, I broke out at 3000 ft and it was nice and clear on top. ATC had me climb to 13,000 ft as this leg took me right over the center of the Cascades Range with a 30 kt headwind. Again it was great views of the mountains over totally inhospitable terrain. Crap, not again. Flying victor airway sure puts you in crazy situations. I was nervous but am getting a bit more comfortable with this type of flying. I later found out most of the locals just follow the interstate as it keeps you out of the mountains, and I could have probably gotten below most of the headwind.

I did take the opportunity to fly past Crater Lake. What a terrific view from above! After 2.5 hrs and clearing the mountains, it was a fast decent to Petaluma (069) airport (just north of San Fran) and as I pulled up to the parking apron I found 4 other canard parked there. Wow, it was like a convention! Tim Andres, Jon Dembs, Don Denhard and David Viglierchio all flew in to chat and have lunch. It was a great visit at a really nice airport! Thanks guys for stopping by.

After lunch it was my nickel air tour of the San Fran harbor to overfly Treasure Island, Alcatraz and the Golden Gate bridge on the way down to Ried Hillview (RHV) to stay with Charles Furnweger who is building a cozy 4 with a ROTARY ENGINE. Ouch. Since he already had an engine on a test stand it was best to just let him discover the joys of engine development on his own. We took the opportunity to fly up to Columbia (O22) so I could see what all the hipe is all about for this yearly canard fly-in. It is a great little gold mining town and Charles, Don Denhard (who lives there) and I were given our own personal historic tour by the Park Service Ranger. Even Don learned a few things…

After lunch at Don’s mountain top house (with stunning views) it was back to Hillview (.5 hrs), jump on the BART to head to downtown San Fran to Scoma’s (the best italian restaurant I have ever eaten at.. and I AM italian). It is located at Fisherman’s Wharf, and I highly recommend it.

Leaving Hillview this morning I flew up to Calaveras (CPU, .5 hrs) for some cheap $4.95/gal gas. It is located just north of Columbia on the way to Las Vegas. Hot there… After leaving on my IFR flight, ATC had me climb up to 17,000 ft. Wow! I have never cruised that high, and I am really glad I had the power to get me there, although the bird wasn’t too happy. I never appreciated all the complains I heard from western flyers about high oil temps. Mine got up to 240 for a while in a hard climb, 215 when I had to slow the climb and finally 210 in cruise. On the east coast I rarely get up to 200. Most of the 2.5 hr trip was at 175 kts at 6.5 gph. There certainly is something to be said for flying high for fuel efficiency. Again the terrain was stark and unforgiving. I sure will be happy to get back to the southern states where it is flat with lots of airports to divert to. You westerner’s can have this high rugged flying!

Las Vegas was UNBELIEVABLY hot when I landed (over 110f). Dry heat yes, but at 110 it is just freaken hot no matter what. This city is CRAZY with people. I remember it from a few years ago before all the development on the strip and it was busy, but it is now like NYC on new years eve. Crowds of people gawking at the sights, crowded sidewalks, street performers, just plain nuts and this is a week night. I am told it gets even busier on weekends and when the weather is better. I guess the heat is why I picked up a room for $24/night. Anyway, I cant wait to get out of here tomorrow morning (early) to head for Sedona for lunch and then to Phoenix area. It may be hot there, but wont be so crowded.

I am now heading east toward home and as much fun as I have had, meeting terrific people and the unforgettable sight,, the fact I am heading hope make me anxious to get there.

Leaving Hillview this morning I flew over to Calaveras (CPU, .5 hrs) for some cheap $4.95/gal gas. It is located just north of Columbia on the way to Las Vegas.

It was a bit hot there…
After leaving on my IFR flight, ATC had me climb up to 17,000 ft. Wow! I have never cruised this high, and I am really glad I had the power to get me there, although the bird wasn’t too happy. As I was getting closer to the pass, the controller kept asking me increase my rate of climb and the best I could do was about 300 fpm.

