Gary's Flight Journal

08Romeo Annual Day 2

noreply@blogger.com (Gary) — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 01:27:00 +0000

Day two calls for another really hot shower to start my day, the way I ended day one before I went to bed. I'm also going to take an Advil with breakfast so I'm ready for wiggling into any position needed to fasten, inspect or reinstall aircraft parts. I'm soon southbound on Interstate 95 and traffic is moving rather quickly. When I arrived at the shop I found the door was still locked, woo hoo....I beat the guys in! Keith opened up the shop in just a few minutes and I walked in with my travel mug of hot apple cider ready to have at it. No donuts this morning, I was already amped up and sugar would have blown the roof off.

We soon picked up where we had left off at the close of day one. 08Romeo got fresh oil even though I only had 16 hours on the last change. It seems I have an oil screen vs the conventional oil filter, I'm not sure I like that set up. It's four screws that can be a bit hard to reach and the frequency of the change is more often then the filtered models. Anywho,I did want to change to a more appropriate weight oil for our north east temps. In Texas the previous owner was running straight 50 weight oil, I switched to 15W50. Aeroshell 15W50 is a premium multigrade ashless dispersant oil specifically developed for aviation piston engines. Ashless means that the product does not contain any metallic components - this is important because it reduces the formation of harmful metallic ash deposits within the engine. Dispersant means it will hold small particles in suspension if they do not dissolve, allowing these particles to be carried away from critical areas and filtered out. This helps keep the engine clean. The advanced additive package provides excellent protection to engines operating at extreme ambient temperatures. The ashless anti-wear additive package provides exceptional wear protection for camshafts and lifters and other wearing surfaces. I should also mention that 08R has a quick drain oil plug which really made things move quickly.

I moved on to reinstall the inspection plates under each wing and the tail cone since inspection was complete. Frank didn't like the way the tail cone was fastened so we changed the screws and added dimpled washers that sat in the predrilled hole much nicer and provided a much cleaner finished look. With the tail end completed we moved to the fuel system. I was back under the plane removing the gascolater/fuel strainer cover to make ready for removal and inspection. The fuel pump is also located under this inspection plate. While removing the gascolator we noticed some sticky residue and it turns out it was brake fluid. It had been there a good while since it was really more of a slime/sludge consistency. This started the trail to find the source. It seems a master cylinder had very minor leak on the right side rudder/brake pedal evidenced by the same sticky slime. We checked the hoses and cleaned the area and also rebuilt one master cylinder on the pilot side. Was fluid spewing out? No, but why wait for a problem to snowball.

We are still waiting for the ELT battery and the wing tip but for now I continue to button things up. Keith climbed inside to replace two filters behind the panel; the vacuum system filter and a relief valve filter. What I want to know is who designed this thing and placed it in the most out of the way, hard to reach space. Obviously aircraft design Engineers and roadway/bridge Engineers both forget about the field guys. I did get a good look behind the panel and things seemed very orderly. I also checked out the space available for the future panel mounting location for my Garmin 496, plenty of room. While Frank and Keith were hard at it I was assigned the reinstallation of the back seats and rear cover for the battery. I also took the headset plug apart so I could repaint the interior plastic piece that houses the two plugs. They had some scratches that will drive Mary and I nuts so now was the time to clean it up. Since the plane was still on jacks I had to use a step ladder to crawl inside. What a sight, to high to lift the new hip in a tight space so I did the belly crawl to get my butt inside the baggage area, thankfully there were no cameras taping this scary stuff.

Following afternoon break we were ready to hang the bottom cowl. The screws for the cowl were some sort of quick set, by that I mean a quarter turn and they locked, which was a good thing for there were many to address. Next, the left side landing gear was temporarily put back together. A high tensile bolt was placed through the Jo Bolt holes so we could lower the plane and prep for drilling the two new Jo Bolt holes. The Service Instruction (SI) detailed the replacement process. I should mention the Beech Aero Club (BAC) that has a very comprehensive list of Service Bulletins (SB) and SI's. If it's related to Beech aircraft they have it. The membership fee is worth the information available to any Beech owner, not to mention all the fly-in events they schedule and the people you meet.

We are pretty much complete for day two since we are waiting on parts. I will not be able to finish up since I am going back to work on Monday. I'll get a call as soon as the wing tip is completed and I will schedule pick up late next week. I'll have to bum a flight down or have Mary drive me down. I hope 08R is back in time for the North East Flyer's Lancaster lunch run on the 14th.

08Romeo Annual Day 1

noreply@blogger.com (Gary) — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 12:56:00 +0000

An early start to a great day and a day off work to go play with tools and get dirty. I headed to Cecil Aero early and traffic wasn't to bad. I did make my Dunkin Donuts stop so I could walk in with a dozen and a large tea extra sugar for me. When I arrived I found that the plane had already been brought in and the cowl removed the night before. It was good to see everyone and I knew it would be very educational today.

My first job was to remove all the inspection plates under the wings and fuselage of the plane. As many as I have removed over the last 3 years one would think I could tell you how many screws were in each.....I have no clue. I borrowed a battery powered (DeWalt) screw gun from a co-worker for my portion of the annual, all other tools I could use at the shop. Keith was the ground guy today and he started on the landing gear getting things taken apart, cleaned up and bearing packed with fresh grease. Frank was up front at the power plant, Oil was draining and plugs were coming out for a compression check and give the plugs a once over. When I removed all the inspection plate screws (all but one so the plate could spin clear of the hole) I moved on to cleaning the plugs. I got to use the sand blast machine with a dust collector. I had to put my arms in the heavy duty rubber gloves and used a foot pedal to activate the system. I cleaned all the plugs starting with the threads and then carefully cleaning the inside around the insulator tip making sure there was no carbon build up. I was like a kid in a candy store only having to add in a Tim Allen Tool Time grunt to make it complete. I should add I had to keep the top plugs and the bottom plugs separated since we would swap them when we reinstall.

I had the opportunity to check out the JPI probes for EGT and CHT and learned that my CHT was indeed the thermal transfer, for lack of a better description, a washer with a wire attached. I also noticed the new Lycoming power plant had a Reiff preheat system on each cylinder and a stick on heat pad for the oil, this was not listed nor mentioned by the previous owner. I guess those folks in Texas don't give freezing temps a second thought. I could live without that thought too. I headed to the back of the plane to remove the rear seats and the vertical wall panel that hides the battery and other goodies. I also removed the ELT battery panel on the left rear and the opposite side panel for inspection along with the tail cone. There were plenty of little plastic cups with screws strategically placed around the plane where I had been working with the screw gun. The cracked wing tip was removed and a replacement ordered. The shop is going to paint the tip and reinstall. I feel bad, I know it's not intentional and crap happens, at least I didn't do it.

I could not believe how fast time was clicking off. It was lunch break already and it seemed like we just got started. I made a quick run to the local deli for a small mushroom cheese steak and an Orange Crush. Heck, I was ready to get back at it! We sat and talked airplanes and a few folks stopped into visit Roger and the guys. I know my body can't take the physical end of this type of work but I sure could get into this stuff and have fun doing something that really makes you feel like something was accomplished.

Lunch break was complete and we headed back out to the shop. I kind of snooped around watching Keith check brake hoses, complete the reassembly of the left side main and disassemble the right side. The guys are great and answer every question, a true learning experience. I got to inspect the wings for corrosion and the main wing spar right under the cabin. 08Romeo was in great shape and the guys commented that it was probably the cleanest Sundowner they have seen in a good number of years. I got an education on the wings and how the skin is attached since there are not rivets from the leading edge back to about halfway across the wing. I did find two little mud nests maybe the size of my thumb, one in the engine compartment and one just inside the wing tip. I cleaned them both off and treated the one inside the wing tip by hitting it with a Scotch Brite pad and spraying some Corrsion X just to be safe.

A fun day 1 of the annual adventure without to much damage to the flying account. We will have to contend with the Jo Bolt issue on the right side main gear since one was loose and one was still in good shape (nice and tight). I wanted to print out the Service Instruction I read on the Beech Aero Club forum so we could have some additional info to review. I head out to the car and drag my sore body in. Both shoulders are snapping and the hip is sore along with almost every other joint that touched the concrete floor today. Maybe I should have taken an Advil 'prior' to getting started. I'll be taking one or two with dinner. Day one complete.

08R’s Headed to Annual

noreply@blogger.com (Gary) — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 16:07:00 +0000

Mary and I dragged ourselves out of bed this morning so she could run me to the airport (Wilmington) and then head over to her Mom and Dad’s to meet the movers. It has been a crazy….CRAZY few weeks in our home. Truth be told I am as nervous as can be about the first annual on 08R after we spent so much on the down payment, insurance, tie down location and the list goes on. Mary on the other hand has been busy helping her Mom and Dad get ready for the move to their condo and the sale of their house while taking the time to send out resumes for potential work. I have to give her a lot of credit; I don’t know how she does it.

Some history leading up to this morning....Mary and her cousin Amy went through the condo top to bottom spending Sunday cleaning and Monday putting the kitchen together and getting things set up. I thought the place was pretty darn clean to start but hey, I’m a guy what do I know. I was wide awake Monday morning by 3:30am and now that the day is coming to a close I was really dragging. Mary and I met at the house last night, took care of the zoo then headed to Elkton, MD (58M) Cecil Aero to drop off a car so that I would have transportation to work. Two vehicles making the run, rush hour traffic and I am starting to really feel the effects of very little sleep last night. I was leading the way and somehow managed to find this gem on the back country road and having not been here for a year. A few things I noticed; There is a new terminal building that is really impressive and a new parallel taxi way to access runway three one. We locked up the car and piled in the truck, both dogs in tow. Maggie and Rudder came with us just for a change of pace.

Why does it never seem to take as long going home as it does getting to the destination? One of those mysteries of life I would guess. We made it back to the house around 7:30 and after letting the pups out we went right to bed, we were both dead beat tired. I also started to feel like I was getting a sore throat and the sinus was acting up. I had one pill left from my last antibiotic prescription so I took that and crawled in bed. I managed to drift in and out and did catch the last inning or two of the Philly win over the Yankees. Mary let me know this morning that between me and Maggie girl it’s lucky the house is still standing, we both were snoring pretty badly.

I am up and ready to go around 6am and the dogs are ready to eat. Mary tossed and turned all night reminding me that the little guy, Rudder, walked all over the bed last night and kept her up. I wouldn’t have known if a bomb had dropped. My throat feels better and I’ll call the doc for meds to fight it off. Mary was up, showered and ready to roll by 7am. I drove to the airport and together we uncovered 08R. I ordered fuel from AeroWays since Dassault didn’t answer the phone. 08Romeo took on 21.3 gallons of fuel for her 2.5 hours of work on our last flight. 8.5 gallons per hour burn and I’m just starting to get the hang of the JPI engine monitor.
Mary left for her parents and I got the plane started. I sat for a good bit letting the oil temps come up all the while enjoying the sun as it was warming the cockpit.

I picked up the ATIS info and called ground for taxi instructions. I was directed to taxi to runway one, that’s it, just taxi to runway one. Hmmm…ok, Zero Eight Romeo taxi to runway one. I took my normal path and once at the hold short I completed my run up. Once cleared to take off I gave 08R some throttle and we were off. It was gorgeous this morning, at least around Wilmington. Looking towards the Chesapeake Bay I could see ground fog. When I was nine out of Cecil County I announced my positions and intentions. Winds were out of 240° at 6 knots so I planned to land on runway three one with a crosswind. I was watching the ground fog linger around the bay and hang around Elk Point just of the extended center line of runway one three or as you can guess covering the approach to three one. I decided to buy a bit more time and repositioned for a crosswind entry to three one and I was at pattern altitude of one thousand feet. I turned to the downwind and d had a clean view of the three one approach and had the numbers clearly in sight. As I added a second notch of flaps and turned left base the end of three one was covered by ground fog. Ugghhh….one three was clear to the north so I announced my new intentions to enter the left downwind for one three and give this a try. Down wind was looking good as I watched my airspeed and position to the runway. I was keeping this one tight as I turned base then final now deciding to hold off on the last notch of flaps until I was over the displaced threshold. I was right on it, descent looking great, on center, last notch of flaps added followed by wheel chirp, I was on the ground. Flaps retracted and brake brake brake, there would be no missed this round. I made a turn off at the old terminal and taxied back to Cecil Aero in search of a tie down.

Tale of the tape for 58M
Runway 13/31 Dimensions: 2987 x 70 ft.
Displaced threshold: Runway 13 is 288 ft - Runway 31 is 602 ft

Roger walked out to meet me and he chocked the plane. I handed over the books for 08R and stood around to chat for a bit. I know he is busy so I told him I would wait for his call so I could take time off work to ‘assist’ (get in the way) for the Sundowners first annual. There will be more posts and lots of pictures to document the process. There is so much to learn about a new plane!

A Day to Play

noreply@blogger.com (Gary) — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 22:15:00 +0000

Mary and I decided that since the rain finally stopped we would take our plane for a joy ride. I don't think we have both been in the plane together since we brought it home. I did fly a few times but it was with the guys. The plan for today was to head south west for seventy miles and invade Kays at the Airport located at Cambridge Dorchester, KCGE. We decided to post on the POA forum just in case we had the chance to meet up with our friends. RonL was a maybe and BobC was a go to meet up. We exchanged phone calls and text messages to confirm departure times.

Mary and I got up around 8am and showered and packed......no wait, we didn't have to pack a thing, everything was in OUR plane!!! I just had to add that, it feels good despite the monthly payment. The dogs quickly caught on that we were leaving but for some reason they thought THEY were going. Buzzzzzz.....wrong answer dear four leg furry children, it's me and Mom solo today, no critters. I went out to start the truck and look for my baseball batting gloves just in case it was a bit nip at the plane, I didn't need them. I did have to carry one item to the plane, a little tiny bag that Garmin supplies for the 496 and my airport print out for KCGE. When I came back in Mary said the dogs were going crazy thinking they were going with us...ah...noway!

We arrived at 08Romeo and quickly uncovered and ordered fuel. Dassault Falcon jet 100 LL price is $3.99 a gallon full service, best deal on the airport. The truck was out at the plane in less then fifteen minutes and we took on a total of 16 gallons to bring us up to 40 total. The final part of the preflight is my fuel sump test and I completed that, stowed the Gatts jar (for fuel testing) and locked the baggage door. Several shots of primer and 08Romeo came to life, the fun may begin.

We were cleared to taxi to runway one, complete run up and contact the tower. Everything checked out just fine and we made the call, Wilmington Tower Sundowner 08R is ready to go fox 1 and 1, 08 Romeo hold short Cessna on final, 08Romeo holding short, and so we waited. Once the Cessna cleared we were given the clear to go and launched out of Wilmington. Left turn on course we were headed to Cambridge. I know I'll get in trouble for this but my lovely Bride was asleep before we crossed the C&D canal, less then 10 minutes in the air. I picked up flight following with Dover Approach as we passed within a mile or two of KEVY, Summit Airport. We were riding along enjoying the view even though it was a tad bumpy. I was on the lookout for jumpers at Ridgely since we would pass directly over their airport. It would not be a good thing to tangle with meat missiles. Dover turned me loose prior to crossing Ridgely so I acknowledged and quickly tuned to their common traffic advisory frequency (CTAF) to report my position and get any report on the jumpers. We passed with no problems, no jumpers at Ridgely at that time but we did hear jumpers away at multiple airports on the same frequency as far away as New Jersey and Chambersburg, Pa.

