Honoring the Fallen

My daughter, Lauren, paying her respects at the U.S.S. Arizona Memorial in Pearl Harbor.

Dinner Flight

With the gorgeous weather yesterday I decided to take a trip to Tacoma Narrows (KTIW) for Dinner. John, a friend from work, and I set out at 5:00 PM for Auburn (S50). We preflighted N9534H and took off into the hot summer afternoon (the temperature was reading 90 deg!). This was John's very first flight in a small airplane, so fortunately the air was very smooth. KTIW is only about 18 miles direct from S50, so the hop was very short. I contacted the tower and we were cleared right in to land on runway 35. There was a gentle wind blowing down the runway and I managed to pull off a very nice landing.

We taxied up to the tower and parked right in front of the Narrows Landing restaurant. This is the first time I've eaten there, and it's a great place for the $100 hamburger. It has aviation-themed decor with a bunch of model airplanes hanging from the ceiling. We ordered coconut shrimp as an appetizer, while John ordered the pork medallions and I opted for the Shrimp fettuccine. As we were waiting for the food, I noticed the nav lights on the airplane were still flashing! Uh-oh, forgot to turn off the master switch. Doh! I ran out and turned off the airplane properly :) Eventually the food arrived and it was fantastic. The prices are very reasonable too. I highly recommend Narrows Landing. It's among the best airport restaurants I've been to.

After we finished eating we loaded back up in 34H. We were cleared for takeoff on runway 35, and were also informed that another airplane was inbound on an instrument approach to runway 17 (in other words, they were headed straight at us). The controller asked us to deviate from the centerline after liftoff to allow the incoming plane to land. Since we still had an hour or so of daylight left, we opted for a scenic tour back home. We headed due North to Bainbridge Island, and then turned right to take us over North Seattle. We passed over the Space Needle and followed the 520 freeway across Lake Washington. We then angled South toward Issaquah. We then passed right over my house and headed to Snoqualmie Falls. The falls were definitely not as impressive as the last time I flew over. It seems like the flow is down to a trickle. From there we passed over North Bend and then turned South over Rattlesnake Lake. We followed the Cedar River through the pass and then made direct to Crest Airpark (S36). On the way there a CH-47 Chinook helicopter (we had a more "colorful" name for them in the Army :) with a UH-60 Blackhawk close in trail passed right in front of us on the way to Gray Army Airfield (GRF) in Ft. Lewis. After passing over S36 we headed direct to S50 and made a nice landing just as the sun was setting below the horizon.

All-in-all it was a beautiful flight. I think John had a great time and he's eager to go up again. I love the long summer nights in the Pacific Northwest!

Total Time: 1.6 hours


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Night Flight

It's been quite awhile since I last flew at night, so I scheduled some time with an instructor to get re-familiarized with night take-offs and landings. We rendezvoused at the airport on July 16 around 9:30 PM, after Civil Twilight ended (the end of Civil Twilight marks the "official" beginning of night-time for flying purposes). After a quick preflight, we took off into the smooth night air. The wind was calm on the ground, but once aloft a fairly strong crosswind developed.

We headed first to Tacoma-Narrows Airport (KTIW). Since KTIW is only about 15 miles from S50, I spotted it as soon as we were at pattern altitude. During the day KTIW is a tower-controlled airport, but in the evening it reverts to a non-towered airport. We kept the altitude to 1500' so as to pass below the SEATAC class B airspace. We set up for a long left base to runway 17, and turned on to a three mile final. There was a very strong crosswind at altitude, and I had to hold a significant crab all the way down. Right above the runway, however, the air was very calm. I did a touch and go and went around for another one. The second landing went as well as the first, and so we turned East and headed toward Puyallup (KPLU).

On the way to KPLU we had to get clearance to transition the McChord Air Force base class D airspace. The KPLU ATIS indicated that the winds were calm, so we entered a left pattern for runway 34. Again, there was a strong crosswind that required a crab, but once below about 25' AGL it slowed to nothing. We were a little high on final, so instead of a touch and go I elected for a full stop landing. After landing we taxied back to runway 34 and then took off and headed back home to S50.

After lifting-off from KPLU, my instructor had me put the hood on and I flew to S50 under simulated instrument conditions. I set us up on final and when the instructor pulled the hood off I was lined up with the runway dead ahead and set for another touch and go. On the next one we elected to do it without the landing light. This can be a little unnerving if you're not used to it, since you can't actually see the runway until you touch down. You have to use the runway edge lighting and your peripheral vision to judge your height above the ground. On the first try I came in a little high and elected to go around. The next try went much better and I made a smooth landing without the landing light. It's good to know that you can still put the plane safely back on the ground even if you should lose electrical power at night.

Overall it was a very fun flight. The air was very smooth and the full-moon meant for some beautiful views of the city at night. I'll have to buy a new flashlight, as mine didn't work despite changing the batteries. Fortunately my instructor had one along.