I never appreciated all the complains I heard from western flyers about high oil temps. Mine got up to 240 for a while in a hard climb, 215 when I had to slow the climb and finally 210 in cruise. On the east coast I rarely get up to 190 f in cruise. Most of the 2.5 hr trip was at 175 kts at 6.5 gph. There certainly is something to be said for flying high for fuel efficiency.
Again the terrain was stark and unforgiving. I sure will be happy to get back to the southern states where it is flat with lots of airports to divert to. You westerner’s can have this high rugged flying!

Later after talking again to the locals, I found once more I took the worst route possible. Right over the top of the Serria Nevada mountains and Yosemite National Park. The minimum in route altitude was 17,000 ft. If I had traveled a bit south of San Fran THEN headed west I could have avoided the high mountains and flow at 9000 ft. This is another flight where I am glad I made it, but probably would never do it again.
When I arrived in Las Vegas I found it to be UNBELIEVABLY hot. When I landed (over 110f). Dry heat yes, but at 110 it is just freaken hot no matter what.

This city is just CRAZY with people. I remember it from a few years ago before all the development on the strip and it was busy, but it is now like NYC on new years eve. Las Vegas Blvd (main drag) shown here has 12 lanes of traffic. It doesn’t have cross walks, it has elevated walkways at each intersection with elevators to get to the higher second level. Crowds of people gawking at the sights with overly crowded sidewalks and whacko street performers,

Want to to get your picture taken with such as the half dress cupids. Why not? The things people do for $$$ At least it is legal I guess.

It is just plain nuts with traffic and people and this is a week night. I am told it gets even busier on weekends and when the weather is better. I guess the heat is why I picked up a room for $24/night. While I was here, I took the opportunity to see a show which was the Blue Man Group.

The architecture here is just incredible This place truly is a wonder of the world.

I wouldn’t mind visiting Las Vegas again at the right time of year when it is not so hot and crowded. It would be nice to spend a few days and with proper planning one can see a lot of shows in a 3 or 4 days.
For now, as great as this place is, I cant wait to get out of here tomorrow morning (early) to head for Sedona for lunch and then to Phoenix area. It may be hot there, but wont be so crowded.
I am now heading east toward home and as much fun as I have had, meeting terrific people and the unforgettable sights, the fact I am heading toward home makes me anxious to get there.

Charles and I headed out early to fly the 30 min or so to

Columbia, CA (O22) so I could see what all the interest is for this little town. Don Denhard host a yearly canard canard fly-in at this airpot..

Columbia is a great little gold mining town which is now a historic part. The film industry has used this town a a backdrop for a lot of western movies.

We were fortunate to be there when a park guide was asking for anyone who wanted a guided tour of the town. Yeah, this is perfect a personal tour guide for the three of us.

Charles, Don Denhard (who lives there) and I were given our own personal historic tour by the Park Service Ranger. Even Don learned a few things…
After the tour, we all headed up to Don’s mountain top house for the lunch. It had some with stunning views of the country side.

Don took us back to the airport and it was a quick flight back to Hillview (.5 hrs),

As soon as we landed, we headed to the BART station for the ride to downtown San Fran

and fishmans wharf to look around and get dinner. I love the wharf and the Embarcadero area of San Fran.

We had to stop by Scoma’s for some of the best italian food I have ever eaten (and I AM italian). It is located at Fisherman’s Wharf, and I highly recommend it. Its funny with all the great seafood here, we chose Italian.

A long walk back to the Bart station to work off the great dinner and head home to rest up for the next leg of my trip.

When I headed out to the airport for my next leg to San Fran on (tuesday 8/7), the area was IFR (300 ft).

