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Here are some pictures from another Caro 1 & Scooter trip:

I landed at the Gustine airport in the Central Valley, an old Ag-strip with absolutely nothing going on. But it lies next to a wet-land area, the San Luis National Wildlife Refuge, which I explored for a while. It must have looked this way before the first Europeans invaded the area, while everything else around it now is farmland, plantations and cattle farms.

It is open to the public, except in fall during the water fowl hunting season.

I very much enjoyed having the place to myself that day.

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I uploaded a new video: Flight Test 3 Engine Cooling Evaluation

https://youtu.be/hmQ2Q3EwwTI

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I went on the first test trip in Caro 1 with my electric scooter strapped into the back seat. I took it to Davis, 60 nm west, where I used the scooter to extend my range on the ground, along the river.

Approaching the UC Davis airport

The scooter is quickly unfolded at the destination and takes up less space than a small bicycle with its larger frame and wheels. It is quite a bit heaver though.

It is most comfortable to ride on level, paved roads, works quite well on hard dirt roads like this one, but stay away from any kind of gravel. This time, I walked about 1/3 and rode 2/3 of the trails. I only used about 1/4 of the battery charge. It was the hottest day so far this year, with high humidity, both a bit unusual for March.

On the way I came across a Raptor Center, operated by the Davis University, where they take in injured birds and release them when they have recovered. Among the “permanent residents” (which had some disabilities) were species like white-tailed Kite, several Red-Tail and other hawks, Great Horned Owls, Barn Owl, Kestrel, Screech Owl, Turkey Vultures and a hybrid Peregrine-Gyr-Falcon, which had been bred and was used for hunting for 20 years and was now here for his retirement.

Peregrine retiree

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On a visit to the Sonoma Skypark airport I found a hangar that qualifies as a small museum. Eric Preston loves old airplanes.

On the right is a 1090 Bleriot replica which he built and flew in a movie. It is still flyable, but it is so difficult and risky that he put it aside for now. The 1920’ies are represented by what he is currently building, a small biplane.

It is getting close to being finished, mostly it needs covering and the engine installation. In the middle is a 1930’ies design, a Bücker Jungman with a LOM inline engine. This is his favorite. Stop by if you can, Eric is also a great story teller.

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The storm that brought several days of heavy rain has moved off and I was able to fly Caro 1 in the very clear air.

Over Valley Springs, looking north. The snow level has moved further down. The reservoir is well filled.

It was very windy, even on the ground, up to 20 kts, so there was not much activity at the airport.

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I posted a new video on airplane design. Here is the link:

Design for Crashworthiness

Link Tutorial 24  https://youtu.be/z1ytmLL0grk

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