{"id":4772,"date":"2020-12-31T15:16:15","date_gmt":"2020-12-31T21:16:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.texas-flyer.com\/newblog\/?p=4772"},"modified":"2023-11-20T15:17:51","modified_gmt":"2023-11-20T21:17:51","slug":"a-new-home-and-the-rest-of-2020_","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.texas-flyer.com\/newblog\/?p=4772","title":{"rendered":"A new home and the rest of 2020_"},"content":{"rendered":"

December 31, 2020<\/span><\/p>\n

Wow, 2020 was really something, wasn’t it?<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0 Isn’t that what you say when you don’t know what to say about something?<\/p>\n

Throughout the year 2020 we were building a new house in an airport community (in case you haven’t been reading my previous blogs).\u00a0 We were pretty surprised that the builder finished it only about a month later than they originally targeted.\u00a0 A friend in the house building business explained to us that, since most of the materials were likely sourced prior to the pandemic beginning in March 2020, they were “in the pipeline” and then the only possible obstacle to slow things down would be labor.\u00a0 But it appears our builder has some really good teams and they kept working throughout the year.\u00a0 We were lucky in both respects.<\/p>\n

As the building continued, I would fly from my home airport, Anahuac [T00], to the new airport near New Waverly, formally known as Estates [XS09] (but locally the name used varies a lot…. “Estates,” “Waverly Estates”, “Waverly”, “Waverly Acres” or “New Waverly.”\u00a0 Since most traffic is from the local pilots, no one seems to mind the variety).\u00a0 I usually opt for “Waverly Estates.”<\/p>\n

One of my last flights from when I was based at Anahauc worth mentioning happened on September 30, 2020, when my brother Jim and I flew down to the coast to take a spin around the Bolivar Peninsula and the Bolivar ferry.\u00a0 I got a lot of really nice shots on this flight, and realized I was going to miss the close proximity to the beach… there is always a lot to see.\u00a0 Here are some shots from that flight.<\/p>\n

\"Beautiful <\/a>
Beautiful Trinity Bay <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Spoonbill <\/a>
Spoonbill RV Park on Smith Point <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Speedboat\" <\/a>
Speedboat <\/div> <\/div>
\"This <\/a>
This is supposedly a legit landing strip <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Looking <\/a>
Looking down Bolivar Peninsula, towards Galveston <\/div> <\/div>
\"A <\/a>
A closer look at the landing strip <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Looking <\/a>
Looking down the beach of Bolivar Peninsula <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Various <\/a>
Various vehicles\/people on the beach <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Various <\/a>
Various vehicles\/people on the beach <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"A <\/a>
A distant look at Galveston <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Small <\/a>
Small sailboat motoring on the Intracoastal Waterway <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"An <\/a>
An abandoned oil platform <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Various <\/a>
Various ships plying the Houston Ship Channel <\/div> <\/div>
\"Various <\/a>
Various ships plying the Houston Ship Channel <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Various <\/a>
Various ships plying the Houston Ship Channel <\/div> <\/div>
\"A <\/a>
A portion of the Texas City Dike <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Various <\/a>
Various ships plying the Houston Ship Channel <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Smaller <\/a>
Smaller craft motoring around Galveston Bay <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"The <\/a>
The tip of the Texas City Dike in the foreground; Galveston in the background <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"That <\/a>
That tugboat pushing the barge is actually on the Intracoastal Waterway <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"The <\/a>
The old cement ship, S.S. Selma. <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Bolivar <\/a>
Bolivar Ferry <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Bolivar <\/a>
Bolivar Lighthouse <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Another <\/a>
Another Bolivar Ferry <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Texas <\/a>
Texas City Dike <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Working <\/a>
Working on the beach <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Looking <\/a>
Looking east along the Bolivar Peninsula beach <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Oyster <\/a>
Oyster Bayou <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Interesting <\/a>
Interesting pond scum <\/div> <\/div>
\"Shades <\/a>
Shades of green in a field <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"A <\/a>
A look at Anahuac Airport <\/div> <\/div>
\"4N1A1706\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div>
\"4N1A1707\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"4N1A1708\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div>
\"4N1A1709\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Approaching <\/a>
Approaching Anahuac Airport <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n

Finally, on October 21, 2020, we took possession of our baby.\u00a0 My wife had built a house to her specs in a preceding life, but this was my first.\u00a0 We spent a good part of 2019 thinking of, planning for, and designing this home.\u00a0 We absolutely love it and are very happy with the builder and very happy with the way it was built and finished.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Three weeks before we were handed the keys, I asked permission from the builder to install a taxiway from the hangar apron to the runway.\u00a0 I knew I wouldn’t be able to get my gyroplane to<\/em> the hangar without a taxiway.\u00a0 Several pallets of grass sod later, the beginnings of the taxiway were complete.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

I say “beginnings” because fresh sod is notoriously soft and if I ran the plane up on it right away, it would create ruts.\u00a0 To attenuate this possibility Amy and I spent the good part of two days installing a “grass protection mesh” over the sod.\u00a0 Eventually, the grass will grow through the mesh and I’ll end up with a very robust taxiway.\u00a0 In the meantime, the mesh itself will protect the soft sod from tracks and ruts.<\/p>\n

Although it was only nine days after we took possession that I flew my gyroplane to its new “forever home”, it seemed much longer.\u00a0 What had always been round trips from Anahuac would be, on October 30th, a one-way trip.\u00a0 Yes, as always, I took pictures along the way, but the best part of that flight was taxiing the gyro up the taxiway, to the apron.\u00a0\u00a0 I was so happy!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Excited to be able to stroll from the house to the hangar, a mere few footsteps away — for the first time in my life — the next day I also executed a sunset flight, something I have rarely done.\u00a0 In fact, I flew all the way until minutes before the end of civil twilight, staying perfectly legal.<\/p>\n

\"At <\/a>
At 2,000 feet the sun is still above the horizon… though not when you’re on the ground <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"A <\/a>
A dusky look at the neighborhood <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"A <\/a>
A shot of my hangar, right side door open. <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Sunset <\/a>
Sunset at 2,000 feet <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Lake <\/a>
Lake Conroe and a orange sky <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"A <\/a>
A last look at the neighborhood before landing <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"I'm <\/a>
I’m not equipped for night flying. Only my altimeter and air speed indicator are lit. My iPad\/navigation is, too, of course, but it’s not built in. <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n

Throughout the next two months, I spent exhausting days working on unloading moving boxes, moving furniture around, and all the other thousands of details needed to be done when moving into a new house.\u00a0 But I also managed several local flights.<\/p>\n

\"November <\/a>
November 8 <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"December <\/a>
December 6 <\/div> <\/div>
\"December <\/a>
December 8 <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"December <\/a>
December 17 <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n

On the December 8 flight, I had finally found a place I could safely and securely mount a video camera (GoPro) to the plane, so I did a test video, which you may enjoy watching.\u00a0 It’s not going to blow your socks off, by any means, and please keep in mind it’s my first attempt.\u00a0 The video is edited but there’s no music, nothing fancy.\u00a0 But during the fly-by, it’s always cool to see the shadow of the gyro.\u00a0 My landing was unusually long.\u00a0 The other cool thing is that you can see me taxi all the way up to my hangar…\u00a0 to you maybe it’s yawnsville, but to me it’s always exciting to be able to do that.<\/p>\n