Heck, call it, “HOT-ROD-LINCOLN“. Some of you are old enough to relate to that song (too bad for you), but ... have you seen a HOT ROD fly (PPG, I mean)? Well, on Sunday, I did.
Sunday morning, as hot as it was (the only place hotter, I’m certain, was Iraq ... in every respect), held a bit of magic and a bit of wisdom … if you were out there to brave the elements in order to obtain the benefits. Happily, I’d brought a couple of gallons of water with me.
My friends and I were fortunate to witness a number of people fly their wonderful machines. And since no one went cross-country, all the action was there nearby to be seen and appreciated.
Gavin was the early bird, sky-dancing even as we approached the freeway turnoff. I spotted him, solo, in his tandem rigged trike and wished he’d come down and ask me to join him ... oh well. Then Dennis took to the air and looked as though he was having just too much fun. I really envied him. There I was, a hapless PG pilot, with no way into the air on this morning; no mountain present ... yet horny to fly.
I saw Larry have his way with the air, and Mo do his thing with his new Flash motor ... so quiet you could fly that puppy in the public library without anybody shushing you!
Then Mo did his tandems replete with breathtaking wingovers and spiral dives with his big-eyed (and appreciative) passengers. And there was Carlos, the very professional photographer (and the reason I left my camera at home), freezing these moments onto his massive memory sticks with each photo burgeoning with eleven million mega-pixels of detail (you could own his camera or you could own a complete PPG rig ... WOW)!!!
And here was a most amazing thing. It was Shon (or Shawn, or Sean ... however he actually spells it, what matters is the flyer that he is, which is awesome) launching using Tod’s motor and a wing definitely too small for his hulking body. Well, I’ve never seen a PPG climb like that!!! He looked like an F-15 with a para-wing, if you can picture that! Tod’s motor is the definitive HOT ROD of the PPG skies (definitely a “Simonini on steroids”).
I guess Tod had just got the motor to that state of performance and I don’t think he’s even flown it. That makes Shon a test pilot, I suppose.
Having seen that, I was primed to absorb every word that Tod might emit about the two-stroke engine. If you’ve ever raced anything motorized, you know that you’d give your left [anatomical part] for a mechanic who is a wizard, and has achieved a state of one-ness with the engine. Tod is that! He is the two-stroke guru.
I don’t even own a Simonini ... yet. But if I should (soon), I now feel a bit towards comfortable about not only maintaining it, but also, getting the most out of it. I even learned things that have resolved problems I was having with an ATV engine. If you missed his clinic, I’d strongly suggest that you make every effort to be at the next one … if that should happen.
I want to thank Mo for arranging this event (and providing the much needed SHADE ... next time let’s have a misting system, fans and margaritas, as well), and of course, “Shady” Tod who exhibited tons of patience and explained things so well to even the slow folk among us (call the event: “Simonini for Dummies”).
And then there was Smokin’ Bill, who didn’t say all that much, but you got the impression that he and Tod really talk the same language. I think when it comes to motors, the two of them are like E F Hutton ... when they talk, you’ve got to listen (remember that commercial?).
Anyway, I’ve met some really wonderful, warm, enthusiastic and friendly people in this club, people who are not caught up in the political correctness of certain organizations I will leave unnamed. I’ve met people who simply love to fly. What is better than that???!!!
Thanks to all of you, for just being yourselves. ~ John
