Hello to all.  Today was a very interesting and acrobatic day for me today.  We are changing No. 1 turbine engine on CD-15 (Vertol 107) and were starting to get ready to hang the overhauled engine in the airframe.  We grabbed the engine hoist that mounts to the airframe and hooked it up to the overhead crane on the ceiling of the hanger and lifted it up to the top of the aircraft.  The engine hoist here is much larger than normal hoists and has a pivot point located by the pulley.  I waited for the hoist and when I received the hoist, I gave the commands for mounting the hoist. 

Once the hoist was in place, I forgot about the pivot point and attempted to disconnect the overhead crane from the engine hoist.  The cable of the overhead hoist is supposed to remain attached to hold the hoist off the airframe.  It turns out, it was the best thing I could do, but unfortunately, I wasn’t fast enough.

The instant I started attempting to disconnect, the overhead crane started moving along the ceiling in the direction toward the cockpit.  I started yelling to stop moving the crane, but it was too late.  Josh, the mechanic in command of the crane, had already walked away, and the crane was short circuiting and moving on its own.  It acted like a possessed machine, or perhaps gremlins are to blame, HA HA.  The cable drew tight, and the engine hoist snapped.  I was still holding onto the hook and proceeded to go tumbling across the top of the fuselage.  The crane stopped moving on its own, and I came to rest by the forward transmission, and forward rotor head.

Upon realizing what had happened, I released the death grip I had on the hook of the overhead crane, and looked over my injuries.  My hip was hurting badly, and I had no idea, what I slammed into.  Looking around, the thought of me falling off the helicopter and landing on the concrete below entered my mind and I was very fortunate this didn’t happen.  Its amazing the airframe wasn’t damaged from the malfunctioning crane. 

I went to the base clinic where I was looked at, received a pain killer injection for my comfort, along with finding out my knee was bleeding from the tumble, and the wound cleaned out.  I chose myself not to go to the hospital for x-rays since I figured, if it’s my hip, and I can walk, it must not be broken.  Why waste the time, lets get this engine hung.  I am guessing I bruised the bone quite well though.  I bet I will be feeling quite groovy with a big bruise on my hip when I wake up tomorrow.  That’s it from me today, its time to start chillaxin.  Peace everyone!

 Redwine

Hello again to all.  I received my new drive from Dell Inc.  I was really happy receiving it since I use it mostly for watching DVD’s.  Well…. They sent me the wrong damn drive!  I paid $109 to ship it from Washington to me in Saudi Arabia.  Why am I not surprised.  The old drive that was installed was a DVDRW at 8X/CDRW at 24X.  Now I have a DVD player with a CDR at 8X.  Due to that fact that the old drive burned at 8X speed, they are telling me that this is a perfectly suitable replacement.  HELLO!!  Look at the specifications of both drives and it’s obvious they are completely different!  DVDRW 8X | No DVDRW.  CDRW 24X | CDRW 8X.  These are VERY DIFFERENT DELL!!!  It doesn't take rocket science to realize the differences, and admit your mistake.  I paid for the upgrade, and this notebook is my link to the outside world.

I am currently fighting with Dell Inc. now about the fact that they messed up.  If they think I am going to pay $220 dollars to ship 2 drives back to them, they’re mistaken.  On top of that, they better pay for the shipping for the correct drive to get to me. 

This could become the factor to my decision at buying the new Fugitsu tablet I want.  Besides that, I want to pass this notebook to Natashka.  I need to purchase my new machine first, and it’s not looking good for Dell Inc.  Leave me your comments on what you think about Dell’s mistake they are hiding behind.  I’ll let you know what happens in the future.

Redwine

Hello to everyone out there.  I am planning a trip to Moscow, Volgograd, and Volzhsky, Russia.  I will be there for 12 days to go visit Natashka.  She is so very special to me in every way, and I hate the fact that I have to wait till January to spend time with her.  That is when my vacation starts.  I have been working on acquiring my Russian Visa and it has been quite hard getting everything sorted.  Hence, the reason I am posting this.

