Jump to content

Skates97

Supporter
  • Posts

    3,172
  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    29

Everything posted by Skates97

  1. There's a reason why I keep a zip lock baggie with some Immodium AD in my flight bag (as well as backpack when hiking/camping, and carryon when flying commercial). Boy Scout Motto, "Be Prepared!"
  2. Behind with my posts as usual. Flew to Utah Memorial Day Weekend. I checked off another state from the list, flew my longest leg (4 hrs), furthest from home (475nm), and gave some family their first ride in a small plane. It was a good, fun weekend. Memorial Day Weekend Post Here's a few pictures, there are a bunch more over on my blog.
  3. Congratulations! You have every reason to be proud of her!
  4. We did this in my PPL training at Chino (Class D) and Ontario (Class C) but it was always with prior approval from the tower. I don't see a problem when there is communication on the radios, but to be radio silent and pull something unexpected is just asking for problems. My goal is to always try to make sure anyone around me knows what I am doing and not surprise anyone, better chance of finishing the flight in one piece that way. By the way, the guys in the tower at Ontario are awesome. Always accommodating to the little guys and let us practice all kinds of things in their pattern. Flight Training fun at Ontario
  5. Personally I think it's a great story. If you have the time and finances that's great to bring her back to life. The only way the story gets better is if you have a kid or grandkid that you can pass the plane on to at some point. That would make for some really great story telling when people ask them about their plane and they get one of those far off looks and begin to talk about how their dad/grandpa/uncle (fill in the blank) saved her not once or twice, but three times.
  6. My whole cap is white as well so I guess it could go any direction. My tabs are to the back and that would be my thought too. While I don't think the airflow would be able to lift them, I would think the tabs forward would have the possibility of airflow working to lift the tabs instead of holding them down.
  7. If you have to ask the question, you will never understand the answer...
  8. I can still read the bottom line of the distance chart without glasses, although my almost 45 yo eyes need reading glasses. However, even with good eyesight I would say at least once or twice on most flights there is a target on my tablet or that ATC has called out that I never see or like you mentioned only see right as I'm passing it. I'm in the "wait and see" category on installing ADS-B out to see if it gets pushed off or if some of these newer, less expensive options get certified. However for the $120 or so it cost me to build my own Stratux I am glad to have the extra info on my tablet.
  9. If you get on the waiting list you get an email when they are in stock and should have time to buy them. I've had mine for almost a year and love them.
  10. The Legacy Flight Museum is hosting a free pancake breakfast on Saturday the 17th. I will be up there visiting the newest granddaughter. @astraviersois planning on flying in too. I would love to meet anyone else that wants to fly in, have some pancakes, and load up the ramp with some Mooneys. Legacy Flight Museum
  11. I tell my wife that guys never outgrow toys, they just get more expensive.
  12. After my time in my PPL training and renting a plane I was surprised when I bought my plane and saw it didn't even have a Hobbs meter. Then I realized that nobody was keeping track of how much time I was in the plane to charge me for it. I could use it as much as I wanted, sit on the ground playing with the avionics, whatever I wanted to do!
  13. The numbers on my plane from tach to engine to SMOH don't line up. At one point in its history it had a different engine (higher total time but lower SMOH time) put in it. However, everything is noted clearly in the logbooks. In addition to the logbooks I keep a spreadsheet that has all the numbers in it which is easier to track than just using the logs. I put in the beginning/ending tach time for each flight and it keeps track of TT on the engine, time since overhaul, time since 500 hr mag inspection was done, time since oil change, time on the prop, as well as a column where I note how much oil I added and then it tracks the time between adding oil so I can easily see how much it is burning. Excel is a great tool.
  14. Ah, the joys of having a hangar at a small un-towered strip with on runway and one taxiway. Startup, taxi down to the pumps, sometimes don't even turn on the avionics for the short trip. It's pretty easy to see if there is traffic on the taxiway...
  15. I didn't want to do the whole front windows but I did about a 2" strip across the top of the windows and I also did one across the top of the windshield. I need to redo the strip across the top of the front windows so that it is a straighter cut, but they help. The one across the top of the windshield made a big difference on how much sun baked you on our last flight. It doesn't affect my view out at all but really helps on the sun shining on your face. You can see the strip across the window as well as the windshield. (Funny, just noticed the light on the tail of the plane behind me looks like a weird collision light on top of my plane...) Really rough cut, I was just trying it out to see how it would do. I am going to make it about another 1/2" bigger and use a nice straight edge for a smooth cut now that I know I like it. Here's the edge of the one on the windshield, you can see how far down it comes.
