OLDER UPDATES
Update: November 30th
| Connection with Mike and Diana was choppy yesterday, as it is today. We assume they have landed at their next destination, Virgin Gorda, this morning per schedule, though we do not know for certain. Again, as soon as we re-establish a connection, the site will be updated. |
Update: November 29th
| Mike and Diana departed from Boca Raton this morning and first stopped off in Georgetown, B.I. to eat and refuel. They made it to Providenciales, T&C this afternoon and have successfully met up with the rest of the group. At this moment, figures are incomplete because of problems in communication. I will post an update as soon as we receive more information. |
Update: November 28th
| The alternator in question was not able to be replaced until two in the afternoon, so Diana and Mike are still in Boca Raton, Florida. They repaired with a new regulator and diode pack in Boca Raton. They took a test flight around and they didn't find any problems with the plane, so they are planning to reunite with the rest of the group on Providenciales, Turks & Caicos tomorrow. |
Update: November 27th
| Today's quest was
to replace the worn out alternator that had hindered them
the day before. An RV4 owner in Ocala, named Carl Woods,
drove them to a small repair shop in Ocala to replace the
worn out brushes on the alternator. Afterwards, around
1:40 in the afternoon, they took off and discovered that
the alternator was still malfunctioning. They landed in
Boca Raton around 3 o'clock and found Terry Lewis, the
owner of a Chinese version of a Russian YAK CJ6. Terry
showed them yet another place to service alternators. It
turns out the rectifier and the voltage regulator failed
when it got too hot. They did find the necessary parts
and it is being fixed tonight. Tomorrow, they will test out the airplane for awhile in the morning, to make sure the alternator is working perfectly. They then hope to join the group in Turks and Caicos by tomorrow night. Some statistics provided by Mike for their trip so far:
|
Update: November 26th
| The two awoke on Sunday to find ice on their plane, mostly because Carlsbad is 3,295 ft. above sea level. After waiting for the sun to warm things up and scraping off the ice, they left the airport at 7:35 local time. They stopped in Corsicana, Texas and Fairhope, Alabama on their way to Ocala, Florida. Because of weather difficulties, the will not make it to Boca Raton this night, but they will try to arrive there and join up with the group tommorow morning, before the 10:00 leave time. From their current location, Boca Raton is around 1.5 hours away. |
Update: November 25th
| Leaving on a six
hour flight from Los Osos, Mike and Diana made stops in
Blythe, California and Deming, New Mexico on their way to
Texas. Aiming for Midland or Lubbock, Texas, they didn't
quite make it there. As daylight ran out over New Mexico,
they landed around 6 o'clock (local New Mexico time), in
Carlsbad. They aim to arrive in Tallahasse, Florida or
farther by tomorrow, an estimated 8 hour flight. We also received some pictures from their stop in Los Osos from Diana's father. Go to the picture section of the main page to see them and the plane. Also, for the aviation buffs out there, Mike said over the phone that the RV-4 is getting 8.64 gals./tach hr. |
Update: November 24th
| After a foggy morning, the plane finally took off, headed for their first stop in Los Osos, California. They arrived this evening safely and will resume their flight after a good night's sleep. Weather is clear to Florida. |
Update: November 23rd
| The weather on Thanksgiving did not turn out that well. With a cloudy morning and rain throughout the afternoon, the takeoff was canned for the day. Weather predictions say tommorrow will bring more sunlight and less clouds, and hopefully, a better day for flying. |