Lull

Since my first cross-country flight to the Angeles Flying Club in September, this rainy season has grounded me for the most part, which has been rather anti-climactic. Even today (mid-November), regular rainfall keeps the airstrip too muddy for pleasant (not to mention safe) take-offs and landings. I get splattered with too much mud when I take-off and land my aircraft. Because we have a bit of cattle grazing the farm, the mud is really a combination of soil, pipi and poo-poo. You get the picture.

The parts I had ordered for the overhaul of my first Rotax 582 engine have arrived. My friend, Ricky Aguas, lent me certain specialty tools to remove the piston and the magneto. I just need to disassemble the engine (easier said than done for a first timer) and have the crankshaft inspected and redone by Bert Padua, who (I have been informed) is the definitive machinist for Rotax crankshafts in the Philippines. Thereafter, I will reassemble the engine (now overhauled) and have a second airworthy aircraft. Target completion by end of March 2012.