Longhollow Ranch to Boerne Stage

We left Lee and Bev headed for San Angelo and the next waiting pilot wanting to see the Phoenix. Unfortunately, the wind was still howling and we had almost a complete cloud cover. So a text message was sent to San Angelo and we veered to the next stop, Boerne Stage Airport just north of San Antonio. It was starting to get warm again so the sunshades came out to shelter us from the direct sun. These little beauties cut about 50% of the heat off of us, and only cost $4 at WalMart.

Typical cruise speeds of 102kts indicated, 119kts true, at 5000rpm, burning 4gph on the way to Boerne.

After landing at Boerne, it was once again my pleasure to go up with the world's friendliest flight instructor, Dave White.

Moriarty to Longhollow Ranch

Mark Mocho left his hangar door open and keys for his truck when we arrived in Moriarty. The next day Bruce checked out Bob Carlton's TST Bonus Jet. Bob took me up for an hour soaring flight in the jet powered glider, my first in this type! The jet engine is very automatic and easy for the pilot to control, probably easier than other piston powered self-launchers. Plus it is very cool!

Then we left Moriarty for Lee Clauser's Longhollow Ranch, south of Dallas. Lee has a beautiful property, airstrip, hangar, and workshop. All he needs is a plane like the Phoenix!

Once again it was blowing like stink so we couldn't risk more take-offs or landings so unfortunately Lee did not get a flight in the Phoenix. He did take us on a fantastic tour of the surrounding countryside. Here is a shot of Longhollow Ranch from a distance.

Wild turkey in the wild flowers (Indian Blanket) of Texas.

This was my second visit with Lee and Bev, and they are the epitome of Texas hospitality.

Salida to Moriarty, NM

After the soaring flight with Jim Shepard, Bruce and I climbed out over the Salida airport to 12,000' and headed south along the Sangre de Cristo range.

Great Sand Dunes National Monument outside of Alamosa, CO.

Approaching New Mexico with volcanoes out in the valley.

Santa Fe ski area just off the wingtip.

Bonanza

Jim Shepard hoste us in our own mountain cabin for 3 days during a snowstorm. (Well, I am a Florida boy now, so I can call it that - but known to locals as flurries - just enough to keep us grounded in this beautiful place). Jim's daughter Chelsea celebrated a birthday to everyone's delight.

We took a couple of hikes up into the canyon behind our cabin. It was great to be hiking in the mountains again.

It finally cleared enough for a flight with Jim, and we were even rewarded with some soaring conditions.

Looking north up the Collegiate Range - Mt. Princeton, Yale, and Harvard.

After a little over an hour we headed back to another landing in 30kt winds. I praise the steerable tailwheel of the Phoenix every time I pull one of these landings off.

Denver to Salida

Bruce Vogel and I launched out of Erie, CO in less than ideal conditions. Low clouds, rain, and snow in the high country. The XM Weather on the Garmin 496 took a long time to come up, and we decided that this was an imperative piece of equipment and would scrub the launch if it didn't download. But it did, so we were off. The conditions forced us around the east side of the DIA Class B, and then we met the mountains just north of Colorado Springs.

Bruce is a high time flight instructor, airline pilot, ATP with type ratings. Looking at the TL Elektronic Integra display gave him confidence that we could manage through the mountains in poor conditions in safety.

We navigated through the lower mountains between Colorado Springs and Salida, always taking the route shown on the 496 to avoid precip bands.

The route ahead did not look good, but the 496 kept showing a clear path between snow bands, so we continued. The dirt roads below looked perfect for a landing if the weather trapped us.

After squeaking through a low pass in the mountains into the Salida valley, Bruce and I were all smiles. It was gusting to 30kts with about a 30 degree crosswind at Salida. The first approach showed increasing crosswind so we went around for a second attempt. With Bruce calling out crosswind angles of 30, 20, 10, we touched down and taxied slowly to the ramp. We put the Phoenix in Jim Zeiset's hangar, the airport manager gave us a courtesy car, and we headed to Bonanza to meet with Jim Shepard.

Rocky Mountain LSA Expo

We are showing the Phoenix around the Denver area. They just had the Rock Mountain LSA Expo at the Front Range airport, and even with cold weather, many pilots attended this first event for the area. The next days have been spent in better weather, giving demo flights to interested pilots.
Steve owns an electric Telsa, which he ran me down the taxiway at maximum acceleration, something like 0-60 in 3 seconds. Since we are building the electric PhoEnix, we introduced the Tesla to the Phoenix so they could discuss the future of electric power.

Ed Babovec is taking good care of me with a wonderful house and runway in Longmont, CO just down the street from our operating base at Erie. This photo shows his backyard.

Ed's wife Cheryl and I had a great flight together. I was about to land but she wasn't quite ready so we climbed back up and stayed aloft for a while longer. Cheryl will be happy to discuss the Phoenix with any wives out there, but Ed says to talk to him first.

Graham and I found some patchy lift way up in the mountains, and explored strange clouds to see if there was lift under them, something not possible in a pure glider.

View of the Flatirons outside of Boulder. We have more bad weather today, but it may clear enough to get to Salida, CO before heading on south to Moriarty, NM.

PhoEnix

PhoEnix with the capital E in the middle spells the new electric powered PhoEnix from Phoenix Air. Conceived for the NASA CAFE Green Flight Challenge, the PhoEnix is purpose built for a race. A race that offers big bucks for the winner, but with a bar set so high that it is unlikely that anyone will win it. But if any aircraft can do it, the PhoEnix can!

The PhoEnix features a modified Schempp-Hirth Discus wing raised up and back on the fuselage to make room for the retractible gear.

The gear will be electrically driven, and swings back into the wheel wells which are located in the baggage compartment of the original Phoenix.

The wings are 14.5M long, and are optimized for the 100mph speed required over the 200 mile course.

The race will start on July 10 just north of San Francisco. From what we have managed to learn of the other 12 entrants, the PhoEnix will be one of the top contenders for the prize.