Skills acquisition?

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I do have this in my back pocket. Matched to the twin two stroke it s attached to.
Was on an ultralite that got hung up in some power lines
 
I might have given up yesterday.
I looked it up and checked out the time and cost commitment.
7k to 10 k depending on how good you are and how quickly you complete objectives.
Decent school 20 min. Away.

I looked into it 17-18 years ago. Heard ads for 1-800 be a pilot and jumped on it. It'd spent a few years prior to that skydiving, but had been out of it for a while and wasn't sure if I wanted to get back in. I love flying, so I went and did an intro flight. It was a great experience and I was able to do far more than the instructor initially told me I'd do. Instructor said she was going to take over the controls on final approach and land the plane. Well, we got closer and closer and closer and she didn't - just kept talking me down. I ended up landing the plane. Afterwards, she fully explained what was required next, should I want to continue. Way too expensive for something I was pretty sure I'd never use.

Flying a glider is still on my bucket list though. 50 coming up next year - might be a good excuse.
 
There are several groups here of aviators that live in ABQ and commute via Cessna or similar to Los Alamos on a daily basis. You buy a % of the plane and its operating expenses. The commute is ~25 min vs ~ 2 hours. They leave a car at the airport in LA and carpool to the townsite and various TA's. Housing in ABQ is ~50% less than LA. I have flown in and out of the LA airport on several occasions. Its quite "breathtaking" to say the least. No room for error as the runway ends at the end of one of the mesa's and then nothing below you. Those guys have quite the scenic commute each morning as they leave at sunrise more or less. Here is a nice HD You Tube video someone posted of the take off and flight around the area. The airspace over LANL is restricted so you must takeoff headed East away from the townsite and lab. You can see the ski area (in Winter) at around 14:00 as well as the lab off to the left side of the airplane. Looks like the sign at the pump says fuel is $4.35 a gallon. Not a cheap hobby when you factor in the high cost of fuel as well as maintenance that must be documented and performed by qualified mechanics.

 
I've done a lot of 'stuff' over the years which has always brought me joy. Much like the others, I want to learn to weld next. I've dabbled with a stick welder, and this 'creative' side in me is yearning for release so I'm looking at MIG welders at the moment. I figured between that, a chop saw, some stands and a couple grinders I can get an idea of what I want to do. I also want to get this wine making thing down to be able to create a repeatable good product I enjoy. Everyone here has been wonderful in that journey. :)
 
That's a poignant photo!

Wow! Hope no one was hurt.
That theres big words but i looked it up.
Lol no physical injuries, but hung in the power lines for a couple hours right beside I-5
He said it was humiliating, people stopping and taking pictures, while he waited to be electrocuted
 
While looking for something else, I came across this thread I started a while ago. Fun to re-read.

Since I posted this, I did indeed start and finish the engine swap that I mused about earlier. (Chevy LS1 into a 3-Series BMW.) I also took formal instruction in cooking at the local Technical College; I only got to take the intro classes, however, so I didn't really break any new ground. (I like to joke that I used to be able to cook eggs before I took a college course on how to do it! :D .)
 
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Paul, thanks for bringing this one up again, I'd forgotten all about it, meant to reply to it back then and just never did. I was going to list artwork and just recently started devoting time to watercolors. Wish I'd started earlier but I guess we say that about everything we enjoy as a hobby or vocation. I'm purely at the practice-practice-practice stage but just finished painting some rocks in the front yard a couple of days ago and working on a sketch for a wine related still life right now. I'll be sure to post that when it's done in photos maybe next week.
Fun re-read, thanks,
Mike
RiverRocks.jpg
 
Again, you have some serious skills here. You should head northeast about 15 miles and so some sketches from that area. Pretty sure you could sell out very quickly at any weekend art show in the area.

Paul, thanks for bringing this one up again, I'd forgotten all about it, meant to reply to it back then and just never did. I was going to list artwork and just recently started devoting time to watercolors. Wish I'd started earlier but I guess we say that about everything we enjoy as a hobby or vocation. I'm purely at the practice-practice-practice stage but just finished painting some rocks in the front yard a couple of days ago and working on a sketch for a wine related still life right now. I'll be sure to post that when it's done in photos maybe next week.
Fun re-read, thanks,
Mike
 
Paul, thanks for bringing this one up again, I'd forgotten all about it, meant to reply to it back then and just never did. I was going to list artwork and just recently started devoting time to watercolors. Wish I'd started earlier but I guess we say that about everything we enjoy as a hobby or vocation. I'm purely at the practice-practice-practice stage but just finished painting some rocks in the front yard a couple of days ago and working on a sketch for a wine related still life right now. I'll be sure to post that when it's done in photos maybe next week.
Fun re-read, thanks,
Mike
View attachment 59021

Again, you have some serious skills here. You should head northeast about 15 miles and so some sketches from that area. Pretty sure you could sell out very quickly at any weekend art show in the area.

I agree with Mike @ibglowin . But then Mike @Kraffty would have a J-O-B again. :D
 
Paul, thanks for bringing this one up again, I'd forgotten all about it, meant to reply to it back then and just never did. I was going to list artwork and just recently started devoting time to watercolors. Wish I'd started earlier but I guess we say that about everything we enjoy as a hobby or vocation. I'm purely at the practice-practice-practice stage but just finished painting some rocks in the front yard a couple of days ago and working on a sketch for a wine related still life right now. I'll be sure to post that when it's done in photos maybe next week.
Fun re-read, thanks,
Mike
View attachment 59021

Mike, very nice, but your idea of painting rocks and mine are slightly different.
 
Thx for bringing this back up! I think we need pictures of that LS swap! That's been on my bucket list for quite a while to stuff one into a 944 Porsche.

I wound up diving in head first on the welding thing and have fabricated a lot of little things for myself and friends. The most ambitious of the projects so far has been to take an old Jeep that was destined for the scrapyard and convert it into a trailered propane grill. I've got most done now except to align it, satin clear-coat it, and then fab up the grilling surfaces.

IMG_9507.JPG
 
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