After taking off, I broke out at 3000 ft and it was nice and clear on top. ATC had me climb to 13,000 ft as this leg took me right over the center of the Cascades Range with a 30 kt headwind.
Mt Hood

Mt Jefferson

Again while there were great views of the mountains I was flying over totally inhospitable terrain. Crap, not again. Flying the victor airway sure puts you in crazy situations. I was nervous but am getting a bit more comfortable with this type of flying. I later found out most of the locals just follow the interstate as it keeps you out of the mountains, and I could have probably gotten below most of the headwind.
I did take the opportunity to fly past Crater Lake.

What a terrific view from above! After 2.5 hrs and clearing the mountains, it was a fast decent to Petaluma (069) airport (just north of San Fran) and as I pulled up to the parking apron I found 4 other canard parked there. Wow, it was like a convention! Tim Andres, Jon Dembs, Don Denhard and David Viglierchio all flew in to chat and have lunch.

It was a great visit at a really nice airport! Thanks guys for stopping by.
After lunch it was my nickel air tour of the San Fran harbor to overfly Treasure Island,

Alcatraz

The Embarcadero

and finally the Golden Gate bridge

I left San Fran area and headed sour down to to Ried Hillview (RHV) to stay with Charles Furnweger who is building a cozy 4 with a ROTARY ENGINE. Ouch not another one…


Since he already had an engine on a test stand it was best to just let him discover the joys of engine development on his own. Time to head out to dinner and get ready for some fun tomorrow.

After leaving the Seattle area, I few over Friday Harbor (where we had been just the day before). It took me 10 minutes to fly from Oak Harbor. The drive to the ferry was 3.5 hrs and the ferry ride was 2.5 hrs so to get to this same location, I did in 10 min what it took me 6 hrs on regular surface transpiration! Amazing

.

Flying south, quickly took me to the east of Olympic National Park which is a great drive if you ever have time.

This is Mt Rainer. Just beautiful!

Mt St Helens and some other snow capped mountain on the right. There are a lot of tall mountains out here!

After a beautiful flight to Portland area (1.5 hrs) I finally arrived for my visit with Bruce Smith. The flight was terrific and I enjoyed seeing the mountains from the air.

I was parked in a friends hangar with a Prospector airplane. It is a one of a kind, fiberglass airplane built in Alaska. What a beautiful plane.

Bruce is working on a LongEZ and is actually planning to use a Lycombing engine. Wow, I almost fell over. He is a retired airline captain and is working hard to get back in the air and is planning to keep it as stock as possible.
We took the opportunity to drive over Al Wicks airport to check out his cozy 4, Subaru 6 cylinder installation. It is a VERY impressive install with a constant speed prop hanging on the end. I ask Al if he would start the engine and he said sure thing, mind you I pointed out to Al he had junk all over the strakes with the cowls off. Screws, sockets, washes, wrenches, etc. He said no problem and just cranked it up. NOTHING MOVED. The engine didnt vibrate or shake on startup, just a vroom! As he rev’d it up a few times and the engine just purred. There was no vibration on the plane at all. I was floored. Al said he is going to taxi test the plane in the next few weeks. Cant wait to hear the results.

Bruce and I spent the day together, driving around the country, hiking up waterfalls, etc.

At Benson State Park, Bruce and I hiked up to the top of this waterfall. The very top where it starts. It was about a 45 min walk.

This is the view from the top looking down. Quite a ways up!

This is Horseshoe Falls.. just about a mile down from the pervious waterfall.

What a great time. This area of the county is certainly nice to visit and I want to come back and spend a lot more time!

The next flight of my trip was certainly the most beautiful of all the legs so far. I few from S72 (St Maries) to Oak Harbor (OKH) on Whidbey, Isl which is near Seattle (275 nm, 1.9 hrs).
The first 2/3 of the leg was over the “dry side” of the mountains which was flat with a lot of farming which looked like wheat.

As soon as I hit the mountains, ATC had me climb up to 11,000 ft which I thought was somewhat low for the mountains, but perfect for the viewing. The Cascades quickly rose up, and I was treated with views of snow capped mountains, Mt Rainer, and lush green ridges. Some appropriate music was selected for the Bose stereo headset and I relaxed to ride.

