Today is Saturday, 24th of
April, 2010, and yes - Mr._Bill is WASTED / TIRED / WOH-OUT - from his
week of working at the Hang Gliding park, and driving, and making
decisions, and etc. etc. etc. etc. (see below for more details...)
and - because SOME people have asked "How do you go hang-gliding in Florida if there's no hills to jump off of?" - here's a picture of a 'tug' (small airplane (left picture is of a tug owned by a couple of friends - and the picture was taken in Colorado) - but 99% of all 'tugs' used to pull hang-gliders into the air look very similar to this one - though this may be the fanciest paint job in the business... The tugs were designed by a super great guy who lives near Orlando, and he pretty much 'owns' the design and builds them basically to order... Neither picture is during our recent 'event' but both are representative of the tugs that were at the event.
This morning's (Thursday, 22nd April) sunrise at "The Florida Ridge".
Today (20th) was Mr._Bill's second (Full) day of "Launch Line Manager" duties...
Though he's not terribly familiar with this role (as the 'organizer of this key 'group of volunteers' ( "" The Launch Line Crew "" - I have volunteered to do 'pieces' of this 'teamwork' in other events) - this is the first event where I've been "In Charge" (whatever that means), we did a pretty amazing job. The left-hand-picture above is 'this year' - the right hand picture above is last year when I was not 'In Charge' - today is Sunday, 25th - too soon to have any 'this-year' pictures of note?
People from ALL OVER the WORLD come together to launch about 50 gliders into the air in less than an hour and we did it safely, quickly, and efficiently. Now that the end of the event has come - I feel some sense of 'pride' that I helped in this role and that we, as a group, received quite a few compliments on a 'job well done'. I think this is an amazing sport where so many can come together with so little 'direction' but achieve a common goal with very little prior-planning - think of what we could do if WE REALLY got together BEFORE-HAND and PLANNED and strategized...?
YES - we do OTHER THINGS besides Hang Gliding - Mr. Panda represents the best of the best of companions... - Mr._Bill rode about 16 miles on Monday evening, 19th) on the trike (after being "OFF" of it for 3 weeks (plus).... And Mr._J_ took his dawg for a swim (along with a number of other dawgs and people. - this is what happens when we have a 'day-off' and/or too much time on our hands? The third picture above is just some guy, out standing in his field - well - maybe not 'HIS' field, it's actually owned by _James_Tindle_ - the Flight Park_ Owner. but - for at least some period of time it's 'mine' to do the launching...
Mr. Bill is involved with running this event: The Rob Kells Memorial Hang Gliding Competition (April 17 - 24) - headquartered at "The Florida Ridge" hang-gliding-park... (this is the hang-gliding park where Mr. Bill 'normally' flies)
Wherein Mr. Bill gets 'volunteered' to do what is known in this business as "The Launch Line Manager" - and - well I needed a staff of about 20 (experienced) people, and I got a LOT LESS than that... Eventually I had a reasonable size and experience level for my 'staff' - but we only launched about 20 gliders before the rains set-in and the day's 'Task' (race) was eventually cancelled... I'm on the 'schedule' to fill this role a lot this week, so I'll definitely need more staff to accomplish this role WELL and SAFELY... At least when I volunteer to help-out at a sailing regatta there are typically a LOT FEWER people counting on me and safety isn't nearly the issue that it is here at a Hang Gliding competition...
We got 'rained-out' (on Saturday (17th) as this image shows - I was inside the mini-van for this picture, but you can only imagine what it was like trying to fly in this kind of 'downpour' and MANY of the gliders these competitive pilots fly are NOT very aerodynamic when it rains like this... (the rain(s) disturb the normal flow of air over the wing and so the normal 'lift' that a pilot is 'used to' does not develop and the gliders handle very poorly... Further many of the pilots had their daily shower WHILE flying their glider(s) - so that saved the organizer's water-supply! - what better way to take a shower than natural rain water (even if it's a little on the CHILLY side with no soap!
