Today’s Flight - 2024

[Ragsf15e]

I guess it’s been too cold for someone to start the yearly picture thread?

 I flew today just to get the airplane moving again after a week of really cold temps.  Yes, it’s-15C at start, but the engine and cabin were both preheated all night and were above 50f!

Interestingly, it was -21C at 2500’agl, but only-14C at 10,000’!

[Ibra]

First flight of the year 2024 was in a friend J3 (Mooney was out for maintenance), the goal was to regain passenger currency after 90 days break, I was even tempted by asking for 6xIFR approaches on my handheld ILS, I settled for one big hole to VFR myself back into the grass runway 

 

First flight in Mooney at night after work, the full moon was over the tower (who does not prefer full moon night flights)

[Ragsf15e]

30 minutes ago, Ibra said:

First flight of the year 2024 was in a friend J3 (Mooney was out for maintenance), the goal was to regain passenger currency after 90 days break, I was even tempted by asking for 6xIFR approaches on my handheld ILS, I settled for one big hole to VFR myself back into the grass runway 

 

First flight in Mooney at night after work, the full moon was over the tower (who does not prefer full moon night flights)

That moon is awesome! And yes, the best time for night flying!

[Will.iam]

Just got my mooney back out of annual and the flight home noticed the sun snd the moon peeking over the cloud deck at 2,500ft

 

[Ibra]

Took the kid (and my instructor plus his wife) to see Air Passiom Museum in Angers (LFJR)

After a dreadful winter, the sunny weather started to appear along the Loire Valley in France 

 

 

Edited January 29 by Ibra

[Fly Boomer]

2 hours ago, Ibra said:

Took the kid (and my instructor plus his wife) to see Air Passiom Museum in Angers (LFJR)

After a dreadful winter, the sunny weather started to appear along the Loire Valley in France 

Beautiful!

[amillet]

Flew to Salem OR and met up with @Bolter for breakfast. He was about 5 miles behind me near Bremerton in his Ovation (172 knots vs 160 in my J) ; and 10 miles ahead at KSLE

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/bkyg90q0l6n8yso78fua3/20240203_111330.mp4?rlkey=q7zoh5qvckas4fgrr30ee7kdm&dl=0

 

[Marc_B]

Recent flight with some friends for a lot of flying fun!

[Bolter]

1 hour ago, amillet said:

Flew to Salem OR and met up with @Bolter for breakfast. He was about 5 miles behind me near Bremerton in his Ovation (172 knots vs 160 in my J) ; and 10 miles ahead at KSLE

10 minutes faster, 10 more gallons of fuel...  

I am was impressed that we both left our airports so close to on time that we intercepted and ATC made me climb to 9000 for sequencing to Salem.  

[Ragsf15e]

Sometimes you’ve just got to take the old bird up to 15,500’ for the fun of it!  17.3” mp (ram air on), but still managed 142kts.  G5 oxygen concentrator kept the pulse ox at 98%.

[Shadrach]

5 hours ago, Ragsf15e said:

Sometimes you’ve just got to take the old bird up to 15,500’ for the fun of it!  17.3” mp (ram air on), but still managed 142kts.  G5 oxygen concentrator kept the pulse ox at 98%.

That’s good speed! I can’t make out the fuel flow? Any idea the DA? Looks like a beautiful day.

[Mooney in Oz]

On 1/15/2024 at 2:52 PM, Ragsf15e said:

Interestingly, it was -21C at 2500’agl, but only-14C at 10,000’!

N4044N must have performed like a weapon at those temps!

[Ragsf15e]

23 minutes ago, Shadrach said:

That’s good speed! I can’t make out the fuel flow? Any idea the DA? Looks like a beautiful day.

It was really cold, so DA was only ~14,400’.  Ff was 9.4 at 100 ROP (I was ROP and pointed downwind for the picture because I knew someone would look at the groundspeed). I was light, so that helped with the ktas.  I was just messing around, so tried ~5-10 lop and only lost 3 kts.  Ff was 7.3! Since this is MOONEYspace maybe I should have posted a picture of that almost 19mpg instead of the faster ROP one?

I wonder how much advance from the Surefly is at those altitudes?

[Ragsf15e]

59 minutes ago, Mooney in Oz said:

N4044N must have performed like a weapon at those temps!

Yeah the airplane was great and it was a beautiful day, but the heater is only marginal at -22c!

[Hank]

8 hours ago, Ragsf15e said:

the heater is only marginal at -22c!

Thats -8°F!!

If you can't move somewhere warmer, that would be good "stand in front of the fire and sip coffee" weather.

 

[MikeOH]

A few of the local southern California mountains today after the last storm

 

[amillet]

Took our new Japanese exchange student for her first small airplane flight. We picked up @JRo at Harvey Field (S43) and flew to Bremerton KPWT for lunch at Amelia’s

[Ragsf15e]

12 minutes ago, amillet said:

Took our new Japanese exchange student for her first small airplane flight. We picked up @JRo at Harvey Field (S43) and flew to Bremerton KPWT for lunch at Amelia’s

Awesome day over there!  I’m glad to hear Amelias is open again, I think it was closed for a while?  Not quite as nice on the other side of the Cascades today, but we flew down to Pullman and checked out WSU.  It was crazy college Valentines Party day, so that was fun to see.

[amillet]

Amelia’s reopened in a new building 

[amillet]

Flew to Anacortes (74S) for fuel ($5.72 vs $6.80 at home airport). San Juan Islands.

[0TreeLemur]

Beautiful evening to fly in Alabama, after getting fuel for $4.50 at HAB, my favorite fuel stop!  The photo just barely does it justice.  The colors reflecting of the wing were brilliant!

 

[Ibra]

Flew to Duxford museum in UK, 

Which fast aircraft don’t have trim tab and whole tail rotates? Blackbird and Mooney  they had an interesting pink Spitfire, she is gorgeous or he is handsome (I checked under the pants, I know what I saw and I won’t disclose any gender)

While pink painting is “à la mode” these days, these Spitfires were actually pink in 1940, they flew at dawns and dusks, like pink USS Winslow, Pink Panther and Pink Sherman (not obvious from Black/White WW2 pictures)

https://www.wearethemighty.com/mighty-history/why-this-world-war-ii-british-fighter-was-painted-pink/

Edited March 5 by Ibra

[C.J.]

On 2/4/2024 at 2:06 PM, Marc_B said:

Recent flight with some friends for a lot of flying fun!

Finger 4 Formation - Excellent photo.

[thomas1142]

On the way back to Melbourne from Marathon. Beautiful evening.

[Echo]

21 hours ago, C.J. said:

Finger 4 Formation - Excellent photo.

My favorite Mooney photo all time.  I look forward to someone beating "it".