I switched over to Cambridge to listen for traffic and picked up the wx report at 15 out. Winds favored runway 34 with winds 350 at 8 gusting 14. I crossed midfield and entered the left down wind making a good landing with a long taxi to the left turn off. All of the parallel taxiway is freshly paved with new striping, looks and feels real nice. I found a place to park next to a Mooney and shut 08R down. Bob was en route and we figured we would walk in and add our names to the list.

We needed to get in line since this place is always busy. We watched a few planes taxi in but no Bob. We gave up our spot twice as we waited and tables were turning over pretty quick, the service is very good. Bob taxied in so we let the ladies working know that our party had arrived. We were seated almost in the middle of the restaurant. As does every seat in the house, we had a good view of the ramp and runway 16 approach. I have read a lot of good reports online about the crab omelets so that's what I wanted, Mary and Bob followed suit. Food and service were very good, as always. I struggled to gulp down the mason jar size serving of sweet tea that I ordered, but I managed. Mary had a monster mug of coffee that I'm sure would keep her wired for the rest of the day.

Bob was going to head back to Wings Field (KLOM) and Mary and I decided to make the hop to Lewes, Delaware. We would land at Georgetown Airport (KGED) and hope they had a courtesy car that we could use. We all left with full tummies and headed out so Bob could check out our new ride. Bob seemed to like the new bird and made mention about trading something for my Garmin 530, no deal! As we checked out the plane the ladies that were sitting next to us walked out on the ramp. Three generations of lovely young ladies out to check out the aircraft. The youngest, Morgan, I think, wanted to see the plane and so I gave her a boost to climb aboard and sit right seat. She seemed to get a kick out of it, and let me tell you she was as cute as could be, and just so polite. Her Mom snapped pictures and Mary talked to her Grandmom as the men went back to the plane. The little cutie stood under the wing and stretched out her arms like she was flying while her Mom took a few more shots, that moment alone was worth the gas to fly to Cambridge.

It was time to say goodbye to Bob and our new found friends. We climbed aboard and got the fan turning so we could bug out for Georgetown. I taxied out and had to hold short for a plane on short final then once they cleared we launched. I saw Bob taking on fuel and acknowledged his wave goodbye with a wag of the wings, we were off. It was short hop to GED but I picked up flight following with Patuxent to check on the R4008 restricted area. The floor of the restricted area is 8,500 and I would be well clear but I always like to check to see if its active (hot) or not (cold). R4008 was cold and I climbed to 3,500 and made way to the east for Georgetown. There were a few planes in the pattern and as you can see by the GPS track turned away from the runway and entered on the down wind, not quite a 45* but more of a midfield bank right and announce. I made an ok landing with a short skip and almost flat, I still need to get used to the new sight picture.

The lineman marshaled us to a parking spot and acknowledged there was a courtesy car available for us to use. Well alrighty!, I'll take that tie down spot and I pulled the mixture to shut down. We walked inside the terminal and the retaurant just inside the door cooking up a storm smelled fantastic. I signed out the courtesy car, the "silver bullet" as she is called and off we went. We headed towards Lewes, Delaware and made our first stop the DRBA Ferry Terminal. I wanted to see a project I had managed but was not able to attend the grand opening due to my hip surgery back in April. It looked great! The granite counter tops really stood out and all the new roll up doors and electrical work really turned this into something nice. It was good to see my co-workers and walk along the water front with Mary.

We walked back to the car and decided to check on the condo for her Aunt & Uncle. It's a short drive from the ferry terminal and it overlooks the Delaware Bay, very nice place. Mary asked if I wanted a peanut buster parfait from Dairy Queen since the place was open but I passed.....that's a first. Next on the list was a stop at a little market in downtown Lewes to pick up Milton Sausage, Mary's Mom and Dad like it and so do her Aunt and Uncle. We picked up sausage for everyone including us and two roasted chickens for dinner. We planned on dropping one off at Mom and Dads so they didn't have to cook either.

I made one more stop to put some fuel in the courtesy car and then headed back to the Airport. We thanked the gentleman at the desk and headed for the plane. As we walked across the ramp it's still sinking in that we own a plane, I guess it will soon be like walking out to the car in the driveway.....nah, not for me. We launched out of KGED and headed due north for home. I picked up flight following with Dover and Mary snapped pictures along the way. We passed right over the Air Force base and got a great look at the mighty C-5's, they are large even from 3,500 feet. I dropped with Dover and flipped over to Wilmington's tower. I had already noted the ATIS report and called in with my position, altitude, intentions and with the current information. I was number three to land and continued in having to report crossing the C&D canal. I tuned in the ILS runway 1 and shot the approach but only peeking inside for my scan of the needles since I was VFR and the only pilot on board. About four miles final a regional jet was cleared to take off with no delay for traffic on final. Heck I had two notches of flaps hanging out there at this point, I couldn't catch him if they paid me. Finally cleared to land I made an ok landing but once again a tad flat, Mary said it was on center. Thanks Hottie. We taxied in to our tie down spot and shut down. Mary took a picture of the plane next to us since we both liked the snoopy decal on the cowl. Once 08R was secure we headed for Mom and Dad's to drop off dinner. It was a fun day flying, a better day spending it with my Bride!

GPS TRACK

NIght Flight 08Romeo

noreply@blogger.com (Gary) — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 10:46:00 +0000

Last night Mike and I flew to KMIV - Millville, NJ to attend the FAAST safety seminar on Icing. The plan was to meet up with Jeff from 33N, have dinner at Dottie's on the airfield and walk over to Big Sky Aviation. I had the pre-flight completed and started up to taxi and meet Mike as he walked through the doors of Atlantic. Mike climbed aboard and I picked up my taxi instructions from Wilmington.

The plan was for me to shoot the ILS 10 approach into Millvile but landing and departing traffic was using runway two eight. Not a problem, Mike dug out the plate for RNAV GPS 28 approach and we were simulating vectors to the Final Approach Fix CROSE. I had briefed the plate and was set up for my missed. Mike role played ATC as we made our way in to the CROSE FAF. I heard Jeff arriving and I think he did a touch and go before making his final pattern loop and landing 93Zulu.

I set 08Romeo down smoothly but left of center and Jeff asked for Center line.....he really keeps me sharp. We taxied in and met Jeff at Dottie's for dinner. Originally we sat outside but I was feeling a bit nip so we all headed inside. Dinner ran a bit longer then planned and we were a tad late for the safety presentation. I had sat through this one before but it's always nice to review. Mike and I decided to head out after break so we said our goodbyes and saddled up for home.

We walked out to 08Romeo and I commented more then once how dark it was, Mike said great night to fly....I think I blurted I'm scarrrred of the dark. We had a good laugh. I checked fuel and did a walk around with a mini mag light, I need to get my big mag in the plane for night pre-flights. I taxied out to runway two eight and announced our departure. I made my climb shallow to keep the CHT's lower. It was really clear tonight and yeah, it was dark, not much of a moon out.

I copied the ATIS at Wilmington and set up to contact Philly Approach. Philly Approach, Sundowner 6708Romeo....Approach Sundowner 08R, 20 south east of ILG, 2500 level would like the ILS runway 1 approach for ILG. I dialed in the squawk code and was ready for vectors. The 530 was set and ready, I was holding fairly level and speed was looking good and on course. I briefed the plate and should have verbalized what I was doing but didn't. I glanced through the missed and Mike reiterated the brief, I needed to be more deliberate. I got maybe three or four turns on course and made my way in. I brain farted and did not configure for a notch of flaps and 90 knots. My final turn to intercept the localizer was upon us and I had just went through GUMPS; Gas, Undercarriage, Mixture, Pump and Switches/Safety. Philly turned me over to the tower and I announced 6708Romeo ILS 1 for full stop. I was cleared to land as I continued down the glide slope looking not to bust 325 feet. I was pretty good with the on course, correcting for a slight crosswind but I could have been more responsive with the glide slope. As I approached the DH I looked up and made final changes to configure for landing.

Another nice night landing followed with a U turn on the runway and taxi back to our tie down. Once we got to the tie down location we noticed that Atlantic tied a transient Cessna in my spot with my tie down straps (that had my tail number on them). I wasn't to happy! Atlantic didn't respond to my radio calls so I taxied to them. I had to shut down in order to talk to the line guys and then had to hot start and taxi back to my tie down spot. It was along day and I was tired and cranky.

Mike and I reviewed and both agreed that I need to get back to the "flow", my approaches are fine. I need to chair fly a bit and maybe work through some online approaches to get back in the rhythm. Once the dust settles of the new plane and I get a few things squared away I'm going to push to get my check ride scheduled.

As a follow up......I called Atlantic Aviation today to review the situation from last night. The lady at the desk was very helpful and stated that she would advise all shifts that 08Romeo is a rented tie down and not to disturb or use my spot for transient aircraft. Great service, top notch operation, now if they just open up a tie down that I can park close to the FBO.

Sundowner Spec's

noreply@blogger.com (Gary) — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 09:51:00 +0000

A reader asked about the Beechcraft Sundowner Specifications so I gathered some info and put this list together.

Beech C 23 Sundowner performance and specifications:
Horsepower: 180
Gross Weight: 2450 lbs
Top Speed: 128 kts
Empty weight 1650 lbs
Useful load 800 lbs
Cruise Speed: 116 kts
Fuel Capacity: 57.00 gal
Stall Speed (dirty): 51 kts
Range: 565 nm

Takeoff/Landing:
Ground Roll: 1130 ft
Ground Roll 703 ft
Over 50 ft obstacle: 1955 ft
Over 50 ft obstacle: 1484 ft
Rate Of Climb: 792 fpm
Ceiling: 12600 ft

I only have maybe eleven hours in our new bird but here are my numbers. On our trip home from Texas I burned 11 gallons an hour. With the new engine (55 hours) I didn't want to run to lean and I tried to keep a close watch on Exhaust Gas Temps(EGT)and Cylinder Head Temps (CHT). The first leg from T31 Aero Country to KHZD, Huntingdon, TN was around 450 miles. Start up to shut down was 4 hours so the simple math says that's an average of 112.5 miles per hour or 100 knots. I fought a head wind for some distance but did see ground speeds of 135-140 knots when we were heading east with the tailwind. The second leg was 465 miles from KHZD to WV62 Windwoood Resort in Davies, WV. This leg, start up to shut down was 3 hours 45 minutes. A quick calculation figures the average speed to be around 124 miles per hour or 110 knots. If you want to dig a bit deeper and knock off 15 minutes for start, taxi out, run up, taxi in and shut down you knock off that 15 minutes. This makes a slight change but maybe more realistic numbers bringing the avg speeds to 110 knots on leg one and 115 knots on leg two which reflects what we were seeing in ground speeds and resembles what I flight plan for at 110 knots.

I have been reading so much about lean of peak, rich of peak that my head is spinning. As I become more familiar with the JPI engine monitor I will save more fuel when I start to feel comfortable with leaning a bit more. For now it's pull back until rough then advance mixture to run smooth.

Night Current Again

noreply@blogger.com (Gary) — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 01:52:00 +0000

Finally night current once again...

It was a beautiful night and I decided it was time to get night current. I want to attend a FAAST seminar in Millville NJ on Wednesday evening and Mary and I decided we would get there early and have dinner. The only catch was I needed to be night current in order to have her travel home with me. So tonight she helped me uncover and get the plane ready for me to get in the air.

I needed to order fuel and Dassault Falcon didn't have enough linemen working so they asked if I could taxi over, well that doesn't work for me. I called Aeroways and they came right out. I had to pay more per gallon but my pre-flight flow was my typical routine. I climbed in while Mary sat in the SUV with both dogs. I taxied out with the current ATIS info and completed my run up at the runway one and fox 1 hold short.

I launched into the night and climbed out at seven hundred feet a minute turning crosswind at six hundred feet and climbing to pattern altitude now on down wind. I had the pattern to myself as I reported midfield down wind, as instructed by the tower. Landing one and taxi back uneventful, landing two I try a no flap landing, I was coming in a bit hot but a nice touch down. I made this one a T&G and as I went to full throttle my headset clip unplugged and caught on the yoke. I was drifting left of center and accelerating, more right rudder, yanked the headset plugs clean out with my right hand and continued to fly the plane. Hand back on the throttle, climb out to six hundred or so and turn cross wind. I reached down keeping eyes out and do the hunt and peck for the headset plugs. Ok I have them in hand and decided to turn on my red light head band and make the connections. Time for a left turn to 190 degrees and I'm on the left down wind for runway one, ready to report midfield. Wilmington tower clears me to land runway one as I pull the power back and add in the first notch of flaps. I'm keeping this one real tight. Second notch, left turn on base and roll into final. Speed looks great, runway made and adding the last notch of flaps. Over the numbers holding it off, only a slight stall horn and mains touch down with the nose wheel immediately following. A slow and steady taxi back after a 180 on the runway and right turn off on taxiway delta. I have one to go, I want to make this a good one to end the night. I launch once again turning out for my crosswind and with tight spacing make my down wind turn. I'm at 1100 feet listening to additional traffic joing the pattern also working on night currency. A young lady in a Piper enters from the south and she is number two to land while I extend my down wind leg as instructed. We pass by each other and the tower has yet to call my base so I announce 08Romeo turning left base runway one. I got a thank you.

I followed the Piper in and slowed way down so she could clear the runway. The tower asked if I could slow down and give the other aircraft time to clear. Hello....I'm on it...I was slowing to maybe 80knts and started S turns.....a first for the Sundowner (asked to slow down). I watched the Piper clear after having some trouble finding taxiway delta but I eventually copied my cleared to land from the tower. I was over the fence trying to maintain 70 knots and touched down just past the numbers. I was also directed to make a 180 and taxi back to delta. I stayed on with the tower and taxied back to the Hercules hangar ramp. Mary helped me tie down and get 08Romeo covered. I'm once again current and we're ready for Wednesday night and the FAAST Seminar at Big Sky Aviation (at KMIV). It should be a fun night out for dinner with friends.

FAR Sec. 61.57 - Recent flight experience: Pilot in command.

(a) General experience. (1) Except as provided in paragraph (e) of this section, no person may act as a pilot in command of an aircraft carrying passengers or of an aircraft certificated for more than one pilot flight crewmember unless that person has made at least three takeoffs and three landings within the preceding 90 days, and --
(i) The person acted as the sole manipulator of the flight controls; and
(ii) The required takeoffs and landings were performed in an aircraft of the same category, class, and type (if a type rating is required), and, if the aircraft to be flown is an airplane with a tailwheel, the takeoffs and landings must have been made to a full stop in an airplane with a tailwheel.
(2) For the purpose of meeting the requirements of paragraph (a)(1) of this section, a person may act as a pilot in command of an aircraft under day VFR or day IFR, provided no persons or property are carried on board the aircraft, other than those necessary for the conduct of the flight.
(3) The takeoffs and landings required by paragraph (a)(1) of this section may be accomplished in a flight simulator or flight training device that is --
(i) Approved by the Administrator for landings; and
(ii) Used in accordance with an approved course conducted by a training center certificated under part 142 of this chapter.
(b) Night takeoff and landing experience. (1) Except as provided in paragraph (e) of this section, no person may act as pilot in command of an aircraft carrying passengers during the period beginning 1 hour after sunset and ending 1 hour before sunrise, unless within the preceding 90 days that person has made at least three takeoffs and three landings to a full stop during the period beginning 1 hour after sunset and ending 1 hour before sunrise, and --
(i) That person acted as sole manipulator of the flight controls; and
(ii) The required takeoffs and landings were performed in an aircraft of the same category, class, and type (if a type rating is required).