The Cascades quickly rose up, and I was treated with views of snow capped mountains, Mt Rainer, and lush green ridges. Some appropriate music was selected for the Bose stereo headset and I relaxed to ride.

Years ago, I remember driving from Spokane to Seattle across the North Cascades highway. It was amazing to travel from a almost desert environment to the top of the Cascades, then over the top to the “wet side” to be greeted to waterfalls, lakes and a lush forest in a matter of just a few hours. It is even more amazing to fly over the top of it and see the snow capped mountains from above. I would HIGHLY recommend flying this leg of the trip when you are in this area of the country.
Mike Collier met me at the airport??? which turned out to be a 25′ by 3000 ft strip of patched/cracked asphalt which was in desperate need of repaving. I had a hard time even seeing the strip because it was located just after a rugged cliff on the shore line, between trees and went down a hill. What fun. I am used to landing on a 200′ x 10,000′ runway in Charleston so this sort of strip is an exercise of “skill enhancement”.

Mike took me to a local park to look across the sound and see the mountains on the western side of Seattle. This is sure beautiful country!

Mike is building highly modified LongEZ?? if you can call it that now. It has Infintey retracs, Berkut style split canopies and a Berkut nose AND he wants to put a freaken rotary on it. It’s crazy that EVERY one I have met so far (except for Lee) wants to install a rotary. Naturally, after discussing the merits of the being a developmental leading edge test pilot for unproven engine technology in this application, he is now looking at a IO-360 for the EZ. It will certainly get him the air much quicker and safer.

On Saturday, it was off to the ferry to take a sight seeing trip to Friday Harbor which is about 15 NM NW of where I landed across the sound. The bridge at Deception Bay was a great place take some scenic pictures and it was off to the ferry for a 1 hr ride. Our first warning of problems was when we arrived at the terminal and found the ferry was going to an hour late due to a breakdown of another ferry on the route. Our ferry was going to take up the slack. After a beautiful 2 hr ride Mike and I arrived at Friday Harbor, had a great time driving around the island had some lunch.

After a great meal,

and headed back to the terminal to find the ferry was going to be 3 hrs late (9 pm instead of 6 pm). We actually boarded at 10:15 and arrived back at the house at 1:30 am (instead of 7 pm).
I see DEAD PEOPLE!

Overall, it was still a great trip. I felt like I was part Gilligan’s Island. What was supposed to be a 3 hour tour, turned out to be MUCH longer than expected, but still, I wouldn’t trade the experience for anything. I met some great people while I was waiting. Mike was really fun to visit and the area/climate/scenery was terrific.
When I leave, I’ll fly back over the islands in 8 minutes what it took us almost 8 hrs to return from via ferry. After taking a few pictures of the the island from the air it will be off to Portland to visit Bruce Smith and Al Wick.

After leaving UT it was off to Boise (248 nm, 1.4 hrs) to visit Aero LED. The flight was at 16,000 ft again with no issues. Glad the O2 system was up and fully charged as I really needed it.
The Great Salt Lake

Normally, when I fly IFR it is so boring, I just read a book (my Kindle). The Trio Pro, flies he airplane better than I can and ATC takes care of watching for traffic so what’s one to do (joint the mile high club…solo?) On this leg I was enthralled with just looking outside the plane. The landscape started changing from dry and baron over the great salt lake to the mountainous terrain of Idaho. Very nice.

After landing in KMAN, Napa ID, I borrowed the crew car was drove to Boise (about 20 min) only to find the address I drove to was Aero LED’s business address and they were REALLY located right near the airport that I landed out….shit! The blue caprice piece of crap car started backfiring and acting up as I was leaving Boise.

There was some really interesting architecture in Boise, and I stopped by Aero LED to see what their office looked like.

