Cheap wheelbarrow tires

I started out for the airport late this morning, around 11:00. It's getting a bit cold here in central Alabama and leaving later in the day gives the sun time to warm things up!

I forgot to pick up an innertube for my flat tire, and being Saturday, I couldn't find a place open that would have the tube. I wound up going to Harbor Freight, who didn't have the right size tube either. Instead, they had a large selection of already mounted tires with tubes. I figured I didn't have much to lose, so I bought two 10" tires, thinking I could use them as spares when I have a flat. I continued on to the airport.

My October goal to finish my Phantom has passed, and I'm really not a whole lot closer to finishing than I was at the beginning of October. I guess it will be done when it is done! I worked on it some today, installing the stainless steel free-air shroud, then re-installing the old fan tower. I had removed it earlier to machine some clearance for the free-air shroud. I worked a bit more on the pushrod system for the steering, and I think it will work out well.

After doing as much as I could on the Phantom, I decided to swap wheels and tires on the MX and go fly. In about 10 minutes, I had both tires done. The didn't run very true, I'll tell you that much, but they DID allow me to get off the ground. I stayed very close to the airport as I'm still breaking in the newly-rebuilt points 503 that I installed about two hours ago. I've got to replace the bearings for the fan shaft. They are very rough turning, but it just so happens that I can use the ones that I removed from the fan shroud of the Phantom. I'll try to squeeze that in sometime next weekend.

I flew for about 30 minutes, doing touch-and-gos. I even did my last landing with an intentionally shut-down engine. Of course I was very close to the strip and had plenty of altitude. I'm a chicken!

I really want to get that Phantom finished soon!