On Sunday, 18th, - the 'task was called' (the day was cancelled) at about 09:40 a.m. and so Mr. Bill drove home (in the rain) to take care of some thises and thats and the others...
Maybe Monday or Tuesday will be a 'better day'?
(But don't hold your breath and there are a NUMBER of PEOPLE who do NOT take responsibility for the WEATHER! (NOAA is one of them!))
One of the other things I waffled on this Sunday (in the rain) was a good friend from our days in Hong Kong was in Panama, working. He 'thought' that he might get to Miami, and then get 'stuck' trying to get to Europe because the Icelandic Volcano ash-cloud might not let American Airlines land in Spain.
However, after a number of e-mails (starting on Saturday evening) and finishing up today - he was reasonably certain that he would get to Europe. But we were ready to prevent him from ODing on Airline un-certainty and bring him to our "Beach Club" for some R & R...It's now after 6 p.m. on Sunday evening and we haven't heard from him so I'm guessing he got on his plane for Spain? (in the rain?!)...
April 5 - a Monday - and yeah - well - things are still not 'hopping' BUT:
who are these "Three Funny People" - and Please NOTE: Mr. Ned's funny-hair-hat, and note the 'training cable' near Mr._Jeff's and Ms._May's left wrist(s)...
Mr. Ned tried out the paraglider this afternoon, and after a couple of successful runs - he had a 'breakdown (of the paraglider)' and for a few seconds we were all a little nervous but Ned's quick timing and instinctive reactions saved him and Mr._Jeff's paraglider from certain damage...
Ms._May was able to fly with Mr._Jeff looking-on and 'saving her' (with a training cable (notice by each of the left-hands in the right picture) and another control-box) from (certain catastrophe). I think she learned some lasting lessons as she flew - and we really enjoyed the ocean-air-lift! Mr._Bill also had the opportunity to have Mr._Jeff's wisdomly assistance, and flew for a while with the training cable - a TERRIFIC way to get some GREAT air-time!.
This afternoon we were able to borrow a used sailplane fuselage (which had been 'damaged in combat' (and dunked in salt-water) but was in WAY BETTER CONDITION than mine was (see picture of mine below)... and I was able to re-build my glider, re-'bind' the receiver to the transmitter, and fly it for a while...
To get an idea of 'scale', this ready-made styrofoam sailplane has a wing-span of 'about' 6 1/2 feet = about 2 meters - it flies in what is called the '2 Meter' class... It's radio control-box (transmitter) and receiver (inside the airplane's belly) use what is know as "Digital Spread Spectrum (frequency-hopping)" radio-frequency (RF) technology... This is a fairly new technology which allows 'n' number of people all of whom might have the same airplane and radio(s) to work off of the same frequency but not to interfere with each other.
The radios are made by company called "Spektrum" from Germany... Another interesting 'technical detail' is that the little-tiny brushless (electric) motor in the front of the glider is so powerful that it has enough thrust to haul the glider (which weighs-in at about 30 ounces (nearly 2 pounds)) straight-up - that is the motor has enough power to basically 'hover' the glider... - (not that it's very 'controllable' during a hover, though?) the motor pulls 30 amps at full-load... The motor(s) and ESC (Eletronic Speed Controller) are made by a company called 'e-Flite'. The e-Flite people also manufacture and sell something called a 'ducted-fan' - another methodology to power an airplane that is truly mind-numbing. In the real-world most airliners use 'ducted fans' - but to have this technology available to modellers is pretty slick engineering...
But if you REALLY WANT to 'go places fast' with a model-airplane - you'll need to own a bank and have a NUMBER of these)...
