Posts

Showing posts from March, 2017

The Nissan Leaf Gets a New Rear Axle

Image
Well, I finally have a salvage title for the 2013 Nissan LEAF (Actually I dont have the title yet, but I think they mail it to me. We are far from settled with the insurance company for sure. It has been six months since Angie was rear ended. The following chart shows a very sad and disturbing trend. Insurance companies aren't paying out. It should be criminal. I went shopping for a new rear axle so I can get the car driving again. The rear ended axle was so bent, the car couldn't move. The new one with no connecting bits was over a thousand dollars. The cheapest used ones I could find on ebay were over 500 dollars. I finally scored at a local used parts place for 95 dollars (removed) and with associated bits such as bearings, bushings, parts of the brakes. It took me a concentrated day with cancelled and moved meetings to get the axle replaced and the car running again. The accomplishment felt good. I am now configuring the car with tractor tires and other modifications t...
Yes, we had a major fire under I-85 in Atlanta and the roadway collapsed. It will be a big deal for awhile. Traffic is bad enough in Atlanta without this problem. The thing that you may not have heard is that on the same day a trailer truck crashed under another major interstate (I-20) in Atlanta and also caused a major fire, that bridge did not collapse.
Image
Angie and I were in Florida for a couple of days. I was intending to fly an ICON A5 aircraft for a test flight. I got the word less than 8 hours before my flight that there were some mechanical problems. As a pilot, if the mechanic or someone else says there is a problem (mostly including me) it is easily heeded. So, a bit disappointed, I didn't fly the ICON A5 --yet. There are many hills and mountains to climb in aviation. On to the next one in near reach. There are many. I flew the drone in Florida. I feel like a skateboarder with the drone. Flying the drone is not a crime! Even though I am operating legally and safely and (way over that) I am a federally licensed remote pilot (in addition to my regular pilot license) it puts me on the defensive when some one comes up to me and asks you if you are the drone pilot. It does not have the same glamour as when I arrive at a strange airport and I step out of the aircraft that I flew there. There are two pics here of me performing ...
Image
I am looking at new opportunities with the plane. This is the best 172 I think I have flown. It runs very very smooth, climbs like crazy. We will see what we can do. Spring is clearly here in Atlanta, although we are having a cold snap here. It barely got above 40 F today. We have plenty of firewood, and we have been using it. Great Quote: "Fear is not a barrier. It is just a point of departure." --J.A Gamache
Late last week I out of town for an short "domestic trip" in Tampa. After returning I didn't quite get my prescriptions and vitamins back in their proper spot at home. Sunday, I was planning to read at Church. Since my pills were a bit misplaced, I accidentally took a sleeping pill just before heading off to Church. I punched through it all, but I "seemed a bit tired". You can't make this stuff up.