CorvAircraft> Motivation

[Mark Jones]

A long hard winter has settled over the Midwest dumping more snow on Wisconsin than has been seen here this early in the winter in quite some time. The dark skies and snow covered runways have kept most aircraft nestled away for a brighter day. N886MJ has crept out from her hanger only once in December and then again today. Almost daily I would stop by the hanger and visit with her. Turning over her prop and giving her a pat or two on the spinner. Always giving her words of encouragement that as soon as the ice and snow on the runway cleared off, she would again be set free from the surly bonds of earth. Today was that day! I stopped by the hangar about 9AM and plugged in the pre-heater and told her not to worry that I would soon be back. As I returned to the airport around noon, I could only wonder if she would be ready for yet another wonderful experience in the blue skies over Wisconsin. With the oil all toasty and warm in the Corvair engine and yet another pre-flight done, I rolled her out on the ramp. It was like I could hear her taking a deep breath of the crisp clear air. Once I was all nestled in and buckled up, I began my pre-startup dance. Everything checked out fine so I gave her a few shots of 100LL to tease the plugs a bit. As I reached for the starter and turned the switch, she sprang to life like a bird out of her cage. That Corvair engine turned over maybe twice then let out a roar. As everything else started coming to life, I had this feeling of excitement inside of me. We began the long taxi to runway 30 and the Corvair oil came up to temp and I could feel the warm air blowing in through the vent. After a good run up in the holding area we announced departure and took to the sky. The dense 28° air lifted the KR up off the asphalt and quickly took us to 7500 feet without a struggle. The sky graced us with smooth air and beautiful scenery as the sun danced off the glistening snow below. About an hour passed by and I realized I must return to reality and we started our descent. After a smooth landing we proudly taxied back to the hanger. It was hard to put her away for another cold winters nap but she gracefully went to rest as she knew I would soon return.

Mark Jones (N886MJ)
Stevens Point, WI
Web page: www.flykr2s.com
e-mail: flykr2s at charter.net