Mr. Bill has NOT done very well with his new RC-sailplane. He seems to keep crashing and this morning (Monday, 5th) crashed worse than normal, but - well - with an RC-plane the crashing is, to some extent, inevitable... So - he's been doing a lot of phone-calling around and web-surfing around to try to find some new parts and pieces? Maybe I like this plane because it has '...470...' in the part-number and I met Ms._May while we were sailing _470_ sailboat-dinghies when we lived in Hong_Kong. On the other hand MAYBE I like it - because when I do NOT crash it - it flies REALLY REALLY well, very controllable, stable, etc., and I've a couple of friends with them (now we can share parts & pieces, huh? - Anyway - some will ask, "IF it's so easy, stable, controllable to fly - WHY did you CRASH it you Idjit? ! - we won't go there?!...
I've also re-loaded my RC-airplane 'simulator' software on my Windows XP PC. Something called "Realflight Generation 3" - from a company called "Knife Edge" software. (The pre-ceeding 'Realflight' web-link is for 'Generation 5' - which is, of course, more advanced than what I have? - I suspect maybe I should 'upgrade' but that would probably cost real cold hard cash, and introduce a level of complexity that I probably don't need right now...
So - MAYBE I will NOT upgrade and see what happens?
This software is really old (2004) but - if I can have the discipline to put in an hour a day (or more) on this 'simulator' then I should - I HOPE - crash my real RC plane less? Wikipedia Link for Realflight here.
One of the unique characteristics of this software (as compared to other 'simulator' software applications) is that this software simulates RC aiplanes, not REAL airplanes - a huge difference, apparently. Also - this one has a box that plugs into the USB port of the Windows XP laptop and you use the box and the 'sticks' on the box just the way you'd fly a 'real' RC airplane?
In the meantime I DID PASS my_FCC-GROL_test (<= Wikipedia-web-link) last Friday(2nd) - elements 1 & 3 (there is no 'element 2 test')...
Now I'll study a little more and hope to pass the 'Ship Radar Endorsement' and the "GMDSS" (<= Wikipedia-web-link) tests in another month or so...
One of the interesting things about taking the "GROL" test (last Friday (2 April, 2010)) and the previous test(s) that I took to become a licensed Amateur Radio operator was, (and here is a 'lesson' in US-Government "Politics") - is that, in the Amateur Radio test(s) they ask you a certain set of questions about Radio Theory.... - And they 'demand' a certain answer... In the GROL test(s) they ask you EXACTLY THE SAME THEORY QUESTION, yet they 'demand' a different answer...
VERY INTERESTING stuff when you consider the FCC (A United States Government entity) is the foundation organization for both GROL and Amateur Radio - and you'd THINK that 'Radio Theory' is 'Radio Theory' and the answer should be the same (but it ain't). Just ONE MORE EXAMPLE of how the US Government is not quite as 'saavy' as I think a lot of us think, perhaps - that it should be?!
AND - my garden contiues to grow... - even though I'm not riding my trike these days!
Ms. May has documented her trip to Philadelphia to the NCECA (ceramic-arts) conference in her blog-here.
A small May_Wong picture here, taken by a pottery-friend with an iPhone?
and - because SOME people have asked "How do you go hang-gliding in Florida if there's no hills to jump off of?" - here's a picture of a 'tug' (small airplane (left picture is of a tug owned by a couple of friends - and the picture was taken in Colorado) - but 99% of all 'tugs' used to pull hang-gliders into the air look very similar to this one - though this may be the fanciest paint job in the business... The tugs were designed by a super great guy who lives near Orlando, and he pretty much 'owns' the design and builds them basically to order... Neither picture is during our recent 'event' but both are representative of the tugs that were at the event.
This morning's (Thursday, 22nd April) sunrise at "The Florida Ridge".
Today (20th) was Mr._Bill's second (Full) day of "Launch Line Manager" duties...
Though he's not terribly familiar with this role (as the 'organizer of this key 'group of volunteers' ( "" The Launch Line Crew "" - I have volunteered to do 'pieces' of this 'teamwork' in other events) - this is the first event where I've been "In Charge" (whatever that means), we did a pretty amazing job. The left-hand-picture above is 'this year' - the right hand picture above is last year when I was not 'In Charge' - today is Sunday, 25th - too soon to have any 'this-year' pictures of note?
