I’ve got pictures piling up around my ankles since I decided to stop updating the Photos section.

So here are some that didn’t seem to warrant individual blog entries, but nonetheless deserve this small moment of fame.

The tooth brushing its teeth that begins this gallery might seem off topic. Except that it’s a sign in the front window of a dentistry storefront near Baylands and I notice it whenever I visit the nearby Taco Bell for lunch. And I’m fascinated with self-referential signs (chickens carrying platters of fried chicken, for instance). And, of course, every pilot should practice good oral hygiene.

On the day that I shot this the sky was bright, which is why the tooth appears to float in the sky, a glass reflection of the Sunnyvale heavens behind me.

Yesterday I noticed a flyer who seemed to be struggling with his plane. Or was he?

As I watched the new pilot, he was flying low and a bit crazy, careening dangerously close to the plane-eating trees. And yet he kept pulling his plane out of its disastrous attitudes.

A bit later he circled his Easy Star at high speed across the field, then looped around a tree at the edge of the Great Meadow.

Repeat multiple times and you can convince me that he’s an excellent flyer.

Today I introduced myself and learned that his name is Rob Johnson. He explained that his goal with the Easy Star and the tree was to corkscrew the plane from just above ground level to the top of the tree in successive passes.

Of course, it helps that this aggressive little dragon is piloting the Easy Star. But I’m inclined to give Rob lots of credit.

Meanwhile, Dennis “I Love Big Planes” Castleman has launched what I think is his largest glider yet.

I believe this is a 4-meter Salto 101 glider. (I made a note of its name the first day he brought it to the field, in a box with its little brother in an another, slightly smaller, box, but now I’m not sure I’ve found the right note.)

It began as a big white glider. Now it’s yellow and white, but still just as big.

As is true of many of Dennis’ planes, this one has had its scary moments. On an early flight, Dennis realized that the wing was buckling at the center. He eased it out of the sky and learned that the wing joiner was not up to the task.

He’s still tinkering with it, I think, hoping to find a carbon fiber part that’ll offer enough strength to hold the wings straight under stress.

On the other end of the spectrum, here’s my latest build: a Mini IFO.

I’ve been building it to use in this Saturday’s indoor flying event at at MVP, a San Jose indoor sports facility (the site of another indoor event last month).

A concoction of carbon fiber rods, kevlar thread and rip-stop polyester, it weighs in at around 5 ounces, give or take 1/10 ounce with battery.

It’s a trip to fly. Very flippy and responsive, a bit challenging in terms of orientation, even with that bold pink tail contrasting with the purple body.

Tags: Airplanes, Flying, Indoors, People.

This entry was posted on Thursday, December 4th, 2008 at 7:57 pm and is filed under Baylands, Gallery. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.