little diomede

diomede, other, stories

More rocket building! She is almost ready to fly. I skipped a step involving putting glue into a spot I firmly believe there is no way to get to without some specialized tool (super narrow and long glue syringe?), which I don’t have. The glue was to firmly connect the fins to the body tube, so I figured I’d just make some mega epoxy filets on the outside. Same thing, right? Actually no, because epoxy is way heavier then CA glue, so she’ll need a CP/CG check once everything else is done. Basically: if the center of gravity (CG) is too far aft (i.e., behind this rockety thing called the “center of pressure,” or CP) the rocket naturally goes into a turn–not a spin, a turn–as soon as it’s in flight. Turning rockets are bad juju. Speak of bad juju, I will add–at risk of jinxing this whole thing–that I am a wee bit worried that the fin mount rings aren’t well-enough secured to the motor tube. If that concern bears fruit (weird way to say it? yup), then the motor and motor tube will blast through the rocket and fly god-knows-where, spinning and turning and corkscrewing at speeds extraordinarily unbecoming for such behavior. Exciting! I believe I will wear scientist goggles and hide behind a piece of plywood for the launch.

:)

Checking the fin mounts for alignment in the body tube
Checking the fin mounts for alignment in the body tube
Fins mounted!
Fins secured!
Final motor mount centering ring epoxied in and fin root filets done. She's close!
Final motor mount centering ring epoxied in, launch lugs mounted, and fin root filets done. She’s close!
Thanks to willis for storing his tripod in my classroom, for without it this selfie would not have been possible!
Thanks to willis for storing his tripod in my classroom, for without it this selfie would not have been possible!
diomede, stories

No, actually, literally, Russian dogs. From the Russian military base across the dateline. They showed up last week and wandered around, staying clear of the village. Then yesterday three of the four took off straight out to the edge of the sea ice, skirted north around the open water and then made tracks straight back to Big Diomede. They left one behind, which was shot late last night.

Seriously, I’m not making this stuff up!

The second photo is a very, very very cropped version of the first.

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other, stories

I spent the better part of my weekend searching the island for Zora, Jori’s (one of my coworkers) dog. Zora is a wonderful dog who we all love and adore, and she took off for a walkabout saturday afternoon. I searched all saturday evening, late into the night, finally getting close enough to hear her, and I used everything I had in me to try to get her, but I reached a point where there was no safe option but to turn back and follow my own footholds in the wind-hardened snow back down to the village. Anything else would’ve probably resulted in a search and rescue operation for me. Ed and I went up today to look for her again, but the wind had since kicked up and the snow was worse: visibility was poor and even if she had barked for us when we called, we would not have heard. I am exhausted, ever muscle aches and many joints hurt, I am worried sick for her, and I fear that the sad and frightened barks and yelps I heard when I had to turn back will be the last memory I have of her.

Yeah, I know she’s just a dog. But still. God damn it.

I’m not sure how it’s related, but it also occurred to me to note that Birches by Robert Frost has been for some time and likely will continue to be one of my favorite poems. Below is an excerpt.

May no fate willfully misunderstand me
And half grant what I wish and snatch me away 
Not to return. Earth’s the right place for love: 
I don’t know where it’s likely to go better.
 I’d like to go by climbing a birch tree,
And climb black branches up a snow-white trunk
Toward heaven, till the tree could bear no more,
But dipped its top and set me down again.
That would be good both going and coming back.
One could do worse than be a swinger of birches.

other, stories

Seven months ago (last August) I walked into a hobby shop in Anchorage and bought a hundred dollars of model rocket motors.

Most folks call it “The [Dreaded] Last Week of School,” but I call it “Rocket Week, the Most Awesome Week Ever,” Rocket Week for short. This bundle* of rocket motors was for Rocket Week.

Needless to say, this isn’t something I could bring to Diomede in my luggage. Rocket motors are considered HAZMAT and cannot be shipped by USPS, the only carrier which delivers to Diomede. In Anchorage I optimistically called all the Alaskan cargo airlines that fly to Nome, full of false hopes. Nothing. Nobody would ship a little tub of rocket motors.

I called the barge companies, hoping to drop off this explosive little tub at one of the docks to be shipped up to Nome (or if I was super lucky maybe even straight to Diomede!). I guess barge companies operate on a week by week basis, because after some very serious rounds of phone tag I had a “maybe. we will get back to you.” from one company and nothing from the other.