People from ALL OVER the WORLD come together to launch about 50 gliders into the air in less than an hour and we did it safely, quickly, and efficiently. Now that the end of the event has come - I feel some sense of 'pride' that I helped in this role and that we, as a group, received quite a few compliments on a 'job well done'. I think this is an amazing sport where so many can come together with so little 'direction' but achieve a common goal with very little prior-planning - think of what we could do if WE REALLY got together BEFORE-HAND and PLANNED and strategized...?
YES - we do OTHER THINGS besides Hang Gliding - Mr. Panda represents the best of the best of companions... - Mr._Bill rode about 16 miles on Monday evening, 19th) on the trike (after being "OFF" of it for 3 weeks (plus).... And Mr._J_ took his dawg for a swim (along with a number of other dawgs and people. - this is what happens when we have a 'day-off' and/or too much time on our hands? The third picture above is just some guy, out standing in his field - well - maybe not 'HIS' field, it's actually owned by _James_Tindle_ - the Flight Park_ Owner. but - for at least some period of time it's 'mine' to do the launching...
Mr. Bill is involved with running this event: The Rob Kells Memorial Hang Gliding Competition (April 17 - 24) - headquartered at "The Florida Ridge" hang-gliding-park... (this is the hang-gliding park where Mr. Bill 'normally' flies)
Wherein Mr. Bill gets 'volunteered' to do what is known in this business as "The Launch Line Manager" - and - well I needed a staff of about 20 (experienced) people, and I got a LOT LESS than that... Eventually I had a reasonable size and experience level for my 'staff' - but we only launched about 20 gliders before the rains set-in and the day's 'Task' (race) was eventually cancelled... I'm on the 'schedule' to fill this role a lot this week, so I'll definitely need more staff to accomplish this role WELL and SAFELY... At least when I volunteer to help-out at a sailing regatta there are typically a LOT FEWER people counting on me and safety isn't nearly the issue that it is here at a Hang Gliding competition...
We got 'rained-out' (on Saturday (17th) as this image shows - I was inside the mini-van for this picture, but you can only imagine what it was like trying to fly in this kind of 'downpour' and MANY of the gliders these competitive pilots fly are NOT very aerodynamic when it rains like this... (the rain(s) disturb the normal flow of air over the wing and so the normal 'lift' that a pilot is 'used to' does not develop and the gliders handle very poorly... Further many of the pilots had their daily shower WHILE flying their glider(s) - so that saved the organizer's water-supply! - what better way to take a shower than natural rain water (even if it's a little on the CHILLY side with no soap!
On Sunday, 18th, - the 'task was called' (the day was cancelled) at about 09:40 a.m. and so Mr. Bill drove home (in the rain) to take care of some thises and thats and the others...
Maybe Monday or Tuesday will be a 'better day'?
(But don't hold your breath and there are a NUMBER of PEOPLE who do NOT take responsibility for the WEATHER! (NOAA is one of them!))
One of the other things I waffled on this Sunday (in the rain) was a good friend from our days in Hong Kong was in Panama, working. He 'thought' that he might get to Miami, and then get 'stuck' trying to get to Europe because the Icelandic Volcano ash-cloud might not let American Airlines land in Spain.
However, after a number of e-mails (starting on Saturday evening) and finishing up today - he was reasonably certain that he would get to Europe. But we were ready to prevent him from ODing on Airline un-certainty and bring him to our "Beach Club" for some R & R...It's now after 6 p.m. on Sunday evening and we haven't heard from him so I'm guessing he got on his plane for Spain? (in the rain?!)...
April 5 - a Monday - and yeah - well - things are still not 'hopping' BUT:
who are these "Three Funny People" - and Please NOTE: Mr. Ned's funny-hair-hat, and note the 'training cable' near Mr._Jeff's and Ms._May's left wrist(s)...
