I am flying the Helicycle tomorrow morning on a 1.3 hour cross country flight to meet with a stair client at his new timberframe home. He wants me to design and build a stairway for it. This client is very well known and his work was recently right on the front cover of the FLYING magazine. He has a team of engineers that specialize in CNC work and specializing in carbon fiber composite work. He builds whole wings, fuselages...and many other machined items and ships them all over the world. I will post pictures of what I can tomorrow of his operation. I will be landing out in the boonies right where his business and new home is located.

It would take me 3 hours to drive it...but only 1.3 hours of laying down a kerosene exhaust plume to southern Illinois. It will cost me $60 more in fuel....but.....it will save me over 2.5 hours of driving.....gain me over 2.5 hours of helicopter time.....and my fuel stop is at one of downstate Illinois finest airport restaurants.

These kind of missions is what I dreamed of for years....

Here is the google earth locator pins for my shop...upper yellow one....and the timber frame home....lower yellow one. I have already electronically flown this flight looking for unfriendly terrain to avoid....but there is none. The GPS co-oridinates are programmed in and I will just keep the chopper on the red line on my screen.

I have permission to post some most interesting information about my client. Check out their website. These people are extraordinaire! One of the blessings of building curved stairways is that my clients are typically above average in achievements, and this couple is no exception. They have top secret stuff going on that I wont be able to take pictures of.......but is this going to be an interesting trip!!!!

Check out this site and scroll through their menu. More pictures tonight.

http://www.flying-s.com/

They are also into beef and free range chickens

http://www.flyingsbeef.com/

Very cool Stan!

The weather forecast is questionable for today. I am flying wed morning instead. The temperature today is 92 with a dew point of 74. I hate this kind of weather and is why I would not enjoy Florida for many months out of the year......but cant argue with the beautiful winter weather.

I always said I would not use the capabilities of a helicopter to press on, just because I can land anytime anywhere. So.....I will wait till tomorrow. There is just too much to see at this amazing place .

The weather is perfect today for my cross country flight to layout the stairway . Dave is going to give me a tour of his facilities. He says he has some projects that I won't be able to take pictures of. I should be able to see some of the Webb space telescope components they are involved with. I don't know which I am most excited about.....the helicopter flight ...discussing their stairway.....touring their business......or eating at that nice airport restaurant on the way back.....

how about all the above.

The Helicycle was due for a grease shot in each zerk, checked the fine mesh fuel screen in the gascolator, topped off the aux fuel tank.....she is ready to burn a kerosene plume to southern Illinois.

Nothing beats the experience of parking in the parking lot of a good restaurant and watch people admire your machine while you eat

Stan sucks! I want pictures of the Helicycle in the Golden Corral parking lot!

Wow....what a day to remember. I was BLOWN AWAY by what I saw at this business. Had to sign a non disclosure contract to not reveal anything I saw or heard. Not trying to tease here....but did I ever see a lot of stuff I did not know exist being made for the government. What I can say that is on their website is a huge room of CNC equipment making perfect molds out of solid blocks of aluminum for their carbon fiber composite layup of components for mostly stuff that leaves the ground. I already mentioned they made a lot of components for the 8.2 billion Webb telescope to be launched in 2018.

I had an interesting predicament when landing. After a nice 1.3 hour cruise....smooth as glass....and never needing to move the pedals much....I started to descend at an airport to get JetA. In the pattern I noticed my pedals were working hard. I then came to hover near the JetA fuel tank and could not get my pedals to move at all without a lot of force. I was trying to stop the rotation from turning left....then overcorrecting and turning right...and back and forth. I had to set down 100 yards from the fuel tank as I weathervaned it into the wind to assist getting it from turning. I finally hit on the pedals correctly...stopped turning...then set it down promptly. I left the turbine running as I stopped the blades...got out with my plastic bag of grease I carry and finally freed the tail slider yoke. I had this happen 2 years ago.....and started using Marvel Mystery oil.....but decided after two years that I would go back to grease as I thought it was broken in by now...and grease would stay on there longer. WRONG!

Well....never again. That flight had had me hardly touch my pedals....and the tight tolerance must have caused some grit to lock it up. Marvel Mystery oil never gave me any problems.....They had some of that oil...and my slider smoothed right up and no issues at all after the flight home.

The stairway is being designed now....and is going to be a fun project. I will have to haul it down with my truck.

Here are some pictures enroute. I was cruising at 105-110.....my GPS shows 112 mph actual. My bearing of 165 degrees exactly matches the 165 degrees on my HSI. Thank you Gabor for strongly suggesting putting that in. Nice back up and beats a whiskey compass!

Successful day and man.....does that chopper cover ground. I saved over 2.5 hours of commuting. They happened to be having a chicken barbecue and what a meal!

You will be seeing this guys work worldwide......but I cant say a word.

Nice!!!!!

That looked pretty HIGH for a heli though!!!!

Gordon- I was just under 2000 feet. Had a lot of trees under me!

The highest I ever went in a heli was 3,000 ft in a Jet Ranger (206B) on the way back to Ft Myers from Punta Gorda. Pilot wanted to show me a different perspective since we rarely flew over 300 ft MSL (where we flew the ground elevation was rarely over 30 ft MSL). That was prior to 1981 and I still remember vividly how small I felt at that altitude in a heli, even though I often flew with a friend at 3,000 to 8,000 in a 172. That high altitude seemed very different in a heli (at least to me it did).

You should try 5000 ft in a gyro! talk about the seat feeling small!

Sounds like a great trip Stan, that is so cool.

Scott- I really am having the time of my life flying that helicopter for pleasure and business. So far I have flown to 9 different jobsites to meet with potential clients. If yesterdays flight lands ....no pun.....me the stair contract....I will be batting 9 out of 9...or 100%. Prominent people just love helicopters coming to them.

You are living the dream Stan, I am happy for you, that is so cool.

The end of this story. I built a two story stairway for this home....and it is in straight sections....yikes! Sometimes I do build straight stairways.....money is money!

Yesterday I drove 3 hours to deliver and help show how the installation goes. I warned the owner to measure twice...maybe 3 times if he were my age....then cut. I wasn't half way home when my phone rang and he miscut one of the main 40 inch x 40 inch by 1.75 inch thick landing treads....solid hickory! ouch!!!! O MY AHHHH

This home is a very cute but small timberframe home.....basement...main level...and loft. It has the latest geothermal heating system and super insulated. The timber beams are draw bored with real oak pegs driven in....not fake ones.

This two story hickory stairway will look so cool when its all installed.

Easy fix! 1.75" is the exact thickness of the 2x4. Just nail a 2x4 across