Day -2 at Minden

Yesterday’s strong winds have been replaced with middling conditions—perhaps more reminiscent of Pennsylvania than the west coast. Still, it’s an official practice day, the first of two, and much of the field takes to the air. Before that, Mike spends most of the morning putting an oxygen system in JOY and finishing the installation of new LiFePO4 batteries in the nose. These batteries have slightly higher capacity than the lead acid batteries they replaced, but nearly half the weight.

With these chores mostly done, Mike completes some exciting registration paperwork. The envelope at his left hand contains two complimentary passes to a local hot springs spa, a perquisite of contest participation.

Mike registers for the 2012 US Open Class Nationals

It gets more interesting than batteries and paperwork… Continue reading