Well, as some of yall know I headed south this Easter weekend. I had a chance to stop off at the wind farm in Indianna on the way down. Wind was a bit brisk but enough for a couple batteries of Phantom time from the Wolcot rest stop. I don't have photoshop on my laptop (stupid me forgot to install it or Lightroom). As such these are unprocessed jpegs off the bird. Will fix them up when I get home in a few weeks...unless I get LR unstalled while down here. No internet here. Funneling everything through my cellphone via FoxFi so uploads are slow and so are downloads. Also means I don't have Premiere to edit the video either
Here is the rest area from out aways...
Everything is still brown and winter dead looking.
Here is one of the windmils.
Those things almost look like toys eh?
Snuck upwind behind one. The wind was pretty brisk, likely 20-25mph out in the field thankfully it was an upwind hike from the rest stop to the closest windmills meaning downwind run back home. Here is one from the back. Wonder what that stuff up on top of the cowling is.
After a sleepover at a LaQuinta in Bowling Green KY, we headed out this morning. We ran into rain north of the Alabama border in southern Tennessee. I was not expecting to get airborn at the rest area on I65 just across the Alabama line. But maybe 5-10 min out we drove out of the weather and it was only a light mist which tapered off to near nothing by the time we got to the rest stop. So I had the chance to buzz a missle No, not a working one! This one has been here for a long time. You used to be able to walk under it to see the motors. I am guessing due to deterioration and valdalism, its not fenced off.
It took me a while to figure out what the markings on the side of the LES here are...
Then it hit me! Those are lighting strikes on the rocket which their lighting ground rods are not handling! Thats where the lighting has popped the paint off the LES.
It is sad they have let this piece of history deteriorate so.
I flew once tonight after I got to the house. But its darn dark right now. And I guess I got used to the lights of Milwaukee. Night flights around here are going to be, well, not as easy as they were in Milwaukee.
Well, thats about it to report right now. I am home. Relaxing under a liveoak tree in the back yard. Gentile breeze blowing lovely salt air off the Gulf of Mexico. Crickets chirping and frogs croaking. No traffic. No trains. Ahhh. Its good to be back in the south again.
Here is the rest area from out aways...
Everything is still brown and winter dead looking.
Here is one of the windmils.
Those things almost look like toys eh?
Snuck upwind behind one. The wind was pretty brisk, likely 20-25mph out in the field thankfully it was an upwind hike from the rest stop to the closest windmills meaning downwind run back home. Here is one from the back. Wonder what that stuff up on top of the cowling is.
After a sleepover at a LaQuinta in Bowling Green KY, we headed out this morning. We ran into rain north of the Alabama border in southern Tennessee. I was not expecting to get airborn at the rest area on I65 just across the Alabama line. But maybe 5-10 min out we drove out of the weather and it was only a light mist which tapered off to near nothing by the time we got to the rest stop. So I had the chance to buzz a missle No, not a working one! This one has been here for a long time. You used to be able to walk under it to see the motors. I am guessing due to deterioration and valdalism, its not fenced off.
It took me a while to figure out what the markings on the side of the LES here are...
Then it hit me! Those are lighting strikes on the rocket which their lighting ground rods are not handling! Thats where the lighting has popped the paint off the LES.
It is sad they have let this piece of history deteriorate so.
I flew once tonight after I got to the house. But its darn dark right now. And I guess I got used to the lights of Milwaukee. Night flights around here are going to be, well, not as easy as they were in Milwaukee.
Well, thats about it to report right now. I am home. Relaxing under a liveoak tree in the back yard. Gentile breeze blowing lovely salt air off the Gulf of Mexico. Crickets chirping and frogs croaking. No traffic. No trains. Ahhh. Its good to be back in the south again.