But there were some great times had in the air. Andrew, aka Tradecraft treated me to a fun morning excursion out to the Knik in what could be considered the most tragically-painted Taylorcraft of all time. We had fun and did some filming as the wind really picked up.
I made a short (relative to other recent efforts) edit:
Reposted from the above link:
Sunday morning, I was so tired, but I saw sun squeaking through the gap in the blackout shades. I rolled over and checked my weather app. Observations were showing wind only 7mph. It HAD been honking the last couple days. I texted my buddy Tradecraft who'd offered to take me flying the night before at a Lake Hood hangar party. He's a longtime BCP guy but this would be the first time expanding our relationship outside of eating gargantuan savory breakfasts in Anchorage.
We loaded his O-200 powered Taylorcraft with our man meat and set out for my first return to the Knik since May 2017. That's a long prop.
The air was getting a little more active. I had zero food or coffee in my body. Not for any actual pressing biological need, but my morning mind began to wander, and I thought about the prospect of what it would be like to wipe my cushion-biter with a smooth Knik river rock in 35 mph winds should the need arise. Luck was in our favor and that DID NOT happen. The rock part, that is. The 35 mph winds were very real and Tradecraft treated me to a display of great flying.
We were the only ones stupid enough to be out on this fine windy morning. It was gorgeous, but the wind was relentless. I opted not to use a stabilizer and just hand-held the camera (big mistake.) Then the camera batteries died about 2 minutes after I took this photo. I was kicking myself for leaving the heavy long lens in the car. Everytime I climb into a small aircraft with someone, I have second thoughts about bringing too much photo gear.
So I switched to my phone... and caught this gem. Deadstick! Can you believe it?
There's actually a few smartphone shots in the video. 
All in all, a great way to turn an hour and a half of flying into an immortalized adventure. The F-19 with the O-200 is a great flyer. I turned down Tradecraft's offer to take it for a spin, now I'm kicking myself.
