Karl, Dolly, Ancestors, Progeny and Activities
A holder for the ‘Day to Day’ and the ‘RV-7 Builders Log’ Blogs
Recently I became interested in creating videos with Power Director software while starting to code a flight simulator version of the Garmin G3X instrument. Coincidentally, Dolly has a very nice camera tripod. I took it to airport and captured the following video on my iPhone. Click on the photo below to watch the video on Youtube.
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For two months I’ve been using spare time to code a Garmin G3X display instrument for the flight simulator community.
The G3X system is for both experimental and certified aircraft. It includes the GDU460, a ten inch touch screen multi page display shown above. Our plane (N50KB) has two on its instrument panel.
I have initially focused on coding the five engine instrument panels. Click on the image below to see a video of progress to date.
Application Method: Cut a strip. Remove about an inch of backing. Align and start sticking. Grab the end of the paper backing from underneath and fold it back on itself while pressing on the aluminum side with a cloth. Slowly pull the backing while pressing with my palm. Follow the fold in its travel to the end of the tape. Burnish as necessary to seal any wrinkles.
Today, Dolly packed a nice lunch for us to eat during our two hour kyack paddle on the Homosassa River. (Where’s the Advil???) I took a wrong turn and instead of going to the Springs went past several waterside restaurants. We decided our food would keep; paddled back to the rental dock; drove to a restaurant; and enjoyed “Chowda”, hush puppies, fried grouper and cokes. It was great!
Social distanced of course. The breeze was coming at us from the river.
Brunch Today
Dolly and I flew down to Sebring this morning and had brunch on the restaurant porch with the Old Farts Flying Club. The club is an informal organization run by Roger Brown who maintains an Email list and chooses an airport restaurant for lunch each winter season Thursday. He follows up with a newsletter including photos of participants and their planes.
Today’s weather – strong crosswinds – reduced the attendance. Before Covid I’ve seen fifty to seventy planes fly in. Today we social distanced and masked. Dolly and I arrived early and picked an upwind table. The food, omelet and pancakes was delicious.
Its a ten gallon recirculating system currently holding two 60 day old bell pepper plants. The tray has a 3D printed bell siphon with about a 15 minute fill/empty cycle that changes the water level by 1.5 inches.
The peppers have much larger leaves than those growing in our tower, and there are no insects eating holes in the leaves as did those in backyard milk bottles. There is some red algae growing inside the sunlight exposed nutrient recirculating tubes. Next winter I’ll use black vinyl.
No sign of blossoms yet. We have hope.
Dolly and I have a handful of N95 shop masks left over from building the airplane. They have been used during trips to grocery stores, etc. We expect them to become contaminated, and they get set aside after one day’s use.
I found DIY advice on building a UV-C sterilizer on YouTube. The sterilizer uses a 30 watt Phillips UV-C bulb available online.
Note: UV-C is the far (short wavelength) end of the ultraviolet spectrum. Brief exposure is said to cause eye damage and skin cancer. It’s not the UV-A/B ultraviolet spectrum used to light up fluorescent materials. The light intensity will sterilize anything in the box in five minutes.
Dolly contributed the wooden box which was made some time ago by her late husband Al’s uncle Edsel. I wrapped Reynolds foil around quarter inch foam board and stuffed it onto all interior surfaces of the box. The shiny foil ensures the light is reflected onto all surfaces of anything in the box.
Masks are held for sterilization on 3D printed frames. Each frame is composed of five parts that snap together solidly. Lucky we have a printer! I found the design for the frame on a medical website.
Family and friends who need masks sterilized are welcome to use the box.
