So now what?

With all the problems of the last few days firmly behind me, I can now get back to thinking about some more constructive things. For one, I can turn my attention to getting hold of and adapting a replacement 5″ ‘cheap Chinese satnav’ for use as a nav GPS down here. I’ll keep readers posted on that one because I’ll have good things happening with it. The pic in my ‘Cavarc’ posting shows what can be done with the freely available, current and up-to-date VFR chart that’s officially posted on the Internet and updated in March every year. It’s provided for flight planning purposes, a bit like SkyDemon Light is in the UK, and shows airspace, metars and notams. But there the similarity ends. You can create a route on the chart on your screen but cannot save it or use it for navigational purposes in the aircraft. For that you are expected to purchase a paper one from the official source. I’ve solved that last problem, turning it into a ‘free’ and really useful practical navigational tool that will make it possible to spread my wings much further afield than the local area in 56NE without any of the usual navigational hassles that affect you in France.

I also took 56NE’s prop off at the beginning of the week with the intention of re-varnishing it. The varnish was a bit ‘flaky’ when I purchased the aircraft but I made things worse over the winter. I left the prop on after starting the engine for the first time and covered it by wrapping part of MYRO’s old covers around it. I thought that this would protect it from the elements but instead all it seems to have done is retain the moisture and hold it against the prop’s varnish covering, causing more damage. It’s not too bad, though, but I thought I’d better do the job before I started to fly 56NE regularly. I should add that when I took the prop off, I had a rather salutary experience. I hadn’t checked the tightness of the prop securing bolts since I re-attached the prop several months ago. This was a mistake because when I came to unscrew them at the beginning of this week, all of them were very loose. Not ‘finger-tight’ loose, but still much looser than they should have been from a safety point of view.

The final thing that I need to get back onto is completing 56NE’s outdoor covers. The parts of MYRO’s old covers that I’ve used (wings, rear fuselage) are not waterproof and I need to finish off the wings and rear fuselage covers that I started to make from the heavy black tarpaulin that I bought especially, but haven’t yet done so. With the other priorities that I have (woodburner stove installation, roof work and kitchen installation) there’s no way that I’ll be able to put up a hangar for 56NE at Galinat this side of the new year, so it’s essential that the covers it does have are strong and weatherproof.

And there’s one last thing that I have mentioned several time previously and that I still have to deal with. My dispute with EDF is still rumbling on well into its second year. From my experience, EDF is the most awful, badly managed company that I’ve ever come across. It could never survive in the real world against proper competition and quite frankly is a reflection of the very worst side of France. They ignore letters and attempt to bully and steamroller their clients to get what they want even when they are in the wrong and have caused the problems themselves in the first place. But I am not just going to pay up and give in as many people do. It’s been and still is a gruelling and debilitating battle but it’s one that I’m determined to see through to the end. And I’m determined to win it 😐