And then Richard Hammond got his chopper out

So started off this morning slightly later than usual. Dropped Sasha off at daycare then continued up the A38 to join the M5. Drove to Staverton and got there just before 8:30. There in the car park was a motor bike and a man who looked very much like Richard Hammond. I thought I must be mistaken as he looked a bit disheveled without his TV war paint on. He also seemed to have a key to the place. Anyway, we swapped ‘good mornings’. James turned up and sauntered over as if he was at a evening soiree. We got our ‘copter out and checked it over. Then went into the planning room where James went through the manifold pressures and attitudes. He then introduced me to Richard. Nice chap, just as scatty in normal life.

We got into out aircraft as Richard was setting off. I was just going through my checklist and he flew back in again. James went and investigated and they disappeared off for a bit, then came back. Apparently he had a warning light on. It’s his own helicopter with his own call-sign on it. An R44, a few quids worth.

Anyway, we took to the skies on what turned out to be a pretty clear morning. I did some more assents and descents, all good. We then went in for some more hover practice. Now today winds were up to 12 Km/hr so it was a real ass to keep it stable. He asked if I wanted exactly an hour and I said I didn’t mind, so we went on until we almost ran out of fuel. Clocked up 1.2 hours in the end. Together with the R22 study guide that rolled in at just shy of £400.

Drove back and got on with work. Fixed environment maps, still have an orange rather than blue sky. But then spent most of the day fixing various shader problems.

Went for a run. Did the shopping list and now about to finish work just shy of midnight.

Oh, the arcade cabinet artwork is finished, it looks fab. I have a quote for the entire machine. It’s very expensive. It will be here in about four weeks. A bit of a luxury item, but you do need to live a little. At the moment I need to live a lot.

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