IFR Certification

noreply@blogger.com (Gary) — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 04:49:00 +0000

Questions are often raised about what is an "IFR re-cert", or "why do I need to have my transponder checked when I only fly VFR". ATC Controllers and TCAS Collision avoidance equipment works off of the transponder with the encoder to provide altitude and range information. If the Mode C information that is being sent from the transponder is incorrect, or if the altimeter is different from the Mode-C encoder, then Traffic alert and Collision Avoidance System (TCAS) equipped aircraft will receive bogus information which could cause a problem. ATC uses the altitude information to keep aircraft separated.

The Altimeter; The single device that tells a pilot how high the aircraft is, and when to go missed on an instrument approach. There are many things that can cause the altimeter to be out of tolerance, Scale error, baro scale error, friction, case leaks, can give the pilot the "wrong" altitude. These rules have been in place for decades, and they are needed to keep the rest of the aviators in your airspace safe. New technologies are being installed into aircraft to provide a safer level of flying than we have ever known. All of this means that your airplane, and the equipment in it, needs maintenance. That maintenance is every 24 calendar months, or whenever a problem is brought to your attention. FAR 91.411

I picked up 08Romeo at Red Eagle Avionics, she passed with no problems. I got to jump in the plane and taxi around the airport before and after work. I would rather have been flying but any left seat time is fun!

Ocean City, NJ

noreply@blogger.com (Gary) — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 04:13:00 +0000

Sunday turned out to be a busy day. I was up early to get to the plane and complete my pre-flight, Zero Eight Romeo had her first mission. MikeB who I always fly with out of Wilmington needed a lift to pick up his car located at the Delaware Airpark. I had never landed at Ocean City New Jersey (OCNJ) so I figured why not make the run. The plan was to be wheels up around 8-8:15 but I ran a bit late making sure I had good oil temps. I don't want to hurt my new engine.

I had traded text messages with Mike so he knew I was on my way and JeffF at 33N was going to meet up with us. The plan was to make the pick up and grab breakfast, ok it was the plan. I heard Jeff on with Atlantic City Approach and he decided to head directly to 26N, Ocean City. I was maybe 10 minutes behind as I canceled flight following and started to let down for pattern altitude at OCNJ. Winds were calm and I entered a left base for runway six. My landing was ok at best with a slight bounce then settled in for the roll out. I taxied back to the ramp and shut down. Mike and Jeff were waiting along with Jeff's two children (crew members) Hannah and Bryan.

Since there was a restaurant on the field we figured we would save time and eat there. As we walked in a sign on the door said no credit cards accepted, well that closed that deal. We turned around and saddled up for Millville. Jeff was off first followed by another Archer, Mike and I were number three to depart after watching a Cessna on final make a sweet landing. We were soon rolling for take off and 08Romeo was wheels up. As we made our way for KMIV we swapped control and Mike flew 08R for a bit, setting us up for the GPS 28 approach. I made the call to Millville radio and we transferred control once again. I had to use Mike's plate, mine were in the back seat. I flew vectors to the Final Approach Fix (FAF) CROSE at 2,000 feet then started down to the Decision Altitude of 344 feet. 08Romeo is very stable and should provide a good platform to knock out my check ride.

We met Jeff at the Flight Line Restaurant and placed our order. The place was busy with locals and a good showing of pilots that flew in too. My schedule was running pretty tight and after a brief discussion Mike was going to hop a ride back to 33N with Jeff. It saved me some time and that helped. I blasted out for Wilmington and was cleared to land on runway three two. Sweet....a left turn off and short taxi to my new tie down location, it still feels very weird on this side of the airport and not having the normal planes around me, I'll get used to it all. I missed my tie down alignment, there is no "T" painted and it's hard to line up the nose. I had to use the tow bar to get in position and add an additional tie down strap on the tail to make up for my bad park job. I'll get used to my new visual clues since I have no arcraft around me. I finished up with 1.2 hours and had some fun with friends. 08Romeo is off to Red Eagle on Monday for her IFR Certification.

GPS TRACK

Bringing Home 08Romeo

noreply@blogger.com (Gary) — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 19:18:00 +0000

Thursday Day 1

Our adventure starts on Thursday October 1st as we prepare to drop of Maggie and Rudder for boarding. We have our airline ticket/boarding passes ready and our bags are packed. I crammed in my mini laptop for flight planning, my electronic goodies to include the Zaon XRX PCAS and the Garmin 496. My brother provided the ride to Philly for this trip, it saved some $$ and we could leave on our schedule not the shuttle van.

Philadelphia was busy but we got pretty close to the curb and unloaded, no bags to check we were doing carry on only. I dreaded the TSA check but I knew it had to be done. We took the escalator upstairs and proceeded to moo through the line like cattle. Actually there was no line and we got to scoot to the baggage check and walk through the magical door. Mary went through no problems; yours truly on the other hand was directed to the sound proof booth. Ok Johnny, tell Gary what he won today….well….. Gary has won a no expense paid trip to a hand search and some stranger who can go through all his packed bags and flight gear. It wasn’t too bad and after the wand and hand search they let me roll, no bag check, we were headed to the gate. I guess we had maybe an hour or so to wait so together we decided to find some breakfast. Mary had the Monte Cristo sandwich special and I had a bagel with cheese and bacon.

When the agent arrived at the desk I checked in to see if I could get two seats together since my original ticket purchased was screwed up by me. Long story short I booked the wrong date, I had to eat the charge per ticket change and the new more expensive ticket price since it was now less than seven days prior to the flight. UGhhhhh….I was sick that day, all day, I hate wasting money. The agent got us squared away since a nice lady gave up her seat next to me and was rewarded with a seat in row two versus row eleven. Mary and I both thanked her as we boarded the flight.

We taxied out a bit behind schedule and departed on the start of our journey to bring Julie (08Romeo) home. It was a nice flight at thirty six thousand and smooth all the way until outside of Houston. We landed into a cross wind as I watched our crab angle out the window, nice job captain. We made our way through the airport and to the ground transportation area. In order to pick up a rental car we had to board a bus that shuttled everyone to/from the airport and designated rental facility. The building was pretty big and all the big names were there. Mary and I had decided on Enterprise and in a few minutes the paper work was complete. Our ride for the day would be a brand new white Chevy Impala; Mary wanted the GMC SUV sitting close by for an additional $10 a day. We passed and stayed with the impala. Onward to Palestine!

Our trip North to Palestine would take just over two hours. The countryside was flat with plenty of grazing area for cattle. We saw cattle ranches up and down each side of the highway along with homes of every design. Some places really nice and elaborate and others small salt boxes. The speed limit was 70 day and 65 nights, first time I ever saw one of those signs that I can remember. We barely saw 70, traffic was rolling along around 80, and we followed along (wink). Once off the big road, exit 178 off of Rt. 45 we made our way along Rt. 79 towards Palestine passing through small towns along the way. We passed through Buffalo, Oakwood and Tucker before getting to the South Loop 256. From this point it was a right turn and a short hop to the Hampton.

We checked in at the desk and asked about a good place to eat. The recommendation was to eat at the Amore Italian Restaurant in down town, so we headed out. No, we didn’t unpack we were hungry and wanted to eat first since it was now around 4pm and we last had a bite to eat around 9am. On the way to the restaurant I dug out my phone to check messages, Bo had called to see if we were going to make it up to McKinney , there was no way today. He did suggest a good place to eat called the Cotton Patch; we had the place in sight. Mary and I each ordered a steak dinner but first gulped down cool refreshments. We ordered an appetizer, steak cut fries covered in cheese and bacon, and we must have been a sight as we cleared half the large plate in very short order. Dinner arrived and we enjoyed a relaxing meal. Too full to have dessert we ordered it to go and each took back to the hotel a peach cobbler for me and a raspberry cobbler for my Bride. I finally caught up with Emery, the owner of 08R and we went through some documents and the weekend plan of attack. When we finished up I had to drag myself to the elevator, I was tired. Mary and I crawled into bed and I honestly can say I have no clue what was on TV because I passed out.

Friday DAY 2

We started out with a continental breakfast at the hotel. I then headed to the FedEx service center to send out the “original” bill of sale, Emery had sent a fax. Ken Johnson at BOA got the ok to release funding on my call based on the fax copy but needed at least a tracking number of the original that was on its way. It all worked out. Mary went back upstairs to give her back some additional rest since we were scheduled for a noon checkout. I found my way to KPSN and nosed around the place, nice airport and terminal. I sat back and watched a movie with the guy working, hoping to meet up with Emery but he was still in surgery. I gave up waiting and went back to meet up with my Bride for our check out. We loaded up the rental car and decided to look for lunch. As we were driving around Emery called and said to meet him at the airport in twenty five minutes, lunch was put on hold. I changed course and headed to Enterprise so I could return the car and get us a ride to the airport. The folks at enterprise were friendly and had us on our way. We were making a left off the main highway and heading down a country two lane road towards the airport. Just a mile or two to go and a car two in front of us decides to make a left, we all come to a quick stop and for some reason my passenger side didn’t have a break pedal, although I really tried. As we came to a halt a pickup truck was closing in on us, I spotted it in my side mirror and hollered hang on we’re going to take a hit! The truck dart to the right, thankfully missing us, cut across the shoulder and into the grass area and never flinched or touched the brakes for that matter, or so it seemed. Holy crap! We almost bought the farm! There’s more to this story but for now we’ll just fast forward.

Mary and I unloaded the bags and waited in the Terminal for Emery. He had pulled his Baron out for the trip to McKinney, what a time saver. He topped off tanks and completed his pre-flight while I loaded our bags on board. Mary climbed in the back and I took the right seat, our first ride in a twin. We screamed on out headed for T31 Aero Country. I was watching the Garmin 430 and his back up 300XL click off the ground speed as we passed 180 kts. This was really nice. Plenty of leg room front and back and great speed to boot. Maybe ten minutes in to our trip Emery motions to me with a head nod to look back at Mary, I asked, is she asleep? Well she wasn’t as I immediately took a slap to the back of my head. Yikes. I think they set me up. We continued on every one laughing but me. I was checking out the scenery when I noticed some blue streaks on the right wing. Uh…Emery we have a problem, we’re venting fuel on the right side. He gave it a look and I kept watch as he banked right and turned us back to Palestine. Once back on the ground he reset the cap and we cleaned up the fuel stain on the wing. Let’s try this again! Our next attempt was successful, we were soon letting down for T31, Aero Country. We taxied in and parked up at Aeromark, the folks who did my prebuy. We went over all the info and got all the logs updated then I paid the bill. Emery paid for the VFR cert and the oil change.

We climbed in so I could knock out a few landings and get familiar with the plane. My first take off was fine but my climb out was a bit steep. I heard some stall horn sounding so I lowered the nose and cruise climbed at the book speed of 80 knots. Much better as 08Romeo did her thing. I came around for landing number one keeping the same thought process as the Archer 90-80-70 for speed on downwind base and final. I pulled the throttle to 1500 at midfield keeping the pattern tight and on final was still a bit high. I went full throttle and climbed out deciding to go missed. Hmmm…..not the best start but I got that out of the way. Went out towards a practice area since I now had a new problem to deal with, a headset cord was tangled in the flap handle. It was now Emery’s airplane as I worked to resolve the problem. I asked for slow flight so I could put in a notch of flaps, this solved the tangled mess and we were back in action. Remember, the key is to “fly the plane”. We split the duties and moved on, good outcome.

Next time around was a nice landing followed by a good climb out with no stall horn. Winds shifted so I went out away from the field so I could reposition. Another good landing, maybe a tad fast had us rolling out to clear the runway. Emery said ok, drop me off and have at it, remember gentle inputs and cruise climb. Got it, and off I went. As I was turning short final Bo came on the radio and asked if I could make the midfield turn off, Thanks I said, no pressure. I brought 08Romeo in and made the midfield turnoff, yeah I had that big grin on my mug.

The time to make a go-no decision was at hand. I really wanted to launch and start heading home but as Bo stated you won’t be out of Texas before night fall. We decided to stay. Bo and Sandra invited us to dinner and gave us some options for places to stay. We ended up having dinner at the SaltGrass Steakhouse, what a nice place. I ordered the 12oz Certified Angus Beef Ribeye, Sandra had the Certified Angus Beef Center Cut Top Sirloin and Mary and Bo had the Prime Rib, end cut. Great food and service shared with friends, it made for a very nice night. As we sat there I could not help but wonder what all happened over the last few days to get to this point. All I do know is that relaxing and having dinner with friends made all the stress melt away, Mary and I both needed that. After dinner we headed to the Hampton inn for the evening. Plans were made for an 8am meet up for breakfast. We both were dead tired, I’m not sure if we even turned the TV on I woke up Saturday morning.

Saturday DAY 3

Our wake up call was for 7am leaving plenty of time to get showered and downstairs to the lobby in order to meet Bo and Sandra at 8am. At ten of eight the phone rang, our breakfast partners were here and ready to go. Great timing, as we were just heading out the door and making the final sweep through the room. It was a gorgeous day in Texas and I knew it would be a great day to fly. We loaded up our bags and headed to Mimis Café for some morning eats. The food was perfect, I had a cheese omelet Mary had eggs with a pumpkin pancake, Sandra had an omelet and Bo ordered French toast. We left Mimis Café needing to recheck the weight and balance. I started up 08Romeo and taxied to the fuel pumps, the ladies took the SUV down and Bo road right seat. It didn’t take long for Bo to ask why I taxi left of center. I was caught; it’s just something I always do since I started. I know better and should always align the taxi line right between my legs, thanks for pointing that out Bo.

Bo said that he gets a fuel discount for keeping his aircraft here so he used his credit card for the purchase. I was going to use my visa so I said I have a check or need to run for more cash, he said we’ll do the check. Ok, that works for me and so I pulled out the ground cable and hose then got to fueling. We chatted about this and that, and a man came up with his child looking at the plane. As I finished we talked his young son into checking out the inside, he agreed. One thing led to another and Bo mentioned you best be getting on if you want to make WV by night. He was right so we said our goodbyes and headed off.

Thanks Sandra & Bo for the great video!!

We are about to fly the longest leg of our short three year flying career as we planned for a first stop at KHZD, Huntingdon, TN. This would be a gas, nature and go stop. I taxied up to the pump and got the go go juice flowing. When I reached into my back pocket for my wallet and opened it for my credit card I notice I still had the check intended for Bo’s fuel purchase. I was so embarrassed! I called to give Bo a heads up and being the perfect gentleman he said don’t worry I didn’t see how many gallons we put in anyway. I said I would mail a check out ASAP, he insisted on waiting until he got the bill. I felt like such a dope.