I finally got it going and headed back to the airport. Boise is a very cool city on the flat plain. I wouldn’t mind checking it out again, but the area looks too much like the desert of CO for my tastes. After driving for anther 20 min, I found the road to Aero closed, I couldn’t find a back way in and just about gave up my visit as I was feeling frustrated, pressed for time and was getting hungry. Finally the Susan (the owners wife) picked me up at the Walmart parking lot for the last 5 min drive to the office. It was very cool to see where my LED lights were manufactured and meet the workers.

After being dropped back off that the Walmart, the freaken crew car would not start. I spent 15 min trying getting it running, and finally headed back to the plane for fueling and a bite to eat at the airport diner.
The leg from Boise (KMAN) to St Marie’s (S72) was 245 nm at 1.7 hrs at 16,000 ft. After flying thousands of hours in my bird, this was the most nerve wracking flight I have ever made. The land was not only desolate but totally unforgiving.
The landscape changed from green with rugged mountains to

Dry barren land with deep crevices,

Beautiful but scary too!

NO place to land, no people. Just pointy mountains top, steep slopes and deep gorges. I put my satellite emergency locator beacon in my pocket (to keep it handy), checked the country side for possible landing sites (none). I watched my GPS count the miles down to my destination and couldn’t wait to get out of this area. FInally some flat areas which would give me some options. Ya! I am pass the really bad part.

If YOU ever contemplate a alternate aircraft engine and YOU want to be a test pilot of a rotary, auto engine, etc., I encourage you to fly this leg once and it will definitely see how important a reliable aircraft engine is. You will become an advocate for a engine that is 70 yrs old but is totally designed and suited to the application. In this country there are NO options. You fly or you die. Period. They probably wouldn’t even find the remains of your plane for a very long time without technology. The IO-320 purred away cruising at 165 kts at 7.1 gph. I’ll tell you what guys, I have NEVER been so happy to get on the ground after this leg, kissed the bird (wont tell you what part) and said THANK YOU for keeping me safe.
Arriving in St Marie’s I found a small town of 2500 people with a airport is in a valley. It was very tight pattern to get the airport with hills towering over you when flying down wind and final. Tom Carver met me at the airport, and it was off to the local saw mill for a tour of his plant which employes about 350 people (that 7% of the town). OK, here is your test… find the airport in the valley.

The airport is nestled in the hills which made for an interesting left hand approach in which you have to fly about 100 ft above a hill side to get in, or just do a direct approach to land.

A small little airport which has the most unique wind vane I have ever seen. A fighter jet on a bearing which turns with the wind. How cool is that!

Tom has worked at a saw mill plant for 40 years, and has designed and built most of the control systems for operation the plant. It was so interesting to see how a log is cut into 2×4, 2×6′s etc and how plywood is made. The sawing machines work with incredible precision (+/- .001″) and are computer controlled to obtain the maximum profit and output from a log at speeds which would blow your mind. This machine will take an entire log, instantly decide on the best way to cut the log, adjust the bandsaw blade position and cut the log into 2×4 and 2×5 board 18 ft long in about 4 seconds.

Tom showed me how plywood is made and took the time to show me all over the plant
I watch a log (24″ dia) being stripped into a 1/8″ sheet for plywood in less than 10 seconds. All that was left is a 4″ dia fence post, which was ejected and 4 seconds later another log was loaded into the machine and started being stripped into sheet. Incredible!
Every time I see a sheet of plywood I’ll thank Tom for his tour as I now know how it is made. What an experience.
We headed to his home for a salmon dinner with his wife Peggy and to look at his cozy 4 project. Tom is a terrific craftsman, but has too many irons in the fire.

We had a great night to talking about planes, and hopefully, I helped motivate him to get back into the project and get it done! The country side there was beautiful the people were so friendly as could only be found in a small town, but I would have an issue with driving 60 mile to Home Depot, Lowes or a Walmart (my favorite places to shop).
Before i left Tom took me to the local cemetery and showed me a tome stone of Edwin Ray who was a longEZ pilot. He had his plane and clouds engraved on his head stone. How cool is that!

My next leg is off to Seattle across the Cascade Mountains.

