Day 2 -- Boston on foot 

This morning it was raining and we couldn´t work on the brake problem from yesterday. So we took the time to drive to Boston and have breakfast at Harvard Square -- a welcome relief from the continental breakfast served at the hotel. Since Robert hasn´t been to Boston before, we went for a quick drive downtown and a stroll through the Beacon Hill area. There we met this guy staring out at us from a window.

Chances are it´s either Paul Revere or Samuel Adams. Anyone know for sure who this bust in Boston is?

After this we went shopping. Not to Zara, Hugo Boss or Calvin Klein but to a real big brand store: Home Depot. There we got two tarps, bungee cords, thin rope and sponges. At K-mart we picked up some brake fluid and shoe laces. For lunch we met a friend of mine and talked some about the good old times.  

By then it had stopped rainind and we drove out to the airport to bleed the brakes and maybe take the gyros for a spin. As much as we tried, we managed to improve the situation but didn´t succeed in getting all the air out of the line.

The break lever felt mushy and I couldn´t prerotate to a meaningful speed before the gyro started to creep forward. We had to accept this and postpone the flight until tomorrow. But we did manage to start up the engine, and taxi them across the airport to another hangar. This in itself felt like an achievement.

I used our stay in the Boston area and visited another friend for dinner. Returning home afterwards it was already kind of late and I felt ready for the sack. However, I want to make good on my promise and keep a faithful log of our trip, that´s why you are reading this.

Tomorrow we will use a vacuum pump to flush the lines and hopefully solve the problem. But first order of business is to drive to the Boston FSDO at 8 am so that Robert can pick up his US PPL. Then we go to the airport, fix the brake on DMRCA. If there is time, we want to fly over to a little airport on the coast, Plum Island, together with Angelo. If not, we´ll set sails for Saratoga Springs directly.

If some unforseen problems come up, we still have one additional day planned to deal with them. But just in case I´d appreciate it if you could keep your fingers crossed for a departure on Monday.

A quick question: is there a generally accepted frequency for air-to-air communication in formation flights? Since Robert´s gyro doesn´t have a transponder, we´ll be flying as a "flight of two" with me being the squadron leader and Robert my wingman. 

For now I´m beat and will gladly retire for the night.

-- Chris.