After I explained to Mary what I did she just looked at me, obviously we were both tired and not thinking straight. We loaded back up and departed for our final stop of the day WV62, Windwood Resort in Davies, West Virginia. The ride had been smooth until maybe twenty minutes prior to our fuel stop at HZD. There was an airmet for moderate turbulence but it was noted as higher altitudes. We continued on as I constantly looked at our ground speed and recalculated our arrival time in my head. It looked like we would be at WV62 right after the 7:05 pm sunset. I crossed Cooper Knob and into the Cannan Valley less than a few miles from our destination. I made a pass a bit lower then my 5,500 en route altitude and did not see the field. I was still on with ATC and asked that they stay with me so I could make another pass. If I didn’t have a visual I would cross the next mountain Balckbird Knob and pass over Jordon Run into W99, Petersburg, Grant County Airport. I just wanted extra eyes with me and ATC agreed. ATC asked if I would like vectors to WV62 and I agreed. We were turned to a 050 heading then left again to 035 degrees. There she is, almost entering the downwind for runway two four. It sure looked small from my view. I cleared with ATC and thanked him for his extra effort then switched to the CTAF at Windwood. I heard the POA pilots that were waiting for us. I had called in on the CTAF from 40 plus miles out just to say we’re inbound and I think I gave a guess on my time. Obviously they heard me and were at the ready for my landing attempt. I pulled the power to 1500 rpm and added a second notch of flaps. I had the pine trees on my mind as I turned final looking for a place to chop and drop. I cleared the trees and heard land at the gray house, the gray house, then another voice, chop it chop it. I was clear of the tress adding the last notch of flaps and pulling the power all together. We were riding it in, steady, wow it’s dark down here, nose up, rudder, nose up, hold it off, hold it off…stall horn screaming kerplunk on the mains and almost instantly followed by the nose gear making contact, we were in. Short lived joy as I crossed the gravel patch and it sounded like the wheels came off with a bang. I rolled out to the end turn around and back taxied for the ramp. Doc. Bruce stood on a runway light that was not illuminated to protect me from striking it and I followed the many folks marshalling us in. Man it’s great to have friends looking out for you!

I shut down and tried to catch my breath. This was only my 4th landing in the new plane and it was dark with the added narrow runway 40’ and large obstacle, 50-70 foot pine trees. Mary climbed out and the group of pilots there to help hustled our bags in and helped me park/tie down. I was dead beat and relieved to be on the ground.

The group had waited for dinner to start so we made that the first order of business. When I got to the lodge Mary already had the room key and a few guys carried our bags in, thanks so much to all of you that helped get us in for the night. Dinner was fantastic, chicken alfredo tasted perfect and so did the two large sweet teas. After dinner we headed upstairs to hang out and hangar fly. Mary paired off with Doc. Bruce’s bride and they seemed to have a nice time. I was chatty Kathy with the guys until I just ran out of gas. I called it a night and turned in. Ted was scheduled for a 6:30 departure and I wanted to see him of. It was lights off and I think I was asleep before the bulb went off…..yeah I was beat.

Sunday DAY 4

I was up at 5am and headed out to see if Ted was leaving. I just missed him as I watched him walking down the grass path towards his plane out on the ramp. It was chilly out so he had to warm up before the run up. Adam was the next one to poke his head out to see ted off followed by Rob. We hung out listening to Ted’s twin rumble through the valley, sweet music to us pilots but to the guy in the house behind Ted’s Aztec, I’m not so sure. Adam grabbed his handheld to ask what he was waiting on and sure enough, as Adam stated, he was waiting for a release. Finally he turned on the strobes and taxied out to runway two four. Power up and the twin engines came to life; Cloud Nine was on another mission.

I hung out and chatted with Rob for a bit then went back to the room. I crawled back in bed and figured I would get up and shower to make this sore body feel better. I was up and out early, working on my flight plan. By the time breakfast rolled around (plan was for 9am eats) Mary had wandered out to join us. I had a cheese omelet and I really could not tell you what anyone else had around me, I was hungry and a bit out in space. Prior to breakfast I called to let my family know we would be heading home in an hour or so and should be in, in less than two hours. My phone call also alerted me of some tragic news. One of the kids I coached for three years was killed in a tragic auto accident along with his father who helped out every practice and took over my coaches spot this season when I went in for hip surgery and his Mom, this year’s team Mom. One survivor, the 16 yr old daughter is recovering in the hospital. I was devastated, there are no words, there is nothing that I can even think about to make sense of it all. I could not shake the thought of not seeing this happy go lucky 12 year old and his father out on the field again, not hearing his voice or listening to his corny jokes and class clown infectious laughter and antics. I still had to fly home but my mind was two hours east on the baseball field reliving all the things he did to make me laugh and love the game we shared.

At this point I needed to take a deep breath and move forward. I had to get us home despite the sickness I felt inside my gut. I added this to my blog because it is so important, for many reasons. One being the importance of life and being happy, leaving it all on the field and letting the people around know how much they really mean to you. Second, the need to be professional in my duties as a pilot to fly Mary and I home safely. I dropped the ball on number two, I should have asked for help from the many friends and pilots that were staying at the resort. I didn’t, I decided to conduct my preflight and continue. I finished up and climbed aboard to get 08Romeo started so she could warm up the oil. I watched Rob and Lee preflight, Gary and Adam too. I was ready to roll for my run up when I heard someone on the radio tell me my left wing was still tied down. He untied 08R, I thanked him and rolled from the ramp.

Thanks Bryon for the video departing WV62!!

The run up was fine as I went through the checklist, now concerned I may miss something else. Everything was good so I announced on CTAF and launched for W99, our fuel stop. Rob was off number two and Gary number three. I radioed on the air to air that crossing the ridge line was really bumpy, hang on to your hats! Mary and I rode it out and started an immediate descent to W99. The AFD and Flight guide noted a right traffic pattern for runway 31, so that’s what I did. Winds were right down the runway and a bit gusty but 08Romeo did just fine. I taxied to the pumps and once shut down got the fuel going. Rob taxied in behind me and helped me tug the Sundowner out of the way so he could fuel 09L. I also missed one of my fuel caps but thanks to Rob got it squared away. We all finished up and taxied out for the ride home. Rob was number one Gary number two and Mary and I followed in our new girl. When I was ready to announce departing three one I noticed on my last checks I didn’t have my seat belt on….UGhhhh. Mary helped me buckle up and we were off. Once in the air I needed to take a few minutes to get my head out of my butt as my Bride said. I had to push it all out and focus on flying the plane. I guess if there is a moral to this story it’s don’t be afraid to ask for help, always be safe.

The remainder of the flight was uneventful and I ended the adventure with a very nice landing at Wilmington. We taxied to our new tie down location and secured 08Romeo. It took a while to unload all the boxes of books and manuals but we got her cleaned out and tucked in for the night. Our new bird served us well and we owe her a good cleaning and wax, as soon as we get some rest.

Thanks to all our friends in Texas and the POA fly in bunch at Windwood resort, you all make flying that much more fun for Mary and I. I can’t wait until the next gathering!!

GPS TRACK SATURDAY.............GPS TRACK SUNDAY

Flight Plan KPSN-WV62-KILG

noreply@blogger.com (Gary) — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 02:27:00 +0000

Texas Trip, Part II

No, This is not a recap of my previous Texas trip with Jeff to fetch 93Zulu, this is Texas Part II in order to bring our, new to us, 1980 Beech Sundowner 08Romeo home. Arrangements have been made for the pets, flight plans with US Scare are booked, hotel in Palestine is booked and the one way car rental from KIAH George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, Texas - to the Palestine Hampton is booked. All bases are covered. It's now just a matter of getting paper work completed and processed and cutting the funding loose.

I can't wait to fly! It should be a fun adventure and Mary will get a glimpse of what retirement will be like for us hopping around the country. We do have a goal of attending the Pilots Of America Fly-In at WV62, Windwood Fly-In Resort Airport in Davis, West Virginia. We hope to make it in Friday but if not we'll spend the night in Murfreesboro, Tennessee then get up early and make the last few hour flight to the resort. We already have a room reserved so I'll just have to call and update.

The wx watch has started. Local wx departure forecast looks great for Thursday here in Delaware, mostly sunny, highs in the mid 60s. Friday's wx report for Palestine, Texas is calling for partly sunny with a 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, highs in the mid 80s. We may have to dodge a few as we leave Texas. According to today's winds aloft forecast the trip straight home to Delaware would be nine hours, I'll be happy to get a solid seven hours in Friday so we can check in at Windwood.

More to follow as I watch wx and work with the finance folks on closing the deal on the plane. The next critical step is reviewing the findings from the pre-buy inspection and taking care of any squawks. From that point it will be like turning final and getting ready to land......oh yeah, there is that pesky detail about Philadelphia Airport Security and the TSA wand and hand check......sigh....that stinks!

Night Time Approaches

noreply@blogger.com (Gary) — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 04:45:00 +0000

I got a text from MikeB about the possibility of some flying tonight. Mary and I had no plans other than to kick back and watch some TV since it was the season premiere for Grey's Anatomy and The Mentalist. Mary pretty much said go play pilot and so I figured who am I to argue that point. I grabbed her headset so I could try it out, she had complained of not hearing ATC very clear. I also brought along all the electronic goodies since Mike had the new power cable ready to go in Two Five Uniform.

With the pre-flight complete and ATIS noted I made the call to Wilmington ground for taxi clearance. We had to hold short for a corporate jet on final and then we were cleared for take off, no delay since a King Air was now on a 3-4 mile final. Mike acknowledged and had us rolling.

It was really nice out this evening, clear skies ahead as we pointed the nose towards KLNS, Lancaster, PA. I picked up flight following with Philadelphia for a short ride, then got handed of to another Philly sector. Eventually we were handed off to Harrisburg and I checked in with the following. Harrisburg Approach, Cessna 3525Uniform, 3,500 level with request. I acknowledged the Altimeter report and stated the request which was the Lancaster GPS RWY 31 approach and we had information Mike. Harrisburg gave us direct to AYOSA from our current location, just passing over the Initial Approach Fix PADRE, which requires NO PT. Mike was steady as we tracked inbound and again verbalized everything he was doing which really helps me out.

We taxied in to park on the West ramp and decided on dinner at Fiorentino's Italian Bar and Grill. It was so nice out tonight that we sat at an outdoor table. Good crab dip followed up by tasty salads. Hangar flying as usual while we ate is always a learning experience for me. As we finished up a guy was setting up all kinds of equipment, it was Karaoke night. That was our queue to get rolling. As we stood up to go the DJ (not sure if that's what you call people that run karaoke)asked if we wanted to sing or pick out a song or something. Jeff and I laughed and I said out loud you don't even want to go there, I could scare these patrons out of here. Actually I'm quite the shower singer...ok, way to much info.

We saddled up for home after talking with two pilots that were struggling to get their Cardinal started. One of the construction inspection folks working on the airport gave the guy a jump and the cardinal roared to life. They followed us out to runway three one. With the run up complete we launched for home. The 496 was picking up shower activity down towards Dover Delaware and it was slowly moving north north west. I even noticed a tic of yellow in there and kept a close eye on the track. Mike was tooling along doing that pilot in command stuff and I was getting set up to call for flight following. Harrisburg confirmed our position about eight miles south east of KLNS and we had an extra set of eyes with us. Approach handed us off to Philly and then Philly to its next sector.

Philly Approach, Cessna 3525Uniform, 4,500 level, request. After Philly responded I asked for the Wilmington ILS RWY 1 Approach. I was given a squawk code and turned right twenty degrees. Mike explained that is so they can track us for a bit before the vector us. No sooner he said that we were turned to heading 190* maintain VFR,I acknowledged. Mike was under the hood the whole time while I was soaking up the lights. I never did see the KMQS Chester County beacon but the N57 New Garden beacon was very east to spot. We were headed for the C&D canal and looked to be on a long high final for Summit, KEVY as the runway lights were inviting us to make a stop. As we crossed the canal ATC turned us left to 090*, once again I acknowledged. We were south of Delaware City shadowing the canal and its lighting would have passed for a major highway minus the vehicles.

Our last vector had us turning to intercept the localizer. I acknowledged, left turn to 030*, descend and maintain 2,000 until established on the ILS RWY 1. Once established we were directed to contact the tower. Wilmington Tower, Cessna 3525Uniform, ILS RWY 1. We were cleared to land and Mike got us home tracking the ILS to a gnats behind.

It was another fun night in the air and more time for me to practice my radio skills for the IR. Speaking of my IR, or lack there of. I plan on getting a few flights in our new plane once she's home. Over the next few weeks I'll get to know the systems and Juliet. Yes, the new bird has a name, its a spin off of the tail number Zero Eight ROMEO. Get it? Romeo and Juliet, hey as long as she treats Mary and I to safe travels I'll hug all over her. Anyway, once I feel comfortable it's time to finish this Instrument journey.

Introducing... Zero Eight Romeo

noreply@blogger.com (Gary) — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 22:34:00 +0000

1980 Beech C-23 Sundowner

IFR Certified, 4 place, 50 SFREM, New Prop, 3100 TT, No Flight School, NDH, 2004 Paint White / Red Accents, 2004 Gray leather Interior, Collins 251/351 Com/Nav, Collins AMR-350 Audio, Garmin 530 GPS, Dual Glideslope, Collins Mode C TDR-950 Transponder, NorthStar M1 Loran, Century 1 Autopilot, Complete Logs, Precise Standby Vacuum, JPI engine Monitor, 57 Gal fuel, No Damage History, Nose wheel and Trailing Link Suspension Donuts replaced 2006, Bruce Cabin Cover w/ cowl plugs, MP3 Audio Input Jack.

Zero Eight Romeo is going in for a prebuy inspection at Aeromark, Inc., then we will purchase two "one way" tickets to Houston and rent a car to drive to meet her in person and bring her home to Delaware.

Fly Time

noreply@blogger.com (Gary) — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 11:38:00 +0000

Sunday was just to beautiful to pass up flying. My plan was to pick up MikeB and RobS and go shoot approaches and spend some time with friends doing what we love to do, fly. I sent out my plan for the day on Saturday night and double checked my flight bag and electronic goodies. Sunday morning I sent a text message to Mike and Rob to give a heads up I was headed to the airport, who wants to fly? Mike never responded and Rob has a new iPhone that apparently the text message app is not working. I took my time with the preflight and did hook up with Jeff at 33N. He was going to head to Lancaster (KLNS) so I decided to meet him at 33N and we would fly together, well not formation or anything just both headed in the same general direction.

I arrived at Delaware Airpark (33N) and taxied to the terminal. Jeff was fueling 93Zulu so I spun 679er around and shut down. I figured I would check on my transponder since Dover Approach was reporting no signal and check for any messages from my planned two passengers. This transponder problem has reared it's head in the past, but the shop gave us the thumbs up that is was working, that really helps me know. I purchased a bottle of water, chatted with Jason working in Op's then made my way back out to the plane. Jeff suggested that we get in the air and I would contact Dover to see if they could "see" me, if the transponder was working. I climbed out of the Airpark and turned north for Wilmington. If I could not get this to work I was going to park back at ILG and ride with Jeff to Lancaster. Dover gave me a squawk code and I had little hope. Approach handled some other traffic then came back with, Archer 28679er , radar contact, 7 miles north west of 33N and gave me my altitude, I confirmed his report. Jeff asked if I was then going to LNS and I respond direct LNS.

Lancaster was a busy place as I worked my way into the pattern. I was cleared for a left base runway two six and Jeff who was less then 3 miles behind me got the straight in three one. I was given the land and hold short when cleared to land with runway distance. I acknowledged cleared to land two six hold short runway three one. I was down smoothly with a roll out to the first taxiway. I cleared the runway and contacted ground having to hold short for Jeff on very short final. Jeff looked good as he set 93Zulu down smoothly. He taxied clear and I was given cross runway three one without delay and I scooted across while looking left at a Cessna on final.

I shut down at the west ramp and headed in for lunch. I did get a voice message from Rob that he was waiting at Wings KLOM. I called him right away to let him know I didn't hear anything back on my text at 9:15 so I changed plans. I really felt bad, I still do. We had a communication breakdown. Rob was on time and waiting at Wings and since I didn't get a confirmation I didn't chance flying up. We will both know better the next time.

I watched a lot of traffic in and out of LNS this day and it felt good just sitting outside enjoying the sunshine and company. Jeff and his son Bryan joined me at the outside table after he spent some money at the "toy" shop for pilots.