  16. The most airports I have done in a day is four and that was during my transition training in the Mooney. Went airport hopping one night just for the repetitive practice of take off, climb, cruise, descent, landing. Looking back at my logbook and the most landings in a day was 12 a couple of different times during my PPL training. 37 different airports in a day makes me tired just thinking about it...
  17. Or drain it when it is cold... Leaving it to drain overnight I think gets as much out as running the engine to heat everything up first, although I know there are those that disagree.
  18. I just did mine and it was 1/2". I just went to Lowes and bought I think 3-4' of each size for somewhere around $0.40/ft. I figured it was cheap enough that spending the extra $1.50 to not make a second trip if I guessed wrong was worth it.
  19. That was my exact thought when Alex posted that pic. As for draining the hose, I always dip my tanks and decide how much to put in. The pump shuts off just before the tanks are full and I hold the lever until it stops draining. I suppose I am missing out on the bit that is in the hose below the wing level. On a somewhat unrelated note, I was very annoyed by whomever got fuel before me in St George on Memorial Day. Did the usual routine, ground plane, dip tanks, swipe card, set amount of fuel to buy, pull hose to wing while it is authorizing, go back to switch on pump... no switch... How the heck do you turn on the pump there? Oh, there was just a sign to not lift the lever before it resets. What does that mean? I've never seen that before. Oh wait, there is a place to put the handle and in the bottom of it is a metal plate which acts to turn off and on the pump. I go back and pick up the handle, take it back and put it in the hole which "turns off the pump" and also prints off a receipt charging me $0.81 for 0.170 gallons of gas that was never pumped... All because someone didn't put the handle back where it belonged, and I didn't think anything of it because when I pulled up it was hanging from the reel like everyplace else I've ever gotten gas. After a few words shared with nobody in particular except the 95° wind about the lazy punk that got fuel before me, I swiped my card for a new authorization and then filled my plane.
  20. Watched a special Memorial Day Broadcast this morning that I had recorded last week while out of town. They did the 'Hymn to the Fallen' from Saving Private Ryan. It was updated with some different images than this one from a couple of years ago, but this one is still very good. I was moved to tears. (When it comes to patriotic things, I am often a big cry baby as I think of the sacrifices that have been and are being made.) My grandfather, uncle, and dad all served in the Air Force. My daughter is at advanced training at Ft Lee right now. I believe the greatest gift we have been given is the freedom that we have to choose, and of all the countries in the history of the world, I believe this is the only one where there has been complete freedom. That freedom came at a tremendous price, and there are many that still willingly pay that price so we may continue to enjoy our freedom. I hope you enjoy this as much as I did.
  21. It does not happen on my second radio. If I turn the radio off the sound is gone, but when I turn it back on it is back. I know that should make it an issue with the radio, but after finding out that my wife is having a different symptom on her headset it made me think perhaps it is something to do with the intercom. I honestly don't know how the two radios are wired into the intercom but I am going to have a look the next time I get out to the hangar. At the very least I will check connections and also clean them with some contact cleaner.
  22. Thank you for organizing it! It was a lot of fun to meet everyone, and the food was good too. My friend that came along has been busy looking up other fun places to fly. We have a deal, I fly us there and he buys the food. I know the gas is more expensive than the food, but I figure I'm going to fly anyway, getting a good meal and company out of the deal is just a bonus. He said that Joe's One-Niner Diner at the Paso Robles Airport has some good reviews. Has anyone been there? Maybe a spot for a future fly-in?
  23. This is what my plane has, just a clevis pin. There is one of them that has what looks like a piece of aluminum vacuum line that someone cut to about 1/4 long on one side that acts as a bushing, then a cotter pin to hold it in place of course. I ended up buying an extra because when I got the plane it was missing a pin on one of the rails, I think it was less than a dollar.
  24. Not a dumb question, but my answer may be a dumb one... I have adjusted the squelch on the SPA-400, but on the individual headsets? Mine don't have any adjustment for squelch for the individual ones, or if they do I have no idea how. The only thing on the headsets themselves is just volume adjustment. I don't know of any squelch adjustment anywhere else besides the one on the Mark 12D but pulling the volume out (which someone said is the squelch) doesn't do anything. I'm going to check connections, given the completely intermittent nature of it. Flew 4 hours straight without it ever happening, and then had it happen constantly off and on for a couple of hours.
  25. Oh... Take a set of ear plugs for sleeping. When I go camping I always have a few sets in my bag.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.