Mr. Ned tried out the paraglider this afternoon, and after a couple of successful runs - he had a 'breakdown (of the paraglider)' and for a few seconds we were all a little nervous but Ned's quick timing and instinctive reactions saved him and Mr._Jeff's paraglider from certain damage...
Ms._May was able to fly with Mr._Jeff looking-on and 'saving her' (with a training cable (notice by each of the left-hands in the right picture) and another control-box) from (certain catastrophe). I think she learned some lasting lessons as she flew - and we really enjoyed the ocean-air-lift! Mr._Bill also had the opportunity to have Mr._Jeff's wisdomly assistance, and flew for a while with the training cable - a TERRIFIC way to get some GREAT air-time!.
This afternoon we were able to borrow a used sailplane fuselage (which had been 'damaged in combat' (and dunked in salt-water) but was in WAY BETTER CONDITION than mine was (see picture of mine below)... and I was able to re-build my glider, re-'bind' the receiver to the transmitter, and fly it for a while...
To get an idea of 'scale', this ready-made styrofoam sailplane has a wing-span of 'about' 6 1/2 feet = about 2 meters - it flies in what is called the '2 Meter' class... It's radio control-box (transmitter) and receiver (inside the airplane's belly) use what is know as "Digital Spread Spectrum (frequency-hopping)" radio-frequency (RF) technology... This is a fairly new technology which allows 'n' number of people all of whom might have the same airplane and radio(s) to work off of the same frequency but not to interfere with each other.
The radios are made by company called "Spektrum" from Germany... Another interesting 'technical detail' is that the little-tiny brushless (electric) motor in the front of the glider is so powerful that it has enough thrust to haul the glider (which weighs-in at about 30 ounces (nearly 2 pounds)) straight-up - that is the motor has enough power to basically 'hover' the glider... - (not that it's very 'controllable' during a hover, though?) the motor pulls 30 amps at full-load... The motor(s) and ESC (Eletronic Speed Controller) are made by a company called 'e-Flite'. The e-Flite people also manufacture and sell something called a 'ducted-fan' - another methodology to power an airplane that is truly mind-numbing. In the real-world most airliners use 'ducted fans' - but to have this technology available to modellers is pretty slick engineering...
But if you REALLY WANT to 'go places fast' with a model-airplane - you'll need to own a bank and have a NUMBER of these)...
Mr. Bill has NOT done very well with his new RC-sailplane. He seems to keep crashing and this morning (Monday, 5th) crashed worse than normal, but - well - with an RC-plane the crashing is, to some extent, inevitable... So - he's been doing a lot of phone-calling around and web-surfing around to try to find some new parts and pieces? Maybe I like this plane because it has '...470...' in the part-number and I met Ms._May while we were sailing _470_ sailboat-dinghies when we lived in Hong_Kong. On the other hand MAYBE I like it - because when I do NOT crash it - it flies REALLY REALLY well, very controllable, stable, etc., and I've a couple of friends with them (now we can share parts & pieces, huh? - Anyway - some will ask, "IF it's so easy, stable, controllable to fly - WHY did you CRASH it you Idjit? ! - we won't go there?!...
I've also re-loaded my RC-airplane 'simulator' software on my Windows XP PC. Something called "Realflight Generation 3" - from a company called "Knife Edge" software. (The pre-ceeding 'Realflight' web-link is for 'Generation 5' - which is, of course, more advanced than what I have? - I suspect maybe I should 'upgrade' but that would probably cost real cold hard cash, and introduce a level of complexity that I probably don't need right now...
So - MAYBE I will NOT upgrade and see what happens?
This software is really old (2004) but - if I can have the discipline to put in an hour a day (or more) on this 'simulator' then I should - I HOPE - crash my real RC plane less? Wikipedia Link for Realflight here.
