Do Try to Listen When the Gods of Aviation Tell You to Go Home For the Day

It is a nice day here, so I went flying.

I had a plug slightly foul on run-up, probably due to lead fouling. A little high-RPM operation with the mixture pulled out a lot cured that.

I shot a landing and then, on the second takeoff, I was 500 feet in the air when the engine coughed, slightly. Maybe a touch of carburetor icing, maybe a touch of a leaded plug, so I added carb head, climbed out, and leaned the crap out of it. An in-flight mag check revealed nothing unusual.

Then I knocked off an engraved strip when I reached to turn on a switch on the panel (landing lights, there was another airplane heading my way).

At that point, I figured that the Gods of Aviation were gently suggesting to me that I go home and take a nap. So I quit flying for the day.

This is a homebuilt that, according to the FAA's database, is called a "Barracuda." This one apparently has a 220hp Franklin engine. I suspect it probably goes like stink.