On Wednesday, I said goodbye to Lee and flew the leg from Greeley, CO to Ogden UT (379 nm, 2.6 hrs).
Before I left while fueling a pilot in a Varieze stopped by to get some fuel with the most audacious EZ I have every seen. It was definitely a pimp mobile with blue fur material everywhere!


Flying IFR, one definitely needs O2 as the IFR airways MEA is 16,000 ft. The trip to SLC was definitely better than when I flew Pat’s plane to LA and was almost had an accident due to icing. The scenery was just beautiful!

All was good until I landed and found I had lost over 1200 psi in the cylinder because of a broken 0 ring on the fitting… shit I am now down to less than 500 psi.
The flight was over desolate land, with very sparse towns. I have to hand it to the cowboys of old as it would been quite a haul to travel between towns on a horse over dry land with sage brush without water for very great distances. Overall, it was VFR conditions, with almost no head wind.
After meeting Rick Irwin at the FBO I taxied over to his hanger to check out his bird and put mine up for the night. Rick and I spent about an hour hitting local shops to find a tiny O ring for my O2 system (which we finally found) and his A&P buddy Stewart filled my bottle for me. He used a “Oxygen Intensifier”…?? It is an O2 pump which pumps low pressure O2 up to 2,200 psi using an air compressor to power it. I never heard of such a thing, and after checking it out on the net I want to build one.
Rick’s cozy 4 is MOST unusual. Its 4” wider, with infinity gear, forward opening canopy, blended winglets, impeccable workmanship, he is going to make a one of a kind strake design with a 300 hp rotary engine. Talk about taking on a development project! Two other cozy 4 builders stopped by to check my bird out and head over to Rick’s house for dinner. I guess they are rotary crazy in UT as the two other builders are both going to the rotary route.

Diner was hosted by Rick at his house with a bunch of local builders and it was back to the hanger to give a ride to a local Longez builder (Chris) who has been building and never seen or flown in an EZ.

We went up just a the sun was setting, the air was smooth, I put on some nice music and he just loved the flight. What a motivator for him to complete his project.

What a beautiful sunset over the Great Salt Lake….

After landing and a very long taxi my brakes failed. Shit whats up now? I have experienced brake fade, but this was different. Both peddle went to the floor and I had nothing. Hum that was strange. The wheel pants were VERY hot and were removed to check damage and to let everything cool. I have SS lines from the master cylinder to the slave, and the only thing I could determine is that possibly the lines got hot enough to boil the fluid because after cooling, the brakes worked normally. With brake fade, you apply pressure, the brakes act normally but you don’t stop. This time, the was no stopping and I could pump away at the brakes and the peddles went to the floor like I had no fluid. Strange. After I took the wheel pants off and everything cooled off the breaks worked perfectly.

Had a great sleep and goodbyes it is off to Boise. Thanks Rick for your help and hospitality!

The day started off with a quick trip to the airport.  It only took an hour or so to changed the pump out, but the job took much longer with people stopping by to chat about the bird.  Even after all these years, these plane still are a curiosity for many pilots and non-flyers alike.

You can see on the right the drive spool has sheared.   That usually happens through old age of the spool or a failure of the pump.  I seem to recall the spool shearing a few years back.  If I had a replacement spool, I think it would have been safe to just replace it and go.  The internals of the pump look to be in really good shape.  I’ll still send it off to be overhauled, but I ordered an extra spool which will go in my travel box for the next time this happens.

When Paulette picked me up at Gross Isle, airport, she suggested a river tour.   Heck why not.

The boats are not as big as Charleston, but still the same idea….

Lots of interesting houses like this one built from the front of a steam ship,

abandoned steel factories

What surprised me about this tour is how industrial it was.  Factories, docks, fuel terminals, etc.   In Charleston, it is naturally much more based on historical events wish is much less visible but somehow more interesting too me.

The bridge to Canada.

Tomorrow, it is off to the next stop… the Oshkosh airshow.