Beautiful Flying Weekend

Wow! What a perfect flying weekend. Mild temps, light breezes and abundant sunshine. Doesn't get much better than this in the Northeast in November.

Despite a to-do list that is out of control, I managed to squeeze in 0.8 in N94006 on Saturday morning. Had initially planned to fly to PTW and then home via a low approach at Van Sant (no grass in the rental). Saturday morning I thought I'd change the plans and make a stop at N10, but a briefing for busy jump operations made me decide otherwise. In the end, I just decided to sight see. I flew up and over Van Sant at 1000' above TPA and then just took my time coming home across the north end of Lake Nockamixon and then over Lake Galena before joining the pattern at Doylestown.

I knew the weather would bring people out of the woodwork to go flying, and tried to get airborne on the earlier side of the day. I was also exhaused from work and school this week so I didn't do a dawn patrol. I had a reservation from 9:30 - 11am, but got there around 9am. Temps the night prior had dropped to about 28 and there was still frost on the cars when I left, so I drove to the airport fully expecting to have to de-ice. Much to my delight, the sun had worked it's magic and 006 was frost-free when I preflighted. Leading Edge wasn't pre-heating on Saturday so I primed liberally and let her idle for a while before taxiing to the hold short line. Take off and climb were nice and smooth and the old 152 didn't do badly in the cool morning air. Radio was busy and almost immediatley I was looking for traffic. Lots of back and forth with other guys sharing the airspace but everyone's position calls were clear.

On the way home from Nockamixon, I cruised in via Lake Galena with the intent of entering the pattern on an extended crosswind. Just as I made the call, a twin Cessna inbound from the west announced his intent to also enter on the crosswind. Knowing that he further out but much faster, I initiated and called a 360 for spacing, for which he thanked me. This is where it gets interesting. I flew the 360 and re-established the extended crosswind, announcing the whole way. Just then, I see a small high wing (TriPacer, I think) climbing out on the upwind between myself and the twin Cessna. No biggie, I know the plane and believe he flies NORDO. But hot on his tail is a red and white RV. Mind you, the twin Cessna and I have been making clear position calls and the RV called his departure so I know he's on the radio. He takes off and climbs like a bandit aiming right for me! I call my position and ask him to confirm that he has me in sight... no reply. I expedited my turn to downwind and he climbs out behind and below me. By this time there's also a Mooney that is following me on the crosswind, whom this renegade RV cuts between. I call the midfield downwind because now I can't see the RV, and the Mooney gives me a head's up that the RV is very close. "Don't worry" the RV pilot now replies, we're departing to the SE. With that, he passes me from behind off my right wing at the same altitude! I made a sweet landing and probably could have made the first taxiway if I'd really wanted to. Cleaned her up and went around again. Another nice landing wrapped up a nice morning of flying.

Check out this picture. This plane landed gear up at Doylestown on Friday. I was told that is was not a mechanical failure, but simple pilot error. Apparently the guy was flying in for some sort of meeting with the local DPE. Bummer.

On another note, I'm thinking about enrolling in an Instrument Rating ground course at Doylestown in January. It's like $279 and runs two nights a week for a month. I haven't mentioned it to Kelly yet until I decide whether it's a good idea. Any thoughts? Anybody interested in joining me?

Van Sant Airport (9N1)

My plane is back on the rental line but the wx's been IFR for days. I needed some sort of flying fix, so I packed the kids in the car this morning and headed up to Van Sant. I have one landing at 9N1 in my logbook but that was about 5 years ago, so I thought it would be fun to stop by and take a look.

It's a great little grass strip airport, located only about 9nm from KDYL. This little gem is practially in our back yard. It has all the characteristics of a true, classic airport, including a turf strip. I've always wanted to get my tailwheel endorsement and just recently added it to my short flying to-do list.

The kids were sound asleep when I got to Van Sant so I wasn't able to go into the FBO to say hello. Seeing the grass strip in person got me motivated to pursue the tailwheel endorsement, and I called when I get home to get some more info on what would be required. Sadly, I was told that Sport Aviation is going out of business next week and the future of their planes and instruction is in jeopardy. They told me to call after November 1 to see if the J3 would still be available for instruction and rental.