One of the unique characteristics of this software (as compared to other 'simulator' software applications) is that this software simulates RC aiplanes, not REAL airplanes - a huge difference, apparently. Also - this one has a box that plugs into the USB port of the Windows XP laptop and you use the box and the 'sticks' on the box just the way you'd fly a 'real' RC airplane?
In the meantime I DID PASS my_FCC-GROL_test (<= Wikipedia-web-link) last Friday(2nd) - elements 1 & 3 (there is no 'element 2 test')...
Now I'll study a little more and hope to pass the 'Ship Radar Endorsement' and the "GMDSS" (<= Wikipedia-web-link) tests in another month or so...
One of the interesting things about taking the "GROL" test (last Friday (2 April, 2010)) and the previous test(s) that I took to become a licensed Amateur Radio operator was, (and here is a 'lesson' in US-Government "Politics") - is that, in the Amateur Radio test(s) they ask you a certain set of questions about Radio Theory.... - And they 'demand' a certain answer... In the GROL test(s) they ask you EXACTLY THE SAME THEORY QUESTION, yet they 'demand' a different answer...
VERY INTERESTING stuff when you consider the FCC (A United States Government entity) is the foundation organization for both GROL and Amateur Radio - and you'd THINK that 'Radio Theory' is 'Radio Theory' and the answer should be the same (but it ain't). Just ONE MORE EXAMPLE of how the US Government is not quite as 'saavy' as I think a lot of us think, perhaps - that it should be?!
AND - my garden contiues to grow... - even though I'm not riding my trike these days!
Ms. May has documented her trip to Philadelphia to the NCECA (ceramic-arts) conference in her blog-here.
A small May_Wong picture here, taken by a pottery-friend with an iPhone?
April 1 (yeah - April Fool's Day) - the 'joke is on you, - nothing here (yet) - but - be assured that as the month develops, more will be here!
But - yesterday (yeah - not really April, 2010, BUT) - I went Hang Gliding with some friends (here's "JJ"...
- Unfortunately there wasn't 'much lift' - there was 'some', but most
of us couldn't stay up but about 15-30 minutes - One guy did get some
significant time in (about 100 minutes) - he was quite lucky - he
admitted, plus he had a HUGE glider relative to his weight - which
always helps. There was a LOT of 'winds-aloft' so one had
to be quite careful not to get blown too far downwind - as then you
couldn't make it back to the field to land - all in all, though not a
BAD day but not a "STELLAR" day either...
I suspect MANY sports are like Hang Gliding - on those days when one can stay-up several HOURS with little effort - one doesn't learn a lot but on days like yesterday where every second in the air really takes a LOT of work - a pilot can LEARN A LOT if one pays attention! - When it's 'easy' anyone can do it - but when the weather conditions make it HARD, that's when you REALLY LEARN FAST!...
I went dinghy-sailing on Tuesday, and it was a lot of work (because there was very little wind) - I learned a lot, as one always does when conditions are not quite right... This is a picture of Ms._May with our dinghies ( or larger picture ) last month (March) when we went sailing on my birthday.
There is / are a couple of Hang Gliding competitions scheduled, this month...
ON the tricycle-front I've only ridden about 30 miles or so since going "BACK TO" the trike on Monday, 20th.
Here's my most recent 'trike-rides': I did a couple of 60 mile organized rides and several training rides of 30, 40 or 50 miles...
The 'Red Cross Riders Ocean to Lake ride on 21 March, 2010; was a VERY VERY WINDY 50 something miles), but here's the tracklog file (overlain on Google Earth image).
The 'Okeechobee Rotary Club ride (to benefit the Rotary Club's scholarship fund (and their Haiti relief efforts)) was run on Saturday, 27 March, and it was not nearly as windy, still a bit over 50 miles but much faster... - After that ride I went to see Ms._May's new pottery that had just come out of the wood-fired-kiln... A similar track-log file is here.
