Loaded trailer (camping trailer), loaded equipment, plane, fuel, etc., and got ready to go. Backing up to the trailer to attach it to my hitch, I put the van in Park, got out to check how close I was. Van was NOT in "P", so it rolls back, strikes the trailer tongue, pushes the trailer rear into my fence. No damage, just scared the "P" outta me! Hooked up correctly, head out the driveway. Thirty miles out, almost hit broadside by an out-of-control, spinning car coming across the center median. Locked up my brakes, praying the trailer wouldn’t jackknife, and it didn’t. Started wondering if this was a good plan. Thinking about the "little voice".

Rest of trip uneventful, surprise,surprise, so I arrive at Temple, Texas. Took the wrong loop, circled the city completely, finally arrived there. Talked with CD B.W. Ponder at the field, got all situated and parked. Now the fun started. Nothing you read below is stretched truth. All of this REALLY happened, in the sequence given.

Heavy, serious, winds 90 degrees in our face…talking 25+ mph here!! Call it a "high breeze"….so decided to set everything up for the trailer. Parked, leveled, connected the generator. First pull on starter – starter rope breaks, leaving about 3" of frayed rope, with handle, in my hand. Generator silent, of course. Hmmm. Take off shroud, reroute pull rope, reattach, it’s good. Start generator, and it WORKS!!! Now comes "load" – turning on the AC in the trailer….loads the generator pretty hard, but it works, anyhow…starting to cool. Did I mention it was in the 80’s? With humidity to match?

So I unload the plane, assemble it, check everything, and decide to go into the trailer. To get cool. It was, I did, then I hear this sort of a groan from the direction of the generator, followed by the AC fan slowing to near-stop, then a loud grunt, the generator STOPS. So does the AC. I’m thinkin’ this ain’t good…bad noises….kinda like the airborne metallic clang when the YS piston/conn rod break. Off to investigate, and I vaguely recall forgetting to check the oil. Yep. Dry as my parched throat. Seized up tighter than an overheated YS…not a DROP of oil in that sucker!! After I finish mumbling incredible curses on a variety of animate and inanimate objects with frequent references to anatomical impossibilities, I set to the task of Un-Seizing the hardy Briggs 5 hp….

Off comes the starter shroud (remember the pull rope?) which PROMPTLY un-winds it’s little rope spring. Save that for later. Generator motor is hot enough to cook things on, and way too hot to touch, so I go fly…What an UGLY flight in those winds, but it all worked. Reminded me of why I was there. Feeling mildly hopeful.

Waited some more, engine finally cooled enough to work on. Used a VERY LARGE wrench to rotate the flywheel, and actually got it un-stuck. Rotating it by hand, it didn’t feel broken, so I oiled it up (filled properly), gassed it, fired it up, and the thing ran!!! What a testimony to B&S durability…and abuse tolerance. Fire up the AC, start cooling the trailer, then I think – well, I better go see how the oil is holding up.

Did I say I was stupid? You all know engines aren’t MY thing. Yes. I went to the generator, unscrewed the oil fill plug, and about the last half thread realized that this was not a particularly good idea…oh, yeah..the motor was still running…Plug blows off with the velocity of a bullet, oil blows out of the hole so fast that engine re-seizes nearly immediately, I’m covered in HOT oil, front of trailer looks like a refugee from a oil rig explosion, and I’m trying desperately to turn things off, find parts, and avoid getting more hot oil on my face and arms…you should have seen THIS!!! It is NOT possible for you to imagine my thoughts and words at this point. Just a Little beyond mildly upset. Didn’t throw a darn thing, though. Recall the "little voice"??

There was PLENTY of oil in it. I know that because my shirt, pants, face and arms, were COVERED with it. SAE 30 weight, about 110 degrees or so…pretty amazing stuff!! Atomizes quite well, and goes a LONG way as droplets…Well, I was getting a little miffed now. Mainly at my ignorance. A little at the situation. But I knew what to do courtesy my EARLIER seize-up episode, so un-seizing it, refilling the oil, rewinding the starter rope spring and putting the shroud back together all went relatively easily. Only took about an hour or so. Did I tell you it was HOT? About 4:30 in the afternoon now. Still windy, hot, humid…and still only flown ONCE. Restart generator, turn on AC, start to cool a little, and decide "I’ve got to get some flying in…all this stuff sucks….need to feel good about SOMETHING"….