It was a short hop home to Wilmington and I didn't bother with flight following, I just wanted quiet time. So much to think about with the potential plane purchase, my Bride running herself to the limit with her parents move, work and the list goes on, as it does for us all. Like I said quiet time, I flushed everything out and enjoyed the clear sky and scenery passing below me, it really does the mind good to just relax and listen to the quiet.

After securing 679er I noticed that I forgot to hand off a training CD to Jeff, one of the goals for today. I called him to leave a message since he was in the air I'm sure. I had just left the airport, maybe a few blocks when Jeff called from 58M Elkton Maryland. We both laughed about the CD and I made a U turn to head back, he was going to make the five minute hop to meet me at Red Eagle. I watched Jeff fly a right pattern for one nine and then taxi in. I walked over and passed the CD through the window so he didn't have to shut down. Transfer completed! I watched him taxi out and take off, with a smooth steady climb out. He would be on the ground at 33N before I got home.

The Hunt Continues

noreply@blogger.com (Gary) — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 00:54:00 +0000

Plane update..... no word on the original aircraft we considered although the owner recently purchased a Bonanza, a super nice ride! I haven't talked to him but I am assuming his deal went through on his Beech Sundowner.

I have continued the search just in case and have actually found another aircraft less engine time, perfect exterior paint and leather interior. This aircraft has the panel I really want. There will be no need for any avionics updates if the deal goes through. For the pilots out there this bird has 3100 TT, the custom panel includes a Garmin 530, Collins Audio 351/251 Nav/Comm, Dual Glideslopes, Collins Mode C Transponder, NorthStar M1 Loran (that I would replace with a panel mount for my Garmin 496), Century 1 Autopilot (ok maybe an AP update), Precise Standby Vacuum, JPI engine Monitor, 57 Gal fuel, No Damage History, Nose wheel and Trailing Link Suspension Donuts replaced 2006, Bruce Cabin Cover w/ cowl plugs and an MP3 Audio Input Jack.

I put in a call to our lender for additional funding and should have an answer Monday. If the bank is happy I'll make an offer on the plane and move forward with the paper work from that point. This is 'the one' as a recent set of posts on the various forums stated. I talked with the owner this morning and he is sending more pictures. He was going to be out most of the weekend but I told him I would be in contact at the start of the week. Man, this weekend is dragging on by.

Published on Cirrus Village

noreply@blogger.com (Gary) — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 10:41:00 +0000

One of my recent blog entries was published on the Cirrus Village web page, pretty neat! The post was about my flight with MikeB in the SR20. The full post can be found here. Cirrus Village, Source: "First Time in a Cirrus" http://www.cirrusvillage.com/

Stonington, Maine

noreply@blogger.com (Gary) — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 23:00:00 +0000

I must first note that this write up was completed and ready to post yesterday but for some unknown reason blogspot wiped it out....anyway here is my second attempt at recounting the facts. Enjoy!

Day 1 Thursday 9/10/09

I had been watching the wx for the last week and it was apparent last night that a Friday get away would be a reach at best. I still had hope and so I held out on making any calls to move our reservation. I’m up and out the door headed for work and the sky looks gorgeous, we really need to get out of town today. Heck with planning, we’ll find a hotel somewhere between here and Maine if we can’t add a night in Stonington. I pull up and park at work swipe my badge across the card reader and get up to my office. I quickly check the online flight schedule for our club and find out that fellow member Dan reserved the plane for 5-8pm this evening; this is not a good sign. I place a call to the Boyce Motel and confirm we can add today to our stay, one hurdle cleared. Next I fill out a leave slip and look for the Director and confirm I’m a go for added vacation time, I have plenty on the books, hurdle number two cleared. Last but not least I contact Dan at work to see if he can give up his flight time tonight so we can bug out, he agrees, last hurdle cleared, I’m in the home stretch. I now call Mary and advise that we need to be in the air in an hour can you be ready? My Bride informs me she just got up but she is ready to pack.

I arrive home and walk into clothes flying and our bags rolling around the room. Mary is hard at it getting things ready and I tried to assist (read this as not getting in the way) as best I could. I threw a few things in a bag, remembering that the temps have been high 40’s at night. I head downstairs and print out the latest wx info, update my flight plan/nav log and check for NOTAM’s and TFR’s. I have the appropriate charts, flight bag ready, Garmin and Zaon packed and ready. I return upstairs to schlep the bags out to the SUV and load the flight gear. Mary grabs some water; we load up the dogs and head to the boarding facility. Why is it that when you are in a hurry the rest of the world seems to down shift a gear or tow and slow to a crawl? I thought we would never get out of the vet clinic where we board! Finally, we are headed to the airport.

We roll up to 679er and quickly get to work. Wilmington is reporting sky broken 3,100 and it’s moving in off the ocean. The low is turning counter clockwise and bringing all that moisture in for us to enjoy. Mary pulls the cover, I pull the nose plugs, chock and untie. Not much talking here just running through our routine in overdrive. Mary starts to transfer bags after I pulled our supply box out of the bird and moved it to the SUV. I did keep two quarts of oil, the funnel and the gatts jar with some clean rags. I started to sump fuel and Mary pulled the SUV out to the parking lot and locked it up. I finished and did the one more time walk around making sure I completed all the pre flight items and giving 679er a good visual once over. I was up on the wing and doing the Piper roll as Mary climbed on the wing. I set up the electronics goodies, buckled in and started the prestart checks. Once completed I got the fan turning and notified ground we were ready to taxi with the appropriate info. I was cleared to taxi and call the tower when my run up was completed. I took the extra time to double check my list since we pushed so hard to get going. Now is not the time to cut any corners when getting ready to depart. All systems looked ready to go. A last added check for flight controls and trim setting followed by a call to the tower had us rolling for a back taxi on runway one.

I turned 679er into the wind and turned her loose…..we’re on vacation!!! I climbed out to 2,500 and picked up flight following with Philly. I was very comfortable at this altitude but knew that by Allentown (KABE) I wanted to be 3000 and climbing. The layer was lifting the farther north east we flew and I was climbing to 5,500 when Philly dropped me advising NY was not taking VFR traffic. Hmmmm…ok, I can deal with this. I did dial in the frequency Philly provided so I could monitor. We would be crossing the active approach for the NJ and NY airports. After I heard target north east bound 5,500 I decided to call in, I figured they would really want to talk to me. I was right, they provided a squawk and we happily road along working together. We crossed the Hudson at 5.5 and cruised along. Our first stop was going to be Hartford/Brainard, Connecticut. Neither Mary nor I had anything to eat or drink besides the morning toothpaste and mouthwash, we were both hungry. I was handed off to Bradley approach and stayed on with them until I had the field in sight. When I tried to cancel approach advised to keep my squawk code and contact the tower, ok that works too. We crossed the final ridge and passed by a tall tower to our north and passed near a building just off at our ten o’ clock. I let down for pattern altitude and acknowledged the report two mile left base runway two zero. I announced my position as directed and was cleared to land. I set 679er down smooth and slow with a touch of stall horn. I made a left turn off and contacted ground to advise our final destination of Atlantic Aviation for food and fuel. The restaurant had good service and food. I really needed to stop and eat; I was starting to get a pounding headache. We walked out to the plane and did a walk around; 679er was never out of my sight. I sumped the tanks and we loaded up for Maine. As I started up I mentioned to Mary that my headache was gone, it must have been hunger or the need for fluids.

Brainard ground provided a squawk for me as I taxied out for departure. Pretty cool, not having to pick it up in the air. I wish Wilmington did this for the VFR folks. We took off runway two zero and turned right on course to a 56° heading. It was a great day to be flying in the north east, especially since we left that bad wx behind in Delaware! I was just North West of KORF, Worcester Regional when I requested 7,500 to remain VFR. I had dialed out the Garmin 496 and could see the echo tops clearing just west of Portland. My request was granted with the added maintain VFR. As I explained why I went over instead of under the cloud layer to Mary, Bradley called and asked a question. 28679er, say flight condition? Say what? I was caught off guard and hadn’t heard that phrase prior to today. I responded say again, not familiar. Approach must of thought I was a Jacka$$ but this time asked for a PIREP. Ahhhh….I’m a dummy! As I hit the push to talk I chuckled and said Piper PA28-181, scattered 5,500, I hope this doesn’t jinx me but no turbulence, approach laughed and thanked me. The Garmin was spot on today as we continued north east looking for the end of the scattered layer. As we approached Portland it really started to break up. From Portland we turned 79° direct to Stonington, 93B. We got a great look at Portland and all the beautiful islands as we continued north east across the Casco Bay. I got a good look at the twin runways of KNHZ, Brunswick Naval Air Station to my north soaked up all the beautiful scenery. I said to Mary that I wish we had a dollar for every boat we saw; we would be flying a jet! We got to see Boothbay Harbor, Franklin Island Wildlife Refuge as we made our way towards Knox County regional (KRKD). This would be my fuel tank switch since we had to hop over the last few islands to get to Stonington. The view was unreal, reminded us both of flying into Block Island after crossing Montauk (KMPT) and the Block Island Sound. We split Vinalhaven Island and focused on finding the postage stamp runway in the trees. I canceled flight following at this time and dialed in traffic at 93B. I made my position reports and had a visual on the runway, all 2,099 feet of it. If you’re flying in look for the church steeple left of runway seven, can’t miss it. On short final I asked Mary to watch the tall trees, her look was priceless, I had plenty of room. Once clear of the trees I did the chop and drop, and 679er will indeed drop like a rock. I added a touch of power to flair and touched down with half of the runway remaining. No parallel taxiway here so back taxi it is to our parking.

When 679er was buttoned up we called the Boyce Motel. The owner had stated he would pick us up and take us into town. Wow, this would work out great, now if the cell phone would work. I finally find a hot spot and make the call; Barrett said he was on his way. We had our bags ready to go as he pulled up and loaded everything in the car. One last look at 679er as we left her in the middle of the trees in an unfamiliar place. There was only one Bonanza tied down across the grass and a Mooney waiting on an engine to keep her company. It was only 3.5 miles to downtown on a freshly paved road. Barrett gave us a quick tour as we passed by buildings and he also pointed out restaurants. Once we got checked in and our bags unpacked we decided it was time for dinner. We followed the recommendation and walked up two doors to the Harbor café for the lobster special, two for $17.99, what a bargain!! The Harbor Café is a cozy little place that the locals call home. We ordered steamers to start our dinner and let me tell you these are not the typical cherry stone clams I’m used to. These clams were large, like oysters in my opinion. I ate maybe five or so and had enough, Mary finished her plate and one or two of mine. Our waitress asked what was wrong with them and I said I thought they would be the cherry stones, she laughed and said no, steamers, not cherry stones, I'm thinking she was making fun of me. The lobster was really sweet and tender as could be, a great dinner. The reason why they were so sweet is because they are shedders, sort of like the soft shell crab syndrome. Anyway great food and service, this place is a keeper. We waddled back to our room and crashed for the night!

Day 2 Friday 9/11

Rise and shine, good morning Stonington Maine! The plan for today was to grab breakfast then walk, up the hill, to the farmers market. We strolled over to the Harbor café and enjoyed a great breakfast. We then walked up Pink Street to the end, followed a path through the woods, picked up another small road to our left for a short distance then turned right on the main drag heading out of town. Just a few paces up on the right were the farmers market/outdoor fair. The first table had fresh baked breads, they looked great. The market had many different vendors; fresh vegetables, baked goods, jewelry, yarn, tools and food samples. Mary and I enjoyed the wx and walked around checking out what each table had to offer. As we completed our rounds we decided to head back down the hill, using the main road. We left the farmers market area and crossed the street to check out a place called Susie Q’s. This small shop is a baked goods and coffee house. We walked around the shop looking at all the antiques offered for sale then sat and ordered up some ice tea and split a blueberry raspberry crisp. Ahhhh, the tea hit the spot and that crisp was pretty darn tasty too. Off we went headed for our hotel and the main road hike was straight down hill, no switch backs of level areas, it was exciting to say the least on my new hip. We passed the opera house and checked out movie times then hit a few of the local shops along our path to Boyce’s, our hotel. Mary and I took a siesta break as all good vacationers should do. We got up in time to clean up and head out to dinner. Dinner tonight would be at the Maritime café, just across the street from our new breakfast hangout. We opened the place; a pleasant change from the days of taking pride closing places, getting old ain’t for sissies. We got the best seats in the house overlooking the harbor. It was nice to watch the lobster boats come and go offloading their catch at the commercial pier. Mary and I ordered the lazy lobster with sliced baked potato wedges and broccolini. Lazy lobster you ask……it’s a whole lobster picked clean and served in a slightly larger crème brule type dish swimming in seasoned butter. Oh God, it was so good! We passed again on dessert, to full to even think about it. Once again we waddled back across the street, venturing to the other end of town to check out what shops are there then heading back to our room for the night.

Day 3 Saturday 9/12

The wx forecast was not the best but we figured on getting out and doing some sort of tour. You guessed it, harbor café for breakfast. It was a leisurely pace this morning as we went through the brochures and found out we missed the light house tour, it left at 9am, it was now 10:30. Hmmm, we walked around town, checked out the local convenience store, picked up some wine and munchies for later then hunted down a hot spot for cell service. This all took its toll so we called it an afternoon and went back to the room for nap time. I got up wanting to try some of that ice cream at the local stand just up the street and decided to walk up and get a maple walnut double dip on a sugar cone, Mary passed. It was good stuff! Around 2:30 or so the Princess decided it was time to get up so she walked up to the same stand and brought back lunch, two lobster rolls, again good eats. I played around on the computer, yes, we had wifi or at least someone did and I was getting on through their hook up. Mary got up in time for dinner so we both cleaned up and headed out. The Harbor café was close and that was the choice. We each ordered lazy lobster and it was just as good as last night’s catch. The only difference was green beans for me and pickled beets for Mary. After dinner we walked south out of town checking all the new places we hadn’t seen. We actually gave the movie a thought but it was too early and I didn’t want hang out for an hour waiting for the opera house to open. We turned around and walked back to our room bringing day three and its overcast misty wx to a close.

Day 4 Sunday 9/13

Well we can’t say we didn’t get enough sleep. We were ready to go and last night’s rain cleared the air. On tap was breakfast at…..you fill it in. I like the interactive blog entries, it adds a bit of something, don’t you think? Yes, the Harbor Café is the correct answer. We walked to the north end of town and found the church that everyone said has good cell coverage, they were correct. Mary called her Mom and Dad to check in on them and then we walked in to take part in the local Sunday service. After church we walked down the hill to the boat dock and checking for our light house tour with Isle au haut Boat Company. Midcoast Maine is home to many beautiful and historic lighthouses. Isle au Haut Boat Services offered a tour of six lighthouses on their fully Coast Guard licensed and inspected 47 foot passenger boat, the Mink, for a cruise lasting about four hours. There was a small group waiting to board and everyone was very friendly. We also have one dog joining us today, Molly the yellow lab. The plan is to leave Stonington at 11:00 am, cruise past the Mark Island Light at the western entrance to Deer Isle Thorofare and then cross the East Penobscot Bay to view the Goose Rocks Light. We would eventually travel through the Fox Islands Thorofare, passing picturesque North Haven Village, and then pass the Brown's Head Light and its keeper's house. After travelling down the west side of Vinalhaven Island, we would view the Heron Neck Light. Sailing back across the bay, we made a stop for photos at remote Saddleback Ledge, and then return to the Isle au Haut Thorofare for a view of the Isle au Haut Light on Robinson's Point. We also joined the Light house passport program. The United States Lighthouse Society sponsors a Passport Program. The passport has a blue vinyl cover, similar in appearance to an official United States passport; it’s available through the Society and lighthouse retailers across the U.S. When you visit a participating lighthouse, you can get your passport stamped.

