Hammer wrote:Great video on pandemics and the importance of infection rates...I could understand it because it's a cartoon.

https://youtu.be/BtN-goy9VOY

This report released just two days ago on Saint Patricks Day addresses several topics broached in the great video Hammer posted. It also fills in several gaps in understanding both how long virus remains viable on surfaces and how efficiently coughs and sneezes spread the disease.

Hammer wrote:Great video on pandemics and the importance of infection rates...I could understand it because it's a cartoon.

https://youtu.be/BtN-goy9VOY

Good video, thanks for posting.
Actually kinda scary where they explain how the virus cells operate inside the lungs.

Now that's funny.

I understand why one might stock up on booze, beans, bacon and beer. Heck, I'm pretty flush on all that. But TP? That's gotta be one of those weird media-induced seff fulfilling prophecies, where some media outlet reports a shortage and then they all do and because of that there is a real run on TP. Kind of like the way a virus propagates.

Stay safe. Wash your hands a lot. Wash them before AND after you pick your nose. Minimize your contacts. Flatten the curve.

Cheers,

Pete

Hammer wrote:Great video on pandemics and the importance of infection rates...I could understand it because it's a cartoon.

https://youtu.be/BtN-goy9VOY

That's a great video. It's all true. It's easy for anyone to understand. I hope it goes viral, so to speak.

There's a lot of BS on the TV both from media and the gov't. THE ONE GUY you all should listen to is Anthony Fauci. If we all follow his advice we might get through the hit to the health care system.

Sorry to hear about your dad Soaringhiggy.
This social distancing thing is kind of nice. Just decided to work all weekend and got one of many projects done. After 8 weeks of trying to get a quote from Maule, they finally sent me parts and I was able to fix my a customers wing up. Leading edge, a few nose ribs, landing light assembly, and a piece of aileron. Happy to get some stuff getting out of the shop.

Great video Hammer. The Asians had more past experience with pandemic and had established better intelligence through testing. Because we didn't prepare to do that, we were left with social distancing and hand washing, etc. In the military we officers were indoctrinated with the responsibility to own our mistakes. We were responsible for everything that happened and everything that failed to happen in our units. We don't respect politicians who pass the buck, but the President is absolutely correct in accepting no responsibility. We the people of the United States are responsible in our democracy. We set ourselves up and we will have to correct it. In the meantime, we good soldiers will have to self isolate as much as possible and help the medical community and National Guard and Reserve where possible. Ours now is not the reason why, ours but to do and die. And vote in November. It is our absolute duty.

I went groceries shopping yesterday, stayed away from others, was careful to wear gloves and left plenty for the next shopper.

Took me a while, but I finally got it

I'm dreaming up new projects at home to keep me busy, even though my crane business hasn't slowed yet, worked 5 hrs today. I have a hydraulic tree/brush puller on it's way for my Kubota tractor, and bought some culvert today (business as usual at the culvert store, but I used my own pen to write the check out, not their counter pen, and other wise wore gloves (virus aside, a cut end of a metal culvert can cut you good. I am developing what I am calling a cross wind runway on my property, only to be used when needed as it will not have access to my hangar. I am upgrading my access to the area so I can get the brush out and also keep it mowed. Great busy work, productive busy work.

Hey Zzz, just wondering if you've noticed any sort of spike in activity on BCP with all this Covid19 mayhem ?

Today's fun thing to keep me occupied: was for the first time ever, abort a takeoff on my 400' down hill runway. Something didn't feel quite right, and as it was a very rare takeoff from my place on the wheel skis, wheels down, AND I had just done some work on my tailwheel, AND a few other factors I am still getting straight in my head, I decided to not go flying after all. One factor that sounds minor but added to the mix was I didn't have my headset's ANR turned on, a minor thing yes, but it added to the other anomalies that I was subconsciously picking up on.

It quickly turned into a dance on the brake pedals while getting it to a stop while not having to wait 6 months on another Prince prop, or buy a new spinner. Max braking while dodging the larger sage brush and bashing through and over the rest of them. My "over run area" turned out to be something that the 6:00 tires could handle, somewhat to my surprise. Zero damage, not even torn belly fabric. I got the Kubota out (now called the crash rig) and gingerly brush hogged a path so I could get it turned around, and power taxied (it takes a fair bit of power to pull the slope) it back up and then into the hangar, where it's sits, just like nothing ever happened.

As I was leaving the hangar, the wind went from very light NE, to almost instantly straight SW, and it wasn't even 9 AM, so no thermal activity. I often call out to the WX station at KPIH, and they were reporting 17 west. I sometimes get weird air, being so close to the 9K ridge behind me, and when there is a large discrepancy between what they are reporting and what I see 20 miles away and 1200' higher, I usually don't launch. When that happens, it means things are a bit too active, some front activity, etc., that may make my home strip a bit to sporty to land back on. IF I had continued the flight as planned, (flying to tomorrow's crane job 70 miles away, so when driving Miss Piggy I could remember the fun of flying the route the previous day, a pre flight makes the drive more tolerable and I do it often) my arrival back home would have presented me with a now 20 mph wind directly on my tail, something I'd rather avoid. The good thing about all this was I didn't think about the frigging virus for a good hour.

You have sanctioned paper coverage on your abort decision now. PPL Task F Performance and Limitations/Risk Management/Possible difference between calculated performance and actual performance. That was going to be my topic Sunday and you came up with it first.

A closer look showed some damage, one of the sage brushes snagged a spring on the skis that is part of the retraction process, and stretched it a bit. That's going to cost me......2 or 3 bucks. This incident will make the the tractor implement I have coming in Monday even more eagerly anticipated, it should be the ultimate brush puller.

Self isolating yesterday...

I made the first couple landings on my new X wind runway, that'd be the one on the right. Complying with the state directive to stay at home, I took off my summertime runway (the one that leads up to my upper parking area, the ski runway is the one that leads direct to the hangar, yeah, I now have THREE runways, easy when all you do is mow them), and as soon as I broke ground cranked a left turn and onto short final for the new strip. Took off the new, made a hard right, back on the old strip, all without leaving my 40 acres.

No, I wasn't drinking when mowing, due to the slope I can't see the opposite end from the other end, so it's hard to eyeball a straight line. Subsequent mowings will remedy that. Ridiculously long, at 600' plus, as it will only really be used (other then screwing around) in 20+ MPH winds. Then again, it's only half the slope of my main 400' strip, and as the plan is to, when the winds dictate, land there and tie it up for the duration (there is no practical way to taxi to the hangar, especially in strong winds) I will need to take off there to get it back in the hangar after the wind dies. Tiedowns at the upper end going in tomorrow, half length steel fence posts, driven at an angle until flush with the ground, 3 per tie down, with a short length of chain to tie the rope to. Plus a depression in the ground for the mains, as deep as possible without needing a new prop, to decrease the AOA when parked.