While the trailer cools, I fuel up, blast off with my trusty EMC and ST doing their thing. Marginally-less ugly flight this time. Worried about fuel consumption, I decide to land. Still horrible crosswind. About over the end of the runway, engine dies. Out of gas. Plane speeds up immediately, starts drifting toward my position. As it goes past, starting to slow, the crosswind exceeds the airplanes’ crosswind capable velocity, the plane skids toward the pits off the runway edge, raises a wing. I fight DESPERATELY to keep it from stalling and snapping. Plane gets lower, still pretty fast, and impacts the near edge of the runway, collapsing my fixed gear, then it strikes the pilot barricade pole made out of 1" conduit. This impact is about 4" out from the fuse on the right wing panel, and the vertical pole goes about 4" into the wing. I am no longer miffed. Now, I am SERIOUSLY questioning my sanity. More seriously questioning my ABILITY. Fortunately, B.W. and the judges were there watching, and they immediately starting encouraging me about repairing it. Two guys offer their workshops. Another offers foam and glue. Great guys. Not ONE of them laughed where I could see it!!! Clearly recalling the "little voice", now.

Anyway, I gather up the remains, drag them over behind the trailer, start to assess the mess, and decide to get cool. Go in the trailer. Was cool. Felt pretty good. Hung around for awhile, had supper, left with the fellas to the workshop to fix the EMC. Complicated repair job, but foam, epoxy, and sheeting can cure a number of ills, and with the help of Ken Schultz and Bobby Zikes, I’m done around 11 pm, and return to the field.

Trailer has cooled since sundown, generator has been off, so didn’t give it any thought at all. You can imagine my relief at having a flyable plane, an operable generator, and it’s still only Thursday night. Starting to get encouraged-slightly.

Time to clean up. Go in the trailer, turn on the light. The dim glow from the bulb reveals OTHER problems. How dim was it? Think really-old, used up flashlight. Just before it’s dead. Grabbed my flashlight and multimeter, cover off the RV battery, check…yep. A surprising 10.1 volts. Hmmm. Supposed to be around 12.7 or so. Didn’t want to take the time to diagnose this problem, so I just go fire up the generator, which is attached to my external gas tank.

In the trailer. Generator running. Hot water. Shower. Feeling good!!! Shutoff generator, get some sleep. It has been a LONG day…tomorrow MUST be better.

Friday dawns clear and cool. I begin the process of troubleshooting the various electrical problems, isolate the trailer battery as the culprit, and off I go to K-Mart. About 20 miles. Didn’t take the old battery. At K-Mart, I find a battery that MIGHT just work, but not sure, so I turn around and drive the 20 miles back to the flying field. Check the original battery, sure enough, I almost bought the wrong size. Whew! Glad I dodged THAT bullet!!!

Load the dead battery, back to K-Mart. Locate the right replacement, only to find that the $10 off sale THAT MORNING had expired. So I get to pay regular price. Off to the Checkout with batteries in cart. Pull out Visa. Forgot to change when the new ones came last month, so the one from my wallet is EXPIRED. Dig into cash reserve for contest plus some, and I’m on my way, new trailer battery in van, headed back to the field. Another 20 miles.

Install the new battery. Checks fine. Plenty of volts. Day is warming up, so I go to fire up generator and get cool. Generator runs, I’m in the trailer about 10 minutes, and the $#(*%*$ generator DIEs. Out of gas. I immediately remember checking the oil (it was okay), topping the external gas can before the K-Mart trips, so surely that’s not the problem?? Walk to the generator, check the external 5 gallon can – empty. Of course, at the bottom is the exposed fuel line attachment, less fuel line. My theory is that the fuel line popped off, thus allowing the can to drain onto the earth. Any other ideas out there???

Fix the fuel line. Grab my siphon hose, back to the van to steal some of my own gas. Nope. Ain’t gonna happen. My van tank has a siphon screen, so I can pull about a half gallon out before the siphon stops. Ain’t much gas, but maybe the weather will hold cool and I won’t need the generator. Sure enough, the rest of the weekend, only fired up the generator when the cooking had to be done. Strange, no??

Now Friday is gone. Got some practice in. Generator ran. Plane repairs held up. Trailer stayed cool. The rest of the story is uneventful, except for the drive home in the pouring rain which had caused B.W. to call off the last round and a half of the contest. Hard rain. Lots of wind. And I got to drive HOME in it all.

The moral of this story is that stuff goes wrong. When you least expect it. When you can’t anticipate it. The great challenge of the sport is the character that episodes like this build. We have to LEARN tenacity, or we’re gone. We have to PRACTICE perseverance or we won’t have tolerance. And we have to figure out exactly WHEN to listen to the "little voice". Evidently, there really are times when we should listen to it, and stay home. But if I would have done that this time, I would NOT have been able to continue the learning that I gained by going.

Somewhere in all this I got to relearn what a great bunch of guys are in the hobby. Those friends in Temple weren’t ABOUT to let me leave. BW Ponder offered his backup "Associate". Others offered their backups. When I decided to repair mine, they were RIGHT THERE, ready to help. It’s a rare event these days to be able to see such support and friendship extended. These are outstanding samples of our Pattern Pilots. My thanks to all of them!!

By the way – I now have a checklist to remind me of all the things which cost me grief. Now if I can only remember where I put it…….

Bob Pastorello