It was a great day on the water and it was spent making new friends and enjoying the company fellow vacationers. One can hardly describe the sights, smells and sounds of our day and it truly did test each of our senses. You can see by some of the pictures a glimpse of what it was like but to be on the water in clear sunshine feeling the spray, listening to the seagulls and turning to see another island shrouded in misty fog is just one of those “you had to be there moments”. We said our goodbyes as we reached the dock and each went in separate directions. I exchanged info with a few folks who live in the mid-Atlantic area and travel through the area I work and utilize our facilities; it would be fun to catch up again.

We made our way up the hill taking a few minutes to watch Molly retrieve a lobster trap buoy just off shore, her reward for being such a good girl. On past the church and down the hill towards town discussing our dinner options. The last place left to try was Fisherman’s and it was on the way. We decided we were going to just walk in and see what they had to offer. The place was still pretty empty, except for the few locals watching football at the bar and making noise and a few couples seated inside and out on the deck. We sat inside near some open windows to soak up the breeze and not add to our sunburned faces. I had calamari and Mary had Lobster chowder for appetizers. We followed up with, I really hate to be boring but…..lazy lobster. That’s right, four days in a row for dinner, this is living! Food and service was good and I’m glad we got to try all the local places. We walked to the room tired and full tummies. I caught up on the football scores and Mary passed out as soon as we finished packing.

Day 5 Monday 9/14

Another early morning start in order to get in the air. We made the traditional walk to the harbor café for breakfast and said our goodbyes to the staff thanking them for great food and service all week. The bags were packed and we only needed to make a final pass through the room and call Barrett for a ride back to the airport. The Boyce Motel owner was happy to give us a lift. I did ask him to post on Airnav.com so he can maybe pick up a few new customers. Since he said he would come and get pilots who would stay at his place, it was worth the listing on the 93B page. We arrived at the airport and found 679er sitting all alone, the Bo had since left and the Mooney was still waiting on overhaul. One of the locals was parked near the runway in an old white mini pick up just outside the airport property and he watched our every move as we got 679er ready to go. I checked the fuel and she was low, well under 10 or so each side. I sumped the tanks since we had a good overnight rain wanting to make sure there was no water in our tanks. As we completed the pre-flight a few people trickled into the airport. I completed my preflight checks and called clear prop, they all turned to look. 679er fired up and smoothly idled, just waiting to strut her stuff. The wash job still looked pretty good since we cleaned off the air kill bugs accumulated on our trip from Wilmington. I had walked the runway and decided to back taxi and launch off of runway two five. The winds were calm and I wanted to exit over the lowest tress/terrain. I turned off the little jug handle at the end of seven and completed my run up. We were ready to go. I announced Archer 28679er departing runway 25 Stonington traffic and went full rich, pump on, landing lights and strobes on. I also added two notches of flaps to be extra safe. 679er roared down the runway and as if to say watch me to the locals at the hangar, she jumped off the ground and was screaming out at 700-1,000 feet a minute. Easy big girl, no need to impress, we’re clear of the tress let’s cruise climb and make our photo run. We headed west North West to find the light house captains house and dock wanting to snap a few shots to send him. I guess we found it, Mary was clicking away and I circled on station. Mission complete, we pointed 679er to Knox County so we could top off. There was traffic departing and one on a taxi for departure as I entered a six mile final for runway two one. I advised the pilot of the aircraft holding short that I had visual and if they were ready I would slow down so they didn’t have to wait. They acknowledged and rolled out on the runway and launched. I was now just inside the two mile mark. We landed smoothly and taxied to Downeast Air for some go go juice, we took on 27.3 gallons. We used the facilities and I sumped the tanks before starting up. I heard a citation jet on the outdoor speakers that was inbound and I knew he was headed for my parking spot when the line guy brought out chocks and a red carpet. We fired up and taxied clear heading back to runway two one for our departure. 679er has a full belly and she rumbled down the runway with no added flaps and climbed out sure and steady. We were underway to our next stop KLCI, Laconia New Hampshire.

Turning left 60° put us on course 270° direct to Laconia. It was a gorgeous ride. We passed over Wiscasset (KIWI) and this time directly over Brunswick Naval Air Station (KNHZ). We continued west nipping the Portland class Charlie airspace, yes, I was on with Portland approach. Off to our right was Lake Sebago, it is huge! As we crossed the Maine – New Hampshire state line we noticed there were a lot more lakes in the area. We proceed on to Laconia picking out various points on the sectional and making mental notes. Off to our one o’ clock was the Ossipee Mountains, Mt. Shaw reaching the highest at 2,990 feet. Over the nose was Lake Winnipesaukee and beyond that a clear visual on Laconia. The runway stood out like a sand spot in a lush green paradise, easy to spot. We made a straight in approach followed by another good landing. We taxied off short of our intended parking spot due to taxiway and ramp work. It was a short walk to the terminal. The facility was clean and the man working the desk was very helpful. We passed on a courtesy car as previously planned and instead picked up some local brochures and got the heads up from the attendant working. With that we headed out for the plane. A quick stop to have a look around and check on the local area for potential vacation destinations, this place is now on our list for four day get aways.

We taxied out and launched off runway two six after swapping calls with a lear jet inbound for a low pass FAA Flight Check on runway eight. He was nine out and we were up and away in short order. The Zaon traffic picked him up and Mary gave me a confirmation that she had visual, I was busy looking for a light sport overflying the field at 5,000. I did turn out twenty or thirty degrees after departure to clear the area for the lear jet. Once I had visual on him I turned back on course. We had approximately 90 miles to go on our course of 260°. As we crossed the Connecticut River, the New Hampshire-Vermont border, we could see the ski resorts in the distance. We passed between Mt Snow to our north and Haystack Mountain to our left. I had to look up the name of the lake or pond at the top of the mountain and simple enough its haystack pond; it was pretty neat to see. Looking at the ski slopes I could not imagine hauling butt down those hills, no way. Then again with my bad sticks that sort of stuff does not excite me, maybe it’s the humpty dumpty thing a putting all my parts back together…..cold shiver down my back. We pretty much spilt Somerset Reservoir in half and decided to follow the valley through Green Mountain National Forest for our destination of Morse State. Another airport easy to spot along the highway just like the sectional shows us. We entered on a 45° for left downwind runway one three. I got my first terrain alert as I turned base looking directly at Whipstock hill (1,200 feet). Not a problem as you turn to final well clear of the hillside ahead. I made another nice landing and taxied into AirNow for fuel. Ok, don’t laugh but this was only my third time using the self serve fuel. It worked out, everything went smooth except for the final hose roll up and some fuel left in the line kind of squirted out right at Mary. I’m still laughing…..er…I mean coughing, something caught in my throat.

No courtesy car available for a lunch run so we hit the vending machines for pop tarts, cheetos and a Pepsi, oh how yummy. I sump the tanks and we get started, it’s the last leg home. I taxied back to depart on runway three one and launched for home. Wilmington is calling for a Vice Presidential TFR at Wilmington starting at 1715 local time or 5:15 for the military time challenged. The plan route was direct Huguenot VOR (HUO) about 110 miles then direct Modena VOR (MXE) 105 miles then home to KILG, just a hop skip and a jump. We tried to get flight following with Albany but he was busier than a crazy man herding cats. We tried again as we crossed the Hudson River and got a squawk code for the trip south. We passed east of the Catskill Mountains and they had our attention. As we approached the Huguenot VOR Mary called out the Port Jervis monument that we saw on our last trip to Orange County New York, great spot! We continued to the next checkpoint Modena MXE and after being dropped by Albany we picked up with Allentown approach. We were happy cruising along at 6,500 feet smooth as could be. Allentown asked us to descend to 4,500 which would put us below the scattered layer, I’m not liking this and should have either maintained 6.5 or canceled but since they picked us up I thought I would comply. What a dummy, always follow your gut, it was bumpy below as I knew it would be and by the time we got in the Wilmington Class Delta I felt like someone was standing behind me kicking my ‘arse’ for the last thirty minutes. The Wilmington tower gave us a right traffic entry and I acknowledged with the added glad to be home. Base then final I’m a tad high but wanting to land long. I had a good crab in to get to the runway and instead of kicking and dipping the wing I just kicked out. I blew to the side and had to add some power to make a correction and get squared away to land. Not pretty on the last landing but we’re home. We buttoned up 679er, cleaned all the bugs off of her and tucked her in until next time. Next up, The Windwood resort fly-in in West Virginia!

GPS FLIGHT TRACK

Scrubby Bubbles

noreply@blogger.com (Gary) — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 15:55:00 +0000

Bath Day for 679er ! As much as I wanted to fly today I decided to just get it over with and give 679er a good scrubbin' ! Whew, there was plenty of black stains from water and Dan our new club member decided to leave some Ocracoke beach on the floor, I know he was just trying to tease me. I got to the airport and uncovered then decided to hand tug 679er up to Red Eagle so I could use their hose. Let me tell you, it's warm out there and my new parts do indeed work as I lugged her behind me. One of my ramp neighbors came over to give me a hand the last forty feet or so.

I was maybe halfway finished when the same ramp neighbor came over to ask if I could help him out. I responded, Sure, no problem what do you need me to do. He had a dead battery but had the ground cable with jumpers on one end. He brought his car in and hooked everything up. Once he got the fan turning I walked up just in front of his right wing, keeping a good eye on how close I was to the prop area and unplugged the cable. I kept tight to the wing and backed away towing the cable with me. I gave him the thumbs up and motioned that he was clear of the car so he could taxi. He gave me a thumbs up and taxied out. I parked his car in the lot and locked it up, he has a spare key.
I walked back in and finished up with 679er, deciding to pass on a quick spray on wax job. I had the oldies blasting as I completed my mission and packed up the truck. It was much easier pushing 679er back to her tie down location, it's a gentle downhill. I locked up and placed the cover on, double checked the tie downs and ordered fuel for tomorrow. The bird is clean and we're ready for our Maine vacation.

Dinner at Kays

noreply@blogger.com (Gary) — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 04:17:00 +0000

Jeff and Lori from 33N, Delaware Airpark called and said they were going for dinner at either KGED, Georgetown or somewhere local. I suggested Kays. After a quick wx and TFR review Mary and I made the quick trip to KCGE, Cambridge-Dorchester Airport located in Cambridge, Maryland. This is an airport restaurant that is always busy with locals which should give you a hint on the service and food.

What a gorgeous night to fly, cool breeze and clear sky. It's been some time but once we arrived at Wilmington we flowed through the pre-flight. Mary and I really have it down to a well rehearsed routine. Fuel check had 679er maybe an inch below tabs on each tank which would leave us plenty of fuel for the short hop and the sump was free of any dirt or water. KCGE is thirty five minutes each way, adding fifteen minutes ground time on each end for taxi and run up makes for one point five. I flight plan for ten gallons an hour even though 679er averages out to seven or eight actual fuel burn. I had to back taxi on runway one prior to departure then turning into the wind I cut 679er loose. I am really working on the cruise climb and tonight, once wheels up, set 679er on ninety knots and away we went.

We could see a good way down the Delaware Bay despite the north east haze. Dover acknowledged our call for flight following as we crossed the C&D canal passing over KEVY, Summit Airport. As we made our way south we heard a call advising "jumpers away" over Ridgley, yep, meat missiles taking advantage of a beautiful cool evening to jump out of a perfectly good airplane. I listened to the pilot report jumpers away at nine thousand five hundred as we reported eleven miles north of their position. The jump pilot was really good reporting the jumper altitudes and his position. I changed my course which was going to pass directly over the field they were landing at to just a bit further west, closer to Easton Maryland's class Delta at KESN.

Dover had me squawk VFR and cut me loose. I switched to the Cambridge frequency and reported position as I set up to enter the pattern. There is taxiway construction ongoing so be prepared if your heading into CGE. We had a very good dinner although we kind of rushed through. Mary had the Oyster Sandwich, I had the crab melt, Lori had the crab melt and no clue what Jeff had at the other end of the table. Hannah and Bryan had chicken fingers and fries.

I am not night current so I wanted to keep legal with currency requirements, thus dinner was a bit accelerated. Of course as we all got up to pay everyone else did too. The line was immediately four deep. The men went out to preflight and the ladies waited in line.....Thanks Girls!! My preflight was short and sweet since I had full view of the plane the entire time. I didn't take on any fuel so I only needed to double check each tanks fuel quantity, no sump this time.

A 90-day period applies to taking passengers up at night (which is defined as an hour after sunset to an hour before sunrise). In order to take passengers up during those hours, you must have made three takeoffs and landings to a full stop during those hours in the preceding 90 days [61.57 (b) (1)]. That’s both takeoffs and landings, so if you’ve made a flight that took off during daylight hours and landed after dark, that only counts as a landing. You could balance it with a takeoff before dawn, but it’s probably more likely you’ll end up making four landings and three takeoffs to satisfy the 90-day night currency rule.

We launched from runway one six and turned left on course pointing 679er north east. Jeff took off behind us and followed north for a bit then headed a bit farther east to land at 33N. Mary had the mark I eyeballs geared up tonight and actually spotted Delaware airparks beacon and runway lights. She even pointed out an aircraft about our altitude but closer to Dover, I think it was Jeff. I heard Jeff cancel flight following with Dover as he made his way home. As we approached the canal Dover cancelled our following and we bid them a good night. I had a good view of Summit (KEVY) out my window so I made my final tank switch as we prepared to land at Wilmington now only fifteen miles out. I was cleared to land straight in runway one, report two mile final. Wilmington lights looked very pretty this evening as did Dover's when we passed. I could see runway one clear as could be with the rabbit guiding me home. I was maybe five miles out when Mary called out traffic to our four or five o'clock position. No sooner she called them out Wilmington's tower advised the same, she's really good at spotting traffic.

Two and a half miles out and I'm adding the first notch of flaps, we slow down and descend smoothly. The air is still cool and smooth as we make our way in. Second notch of flaps now short final and lined up nice. We both forgot the camera so no video this evening despite a great opportunity. Last notch of flaps as I pull out the remaining power, crossing the numbers at sixty knots and bleeding off speed. No stall horn but clearly a nice landing as the mains touch and I hold off the nose briefly then set it down. Flaps up, pump off and acknowledge parking instructions. I turn off at taxiway Kilo, we're home. As we clear the runway I shut off the strobes, we open the door and window to take advantage of the cool air.

GPS FLIGHT TRACK

Ownership...Almost.

noreply@blogger.com (Gary) — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 23:56:00 +0000

Mary and I have discussed this topic a few times and lately we have been leaning towards making the transition to sole ownership. It's not an easy decision due to the fact we have such a great deal flying 679er. I must admit we have been spoiled the last few years having 679er all to ourselves with only the occasional flight by one other club member. The owner doesn't really fly much, although he did go up recently to keep current, that was a positive thing. I keep wondering when the other shoe will drop and 679er flys out of Wilmington for the last time and goes to live with a new owner. We both have said since the owner doesn't fly much it's only a matter of time before he sells. We discussed a possible purchase and to be honest it's a buyers market out there right now.

