Today's flight for 2017

[bradp]

Trip to the in laws on Sunday. More of the same weather. The bowl over Johnstown stated to lift up so we went out VFR (icing airmet and reports in the clouds) to take a peak. Ceiling was sufficient to clear the ridge line at my preferred altitude (no scud running allowed). However as we got close to the eastern ridge of the bowl noted that the visibility dropped down a bit and I lost the peaks. I didn't like what I was seeing - snow - so I headed north where I knew that there was a lower ridge to cross and the reporting stations were saying things were better north and east over south and east. That was plan B, plan C was to return from whence we came. Anyway, we were able to cross the eastern ridge and had a beautiful and smooth flight until the last leg over the Tappahanock river need Shannon / Fredericksburg - snow squalls everywhere. The destination airport was VFR, and I was below the clouds, so I picked up an IFR pop up to get us through the precip and then cancelled . A couple of planes in the pattern. We sequence ourselves and land.ed uneventfully.

Unfortunately the forecast for the return trip the next day was iffy. Wife and I both needed to be at work at 6p back in Pittsburgh and the forecast wasn't supposed to lift over the bowl at all and over the WVa mountains until about 4pm. I didn't want to get there itis a VFR trip over the mountains with a lot of variable ceilings and having to dodge snow squalls. So, we rented a car and drove the leg back. Dee Dee Blue is now sitting at FYJ waiting to come pick her up on Sunday. Such is life with no FIKI or turbo living in the lake effect and using a plane for cross country travel. As my wife says... that's a first world problem.

Btw the drive back reinforced the decision to drive. We also encountered some of the scariest driving I can recall - visibility down to a few feet over the mountain passes.

This trip also reinforced the concept that mark one eyeballs are just as important in the winter as they are in the summer. The TAFs and FA was saying things that were rosier than the reality of the weather in that microclimate along the ridges and gaps for the scrubbed flight back home. Avoidance of squalls is key in the mountainous terrain. A daylight only study and know the local terrain and obstacles kind of thing.

 

Reroute north and east to go around weather over the ridges.

 

 

Clear with an overcast to our west, but this is what it looked like along my "planned route".

 

Flying NE parallel to the ridge line with JST airport in clear view off my left wing.

 

Foreboding weather over the ridges toward 2G9 (Somerset).

Where we passed the eastern ridge just southwest of the city of Altoona, PA. 

 

Everything starting to break up a bit as we head east towards the Blue Ridge.

Near Shannon, VA (Chesapeake / Tappahanock R region) - a snow squall started to fall as we were passing under.  Visibility reduced and we picked up an IFR plan.

 

Cancelling IFR at our destination with a great sunset in the background. 

 

 

Driving through the FRZ on the way home at 59 kts.   Note the reporting stations are looking VFR.  But not so between.

 

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[Marauder]

Brad - I'm not sure you met Brett Nicolette. He owned a J and sold it for a Baron. He talked a lot about the ridges coming out of Latrobe and I recall doing a fly-in there and seeing firsthand those ridges. Not something to mess with.

He moved up to a twin for the redundancy and the boots. Flying single engine IFR in those conditions, with a turbo or FIKI can still be challenging.


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[bradp]

Chris - I have been in contact with Brett and he was really helpful pointing me in the right direction maintenance in the area when I moved out here.

After flying the area for the past 4 years you just keep earning more and more respect for the terrain. There are some hard rules I fly by (kind of like personal mins) for VFR in the area. Probably the most important of which is a hard for altitude for terrain and obstacle clearance, a suitable cloud clearance for the almost constant overcast, daylight only unless clear / high overcast, and the availability of Plan A, B, and C.

If flying on a schedule our Mooney's barely cut it out here. I agree. It's a pretty harsh and unforgiving environment. Brett was wise to go the twin FIKI route.

An M20M with TKS or an acclaim would both be good options in the single category.

I have a lot of respect for the Friendly / Wiggins pilots that fly IFR in the crud day in and day out.

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[Marauder]

Chris - I have been in contact with Brett and he was really helpful pointing me in the right direction maintenance in the area when I moved out here.
After flying the area for the past 4 years you just keep earning more and more respect for the terrain. There are some hard rules I fly by (kind of like personal mins) for VFR in the area. Probably the most important of which is a hard for altitude for terrain and obstacle clearance, a suitable cloud clearance for the almost constant overcast, daylight only unless clear / high overcast, and the availability of Plan A, B, and C.
If flying on a schedule our Mooney's barely cut it out here. I agree. It's a pretty harsh and unforgiving environment. Brett was wise to go the twin FIKI route.
An M20M with TKS or an acclaim would both be good options in the single category.
I have a lot of respect for the Friendly / Wiggins pilots that fly IFR in the crud day in and day out.
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Brett is a great guy. Too bad we don't see him around here anymore.