I'm bummed but not totally surprised. I saw a post a few weeks ago on AirNav noting that the owner's retirement was imminent... just didn't imagine that it would happen this quickly. Keeping my fingers crossed that things remain as they are with the new owners. In the meantime, I've rekindled my interest in the grass. I have an upcoming BFR and may seek permission to work on the grass operations and take the plane into 9N1.

N92789

I found this old picture of N92789. This was taken in December of 1994, during a Discovery Flight that I took with my dad.

She's wearing a new paint scheme now but 789er's still working the rental line. This will always been one of those special planes because of this one flight.

Non-equity a No-Go

Dang, I knew I shouldn't have posted the pics and N number. I think I jinxed my non-equity deal.

After waiting almost a month, I called the owner today to follow up to my proposal. Not entirely surprising at this point, he pretty much said that they were still considering the arrangement but it wasn't looking good. I'm not entirely sure why because just a few weeks ago he seemed almost as excited as I did about it. I'm thinking it's probably likely that he expected my contribution to be a bit higher. I spent hours and hours massaging the numbers and solicited the opinions of many owners and pilots. Ultimately, I offered him four different options that involved varying degrees of fixed cost contributions, all of which had a cost to me (with fuel) in the low to mid $60/hour range. I currently pay $75/hour for the 152 so I had to keep my costs in this area because it wouldn't faciliate my path to ownership if I was paying more than the rental line rate, a point which I made clear to him from our first conversation. Plus, much as I'd like the convenience of the availability provided by the non-equity arrangement, I did have concerns about the awkwardness of handling squawks (despite the fact that he was contractually obligated to fix them).

It is what it is. He's still trying to sell and is asking 23AMUs. It's a 1969 C150J with TTAF +/-8000, SMOH +/-1200 with a TBO of 1800. Plane has one Narco Nav/Com, although he did say it was IFR certified when he bought it. It's not a bad plane by any means, but with a VFR panel, high TT, awful paint scheme, and a rental history I think the price is too much.

For comparison, this is the aircraft that I almost bought (and on hindsight, should have bought) last year. N53267 was owned by a long-time family friend so I knew the plane well. My price at the time was also 23AMU. Plane was a 1979 Cessna 152, I think TT was in the low 3000s, NO RENTAL HISTORY, full IFR panel and current cert, engine was nearing TBO but compressions were good. I didn't have my financial ducks in a row and the plane was rushed into a pre-buy and ultimately crated and shipped to India. I think my friend actually got like $27k for it.

So, assuming that the motor mounts get fixed on N94006, it looks like I'll be staying on the rental line for the forseeable future. Could be a good thing, I guess. This may force me to get my finances in order and pursue a purchase in earnest. I'd love to find a partnership, if I could, but I'm just not seeing them out there and especially not at KDYL. There is a 1/2 share in a PA-28-140 asking $15k, but I'm really a high-wing guy and if I'm going to spend this kind of money I think I'd rather have my own C150/152 for about the same price. In many ways, the low useful load of the Cherokee 140 makes it a two-place anyway, so although it would be nice to share costs, I just don't think it's the right plane at the right price for me at this stage.

Two old friends... 80A and Travis

Hello again, 80A. Goodbye, Travis. This pretty much summed up my flying on Friday.

The C152 (94006) has been down for a lengthy maintenance period and, despite the fact that I'm trying to pinch every penny until I see how my non-equity/partnership/ownership saga unfolds, I was starting to feel rusty. Friday morning was open, the local TFRs didn't start until 2:30, and 80A was sitting on the line begging me to take her flying. Need I say more? I jumped on the schedule and hustled over to the airport to take to the skies.

The usual crew was in the FBO when I got there, including my friend and CFI/CFII Travis. My BFR is due in November and I'd been meaning to mention it to Travis. I took the opportunity to mention to him that I wanted to get this knocked out in the coming weeks and, with a straight face, he replied "Didn't you hear? Today's my last day." At first I thought he was joking, but a quick survey of the faces revealed that nobody was smiling. "What?!?" I replied. I'd known for a while that he was getting homesick (he came to DYL from Nebraska) and that his lease was due for renewal, but I never really thought he'd bag it and head back west. I've been busy with school and work and haven't been at the airport much, and this one just snuck up on me.

