Last night my son pronounced that he was going flying with me and Steve today. So, Steve, Spencer, and I boarded N1940T, an Arrow owned by the flight school we rent from. 40T is an older Arrow, with the "Hershey Bar" wing and small back seat than Aggie. 40T is a wonderfully flying airplane and I enjoy taking it up.
With all of the places we've flown together, Steve advised this morning that he had never landed in Fayetteville. I have. Dad and I had to divert there when we encountered a thunderstorm on a night flight a few years ago. I won't ever forget that flight - I learned a number of lessons that evening. I digress.
Since Steve hadn't landed there, he took the left seat this morning. A typical hazy summer Carolina day greeted us, but there was a rather strong west wind pushing us along. We cruised at 153 kts ground speed and made the 80 nm flight in about half an hour. Steve planted us down on the runway and we taxied in for some coffee.
We traded seats and taxied for takeoff. A quick run-up and we were on our way. A bit slower on the return because of the headwind. Still, it was a surprisingly smooth flight. We landed at Concord, tied up the bird and headed in to settle up. As we walked in, I looked over at the pathetic sight of Aggie, waiting for her repairs to finish so she could soar once again.
2.0 hours of flight time and on with our respective days.
Sunday, June 29, 2008
The Joys(?) of airplane ownership
Last year I decided I wanted to obtain my instrument flight certification. Looking at what I had been spending on airplane rentals, I decided that if I could find a reliable aircraft, I could break even with a purchase with the added benefit of having an airplane at my disposal, not having to work around other renters' schedules. I figured we could take a few family vacations together and save some travel time.
After researching and looking for about 5 months, I settled on the Piper Arrow as my target aircraft. The Arrow is a good complex starter aircraft (it has retractable gear and an adjustable (constant speed) prop). It is really a beginner cross country plane. It can cruise ant 135 kts in the 8k to 10k altitude range.
I found a plane with a lot of hours - it had been a trainer for JAL pilots. However, the plane was relatively young (1979) and after its stint as a professional trainer, it was owned for a number of years by an A&P mechanic. The A&P had added a couple of speed modifications - another attraction to me.
"Aggie" as I now call this aircraft, had some older avionics, but the radio stack was made by Collins. Anyone I asked said that Collins radios would last forever. In addition, Aggie had an HSI, a working autopilot coupled to it, and a DME. I figured with all of these things going for it, I had found the value I was looking for. She checked out solid when I got her and once purchased I scheduled the time required by the insurance company to allow me to solo.
My first flight should have told me what I was in for. CFI Randy and I went up to start my instruction in a complex aircraft. When we set up for our first landing, the landing gear indicator for the left main gear failed to light (it showed green when we started) so we did a low approach and asked the tower to look at the gear. The tower advised the gear looked down, so we did a lap in the patter and landed without event. It turns out that a wire from the sensor had been cut by the gear - a simple fix, but this was the first of many trips to my mechanic. More to follow in a subsequent post.
After researching and looking for about 5 months, I settled on the Piper Arrow as my target aircraft. The Arrow is a good complex starter aircraft (it has retractable gear and an adjustable (constant speed) prop). It is really a beginner cross country plane. It can cruise ant 135 kts in the 8k to 10k altitude range.
I found a plane with a lot of hours - it had been a trainer for JAL pilots. However, the plane was relatively young (1979) and after its stint as a professional trainer, it was owned for a number of years by an A&P mechanic. The A&P had added a couple of speed modifications - another attraction to me.
"Aggie" as I now call this aircraft, had some older avionics, but the radio stack was made by Collins. Anyone I asked said that Collins radios would last forever. In addition, Aggie had an HSI, a working autopilot coupled to it, and a DME. I figured with all of these things going for it, I had found the value I was looking for. She checked out solid when I got her and once purchased I scheduled the time required by the insurance company to allow me to solo.
My first flight should have told me what I was in for. CFI Randy and I went up to start my instruction in a complex aircraft. When we set up for our first landing, the landing gear indicator for the left main gear failed to light (it showed green when we started) so we did a low approach and asked the tower to look at the gear. The tower advised the gear looked down, so we did a lap in the patter and landed without event. It turns out that a wire from the sensor had been cut by the gear - a simple fix, but this was the first of many trips to my mechanic. More to follow in a subsequent post.
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Very short flight
OK, so I've decided this will be an extended pilot's log for the time being.
N2825A ("Aggie") is down, having the power pack (gear pump) replaced. I'll probably write more about the problems I've had with the landing gear in a later post. Anyway, Steve and I felt a very real need to get in the air last weekend, so we rented the plane we flew together for 2 years - N2571M, an Archer II. As it happens, Steve and I have the same birthday - June 22. So, on Sunday morning we tried to celebrate our birthday with an early morning flight.
The ATIS at Concord (KJQF) reported 5 miles of visibility and clear skies. Now, 5 miles of visibility means it's pretty darned hazy. Steve and I decided we would fly over to Rowan County (KRUQ) which is only 16 NM to the Northeast and do some touch-and-goes and maybe try some landings from the right seat. No sense in flying too far for practice, especially with all of the haze.
