The Spirit of Adventure - Michael McCafferty

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harbor secret fantasies about what it must be like to fly it... but could they ever imagine a day of flying as perfect as today? Here is a photograph of the northern beach of France, along the English Channel, just to the west of Le Touquet, as seen from the cockpit of my open-cockpit biplane at 100 feet above the water: 32
Day 10: Friday the Thirteenth Paris, France And now for some not-so-good news: yesterday was so thoroughly excellent that I could not bear to discuss the less than positive aspects that evolved. Today, it seems appropriate to share it with you. The first thing I noticed during preflight preparations was that the trim wheel was definitely behaving differently than before. It operated the stabilator properly, but the feel was way off, seeming clunky and harsh. I made a mental note of it, and continued with the flight. In the air, the trim wheel was very much more difficult to operate, although it would respond properly. It just needed a lot more muscle to get the desired results. We definitely need to work on this back on the ground. Not a major thing, but... As soon as I switched on the avionics, it was evident that the HSI (Horizontal Situation Indicator) was toast. This device is a gyro-stabilized compass that also gives me a visual CDI (Course Deviation Indicator) readout from my GPS (Global Positioning System) as well as a backup VOR (Very high frequency Omni Range). Now all of this alphabet soup of acronyms means nothing except that without this critter, you can't tell where you're going! Well, you can actually, because there is a wet compass as a backup, and there is one other VOR on the panel, (I even have a VOR in my backup handheld radio, now that I think of it). So I wouldn't get lost without my HSI, but it is sure one of the sweeter instruments on my panel, and I will not be leaving Paris without getting this one repaired. Carl figures that it got bounced around too much on the train ride from Detroit to Montreal, before being loaded onto the ship to France. And then there is the tail wheel. For the first time ever, it shimmied on landing. I couldn't believe it. I have heard of other Waco biplanes doing this, but mine was always so smooth. Carl said he would have another entire tail wheel assembly shipped in from the factory, and he would put it on himself. He’s a class act! So the airplane has demonstrated a few complaints after being mistreated and ignored and stuck in a box for more than a month. I suppose I would too. But what's going on with ME? For about a week, I have been noticing a slight tightness in my throat, which I attributed to the constant presence of cigarette smoke everywhere around here. I just figured I would get used to it and the scratchy throat would go away. Not so. Two days ago, it was really bad in the morning, and then got better at the end of the day. Yesterday, it was okay in the morning, so I thought I was on the mend. But it was not to be. Yesterday's perfect day of flying took its toll. The air was chilly and wet, and my coat collar was not tight enough to keep out the cold. By the end of the flight, I was very hoarse, almost inaudible without shouting on the radio. By the end of the day, I had lost 33
Page 1 and 2: The Spirit of Adventure The true st
Page 3 and 4: Table of Contents Preface .........
Page 5 and 6: Day 51: McCafferty's First Law of M
Page 7 and 8: Preface Photography: Photos are not
Page 9 and 10: A solo license, or even a private p
Page 11 and 12: Waiting for the Slow Boat to Paris
Page 13 and 14: Day 1: Silent fears Mikie’s Fun H
Page 15 and 16: Since I wasn't going on to Bordeaux
Page 17 and 18: Carl Dye, world’s greatest biplan
Page 19 and 20: Day 4: An Excursion into the Street
Page 21 and 22: kilometers (2.4 miles). The sidewal
Page 23 and 24: of it all. I was content to be on t
Page 25 and 26: There was still quite a bit to do.
Page 27 and 28: personally for being so retarded. F
Page 29 and 30: Day 8: A Very Short Story Paris, Fr
Page 31: element of imperfection that just m
Page 35 and 36: Day 11: Who Is This Guy? What Makes
Page 37 and 38: Immediately upon seeing the ad for
Page 39 and 40: For several days after the accident
Page 41 and 42: Day 12: The Paris Air Show Paris, F
Page 43 and 44: At 1 pm the air displays start with
Page 45 and 46: The largest of the buildings showed
Page 47 and 48: Day 14: Another Rainy Day in Paris
Page 49 and 50: Day 15: An Old Irish Prescription P
Page 51 and 52: The HSI (Horizontal Situation Indic
Page 53 and 54: And they do love their baguettes! I
Page 55 and 56: deck. I descend to the enclosed lev
Page 57 and 58: Day 17: The Loose End of a Long Red
Page 59 and 60: agent will have to pay 1,000,000 fr
Page 61 and 62: Day 19: A Street Party of Epic Prop
Page 63 and 64: We sat under cover in a local cafe,
Page 65 and 66: we crawled past the big jet stuck t
Page 67 and 68: deal with their customs when I land
Page 69 and 70: Day 22: To Fly Is To Be Nangis, Fra
Page 71 and 72: I'm reminded of an old saying: "It
Page 73 and 74: Soon after we returned to the airpo
Page 75 and 76: The mosquitoes were everywhere, eve
Page 77 and 78: Sean went for a run to work off som
Page 79 and 80: We drove north, along the west coas
Page 81 and 82: Day 26: The Global Perspective Ajac
Page 83 and 84:
This afternoon, in a walk through t
Page 85 and 86:
find appropriate for his private co
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To me, this is what an adventure is
Page 89 and 90:
in two different languages, neither
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Day 29: The Animal and The English
Page 93 and 94:
Day 30: Sensory Overload Paris, Fra
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I worked through this process while
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inside the office, no one would hav
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Day 32: Testostérone Alley La Fert
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and the father of the current owner
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Day 33: Just Playing Nangis, France
Page 105 and 106:
Day 34: The Blue Wizzard Bourg en B
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Karim tried to get us hangar space,
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and clouds so that it was impossibl
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Day 36: And We Didn't Get Arrested!