Travis is one of those unique CFIs who is both a friend and a mentor. He had a really easy going instructing style and was a pleasure to fly with. I'd started my IR with him last year and shot my first approaches with him. Then I got sidetracked with life and didn't make much progress. He was always eager to chat and often joined me during my preflights just to see what was new. We also spent many an hour sitting on the picnic benches just chatting and watching the traffic at DYL. On hindsight, I really wish I'd taken advantage of the opportunity to do my IR rating with him in the right seat. I'm going to miss him.

After coming to my senses, I did manage to b.s. with him a little bit and then guide 80A around the pattern. Logged 0.4 on the Hobbs with 2 decent landings. I'd hoped to say goodbye to Travis when I got back, but he took an early Discovery Flight and our paths didn't cross again that afternoon.

I plan to call him to say thank you and hope that we can get together during one of his return trips to Philly. I owe him a beer.

So, as I was ever so gently reminded this week, it's been a while since I've updated this blog. In the interim, flying has never been far from my mind. But the hecticness of late summer vacation and work projects collided with the back-to-school preparations and Carter's transition to a full time kindergartner. I'm also finishing up grad school and have taken on 16 hours of week of additional "clinical" projects to make up the final credits that I need to earn my MSN. Needless to say, life's been a bit hectic lately. In the end, this treadmill of life makes the time I spend in the air that much sweeter. I just wish there was more of it. To get this blog back on track, here's a summary of my flying activities for the past two months.

AUGUST: Had a great month flying, highlighted by my time in the air while vacationing down in Cape May, NJ. I got checked out in their Cessna 172M and loved having an airplane at my disposal during the vacation. All told, I logged about 4 hours of sightseeing while we were there, including an early morning flight along the beach. I also was able to take Andy, my brother in law, for his first ride in a small airplane. He loved it and did great! Carter also tagged along, although he wasn't thrilled to have to ride in the back.

The plane itself was a nice 172. The kicker was that it rented for $120/hour. The day of my checkout found us having to fly north almost to Millville to find high enough ceilings to run through the checkout maneuvers. Finally we found blue sky and ran through an uneventful series to demonstrate my proficiency. We came back to WWD for some landings and this is when the fun started. The CFI had a different technique than I was used to. He likes the high and tight approach to landing, whereas I was trained and more comfortable with a more stabilized and wider pattern. The result was a sight picture that had us diving for the field and, on this day, I just couldn't brake old habits. I was either fast or flaring too soon to brake the dive. WWD's runways are long so that wasn't an issue... things just didn't feel right. The last couple were better but still not greasers. The CFI said he wanted one good one, which I finally delivered, and he signed me off.

Frustrated by my less than perfect performance, I was eager to get 19J back in the air by myself a few days later. A quick trip around the pattern with a textbook landing renewed my confidence and energized my enthusiasm. Unfortunately, I had nearly depleted my vacation flying budget but intended to make the most of what I had left.

For a rental bird, 19J was much nicer than what I usually fly. It was clean and had a nice stack. Most of my flying was simply sightseeing so I didn't get to utilize much of the instrumentation, but this is a plane that I'd love to work on my IR in and/or call my own. Someday.

Early on in our vacation, Kelly and I had the opportunity to get together with my friend Joe Ebert and his family. Joe and I know each other through the Red Board and tried to make plans to get the families together while we were all in Cape May. Ultimately, my kids cashed out early so Kelly and I wound up meeting the Ebert's at their B&B. The deal was that they would provide the hospitality if we provided the beer. So, we loaded the cooler full of malt sodas and ice, threw it in the wagon (we're not driving) and hiked across Cape May! We had a great time! Heather and Kelly really hit it off, while Joe and I talked flying the whole evening. Plus, we all had Rochester NY roots, so we all had lots in common. The evening was over before we knew it, but we established a friendship with another flying family and are looking forward to meeting up with them at a future fly it.

SEPTEMBER: I've been able to log some time here and there, all in the 152. The plane has been down A LOT for mx recently. Not sure what's going on, but it's getting tiresome. This frustration led me to send out another slew of non-equity inquiries and, lo and behold, I actually got a call from an interested owner. In a nutshell, he owns two aircraft and lives primarily out of state. He's trying to sell his Cessna 150 but hasn't had much interest. He appreciated my current flying status and desire to own eventually, and is interested in talking about a non-equity deal and possible sale of the aircraft to me.

