Hi #Hive,
Anybody up for a gyrocopter flight? Hop on, we're going to pick up a part at Casay airstrip in Dalaguete.
A few days ago, one of the 3 solenoid valves used for the rotor's pre-rotation while on the ground and before take off failed. I identified the problem and replaced the defective part. Now, I don't have any on stock in case another fails. I contacted a friend who takes care of the maintenance of some gyrocopters in Dalaguete on the east side of the cebu island. He confirmed that he had several on stock and he could sell me one. We agreed that I would fly to Casay airstrip where he is located to purchase the valve from him.
If I was to go to Casay airstrip by land, the return journey would take me around 3h. Considering that the return trip would only take me 30 minutes if I was to fly a straight line between the 2 airstrips, the decision was quickly made.
I thought it could be a good idea to take you on the journey with me so I brought my camera. Here are some of the shots I took along the way.
Lined up at the end of the runway and ready for take off!
On our climb after take off
Turning around to head to the east. Here you can see the airstrip we just took off from with the hangar and the runway on its right
All good on the instruments. We're at 1360ft high and cruising at 115km/h
We are starting to see the sea and Bohol in the background
Looking back towards Badian and Moalboal. We can distinguish Pescador islands, the tiny dot on the sea almost on the center of the pictures
The south cebu "mountain" range. Osmeña peak, the highest summit of South Cebu is somewhere in there 🙂
Almost on the east coast. Bohol can be seen on the horizon.
Reaching the valley in the middle of the mountain range.
Everything is still good. Cruising at 2860ft high and 120km/h.
The town of Argao on the seashore and Bohol in the background
Life in the valley
Life in the valley
This was an unusual sight very close to Casay Airstrip. I've flown there many times, but don't remember seeing it before.
Here is Casay airstrip which is an old abandoned airstrip. It is now mostly used by people teaching their family members to drive a car.
This is it. The journey took 15 minutes and I was able to meet my friend and get the part.
I'll show you the pictures from the return trip in part 2. I had some interesting sights on the way back but you'll have to come back to know what they were 🙂