I hear you about the regional guys. I saw a Piedmont Dash-8 sitting on Williamsport's ramp. Going in and out of these small regional airports on a fixed schedule has got to be nerve racking.


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[tigers2007]

I just checked my log book and I haven't been more than 20 feet off the ground for about five weeks. I'm looking through a window of my house right now and I see clear blue sky. MVFR at my airport 20min away. Been like this all dang winter. Fluffy clouds 1200' AGL and clear just above. They break up slightly but by the time I get to the airport, it's 500' with -SN. This is killing me!

Is it worth sneaking in pattern time on MVFR days? I just listened to AWOS and it's 2400' Overcast, winds 320@19G28 (main runway is 34). Do you think it is wise to maximize any pattern time if able?


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[Marauder]

I just checked my log book and I haven't been more than 20 feet off the ground for about five weeks. I'm looking through a window of my house right now and I see clear blue sky. MVFR at my airport 20min away. Been like this all dang winter. Fluffy clouds 1200' AGL and clear just above. They break up slightly but by the time I get to the airport, it's 500' with -SN. This is killing me!

Is it worth sneaking in pattern time on MVFR days? I just listened to AWOS and it's 2400' Overcast, winds 320@19G28 (main runway is 34). Do you think it is wise to maximize any pattern time if able?


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Just remember your cloud clearance requirements.


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[bradp]

And what kind of airspace your airport resides in. Be safe


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[carusoam]

Cloud clearance and really listen for IFR traffic coming in. Always broadcast your position reports as well...

Fly, because you can...

Best regards,

-a-

[tigers2007]

And what kind of airspace your airport resides in. Be safe

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Middle of nowhere. KCIU. Class E Surface Area. So a minimum of 3 miles visibility and 1300' ceiling (TPA 800'). I think I'm gonna run over there tomorrow and hook up my battery tender.

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[rbridges]

On 2/1/2017 at 0:06 AM, Raptor05121 said:

150 miles north to Warner Robins, GA today. My first REAL trip where the flying wasn't an excuse to go, but rather a tool of transportation.  My friend's uncle has a private strip we landed at and he lent us his '68 C10 pickup for the short drive over to the museum, First leg 1:16, return trip 1:05. This grass strip was very rough compared to most I've been on. It only had 6 hangars on field and maybe half were active? Either way, a BUMPY 2600' long runway, I wanted to get airborne ASAP as my gear and back did not like it one bit so I performed the most max performance, bring-that-gear-up-now takeoff I've ever done. 2300lbs weight, wasn't an issue, but it was bumpy enough something is now loose on my landing light. I flip it on, radios and interior lights flicker, and the landing light switch flicks itsellf off. I hope its just a loose power wire, I really don't want to have to upgrade to LED just yet lol



The museum had cool exhibits. I REALLY liked seeing a real SR-71. The older B-52 was a cool touch.

Saturday is ramping up to be another fantastic cross country for me up to Charleston, SC. Stay tuned.

You literally landed 500 yards from my house!

[rbridges]

flew to Florida to let Bruce Jaeger freshen up the interior. Spending time in Boca but heading back Sunday to watch my falcons in the super bowl. 

[Hank]

Let me know when it's Done! I wanna see, may end up with the same.

[Yooper Rocketman]

On 2/1/2017 at 10:44 AM, tigers2007 said:

I just checked my log book and I haven't been more than 20 feet off the ground for about five weeks. I'm looking through a window of my house right now and I see clear blue sky. MVFR at my airport 20min away. Been like this all dang winter. Fluffy clouds 1200' AGL and clear just above. They break up slightly but by the time I get to the airport, it's 500' with -SN. This is killing me!

Is it worth sneaking in pattern time on MVFR days? I just listened to AWOS and it's 2400' Overcast, winds 320@19G28 (main runway is 34). Do you think it is wise to maximize any pattern time if able?


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You need to move to the tropical section of the U.P.(KIMT)  I've logged over 60 hours in the last 6 weeks, almost all VFR.  None in your direction though.  Always see overcast that way.  Now that I am out of test phase, taking a real trip tomorrow.

Tom

[Hank]

Photos please, Tom! Maybe video? 300 and how many knots?    Or are you going out in your Slow Rocket?

Guess it's not illegal to use "tropical" in the same sentence with "Michigan"?

[Skates97]

My "Flightseeing" trip last Sunday. Going to take my wife and son flying tomorrow.

"Flightseeing" - Was that Wind Shear?

 

[Yooper Rocketman]

20 hours ago, Hank said:

Photos please, Tom! Maybe video? 300 and how many knots?    Or are you going out in your Slow Rocket?

Guess it's not illegal to use "tropical" in the same sentence with "Michigan"?

Ok Hank.  You twisted my arm.   3.5 hours from the U.P.  Of Michigan to Spruce Creek, FL (just south of Daytona Beach).  We were supposed to leave with the Mooney Rocket on Friday, but my 1900 hour alternator went TU as we were going out for an IPC Thursday afternoon.   I've flown 8 approaches in the last 8 weeks, but was looking to work on partial panel.  

