Today's flight in 2019

[gsxrpilot]

And she's back... from annual. SWTA at 84R does the best work and takes such good care of my bird. 5 years, 2 Mooneys, 1000 hours, and not so much as a cylinder replaced. I left the house in Denver, flew Southwest to Austin, got a ride to Smithville, test flight, lunch, fuel, take off and fly back to Denver. Threaded several lines of storms, landed put her in the hangar, drove home and walked through the front door just under 12 hours after leaving.

Threading the first line of storms. Left side and right side.

Then another line of storms between Pueblo and Colorado Springs.

Finally home... BJC

[bonal]

GXR looks like you had a fantastic day congrats on another successful annual 

[aviatoreb]

A lovely flight this evening - not a tremendous amount to see on the ground from 14k but the clouds were really beautiful.  There is copilot bear keeping watch out for traffic like a good copilot (bear).

I did have a bird strike!  My first one.  Luckily it was a tiny bird.  It came straight for my face - it hit on the windscreen right in front of the pilots position, but it was a glancing blow and bounced off.  But left a big bloody mark like an over sized bug splat.  No damage.  15 seconds from landing.  So not at super high speed.  Yes I did quite flinch!  And spent 20 min cleaning yuk off the windscreen before it has a chance to bake on,

Edited September 9, 2019 by aviatoreb

[carusoam]

EB,

Consider a friend for co-pilot bear...

These things are known to keep birds from flying into Windows...

 

-a-

[aviatoreb]

13 minutes ago, carusoam said:

EB,

Consider a friend for co-pilot bear...

These things are known to keep birds from flying into Windows...

 

-a-

Why didn’t I think of that!  I need a couch!

[Oldguy]

12 hours ago, aviatoreb said:

A lovely flight this evening - not a tremendous amount to see on the ground from 14k but the clouds were really beautiful.  There is copilot bear keeping watch out for traffic like a good copilot (bear).

I did have a bird strike!  My first one.  Luckily it was a tiny bird.  It came straight for my face - it hit on the windscreen right in front of the pilots position, but it was a glancing blow and bounced off.  But left a big bloody mark like an over sized bug splat.  No damage.  15 seconds from landing.  So not at super high speed.  Yes I did quite flinch!  And spent 20 min cleaning yuk off the windscreen before it has a chance to bake on,

Aw, man, I was hoping the word "snarge" would be used!

[FlyingScot]

This weekend's quick trip to NC - Pics of return in OHIO enroute from NC to MI - CAVU over the Blue Ridge then threaded through light rain storms associated with a weak front at 7K at/around dusk in OH/MI. In and out of IMC for 2 hrs, but generally smooth. Absolutely beautiful cloud formations + lighting - photos don't do it justice. (BTW - great Avgas price at 0VG - Lee County VA - a great facility w/courtesy car, etc - largely unattended, but nicely done, a great fuel and biobreak stop). Wife thought it one of the most beautiful flights we have taken - I though so too - 

175KTS at 12ish GPH - engine purred the entire way...smooth as glass...CHT's in the high 2's and low 3's. What a pleasure to fly, this airplane. What a machine.

Sigmets for icing along the route at 13K+ - can winter already be upon us?!? - Bob

 

 

[aviatoreb]

4 hours ago, Oldguy said:

Aw, man, I was hoping the word "snarge" would be used!

I’ve never used snarge in a sentence but I think I will start!

[Yooper Rocketman]

21 hours ago, aviatoreb said:

  Yes I did quite flinch!  And spent 20 min cleaning yuk off the windscreen before it has a chance to bake on,

Is that ALL you needed to clean?

Tom

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Yooper Rocketman]

Did my annual recurrency training this weekend.  Four plus hours of ground school on Saturday.  Flew home and returned on Sunday for 3 hours of flying.  The first 1.5 hours doing lots of flight maneuvers (360 turns at 30 and 45 degree, climbing and descending turns at precise airspeed, slow flight, recovery from unusual attitudes, emergency gear extension, operating the engine on '"ISOL" with the fuel condition lever, which bypasses the throttle and part of the FCU, etc.) and then emergency procedures.  Did several simulated engine outs, using high key and low key target points and then an engine failure at 800'  on take-off with the 180 degree turn back to land (actually was too fast on landing, thank goodness for reversing prop, so could have made it with a lower altitude).  It helps when cruise climb is 165 kts and best glide is 120 kts.  After my instructor failed my engine (simulated) he counted to 3 before I was allowed to act.  I was able to grab 200' of altitude before getting speed down to 120 kts.  A decent quartering head/cross wind helped too.

The second phase was IFR, doing some A/P coupled full approaches and the complete published missed, then a hand flown approach.  Learned a ton but was really mentally exhausted by the time we finished.  Last year was 10 hours total..... this year down to just over 7 hours.  I must be making progress.

Flight Tracks below.

VFR air work;

https://flightaware.com/live/flight/N994PT/history/20190908/1326Z/KEZS/KCLI

IFR air work;

https://flightaware.com/live/flight/N994PT/history/20190908/1604Z/KCLI/KEZS

Tom

 

[aviatoreb]

1 hour ago, Yooper Rocketman said:

Is that ALL you needed to clean?

Tom

...yeah it wasn't a complete bird's worth of yuk.  Just some blood splotch but the bulk of that bird bounced off - it was a glancing blow.  It looked just like I said - an oversized bug splotch.

[Oldguy]

16 hours ago, aviatoreb said:

...yeah it wasn't a complete bird's worth of yuk.  Just some blood splotch but the bulk of that bird bounced off - it was a glancing blow.  It looked just like I said - an oversized bug splotch.

Be glad it hit the windscreen and not any aluminum even at low speed. My 172 took out a sparrow on approach with the leading edge and cost about $2,500 to repair. Of course, it hit right on the seam of two panels.

