Don't Make Change too Complicated: Just Begin!




Saturday, July 2, 2016

A Surprise Adventure on the Bike!


It looks so blissful doesn't it?  It was the beginning of my sufferfest of hill repeats on 4.6% grades.  The only good things about it was that when people see a big girl on the bike that is working hard, uphill, they have to be supportive!    "You go girl!" "You're awesome!"    "You're working hard!"  It really helped me keep my drive to do hill repeats during this suffer-o-rama!

In the midst of the repeats were flying downhills that were tremendously enjoyable!

After I finished, I decided that I would do what I most love...go on a surprise adventure on the bike...to explore!  So, I set off on the road to who knew where.

After a mile or two I saw a sign  for an air park.  Was that a hidden airport?  There was another hill to climb in to get to it...not too bad..so in I went. And then I saw this sign.

This is an air park that has been around since 1955 so that people can fly radio controlled , gas or electric powered airplanes that they have made.  At the air park, I met Charlie and Robert who were happy to talk about the their planes and how they flew them.
Charlie told me that as a kid, he loved to make model plastic car kits that he put together with glue. Then he moved on to model airplanes .  He followed the directions and made the models.  He did the same thing with his plane only on a larger scale.
Charlie and his plane

At the Air Park, they fly their planes 7 days a week.  They have a covered "picnic" area to keep out of the heat and they can eat their lunches and have coffee too!  They can fly for 20 minutes at a time (their rule) and they wait their turn although I was told sometimes several people fly at once on busy days.

When I arrived, Robert was flying his plane.  I watched it taxi down the runway and take off....then I watched it climb high and do a loop de loop then fly down straight into a dive!
This is Robert

I asked Robert if he ever had been a pilot and he said no, that he just enjoys flying this plane. I asked if any women flew planes and he said there was one, but mostly only the men do it...he said,"....because men need their alone time and their own hobbies.  Of course women CAN fly, but they just don't."

The men were very patient with all my questions about the gas they use and how much.  Charlie's plane hold 12 ounces of gas and he used about 2 ounces per flight.  He likes to keep his tank filled and doesn't want to risk a crash.  He says it takes a lot of concentration to fly.

Robert showed me his radio control system and it was quite complex....this one is the landing gear, this one is the computer screen....and he went on and on over my head!  Here is a photo of Robert's control box.                               
                                          
Radio Control System
Up, up  up!


What a fun experience learning about something I knew nothing about that gives many people pleasure!   What a fun day out and about!  I discovered,  on my way out, that there were two other sections to the air park....one for smaller "toy" remote controlled planes and one for  larger radio controlled helicopters.

You can bring your lunch and go sit in the shade and watch the planes go up and do their tricks...something different that I did not even know was available in ABQ.



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