In the last week we have made a few calls and as of this evening we are 'on deck' for a real nice plane if everything works out. Another person put a deposit on the aircraft ahead of us but we gave the owner all our info so we could be "in the wings" no pun intended in case the other deal falls through. The owner seemed very nice and stated that there was a few contingencies holding up the sale but they would make a decision by the 19th. I left a message today to let him know our financing cleared and we are pre-approved for negotiating a purchase and that we have the insurance work completed also. It's always a good thing to turn up the heat a bit. Of course the best part is still to come, the horsetrading. I love to horse trade, it's a game to me and it always makes for an interesting discussion.

I guess that's all I can divulge at this time and I hope by posting this I haven't made for bad mojo. Keep your fingers crossed that we get some good news in the next two weeks so we can share some pictures and detail the process.

Special thanks to my friend Jeff for all his help along the way answering my crazy questions about the process. Jeff has two aircraft purchases under his belt and the fact that he has "been there done that" really helps me.

Stay Tuned!!

Wine and Lunch Run to JGG

noreply@blogger.com (Gary) — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 00:31:00 +0000

Mike sent me an email Saturday night around 10:30, that I opened up this morning...."wx should be nice tomorrow; let me know if you are interested in getting up. given TAF calls for some am crud, thinking ilg around 1030a-noon". My reply at 9:20 this morning.....Mary is out with her cousin for the day and I’m available for the whole day….where are we off to? Give me a call. We soon hooked up via cell phone and we agreed to meet around 11:15ish for a flight south. I had a few places in mind and suggested KJGG, Williamsburg or the WV62, Windwood Resort in West Virginia. We decided on Williamsburg, JGG for a lunch run. Newport News is just a short hop and we could shoot approaches there, they seem to be accommodating, at least that's what I've read online.

As I walked out to the plane the "Pipsqueak" an Aero Vodochody L-39 Albatross was taking off and it sounded great! I was to far away for the cell phone camera to catch much of the action and the Kodak Easy Share was in my flight bag out next to the plane. As if that wasn't a great visual with extra credit for sound effect the next plane landing on runway three two is a SNJ5 Texan, the "Naughty Nurse Nancy", which I remembered from our annual at Elkton, 58M. Heck, I didn't even get in the plane yet and I already was pumped up and ready to fly!

Mike walked out to the ramp and he did see the Texan come in. He also got to see the L-39 as it made a low pass down runway three two and scream back out of sight another time, cool stuff! It was a good thing Mike focused on the pre-flight I was pretty much distracted to say the least. Mike filed for an Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) mission today. We climbed aboard and after obtaining the current ATIS I jotted down the CRAFT mnemonic for the essential elements of a clearance under instrument flight rules.

CRAFT stands for:
Clearance limit, the end point of the clearance (usually, but not always, the destination airport)
Route, the route that the flight is to follow as part of the clearance (often the route originally filed, although ATC may change this)
Altitude, the initial altitude to be maintained by the flight, plus, in many cases, a time at which cruise altitude clearance may be expected
Frequency, the frequency to which the pilot(s) should tune upon leaving the departure airport
Transponder, the transponder code that must be set for the aircraft prior to departure and during the flight.

Ok, it starts out with a call to clearance delivery or in Wilmington's case a call to ground.

ME: Wilmington Ground, Skyhawk 3525Uniform
ATC: Skyhawk 3525 Uniform, Ground
ME: Ground, Skyhawk 3525 Uniform Atlantic Ramp, information Lima, would like to pick up our clearance to Williamsburg Juliet Golf Golf, ready to copy.
ATC: Cleared Juliet Golf Golf Williamsburg, on departure turn left 330, vectors, victor 29, Smyrna (ENO), victor 16, Patuxent (PXT), as filed. 2000 expect 6000 in ten, departure frequency 119.75, squawk 1502.

I then read it all back to ATC and they respond read back correct, advise ready to taxi. Here is what it looks like on my note pad...

C - JGG
R - TL 330 V V29 ENO V16 PXT AF
A - 2000 6000/10
F - 119.75
T - 1502

We advise ready to taxi and they change our clearance. We are now departing off runway three two so they eliminate the left turn to 330 degrees. We taxi out and complete our run up then call ground to let them know we are ready. At Wilmington this is the procedure, ground then turns you over to the tower and they in turn clear you for your take off. We launch out of Wilmington and contact Philly approach on 119.75 they direct us direct Smyrna (ENO) climb and maintain 6,000. Mike has me doing all the radio work and will jump in if I need him, it really has helped me get ready for my check ride. We get handed off to Dover Approach then Potomac who turns us direct CHOPS (an intersection) then as filed. It saved us some time and that's always a good thing. Potomac handed us off to Washington Center. Center was a bit busy or overwhelmed it seemed, he mixed up our call and at times was taking precious time to sort things out. I can't complain he gave us a nice short cut just before the PXT VOR and turned us on course direct Williamsburg, right through the Restricted areas. We did get 8,000 out of center then got handed off to Potomac and then Norfolk.

Soon we were descending for Williamsburg and I cancelled IFR about 5 miles out. Mike crossed over the field 1,200 above the pattern to set us up for a 45* entry to the left down wind for runway three one. I kept up with the calls had had fun watching the wx on the 496 and of course taking pictures! Down wind, base and final, we were looking good. I warned Mike about the JGG runway three one swamp monster but it seemed pretty smooth on short final today. We ballooned a tad then made a nice landing with the first right hand exit an easy turn. Of course Mike continued to beat himself up as we pilots seem to do so often.

Charly's was open so we had a nice lunch. I had the Reuben sandwich and Mike wanted the chicken salad but they were out so he had the turkey on wheat??? I was to busy laughing to pay attention since he busted my chops about always writing up the food orders on my blog. Mike even took pictures for today's blog post. There is no courtesy car available at JGG and all the rentals were out so we decided on a taxi. Mike went to the pilots room to check wx and plan for our trip home. I looked over the wx then went out to check on the taxi. After a few loops back and forth I pulled up a seat next to an older gent and we talked flying. Nice guy, lived and worked in the Chambersburg area of Pennsylvania and had a pretty good knowledge of the Delaware valley. Our taxi van pulled up and we climbed aboard. I asked if he minded plugging in my Garmin 496 GPS, we were low on power with no cockpit power and I forgot to charge it up the night before. Not a problem he said and off we went for the Williamsburg Winery. We asked if he could wait on us so we didn't have to call him back, he agreed and gave us ten minutes to make our wine purchase. Mike and I walked around checking out each type of wine, I had no clue because I don't drink the stuff. So, as all smart men do when trying to figure this stuff out we call our beautiful Brides. Mary didn't answer and I don't think Mike got through either.....we were on our own. Mary likes Pino Griggo, they had none, but I did pick up one bottle of each of the white wines I did see. Somehow I forgot to pick up the Spiced Wine which is the only thing I will drink and that's in a very limited quantity.

We completed the purchase and made it out to the taxi in good time, we were still on the meter. It's only a very short ride to the winery from the airport but always a great stop. They also have the Gabriel Archer Tavern. The Gabriel Archer Tavern, as featured in The New York Times, is nestled among the vineyards with a beautiful countryside view. A nice place to eat and the food is good even if a bit fru fruie for my taste. Fru Fruie, is that a word? Anywho, we pile out of the van upon arriving at the airport and the next group is waiting to fill our seats. The ride to/from the vineyard comes to $13.00, it sure beats walking.

Charlie was working the desk and he and Mike settled up on the fuel purchase. I remained outside listening to a bunch of locals, I would assume, just hangar flying. Some good laughs and nice folks. It was time to saddle up and head north, more of what I signed on for. There is now a Ground Communications Outlet (GCO) available at JGG. Whats this GCO you ask.....The GCO functions as follows; A microphone key click signal from the cockpit triggers a dial-up, pre-programmed telephone call to the appropriate air traffic control facility. At JGG it will call Newport News with 4 clicks and FSS with 6 if I remember right. The pilot then receives the necessary air traffic control instructions without needing to leave the aircraft. Well that all sounded great but truth be told it didn't work. I clicked and re-clicked until my finger wore out. Mike and I switched headsets so he could use my bluetooth on the Zulu, Bose doesn't have that feature (Plug for Zulu's). He contacted FSS and we were good to go. We had a clearance time 5:10, and a void time of 5:20. We all did a watch sync at 5:01, it almost felt military like. Whats the term they use when they set their watches...I saw it on MASH.....Ahh yes...ok set time 1701 HACK. It's getting late and I'm tired, please bear with me.

We decided on runway three one, which provided a launch to the north and direct route to our first point in our clearance HCM the Harcum VOR. From Harcum we had plugged in COLIN then PXT followed by ENO and eventually DQO. All these letters! Yep VOR names and even an intersection tossed in there, pilot type stuff. COLIN is an intersection followed by Patuxent (PXT) VOR then Smyrna (ENO) and on home to DuPont (DQO) at Wilmington. We did get a direct to change just shy of the COLIN intersection and proceeded direct to Smyrna (ENO)Delaware. We went through pretty much all the same approach hand-offs except in reverse order of the flight down. Washington center now had a really good controller online and he cracked me up. His response when someone called went something like this.....Skyhawk 3525Uniformmmmm....WAaaaaaasssssh. He did a real nice job and was very easy to understand. Philly was the last controllers we would talk to before arriving at Wilmington. I contacted them when turned loose from Dover and reported tail number, ATIS info, altitude and level (even though I gave 7000 and we were at 5000). Philly asked to confirm our altitude,I acknowledged 5000 and I should have added I'm a dope [rolls eyes]. I asked for a practice ILS runway one approach and he Philly accomodated us. Our vectors were real easy, he turned us once, to the right about twenty degress to intercept the localizer and gave us an altitude to maintain and report established on the ILS. My next call was to inform Philly that 3525 Uniform was established on the localizer. We were then turned over to Wilmington's tower frequency. Wilmington Tower, 3525 Uniform on the ILS would like to circle east to land on three two. Wilmington advised report left base three two. We made our way in, reported and Mike greased another landing.

A great day flying and a lot of radio work in the system to help build my confidence for my check ride. Mike really has helped me gain that confidence and I always seem to pick up something new from him to add to my tool box of weapons for flying. I can't wait to get back in the Archer and work on getting familiar with the Garmin 300XL for my ride......did I mention somewhere I really wanted a Garmin 430 for 679er??? Until the next adventure.....fly safe and have some FUN!! Mary and I will be attending the Labor day cookout at Woodbine. Stop in and meet some great people, eat then fly over to Cape May to see the Collings Foundation Aircraft on display.

GPS FLIGHT TRACK

ILG Wilmington to JGG Williamsburg

JGG Williamsburg to ILG Wilmington

Safety Pilot Time

noreply@blogger.com (Gary) — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 13:32:00 +0000

Another great night to be flying. MikeB called and we hooked up for an evening flight to shoot a few approaches, do some tracking and even toss in a miss with a hold procedure. Mike decided on Millville Airport and of course I gave the Millville radio painful sigh. We both laughed but stayed with the plan. I noted the ATIS at KILG for our pre-flight start up and once the fan was turning we set up our com/nav's. A quick call to ground, who seemed to be having a rough go with traffic this evening, and we were cleared to taxi to runway one via taxiway Foxtrot and hold short. As we were getting underway a helicopter air taxied by and landed across from us, sure gald we were inside and not out there eating all that cut grass and dust. Mike completed our run up and advised we were ready to go. I called the tower and we were given a "hold short". There was an Army Guard Blackhawk inbound, a Cessna something or other departing and then silence, I thought he forgot about us. I was wrong and he did clear us to take off on one, right turn out approved. Mike and I both called out the traffic that had departed ahead of us and we turned on course heading over the Delaware River. I did remember the camera so I have a few pictures to post. The picture of the grass strip is New Jersey. It's slightly out of focus but there is a yellow bi-plane parked there.

The only wx I could find on the Garmin 496 was located out to our west south west around Baltimore. We kept on track for Millville and noted their AWOS also switching to the Common Traffic Advisory Frequency (CTAF) on 123.65. I kidded with Mike and said listen to this call to Millville Radio, I know it's now a game with me to see how little air time they can take up. Millville Radio Cessna 3525 Uniform, ten north west, with traffic and wx information, 2,500 will shoot the practice ILS RWY 10 approach. Millville responded, "advise LADIE inbound". Wow it worked! We did have traffic in the immediate area so I was really scanning while Mike was under the hood. We both wish we had the Zaon Portable Collision Avoidance System (PCAS) working but we had no external power in the cockpit that we could get to work.

Mike made the procedure turn as called for and we were headed inbound. I made the call to alert Millville traffic/radio we were LADIE inbound and worked communication with the Archer also shooting the approach coming from the Rainbow NDB. I should add here that I made a point to also state my position for VFR traffic that we were on a 5 mile final runway one zero. As a VFR pilot (for now) I know what it's like to be in the pattern and pilots call out rainbow or LADIE inbound.....where the heck is that I think to myself. So the IFR guys should give some extra info to let the VFR guys know where they are coming from. I will say with all the instrument training I've been through I can hear certain intersections or NDB's and know where to look, same goes for those out of the way published miss points. It all helps with situational awareness to know where you fly or where you intend on flying to.

I was literally head on a swivel looking into the evening sky and north east haze for the other aircraft, I never had visual contact with the Archer. Mike was rock solid down the ILS approach. I know I've said it before but he calls out everything he is doing and I get to learn from that, every little bit helps. We cross the missed approach point (MAP)and of course, go missed. Out to Cedar Lake VOR for a lap around the hold then inbound towards Rainbow. We break off from that approach and we role play ATC with me giving vectors back to the ILS RWY 10 at Millville. Mike did fine and I tried to keep the vectors to intercept as ATC would. The localizer came alive and we were tracking inbound. Glideslope was rock solid and I watched the Pappi lights glow with the correct pattern for the glideslope. This would be another missed but we would be heading back towards Wilmington.

As we were heading back Mike thought about shooting an approach at Smmit (KEVY). As we approached the the Salem power plant and all its bright lights Wilmingtons ATIS was reporting Broken at 3'200. We figured on just shooting an approach back into Wilmington instead. The winds did start to pick up and there was a layer moving in over the river. I called the tower and advised our position and intentions with the correct ATIS noted. The tower gave us a straight in for runway one and I responded with a request for one four. Not a problem as ATC instructed us to enter a right down wind for one four. Mike gave me the nudge...."hey report mid field downwind" and I did. I was busy watching all the lights from traffic on I-95. Mike squared up the pattern and took us in for a nice landing and roll out. We exited the runway and taxied back to Atlantic.

ILG 272351Z 10007KT 10SM BKN032 25/19 A3008
SPECI KILG 280025Z AUTO 12008KT 10SM BKN027 BKN034 BKN043 25/19 A3009

Next up some time in the Archer with Mike as my safety pilot. I hope to finish up with CFII Chuck sometime soon. Mary and I also have our trip to Stonington, Maine scheduled. It should be a fun few months of flying.

GPS FLIGHT TRACK

Texas Trip, The Front, The IR

noreply@blogger.com (Gary) — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 09:46:00 +0000

The "Trip" is the planned adventure to pick up Jeff's new purchase, a 79 Piper Archer II in Houston Texas. The "Front" was the stalled weather front over the Appalachians that was held in check by Hurricane Bill. The "IR" is the instrument rating that remains to be completed that could have been put to good use and had us home on time Friday.

DAY 1 - THURSDAY

Thursday started out very early as the alarm went off and I was out of bed at 4AM. I had already packed the night before and only needed to shower, eat and get to Wilmington Airport to meet Jeff and Lori for my ride to the Philly Airport. Mary extends her thanks since she didn't have to take me to the airport, even though she offered and was ready to go. I loaded up the SUV and needed to make a stop for fuel on my way. My favorite little fuel stop with home made goodies was closed so I went to the first place I could find.