AND - I passed the "G.R.O.L." test (elements 1 & 3 (124 questions) on Friday, 2 April, down in Ft. Lauderdale... -It is considerably more work, questions, study, electronic theory, etc. than any of the Amateur Radio tests were, and I've been studying the "G.R.O.L." material for nearly 3 months... - here's a Wikipedia Link if you're interested to learn more about this 'advanced' FCC license... I'm hoping to pass other elements (7, 8, 9 (about 200 questions)) late in May, that will give me even more useless pieces of paper to hang on my wall...
Mr._Bill's best hang-gliding-flight (Ever) - see the FlightLog.Org web-page, here...
I suspect MANY sports are like Hang Gliding - on those days when one can stay-up several HOURS with little effort - one doesn't learn a lot but on days like yesterday where every second in the air really takes a LOT of work - a pilot can LEARN A LOT if one pays attention! - When it's 'easy' anyone can do it - but when the weather conditions make it HARD, that's when you REALLY LEARN FAST!...
I went dinghy-sailing on Tuesday, and it was a lot of work (because there was very little wind) - I learned a lot, as one always does when conditions are not quite right... This is a picture of Ms._May with our dinghies ( or larger picture ) last month (March) when we went sailing on my birthday.
There is / are a couple of Hang Gliding competitions scheduled, this month...
- the Rob Kells Memorial Hang Gliding Competition (17-23 April)) (web-site) (pictures above)
- the Flytec Race-Rally Hang Gliding Competition (I didn't help nor compete in this one) (25 April - 1 May) (web-site)
ON the tricycle-front I've only ridden about 30 miles or so since going "BACK TO" the trike on Monday, 20th.
Here's my most recent 'trike-rides': I did a couple of 60 mile organized rides and several training rides of 30, 40 or 50 miles...
The 'Red Cross Riders Ocean to Lake ride on 21 March, 2010; was a VERY VERY WINDY 50 something miles), but here's the tracklog file (overlain on Google Earth image).
The 'Okeechobee Rotary Club ride (to benefit the Rotary Club's scholarship fund (and their Haiti relief efforts)) was run on Saturday, 27 March, and it was not nearly as windy, still a bit over 50 miles but much faster... - After that ride I went to see Ms._May's new pottery that had just come out of the wood-fired-kiln... A similar track-log file is here.
AND - I passed the "G.R.O.L." test (elements 1 & 3 (124 questions) on Friday, 2 April, down in Ft. Lauderdale... -It is considerably more work, questions, study, electronic theory, etc. than any of the Amateur Radio tests were, and I've been studying the "G.R.O.L." material for nearly 3 months... - here's a Wikipedia Link if you're interested to learn more about this 'advanced' FCC license... I'm hoping to pass other elements (7, 8, 9 (about 200 questions)) late in May, that will give me even more useless pieces of paper to hang on my wall...
Mr._Bill's best hang-gliding-flight (Ever) - see the FlightLog.Org web-page, here...
and-or see the track-log over Google Earth Image(s), here... small_image larger_image (1 megabyte)
Archived BeachWeb monthly site(s): Click here for a list of the archived months
Some people have asked, WHERE can I FIND, "X" - whatever the heck "X" is?; but in my case - these two things are being asked about...
The "Tire Changing Web-Page" and/or the VANC (VikingAsia (Networks and Computers)) Consulting) web-page.
AND / OR if you 'WANT' (or desire or need or have an 'urge' for something you don't see, then you can e-mail me at: bill@vikingasia.org
Archived BeachWeb monthly site(s): Click here for a list of the archived months
Some people have asked, WHERE can I FIND, "X" - whatever the heck "X" is?; but in my case - these two things are being asked about...
The "Tire Changing Web-Page" and/or the VANC (VikingAsia (Networks and Computers)) Consulting) web-page.
AND / OR if you 'WANT' (or desire or need or have an 'urge' for something you don't see, then you can e-mail me at: bill@vikingasia.org
updated: 11:21 a.m. on Sunday, 25 April, 2010 - from the Macintosh "G5" - revID: 1g