Page 113 and 114:
Day 37: Riding The Edge Of The Stor
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I followed Matthias in the pattern,
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17-month- old son, Hendrik, for a c
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that the way was clear. We had just
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Day 39: Wingovers for Nici Liechten
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almost motionless in the air, and t
Page 125 and 126:
It was right about this point that
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where he is! In fact, I haven't the
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around August 11. After Nici return
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We were at about 7,500 feet and cru
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making arrangements for hangar spac
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Day 43: A Bit of a Dip in the Strip
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Day 44: Wake Turbulence Monster Don
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And here's another one Nici took of
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The only problem is that I'd have t
Page 143 and 144:
would only have a day to play befor
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145
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German. I'm wondering when the day
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149
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There's a lot more to this great st
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Taking a walk around the city, I wa
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Day 49: The North Sea Oostende, Bel
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coast the traffic is almost always
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along the extended centerline of th
Page 161 and 162:
After checking in, we headed for th
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During one of the several periods o
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And looking to the right is the Chi
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Day 53: Party Capital of the North
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When we arrived at the beach at aro
Page 171 and 172:
Day 54: A Walk On The Beach With Je
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Day 55: Leap of Faith Copenhagen, D
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illowy cumulus rain clouds in the s
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Sweden, and the beautiful little gr
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Day 57: Future Aviators Gromitz, Ge
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We did a lot of over-water flying t
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Day 58: The GPS Of The Future Hambu
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Day 59: Unplanned Landing in (Forme
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Today was a big occasion for one of
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Day 60: Runway Snake! Zurich, Switz
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Donaueschingen, Germany is where Ma
Page 193 and 194:
Once in a great while, there are th
Page 195 and 196:
Day 63: Tribute To Lowell Williams
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ground, but it hasn't cured the pro
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The area surrounding Rheims is Cham
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Navigate between two tall radio tow
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As I was taxiing out to runway 24,
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I parked on the ramp next to anothe
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Day 67: Great Hotels, Great Memorie
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And while we are on the subject of
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Have you ever played Snooker? Well,
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Day 69: Down and Out, and Just Arou
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Day 70: Back at the Beach Again New
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Day 71: Hangar Flying New Romney, E
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This place has a Concorde on displa
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Day 73: The American Air Museum Dux
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Unfortunately, it allows only one p
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I should say right off that Keith,
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Day 75: A Most Incredible Day Duxfo
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I should stop here for a minute to
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I watch the takeoff and then disapp
Page 233 and 234:
Day 76: Today Well Lived... Duxford
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Then up walks another fellow, Ray,
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Day 77: They Saved the World East A
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At the end of the road that leads i
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We drove back into town and had lun
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Day 79: Great Planes Duxford, Engla
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Day 80: Playing On the Grass and in
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I did about five circuits of the pa
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Day 81: Anticipation Duxford, Engla
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I'm not looking forward to waking u
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She continues: "However, if we only
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We were cruising around the neighbo
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Day 83: Nice People, Nice Day Duxfo
Page 259 and 260:
Later in the day, I returned to the
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Day 84: Floats For My Biplane! Camb
Page 263 and 264:
Day 85: Ghosts of Greatness Cambrid
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I was constantly changing my altitu
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My tour of Hadrian's Wall was inter
Page 269 and 270:
Day 88: Roots County Donegal, Irela
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By the time I was over land again,
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Day 89: Mourning the Princess Count
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Day 90: Miracles and Monarchs Doon
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into the distance. It was a fine pi
Page 279 and 280:
279
Page 281 and 282:
Day 93: Meeting the Relatives Termo
Page 283 and 284:
Day 94: Flight of Fancy County Done
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Day 96: The End County Donegal, Ire
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Epilogue: The Duck (Three Years Lat
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It occurred to me that in some cult
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Appendix A: Acknowledgements Mom an
Page 293 and 294:
The Spirit of Adventure I February
Page 295 and 296:
Certified for flying instruments-on
Page 297 and 298:
Appendix D: Checklists Preflight In
Page 299 and 300:
Run-up Oil pressure Green Oil temp
Page 301 and 302:
Appendix E: Emergency Procedures En
Page 303 and 304:
Power Off Landing Landing field Loc
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The Spirit of Adventure - Michael McCafferty

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