I pulled into the Airport parking lot and enjoyed the ice tea Mary had poured for me along with an everything bagel and cream cheese. Jeff, Lori and their two children pulled in shortly after I was parked, so I finished up and we transferred baggage. The Philly airport was pretty busy even at that early hour of the morning. We each had printed our boarding pass so there was no need to stop, we headed for the dreaded TSA security checks. Jeff cruised through with no problems but yours truly kept setting off the alarm due to all my new metal parts and wires. "Sir, please wait inside this area"....great I'm standing in the fishbowl looking three by five foot plexiglass room while everyone passes me by. "OK sir, please have a seat and we'll be right with you. the agent shouts "we have a male search here". Here comes my special agent complete with his magical wand. While still seated I extend my legs so he can wand my feet, that are still without shoes, thankfully I wore socks for this special occasion. Next is the stand on the footprints so we can see whats making everything chirp like a bird. Un huh, "sir, please remove your belt so we can place it through the machine". Ok not a problem, belt gone but now it's pat down time. Hey that tickles....no just kidding, I didn't say a word, those folks have no sense of humor. I had to empty out any gadgets in my clothing bag, a portable com radio and my mini Dell lap top computer then let them look through my flight bag. I got the okie dokie to put my shoes on and reload both of the bags. It was determined that I was not a threat to national security so I was free to travel about the country. Jeff patiently waited for me just around the corner and we finally headed for the gate. We were maybe thirty minutes from boarding so we stopped for a quick bite to eat.

We boarded the Embraer 170 and prepared to get underway. I read my IR PTS study guide for the oral exam and took cat naps along the way. I did manage to take a few pictures of the building storm cells to the east. The pilot did a nice job as he landed into a cross wind, more so then usual since you could really notice it from the coach section. It was a short walk to the entrance and Chris, the soon to be former owner of the Archer, was going to pick us up. Chris was right on time and we loaded up our gear and headed to David Wayne Hooks Memorial Airport just 12 miles as the crow flies NW of Houston's KIAH, George Bush Intercontinental/Houston Airport.

QualiTech Aviation, Inc. was not finished with the Annual/prebuy so Jeff had time to take a look at things, go through the logs a bit more and get additional info about the plane from Chris. The folks at QualiTech were really nice and I thought they did a good job of going over the Archer but I wasn't the guy they had to make happy. The three of us headed out for lunch and originally talked about a BBQ place but decided on the airport cafe'. I had some monster burger with mushrooms and cheese, fries on the side and the best big glass of sweet tea. Jeff had a burger and fries and I think Chris got the chicken fried steak. We sat and talked airplanes, always fun stuff, and the guys traded more good info/questions about the Archer. The plan was for a flight test to get familiar with the engine and fuel analyzer along with the avionicss in the plane. Jeff had already spent time with the Garmin 430 sim so he was up to speed and I know the 496 so we were covered. I hung out in the QualiTech office (air conditioning) while they both flew. When they returned we loaded up our gear and climbed aboard for the start of our journey home.

The plan for the first day was to head north east for KLMS, Louisville Winston County Airport, Louisville, Mississippi. From this overnight stop we would head to 35A in South Carolina for a fuel stop then north to KILG. The weather en route was so bad we diverted to KUTA, Tunica Municipal Airport in Tunica, Mississippi. We pulled up to the terminal and the lineman topped off the tanks, ok and spilled a good bit across the wing. The guy just looked at Jeff in horror then started cleaning up. The fuel that 93Zulu took on give or take a bit with the spill matched the fuel analyzer pretty much on the money, this was good to know. We headed in the terminal and the young lady at the desk made a reservation for us at Harrah's casino for $40 a night. We would need transportation but as it turned out there were buses running to shuttle people to Harrah's. What people? We were the only three in the place besides the line guy. No sooner those thoughts entered our heads an Allegiant Air 737 from Cleavland was rolling down the runway and pulling into the terminal. We lined up with those passengers to board the bus, no we didn't just wiggle our way on although that would have made for a great story, instead the guy running the shuttles agreed to gives us a ride if there were seats available. Well, there were no seats, but, there were four other people in the same boat. A short time passed and Harrah's sent out a black stretch limo for the six of us, hey pretty cool and it was a free ride.

DAY 2 FRIDAY

Day two of our journey home and we once again try for the 430 mile east leg to 35A Union County Airport, Troy Shelton Field in Union, South Carolina . We had a quick breakfast at Harrahs in the coffee shop then called for a cab to the airport. Our suspicions were confirmed now with daylight providing the view of vast nothingness. I mean there was nothing but the roadway for miles. The airport had a convention center across the highway but that pretty much was it.

We launched with high hopes taking advantage of tailwinds and cruising along at 145 knots. Unfortunatley, not long into this leg we are avoiding cells. ATC is really helpful and the on board weather confirms what the two sets of eyeballs is looking at. We turn south for an end around attempt to clear a large cell slowly moving north but the surrounding layers don't look good either. Jeff and I discuss our options and agree it's time to get on the ground and re-evaluate. This decision was timed perfectly with a very large opening that you can see in the above left photo that we descended through with plenty of ground contact. As we made our way down we also headed a short distance to one of the day one potential stops KMSL, Northwest Alabama Regional Airport, Muscle Shoals, Alabama. Just 135 miles into the day two leg our plan was coming unglued and our alternate plan of running the west side of the Appalachians was looking to be the best choice at this time. We use the courtesy car to run for lunch and hit the Tex Mex restaurant, Rancho Viejo. We ate our meal and discussed our options as to what we thought would be the safest route home. This wx front was stalled and blocking us from the east coast run north and now we would have to settle for our back up plan. We finished up lunch and gulped down the last bit of ice tea. The food was good and the service very fast. We headed back to the airport to top off the tanks on 93 Zulu. Once again we launch but this time we are headed north to KIOB, Mount Sterling-Montgomery County Airport in Mount Sterling, Kentucky. This 265 mile leg is much better but with wx still giving us fits we call it a day knowing we can't make Wilmington, Delaware by nightfall, besides,the wx at KILG is Instrument Meteorological Conditions (IMC), a no go for the both of us.

Jeff cancels flight following once IOB is in sight. Another super smooth landing and we taxi to a tie down area away from the main ramp. The manager comes out to help us tie down and shuttle us back to the terminal building. We are given the courtesy car along with directions for the Fairfield Inn. The Airport Manager Paul gives us his card and said if you have any problems just call. We loaded up the bags and headed for some food and sleep. Jeff is driving I'm navigating well trying to. As we leave the road from the airport to the main road the car died, yep, traffic coming, nose sticking out there and no can start. I jump out, a real sight to see, and start to push while Jeff opens his door and pushes with one leg out and one in still seated and try to steer us backwards to clear the oncoming p/u truck. The keystone cops has nothing on us! Jeff cranks this baby a few times with no luck, finally it starts and he combines the brake and gas to get us across the road into a gas station. I called Paul to let him know we had a problem as Jeff pumped in $15 or so to move the needle off the 1/4 tank mark. The car fired up ok and it seemed to run so I called Paul a second time to give him the all clear. The gauge must be broken because it ran ok after the added fuel.

The Fairfield was a good choice and the young lady working there gave us a great suggestion for dinner. Terry & Kathy's On Main was the choice and off we went. We each had the filet which was cooked perfect along with home made mashed potatoes. There was no room for dessert but we took two slices of Key Lime pie to go. Yep, the pie was excellent too. Day two comes to a close and I passed out while the TV was still on. To Jeff's horror he got to hear me snoring. Mary warned him that when I'm really tired I snore. When we got up I asked if I had snored very bad, his look was priceless and his words were, "Oh My God! I thought you were going to swallow your tongue or something". I'm still laughing as I type this. I'm really sorry Jeff! lol...honest!

DAY 3 SATURDAY

We both manage to get up early in hopes of making Delaware today. The wx is looking really bad at Wilmington and in Dover too. There will be no crossing the Appalachians from this point so instead we alter the plan and head 350 miles for KTHV, York Airport, York, Pennsylvania. The weather at Mt. Sterling was perfect, 61 degrees with a light cool breeze and clear as far as one could see. It was to good to be true. We sat on the ground in order for our destination airport conditions to improve. We launched for York figuring to arrive just past the Terminal Area Forecast (TAF) best weather scenario.

The ride was perfect, cruising along at 9,500 feet averging between 150 and 160 knots, outside air temp was 36 degrees (we had to close the air vents)with xm radio playing the hits and the sky was looking great. I think I even heard Jeff singing despite moving his mic up and out of the way so I wouldn't hear him. Flight following handed us off one at a time as we talked with Lexington, Indy center, Clarksburg and a few others along the way. As we approached the Saint Thomas VOR we needed to descend for cloud layers to maintain Visual Flight Rules (VFR). The xm radio was muted, and our alert status was raised a notch or two. We had crossed the Appalachians and had entered into a valley where the cloud layer really was closing in so the decision was made to divert to N68, Franklin County Regional Airport, Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. Not a very friendly place unless you had a parachute strapped on but it provided a place to land and give us the chance to re-evaluate on the ground with our charts spread out and no pressure to fly the plane.

We sat and waited for the conditions to improve. Finally looking to the north-north east we could see the last ridge lines separating us from our target destination of KTHV, York, PA. A final look at the sectional and a plan to cross was completed. As the plane full of jumpers departed we were number two to bug out. We headed north east shadowing the ridge line wanting to avoid the top elevation of 2,120 and the additional tower elevation to top out at 2,513 feet. The cloud layer was three to thirty four hundred and safety was the main goal here. As we approached N42, Shippensburg Airport we made a right turn direct to York. Our highest elevation was 1,622 and we were passing overhead at 2,700. York was in sight as we announced position for entry. Another aircraft was on a three mile final so Jeff made a right 360 for spacing and re-entered for our landing on runway 17. Another good landing in the book.

Jeff has family in the area so he arranged to borrow a vehicle for our final leg home, on the ground. We gave the last hop some thought but Wilmington was still under the weather so the safe choice was indeed to ground pound it home. I can't count how many times durning this trip we each mentioned the need for the instrument rating. I'm calling/texting Chuck this week, Jeff is going to take his written test in the next couple of weeks. We went out to dinner with Jeff Sr and Peggy at Smokey Bones, a great place. After dinner we went to their home and visited for a short while then saddled up for Delaware. It was a good ride home despite the Lancaster traffic which made us both wish we were still flying. Jeff dropped me off at the Wilmington Terminal to pick up my SUV, which I had left unlocked but all was intact. We parted ways after a hand shake and each shared a big smile as we savored the journey and lessons we learned and shared. It was a great time, I learned more about weather then I ever knew,along with the 'real' art of flight planning and most of all the adventures associated with diversions. I think tops on my list is the fun flying with a fellow pilot and friend as we brought his new baby home, well almost home.

GPS FLIGHT TRACK

By the numbers:
1150 Miles
10.5 Hours (Plan)
9.8 Hours (Actual)

A Special View

noreply@blogger.com (Gary) — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 00:22:00 +0000

What a great sight to see while looking out my office window.The Collings Foundation B17G, "Nine O Nine" was turning left base to final for runway 19 at ILG this afternoon and it was in perfect view out my office window, and the boss wonders why I stare out there so much.

This required an immediate road trip to um....check on my Airport Terminal project....yeah that's it, the terminal HVAC project at the Wilmington Airport Terminal, hold my calls.

I only got to take a few pictures since everyone on the OP's staff was busy and I didn't want to get in the way. The Wings of Freedom Tour is in town for a few days.

B17G "Nine O Nine"

B24 "Witchcraft"

Pilot Shuffle

noreply@blogger.com (Gary) — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 18:46:00 +0000

This morning I got an early start and was wheels up out of Wilmington (KILG) by 8:30AM. The plan was to pick up BobC and get him back to his plane that was still on the ramp at Georgetown (KGED). Bob was stuck in Delaware due to wx this past Thursday and Friday. It was very hazy today, typical north east. I didn't bring along the camera, I don't know why, I just forgot.

We departed Wings field and contacted Philly approach for bravo clearance. Philly was busy today but picked me up on my second call. Philly approach Archer 28679er - 28679er standby, (never a good sign), Archer 28679er Philly approach - Approach, Archer 28679er 5 south of Wings, 1,900 climbing 4,500 VFR to 3 3 November request flight following and bravo clearance - Archer 679er squawk #### and say altitude request - squawking #### 4,500, 679er. We were on our way through the Bravo. I was handed off once to 119.75 and she also asked my requested altitude........4,500, 679er. We were good to go.

Somewhere south of Wilmington, maybe around the C&D canal Philly handed us off to Dover. I responded 132.42 have a great day - Dover approach Archer 28679er level 4,500. Dover gave us the current altimeter reading and we dialed it in. I soon had 33 November in sight and cancelled flight following. I positioned myself to cross midfield at 2,000, 1,200 above pattern altitude. Announcing my position we circled and entered the left down wind portion of the pattern. Base to final, over the electric wires and another good landing in the log book.

Jeff climbed aboard and we launched for Georgetown. It was really ugly hazy today, I know I mentioned it but it was so bad I needed to say it again. Jeff handled the comms and picked up flight following for the KGED hop. We were assigned a squawk number only to hear another aircraft already squawking that number....Hmmmmm. Jeff, in typical Pilot In Command style quickly advised Dover of the squawks codes and similar tail numbers and requested that we use full call signs. I think Dover got ticked but tuff luck, it's our lives up here while they sit in the A/C tower. We were given another squawk number, the troublemaker dialed it in, just kidding Jeff, ya done good and kept everyone squared away.

We had a Falcon jet pass on by and enter the left down wind for runway 4 at Georgetown. Jeff offered to extend our downwind so he could get in first. We had position and could have gotten in but with his speed he would have had to go around. I chugged along watching the falcon jet cross base well out in front of us and I extended my downwind. As he came by our left side I turned base and made my way in, number two to land. There was a Cessna behind us and he followed number three to land, we all played nice nice. Another nice landing in the book and clear of the runway in time for the high winger to land with no problems.

We parked out front on the busy ramp and then made our way inside for breakfast. I had an Omelet, Jeff had one too, Bob had eggs Benedict. Food and service is always worth the stop at KGED. Jeff and I did some flight planning and we will carry two routes, the east of the Appalachians and west side run, actually the west run was an hour shorter. We had seen enough and felt like we were ready. I am going to take my small Dell computer for flight planning at the hotel and updating the blog while enroute.

We all went out and completed our individual pre-flight. I took on 15.7 gallons of fuel to top us off since it was just two of us we would be fine. 679er was soon screaming off the runway climbing out in Gary fashion when I heard MikeB's voice in my head saying cruuuise climb....and so I did. After we departed the pattern I gave Jeff control. He took us into 33N and transferred control back to me on final. Another good landing maybe a titch slow on very short final but gentle none the less.

I never turned the fan off and Jeff bailed out at the terminal. I'm not sure who is more excited....well maybe Jeff is since he is bringing home a new toy, but the trip will be half the fun. I pointed 679er into the wind and launched for home. [TAKE OFF VIDEO]

Wilmington gave me the straight in for runway one, report three mile final. The XRX alerted me to one aircraft moving towards me from my 11 o'clock +200 feet. I was descending below pattern altitude as I was closing in on my 3 mile final reporting position. Wilmington Tower called out the traffic and I had visual as he passed overhead. Another sweet landing, number five for the day. I'm hot and tired with a sunburn face. I know I'll be sweating bullets when I push back, tie down and cover the plane. I sure did.....

GPS TRACK