We preflighted our old plane, taxied to the end and went through a brief run-up. Steve was in the left seat. We were cleared for takeoff, and as reliable as ever, at 70 kts, we lifted off on our way for a few uneventful landings - or so we thought.
At 500 feet AGL we made the crosswind turn and saw some very heavy pockets of mist (OK, those pockets looked a lot like clouds) pretty close to our altitude. We decided immediately to amend our plans. I called the tower and asked if we could stay in the pattern locally and do some touch-and-goes. The tower remarked that they had been discussing the visibility as they watched us make the downwind turn.
So, no big deal. We'll just do some local pattern work. We made the base turn and final and landed with a satisfying 'chirp.' Full power again, and up we went. On the downwind we found ourselves in one of those pockets of mist. We advised the tower that we were done and wanted to land with a full stop. It was then that the tower advised that the AWOS, something they can't broadcast, was showing some clouds at 800 feet. We told the tower that sounded pretty accurate to us.
We made the base and final turns and put it down. Now time to taxi back to the ramp and shut down. Unfortunately, our day of flying was over. Still, any time up in the air is a great time. .4 hours of flying.
N2825A ("Aggie") is down, having the power pack (gear pump) replaced. I'll probably write more about the problems I've had with the landing gear in a later post. Anyway, Steve and I felt a very real need to get in the air last weekend, so we rented the plane we flew together for 2 years - N2571M, an Archer II. As it happens, Steve and I have the same birthday - June 22. So, on Sunday morning we tried to celebrate our birthday with an early morning flight.
The ATIS at Concord (KJQF) reported 5 miles of visibility and clear skies. Now, 5 miles of visibility means it's pretty darned hazy. Steve and I decided we would fly over to Rowan County (KRUQ) which is only 16 NM to the Northeast and do some touch-and-goes and maybe try some landings from the right seat. No sense in flying too far for practice, especially with all of the haze.
We preflighted our old plane, taxied to the end and went through a brief run-up. Steve was in the left seat. We were cleared for takeoff, and as reliable as ever, at 70 kts, we lifted off on our way for a few uneventful landings - or so we thought.
At 500 feet AGL we made the crosswind turn and saw some very heavy pockets of mist (OK, those pockets looked a lot like clouds) pretty close to our altitude. We decided immediately to amend our plans. I called the tower and asked if we could stay in the pattern locally and do some touch-and-goes. The tower remarked that they had been discussing the visibility as they watched us make the downwind turn.
So, no big deal. We'll just do some local pattern work. We made the base turn and final and landed with a satisfying 'chirp.' Full power again, and up we went. On the downwind we found ourselves in one of those pockets of mist. We advised the tower that we were done and wanted to land with a full stop. It was then that the tower advised that the AWOS, something they can't broadcast, was showing some clouds at 800 feet. We told the tower that sounded pretty accurate to us.
We made the base and final turns and put it down. Now time to taxi back to the ramp and shut down. Unfortunately, our day of flying was over. Still, any time up in the air is a great time. .4 hours of flying.
Friday, June 20, 2008
About to be 41
Here goes....my first Blog post. I've been an avid blog reader for the past couple of years - mostly professional blogs discussing law. Employment law to be specific. Why? Well, because I'm an in-house employment lawyer.
Anyway, I thought it might be fun to put thoughts to page. However, because of my profession and my position, I will avoid controversial subjects or content (yes, boring I know). Nevertheless, this may be a theraputic release for me. Much like a diary, it's more about the exercise than the audience. I can't imagine anyone will be reading this anyway.
I hope to learn how this media works and maybe develop a bit of a theme. For now, this will be random.
On Sunday, I turn 41. 41 really is a non-event. Still, it's another year gone, leaving fewer remaining on this mortal coil. I'm hoping this year I take the time to make a bit of a difference.
Sunday will be spent in the air (weather permitting) in my Piper Arrow, N2825A. I need to start thinking about what to blog about. It may just be about owning an airplane for a while. We'll see.
Trey
Anyway, I thought it might be fun to put thoughts to page. However, because of my profession and my position, I will avoid controversial subjects or content (yes, boring I know). Nevertheless, this may be a theraputic release for me. Much like a diary, it's more about the exercise than the audience. I can't imagine anyone will be reading this anyway.
I hope to learn how this media works and maybe develop a bit of a theme. For now, this will be random.
On Sunday, I turn 41. 41 really is a non-event. Still, it's another year gone, leaving fewer remaining on this mortal coil. I'm hoping this year I take the time to make a bit of a difference.
Sunday will be spent in the air (weather permitting) in my Piper Arrow, N2825A. I need to start thinking about what to blog about. It may just be about owning an airplane for a while. We'll see.
Trey
Saturday, June 7, 2008
Well, this is a start
Just setting this up as a placeholder. I'll start blogging in earnest in a few days.
Trey
Trey
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