Asking dear friends for huge favors is generally something I save as a last resort, and I indeed was left with no other options. So I call Darla, who works with our school district and also happens to be a private pilot. She agreed to ferry the motors up to Unalakleet the next time she flew there from Anchorage.

A few months later the weather was right and the stars aligned, and sure enough Darla managed to help the rocket motors on the first leg of their journey to Rocket Week.

Then came a long period of waiting and hoping. Sure enough, a month ago a teacher from Nome–the Legendary Mr. Nate–happened to be passing through Unalakleet, so I emailed him and crossed my fingers. Darla brought the bomb-like box to the District Office that morning, and Janice–a great friend and a teacher in Unalakleet–made the handoff to Mr. Nate.  He got the tub onto his flight from Unalakleet, and when he arrived in Nome he made the handoff to Erickson Helicopters (previously Evergreen), the airline that services Diomede. The absolutely wonderful staff there jumped through god-only-knows how many logistical and legal hoops and one and a half weeks later on the helipad here Hank (Diomede’s Erickson agent) handed the box off to Mr. Willis, our principal.

The final leg was carried out by Jason and Raleigh, two of our adorable 1st grade students. Those two little whippersnappers hauled the box up from the elementary to my classroom and made my day absolutely as brightened as it could be.

Here is the tub at the end of it’s journey:

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*I should mention that I tossed in a few bottles of HEET with which to make miniature jet engines. Not terribly relevant, doesn’t really have any line in the story, but nonetheless a part of how things went down.

other

Aviating, obviously!

Stop children, what’s that sound? That’s the sound of me not owning an airplane and not living within doable distance of a flight instructor. Don’t get me wrong, I love where I live. But every place has it’s upsides and downsides, and Diomede’s lack of aviation opportunities is a downside for me. Not a life and death sort of thing, doesn’t make me love it any less, but it is what it is.

So now back to the original question again. What is the best way to spend a sunday afternoon–if not flying?

Simple.

Pretending to fly!

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I practiced calm takeoffs/landings, navigation by VOR, and crosswind (10 gusting to 15) takeoffs/landings. Next session: more crosswind practice + nighttime navigation by VOR. I had my reservations about spending money earmarked for flying real life airplanes for this simulator set up, but one afternoon of practice cleared out my apprehension. Flying a Cessna 172 with this setup is astonishingly life-like. I found myself making the same errors which I was working on scrubbing out at the end of my flight lessons last summer.

For the curious–that is a Saitek Proflight Cessna Yolk & Power Quadrant, Pedal Set & Trim Wheel, and the simulator is X-Plane 10. The thermos is a Stanley 1.1 quart filled with delicious black coffee.

other

Two nights in Nome and four nights in Wales, waiting on the weather, wishing we could sleep on our own beds instead of other peoples floors and beds. And now we are here, home sweet home.

But that is not all.

Here is the stage: we are outside the school in Wales loading a big sled up with our coolers and luggage, to be towed with a snow machine over to the airport, which is about a mile away. Catherine jumps on the passenger seat on the snow machine and Willis and I look at each other–who’s mushing?

“Do you want to mush?”

“Hell yes I want to mush!”

So Willis jumped into the sled and I jumped on the back and we set off over the frozen tundra to the airport. Halfway there we here the chopper coming. The fellow driving gunned the gas and we took off. We zoomed up to the hanger and zoomed around the corner just as the Huey was setting down 30 feet away on the helipad. How did that feel? AWESOME.

But wait, there’s more. They generally do not let passengers ride left seat (copilot’s spot) because this particular helicopter does have standard controls, pilot’s and copilot’s. But today there was a HUGE amount of mail to haul so they packed that chopper to the gills and when it was time to board Simon, the flight mechanic (who usually rides copilot) looks at me and points at copilot.

And my face morphed completely into a giant stupid grin.

And THEN when we got back to the island and there was mail for us! So we unpack, then the four of us exchanged christmas gifts. So to recap. I got to ride musher-style on a sled and ZOOM up to meet a helicopter AS it lands. Then I got to ride co-pilot in a very, very awesome helicopter. And then it was Christmas gift time!

AND we are finally back home after a week of waiting.

Was today a good day? Yes.

 

diomede, other, photography

Well, I used to think that there was nothing like a great day of teaching to make me feel like a superhero, but alas it has been matched. While cruising over beautiful terrain in a helicopter, it’s easy to forget that I am not superman. And I get to cruise over beautiful terrain in a helicopter to go to the school where I teach. How am I this lucky??

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