For anyone that wants to go visit the Motherland, you must first figure out all the cities you want to visit.  There are many places that can assist you with a tourist package.  I found Russian Visa Online and you can chat with someone live as well to assist you and answer any questions that you many have. http://www.visatorussia.com.  This site can also help you with everything you will need.  If you are in the Seattle, Washington vicinity, I suggest East West Tours http://www.east-west-tours.com

For United States citizens, do not forget to go to the U.S. Dept of State website and look at all the visa entry and exit requirements, along with updated travel warnings. http://travel.state.gov/

This is the first of many trips I will be taking to the Volgograd vicinity.  Because I am traveling there to see Natashka, I am not booking a tourist package.  Her, and I will see all the sites together.  I have selected to do everything on my own.  Hotel Volgograd is helping me with the letter of invitation I’m in need of, but everything else I am doing on my own.  The employees at the hotel are very helpful and will assist you on planning your trip.  http://www.hotelvolgograd.ru for people who are Russian literate and http://www.hotelvolgograd.ru/en for people who are English literate.

My big dilemma has been that I need a flight to make hotel reservations and have visa dates.  The airlines need your sponsors’ (hotel) name, but you can’t have a sponsor without the flight itinerary.  The Sponsor also needs dates before your letter of invitation can be sent to you.  Obviously, you need the dates for the Russian Visa as well.  It's a very confusing circle.  What I did, was tell the travel agency who my sponsor will be, and I was able to get my itinerary from there, I am now receiving everything from the hotel so I can apply for the visa.  This could possibly be the benefit of booking with a Saudi Arabian travel agency, you have that whole language barrier and they may have misunderstood me.

 I have been very fortunate to get an Aeroflot Airlines flight direct from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia to Moscow, Russia with a refueling stop en route.  Aeroflot Airlines flies into Jeddah for Hajj.   From there, I am stuck in Moscow for 14 hours, before continuing to Volgograd, hence why I am visiting Moscow too.  If I am there for so long, why not go see Red Square and the Kremlin.   The Kremlin in the winter, can there be a better time.  I hope this helps in some way, and feel free to ask any questions.  I would be more than happy to help.   Comments are always welcome as well.

Redwine

Hello to every sledneck out there!  I have recently added the links to the websites of the four major manufacturers.  I hope this helps everyone find the information they are looking for to help them with their decision on the new sled they want for the 2007 season.

I’ve been having a hard time deciding if I want to buy a new sled in 2007 or 2008, due to the fact that I am now working in Saudi Arabia for 22 more months(2 year contract).  I still have to side with my earlier blog on the new sleds for 2007, but I am thinking about a Yamaha now instead of a Ski-doo. 

My idea now is to buy the Yamaha Apex Mountain SE this year, and installing a supercharger along with numerous lightweight parts from Mountain Performance www.mountainperformance.com.  No lag!!  The Ski-doo is an awesome sled, but due to me always being a true Yamaha fan, I am thinking about building a big ass sled and seeing what it will do against the other manufactures.  The sound of a four-stroke sled with a supercharger is just awesome!

I still am not sure what Polaris has up their sleeves, but I hope to figure it out by 2008 when they release the new sleds for that year. 

As I have stated before, I an not an Arctic Cat fan.  I understand that Arctic is a big name over in the mid-west, but its only there in the fields that they are incredibly popular.  Polaris is the wrong thing to say when you are in that area of the world, but if you are in the west, or in Alaska, it is totally opposite.  Arctic Cat has done such a wonderful job with marketing and changes to the mountain class sleds in the past few years.

Please leave your comments on what you think is the best sled and manufacturer for 2007, but please don’t leave any bad comments.  Everyone might be brand specific, but if you leave a very nasty comment toward any manufacturer, I will delete the comment.  If you cannot leave a comment, email me at redwine2615@yahoo.com, and I will be happy to post it for you.  Don’t forget to leave the area you are from.  I hope to hear everyone’s input, and everyone have a great 2007 season in the powder!

 Redwine