And somehow, I would bet you were faster than the approach speed of a 172....

[skydvrboy]

6 minutes ago, Oldguy said:

My 172 took out a sparrow on approach with the leading edge and cost about $2,500 to repair.

Perhaps that's saying something about a 172 vs a Mooney.  I hit a dove on landing, leading edge of the wing just above the pitot tube.  Feathers and blood everywhere, but no damage to the plane!

[Cruiser]

Sunrise Saturday

somewhere over the middle of Michigan

[aviatoreb]

Anyone need some tires?  Goodyear tires?

I saw this baby today.  Doing slow-motion touch-n'-goes.  Something about a blimp doing the pattern at a towered airport makes me think of clowns piling out of a clown car at the circus.

[aviatoreb]

2 hours ago, skydvrboy said:

Perhaps that's saying something about a 172 vs a Mooney.  I hit a dove on landing, leading edge of the wing just above the pitot tube.  Feathers and blood everywhere, but no damage to the plane!

Well in this case, the mooney sloping wind screen with thick windows seems to have been useful as it helped add to it being the glancing blow.

[xcrmckenna]

Busy weekend, Thursday the 5th flew over to my mechanic to have some work done. Was planning to be home that night but the weather didn’t work out. Friday started bright an early to get home and packed up for a formation clinic in Pendleton Or. It was a great time with everyone, I look forward to flying with everyone soon!!!




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[aviatoreb]

14 minutes ago, xcrmckenna said:

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WOW I LOVE both of these pictures!

[Hank]

Had a nice weekend trip to W. NC. The onky nice thing about a hurricane is that the huge low pressure sucks up everything nearby and it is followed by several days if widespread good weather. From LA to W NC, we didn't even see a cloud! 

Got this shot of great Southern summer visibility on the way home. The airpprt in the middle distance is KCEU at Clemson, and it's pointing at Death Valley Stadium across the river. In this photo, it's 18 nm away (generally lost in the haze for a few more miles).

Because I forgot the door to his crate, mynwife let the dog in her lap at the top of descent. He sat happily like this right up to engine shutdown, Not even a complaint about my landing . . . .

Edited September 10, 2019 by Hank

[carusoam]

Here’s to gravity! 

-a-

[Jerry 5TJ]

Yesterday morning in Missoula we decided we were done with this vacation and ready to go home.  So, we flew home. 

 

The winds were favorable: Back in Baltimore by 8 pm.  

[tigers2007]

Logged 5.2hrs today flying to and from Mayo clinic in Rochester MN to pickup my father-in-law. Fog was horrible this morning and I had to wait in my FBO’s lounge. I did meet some cool professional jet drivers who were very open about answering a million of my IFR flying questions.

 

On the way back, I stopped at Yooper RocketMan’s airport to drop off my passenger and then I crashed Yooper’s EAA chapter meeting. Had to leave after I realized that The Fog was moving in at my airport (44nm NE) and it was just past sunset. I ran full throttle and made it just in time; AWOS was 10SM CLR even though the creepy Fog was encroaching quickly. Within five minutes or so it went to 3/4SM OVC002.

 

 

I have to give a shout out to Northwoods Airlifeline for flying my father-in-law to Mayo Clinic in Sunday. It was IFR all day and there’s no way I could have done it. He had to get there ASAP for last moment cardiac tests prior to his chemo blast starting in four days. Northwoods Airlifeline is such an amazing organization that does so much good for sick folks. The long long drive to Mayo is cut short by 1/4 each way thanks to the squadron of volunteer pilots and mission capable aircraft.

https://www.northwoodsairlifeline.org

 

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[Yooper Rocketman]

7 hours ago, tigers2007 said:

Logged 5.2hrs today flying to and from Mayo clinic in Rochester MN to pickup my father-in-law. Fog was horrible this morning and I had to wait in my FBO’s lounge. I did meet some cool professional jet drivers who were very open about answering a million of my IFR flying questions.

 

On the way back, I stopped at Yooper RocketMan’s airport to drop off my passenger and then I crashed Yooper’s EAA chapter meeting. Had to leave after I realized that The Fog was moving in at my airport (44nm NE) and it was just past sunset. I ran full throttle and made it just in time; AWOS was 10SM CLR even though the creepy Fog was encroaching quickly. Within five minutes or so it went to 3/4SM OVC002.

 

 

I have to give a shout out to Northwoods Airlifeline for flying my father-in-law to Mayo Clinic in Sunday. It was IFR all day and there’s no way I could have done it. He had to get there ASAP for last moment cardiac tests prior to his chemo blast starting in four days. Northwoods Airlifeline is such an amazing organization that does so much good for sick folks. The long long drive to Mayo is cut short by 1/4 each way thanks to the squadron of volunteer pilots and mission capable aircraft.

https://www.northwoodsairlifeline.org

 

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Thanks for the shout out about Northwoods Airlifeline!  We are providing about 125 flights a year, which comes out to a flight every 3 days on average.  Challenging sometimes getting them covered, but the patients really appreciate getting to major medical centers in under two hours instead of 6-10 hour car rides.

Tom

[Jeph357]

Awesome Day in the air! TFR cleared out the sky pretty well. Never have I seen so little traffic over LA! Think I heard 2 other GA aircraft on with ATC. Beautiful flight after 6 weeks of no flight  time. This work thing sure is cutting into my flying.

[Hank]

22 minutes ago, Jeph357 said:

Beautiful flight after 6 weeks of no flight  time. This work thing sure is cutting into my flying.

I can sympathize, spent 11 hours there today plus 50-minute drive each way. But it was 103° this afternoon, so I wouldn't have flown anyway . . . . At least not for fun. Traveling is a whole different story!