At the risk of jinxing myself, I'm posting a picture of the airplane. I sent the owner my proposal last week so it's out of my hands now. The plane is a 1969 Cessna 150J. It's in good shape with a basic VFR panel. I'm not sure if the "raspberry red" would be my first choice of color (and it's not pink, despite how my CFI-I Travis would describe it), but right now I'm just looking for a solid time builder. If the non-equity deal goes through, my plan is to fly as much VFR as I can in it over the next 12 months and then reevaluate. At that point, if it hasn't sold and if I find that the two seater meets my mission, I may buy it. Likewise, if I find that I really need the four seats, I'll start to look for a 172. The owner knows my concern about having a family and the limited useful load of the 150, so I'm now just (EAGERLY) waiting for his reply to see if this can move forward. The suspense is driving me crazy!

Kelly's family is coming this weekend which means that I will have some daycare. I'd hoped to tag along on the POA West Virginia trip but couldn't clear the weekend, so I few hours in 94006 will hopefully satiate my craving to go flying.

Back in the 172 Saddle

I was able to sneak away to KDYL for a few hours early this afternoon for some quality time with N92789. I'm getting checked out next weekend in Big Sky Aviation's 172, and wanted to get a little bit of airtime in 789'er just to get the 172 feel back. I've been predominantly flying either the PA-28s or the C152. In fact, it's been several months since I flew a 172.

I had the airplane beginning at 12:30. As the morning progressed, I watched a strong cell develop and then move across central and upper Bucks County. I dialed up Intellicast radar in one browser window and DYL's webcam in another as the cell moved across the area. Ultimately, the rain stayed north and by 12:15 the cell was well to the east and the air behind was clear. I was going flying!

I got the keys to 789'er at 12:30 and ran through a normal preflight. 789'er has an airspeed indicated calibrated in MPH, so I spent a few minutes reviewing the V speeds and planning my approach. Once I completed the refresher, she started up and we were off. Winds were generally light and variable but everyone was using 23 today, so I taxiied to the departure end. After the run up, I was off to Lake Nockamixon.

Just south of the lake I did some clearing turns and just worked on getting a feel for the plane. Then into slow flight and some more turns to headings. It was pretty hazy and there was a scattered layer between 4-5k, so I opted not to run through some stalls. After playing around for about 10 minutes, I turned for home with the intention of doing some pattern work.

Still using 23, I entered the pattern behind a DA-20 also doing pattern work. First landing was effective if not pretty. I find the sight picture of the 172 to be much different than the PA-28 planes. In the 172 you sit really high and look down on the nose; on the PA-28 you are practically sitting on the floor and look across the nose cowling. Also, 789'er has 40 degree of flaps.

Second attempt was not as nice. I tried landing with 30 degree of flaps and carried way too much speed over the fence. I started to flare and attempted to hold it off. But I didn't gauge the distance right and touched down with a full head of steam. I hopped back off the pavement and punched it for a go around. It was hot today and the DAs were up, so I knew that in addition to my excess IAS that I was also quickly running out of runway. No sense pushing it. Back to pattern altitude to another try.

Third attempt was better, albeit not a grease. Still carried lots of speed over the fence and got a small hop when the wheels touched down. I'd only planned to log about .7 today but was not content to leave on a less than stellar landing. Back to pattern altitude for one more try.

This time it clicked. Speeds were right on and I was on the glide slope all the way in. Stayed with 30 degrees of flaps again, carried less speed over the fence, and flared just a tad earlier than I had been. A gentle chip let me know that I was back on the ground.

Parked her with .9 on the Hobbs. Stuck around the airport to watch some folks in the pattern. The guys had a charter tonight so I stayed until the King Air departed, and then headed home to attend to the housework.

Felt good to fly the old 172 again. I feel more certain, than ever, that I should focus on flying one type as much as possible. I think that this is the best way for me to maximize my skills and efficiency given the amount that I'm currently flying. So, it'll be high wings for the forseeable future.

Checkout at Big Sky, hopefully next weekend. If all goes well, I'll be punching holes in the Jersey Shore sky for the next few weeks!