Anyway, neither plane was ready for the trip as of Thursday night.  A new ADAHRS arrived Friday morning for the Lancair at the same time the Rocket alternator showed.  By Noon both planes were ready but decided I wanted to leave early enough to land in daylight so delayed until today.   Flew the Lancair Friday afternoon and felt it was ready for a REAL trip.  It was my wife's first flight but she loves it now!

Only picked up 25 knots tailwind but was well over 300 knots the whole way.

Tom

https://flightaware.com/live/flight/N994PT/history/20170204/1300Z/KIMT/7FL6

[Yooper Rocketman]

Here's a couple screenshots.  The fuel page shows my MPG.  I got some flack a while ago about the fuel burn.  This shows it's pretty much the same as the Rocket except I'm not wearing O2, we're a 100 knots faster, fuel is cheaper, and with the extra speed and dropping the fuel stop we shaved several hours off the trip

[Hank]

That's quite the upgrade, Tom! No fuel stop, UP to FL?

[Skates97]

Took my wife and youngest son on their first ride in our Mooney. A short hop over to French Valley for a late lunch/early dinner. Pictures and the story are over on my blog. Put together a short video from the photos and videos my wife took on our phones.

French Valley Dinner Run

 

[Raptor05121]

Longest flight in N6744U to date. 500+ miles, about 6 hours on the Hobbs when she made it back to her hangar. My day trip turned to an over-nighter when our return forecast was IFR. We stayed the night, and departed too early, so we had to stop in Fernandina to wait for the fog to burn off. Darn Mooneys are too fast for the weather!

 

 

With a tailwind and coming down from 10,500ft I managed to crack 200mph over the ground. Our target was to visit the USS Yorktown:

 

Weather was high winds ands IFR back home so we grabbed a hotel and departed KLRO the next morning. Serious IFR about 100 miles west (seen in the sky in this picture)

Layover at Fernandina Beach waiting for the weather to clear. It does look like it, but only a few mile away, Craig, Herlong and JAX were IFR. The LSA behind me came in front of me, they were also waiting for Craig to go VFR. We borrowed the crew car, hit some Taco Bell and departed an hour later, clear blue skies westbound.

 

This has given me a STRONG push to go for my IFR rating, but my plane is laughably equipped, and all the approaches into local airports are GPS only, and I can't afford to go /G right now.

[Raptor05121]

On 2/3/2017 at 10:21 AM, rbridges said:

You literally landed 500 yards from my house!

Peachtree Landings, 5GA1? Do you have a hangar there or where is your plane based? We will be back soonish!

On 2/3/2017 at 7:27 PM, rbridges said:

flew to Florida to let Bruce Jaeger freshen up the interior. Spending time in Boca but heading back Sunday to watch my falcons in the super bowl. 

 

Where abouts in FL is Bruce? Please post some pictures and maybe even a guesstimated MSRP?

 

[Raptor05121]

We had a committee meeting for the annual Wings Over Suwannee Fly-In in April and got a lot of planning done. Afterwards, myself and my friend took off with a stack of fliers and headed north. We stopped at Homerville, GA which looks like an abandoned airport. Grass through the runway and JetA and 100LL tanks empty. Kinda sad...

Then up to Douglas, GA which used to be a WW2 airfield and actually had A LOT of cool stuff. DC-4, C-47, restored USAAF hangars. The FBO looked brand-new. The best past was next door is a hangar and is inside is a F-82 Twin Mustang under a 10-year restoration.

Every single connector looked brand new. The lead mechanic (pictured) told us when he first started the project, the only parts he had came in a box not bigger than a desk. Another cool point is this is THE ORIGINAL prototype of the F-82.

Real circa-1942 ammo belts. I'm sure the powder and primers are removed. The M3's are also period-specific minus the firing mechanism.

Left-hand drive engine, of which there were only 42 made.

Sorry for the long post...

[cnoe]

Sorry for the long post...

No apology necessary. Cool post and awesome pics!


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[rbridges]

3 hours ago, Raptor05121 said:

Peachtree Landings, 5GA1? Do you have a hangar there or where is your plane based? We will be back soonish!

 

I live right across the street from Peachtree Landings, but my plane is based at KPXE which is a 10 minute drive away.  It would be a good place to land at night; lights and a 5000ft asphalt runway.  Let me know when you're back in town.

[gsxrpilot]

@Raptor05121 Getting an Instrument rating is like taking the training wheels off the Mooney. I wouldn't wait to be able to afford /G to get your rating. I use my IFR rating all the time, but RARELY get to shoot an approach. Unfortunately most approaches are done under the hood as the weather just doesn't cooperate. But being able to take off and climb through a layer, really opens up a lot of flying.