Monday 29 Mar 21 8600 Feet and Flying High
29 Mar 21
I woke up in the middle of the night with aRTy rocking (and I was alone). I looked out the back window and saw a cow rubbing against the front tire of the bike. I opened the window and shewed her off. Again I should have taken a photo but then again a cow is not that exciting.
I got up at 7 and saw Mike the instructor and two students already at it. I think I wouldn't have any problem with the training but I'm not sure I could manage to get up before 7 seven days in a row. I put the dogs out on leash. I would hate to think I lose one of them due to a dog Paramotor collision. I put some food out for Pete then I went and sat on a picnic table close to the action. They had picked up where they'd left off yesterday. Both did very well on their taxi runs this morning. After a bit Mike powered up his quad and did a short demo flight. He didn't get much above the tree top height. When he landed and got out he said that it was pretty windy above tree top height.
After a bit the wind at ground level picked up and was too windy for the taxi runs. They came and joined me at the table with their syllables. Mike went over some weather info and section 103 of the aviation regulation which covers ultralight aircraft. Around 11 they went somewhere to watch a video on weather. As he was leaving Mike checked his phone and Brandon had text him saying he was available on April 5th. I told him I would let him know.
I went back in aRTy and made ham and eggs for breakfast. Zack had replied to last night's text saying he couldn't make it to the training next week. I knew it would be next to impossible. After some serious thinking I decided it would be best to find a school in Utah. My biggest concern was how much the training was weather dependent. If the weather was bad next week the training would be delayed. No telling how long I might have to stay in the area. After breakfast I secured everything inside and out and plotted a course to Carson City Nevada.
I drove most of the day on Highway 88. It goes through several passes. The highest elevation during the day's drive was 8600 feet and some change. aRTy did really well. At some point along the way I parked in a pull out and had a ham and cheese sandwich for lunch. With chips, applesauce and half avocado. After lunch I took Wiggin for a short hike to play in the snow.
After a brief nap I got back on the road and arrived to Carson City around 6. I found a Walmart but there were signs saying no overnight parking. I drove around a bit and found a dirt road behind a strip mall and parked for the night. I nuked a can of chinese food for dinner. Later I watched the 5th episode of Band of Brothers. After the movie I got a blanket out for the dogs and my sleeping bag. After everything was situated I crawled in my bag and called it a day.