Apr 30 2013

Grand Rapids EFIS

I decided an install a representation of an Electronic Flight Information System display by Grand Rapids in the hole of the the design. This is just a paper one which is given out at air shows but eventually I want to have one made which indicates the plane flying into the Charleston Airport complete with proper engine and altitude information. Carlos at GTR said he would make it for me if I give him the flight data for the plane.

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I intend to back light the design to go with the night lighting of the plane.

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Apr 27 2013

A new carard is born

The end wall was assembled without a hitch. Amazingly, I did not have to cut or make any changes to the project at all. Apparently the careful planing with the design program worked perfectly.

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Some white paint on the plane really sets it out from the rest of the boards. I plan to install small LED lights into the structure to highlight the runway, the thresh hold lines and the VASI lights. Natrually, there will have to be some wingtip running lights and strobe lights.

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Hum, what should I do with the big hole in the fusalage?

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Apr 26 2013

Screen Framing

I wanted to do something different for the screening of the pool area. So with my trusty Acad. program I designed a little art work into the project.

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Crazy thing is it actually took me longer to come up with a design I liked than it did to build it. With a good set of plans, I cut all the pieces in about 3 hours. There is not one 90 deg cut in the design. Every one of them is an angle cut which I made on the miter saw.

All the pieces are now cut.

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When I started assembling it, I thought there is NO WAY this is going to work out or fit proper.

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A new airplane is born.

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The installation has started.

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Apr 19 2013

Test drive of a Tesla electric car

Today I had an opportunity to drive a Tesla electric car. It is incredibly beautiful, can go 250 miles on a charge. This car is changing the worlds attitude on the future of electric cars.

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The interior and features are amazing. It has a 17” display in the center console to monitor all function of the car.

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I really enjoyed the experience. I found the car to have terrific acceleration, really quiet but with just a slight whine. Overall, a nice experience.

I told the sales lady I wanted to buy one (the current price is about $110,000). She got really excited and asked me when I would like to pick it up. I said, “in about 10-15 years”. She wasn’t as excited then…

A new Tesla is unaffordable for me, and I can’t justify the price when my current car gets 41 mph on the highway. The payback period would be …well, I couldn’t live that long. I love my Benz, it is almost as quite, and has lots more features then the Tesla. I would still give the Benz up if it was a smart move, but alas it is not.

My plan is to wait 10-15 years and when the battery pack wears out on a nice car, buy it then. No one with the resources to buy a new Tesla would every replace the battery pack of a 10 year old car to get another 10 years of driving out of it. THey would just buy a new one and sell the car.

I’ll be able to buy a used one one very cheaply, replace the battery pack myself (about $10-14,000) and get the car of my dreams at a price I can live with.

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I sure would look good in one, but now now!

Apr 18 2013

Pool Decking is done

Today the pool decking was completed. I really like the look of it the deck and how well it fits together. For some reason the spacing just worked out perfectly.

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Next is the interior steel for the sides. AS you can see there is lots of insulations (3” of it) on the sides and it needs to be covered for the liner to be installed.

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I am using what remains of the old round steel pool I salvaged gosh, it must have been 12 years ago (kept it for a future project). I hate throwing useful stuff away when I might need it someday. Well the someday has come.

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Apr 07 2013

Family Circle Cup

A friend of mine invited me to take photographs of the Family Circle cup Tennis Tournament. Although I am not really into tennis I thought it would be fun to take pictures with an expert and learn the best way to photograph a tennis event. This was the last day of the tournament and finals for doubles and singles.

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The woman’s finals came down to

Jelena Jankovic

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My favorite action shot of her…

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and Serena Williams. Serena had beaten her sister Venus the day yesterday.

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This is my favorite picture of Serena

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Her award cup.

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The mayor of Charleston, Joseph Riley.

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What a great time taking pictures today. I really enjoyed the experience.

Apr 06 2013

Bored in Charleston

If you are ever board in Charleston, it is because you want to be. Take for example this weekend. There is a choice of:

The Cooper River Bridge Run …estimated 39,000 people running/walking
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The Lowcountry Cajun Festival …. Zydeco music and Cajun/Creole Foods

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The Flowertown Festival in Summerville …arts and crafts
The Family Circle Cup …Women’s Tennis Association Tournament
Wings and Wheels … A car show/air show in Walterboro

Hum, what to do. I wish I could do everything, but will go with the air show, Flowertown and tennis.

Today started with a 8 min flight to Walterboro with Frank a C-17 pilot and a good friend to check out Wings and Wheels.

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This is a most unusual color for a Velocity XL. The owner had flown from Jacksonville FL to attend the show.

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I would guess maybe 50 planes showed up. Frank and I stayed for about 2 hours and we left just before the airshow started as they close the field and I didn’t want to get stuck there for a few hours.

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After flying around Charleston for about 1.5 hrs working on my IFR recertification, we had lunch and headed up to the Flowertown Festival.

What a crowd! I heard 200,000 people attend the festival over it’s 3 day run.

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We spent a few hours there checking out the music and stuff the artisans were selling and headed home.

Apr 03 2013

Pool: Decking

Today was a big day for me. My arm is feeling somewhat better and I have gotten back to work on the pool. The decking has begun.

Naturally being paranoid of future wood rot, I am using Aluminum flashing to under the plastic deck boards for further protection to ensure no water contacts the wood. All the fasteners is 304 stainless steel.

I am sure this is overkill, but this is the last time I ever want to mess with the pool structure.

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I spent a bit of time today making jigs to ensure all the screws and wood is perfectly straight, and figuring out how the best and most efficient way to put the deck down SO todays efforts only resulted in 3 board being installed.

Tomorrow, I am going to rock and roll on the deck and should get just about everything done. It is supposed to rain which may slow me down but should be able to get some work done.

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