Total time: 1.1 hrs.

Arlington Airshow

On July 12th I headed to Arlington, WA for the annual fly-in and airshow. The Arlington fly-in is one of the largest aviation events on the West coast, lasting five days and hosting a vast array of airplanes. I haven't attended the show the past three years, so I was looking forward to going this year. While much was the same, one thing I noticed was that there were definitely fewer vendors this year, and not nearly as many people flying. The last time I was there all of the available parking was taken. This year there were large sections that had only one or two airplanes. I hope this isn't a trend. I've posted many pictures of the event here.

My Own Private Idaho

The weather forecast was for severe clear, light winds, and warm temperatures across the Pacific Northwest, so I decided to take a day trip to Cavanaugh Bay in Idaho. Cavanaugh Bay is located on Priest Lake, which is nestled in the mountains of Idaho's panhandle. The airport (S66) is a grass strip with on-airport camping, and it's across the street from a marina with a restaurant. It's a little far for the proverbial $100 hamburger, but I was alone and I like to fly.


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It was sweltering on the ground during the preflight, and I was happy to get in the air and up to altitude. At 7500 ft. it was a nice 60 deg. I followed I90 East through Snoqualmie pass, and it was smooth as glass. Passing over Bandera State airport I noticed several gliders parked on the field and there was a lot of radio chatter from the glider pilots. I'll have to get a glider rating some day. It looks like a lot of fun, and as I discovered on this trip, a pretty popular sport in Washington. After crossing the cascades I flew over the big windfarm near Ellensberg. There are hundreds of windmills on a ridge here that take advantage of the winds blowing out across the palouse. After that I crossed the Columbia River and headed out over the flatlands of Eastern Washington. Density altitudes were pretty high, so I decided to forgo fuel on the flight to S66 in order to keep things as light as possible on the return departure. As I passed South of Ephrata (KEPH)airport I heard more gliders talking on the radio, and then still more passing Deer Park (KDEW).

I turned North at Priest Lake (67S) and headed up the valley to Cavanaugh Bay. The normal way to land at S66 is to fly a right-hand pattern over the lake for runway 15 on the way in, and then head back out the way you came in on runway 34. The runway is hidden by trees, and you can't actually see it until turning final. The winds were calm so this procedure worked well. Runway 15 is an uphill landing, so you have to make sure to keep the yoke way back before touchdown. I'm not sure if 66S qualifies as a soft landing strip since, despite being covered in grass, it is packed HARD and it's a fairly rough rollout.

There were about four other airplanes at the tiedowns, each with a tent pitched by it. I parked and walked down the strip to the marina to get lunch. The lake is beautiful, and the BBQ was going, so I sat outside on the deck and ordered a diet Pepsi and a prime rib sandwich. There were a few people there, and a couple of boats pulled in while I was there as well. The food was good and after I finished eating I went back to the plane and got her ready for the flight back.

The first leg would be a short hop to Deer Park to refuel. Since I only had about 15 gallons in the tanks, 62H leaped off the runway quickly despite the fact that density altitude was over 4000'. There was a lot of glider activity at Deer Park, but they use runway 4/22, while regular GA traffic uses 16/34. I crossed midfield and set up for a left downwind on runway 34. The runway is 6400' long, so you've got a lot of room! I put her down and pumped about 25 gallons into her. Deer Park is sort of in the middle of nowhere, but I think there is an aerial firefighting outfit that bases out of there. On one end of the field was a PBY Catalina air attack plane. I believe this is the only one still in use for this role in the US, though she looks like she's seen better days. On the other end of the airport was a big Canadair CL-215 "scooper." There were a crew of guys sitting around, and I think they were prepping her to go to California to help fight the fires there.

After taking a few pictures I hopped back in to 62H and headed back home. The late afternoon air was smooth and cool at 8500'. I headed back through the pass, and since the winds were so light I dropped down to about 4000' to get a better look at the mountains. Unfortunately at 4000' the heat was up to 80 deg. so I opened the window to let more air in. Eventually I spotted Seattle in the distance, and I wrapped up the flight with a great landing on runway 34 at S50.

Overall a fun day and some great flying. I've posted a lot more pictures from the trip here.

Total time: 6.3 hours.

Father's Day Flight

On Father's Day I loaded up the family in 95H and headed out to Ocean Shores (W04) for lunch and some kite flying. This was my five-year-old daughter's first time in a small plane and, aside from the pressure changes causing her ears some discomfort, she really enjoyed the trip. My 14-year-old boy also had fun. Up until know he's never really showed any interest in flying at all, but he thought this trip was cool.

Unfortunately things weren't as wonderful for my wife. She suffers from severe motion sickness, and about halfway to W04 we had to descend to 1500' to get under the marine layer and it got bumpy. By the time we touched down she was ready to take a bus home. After lunch at the Shilo Inn she started feeling better, and she picked up some dramamine at the pharmacy in Ocean Shores.

After lunch we went to the beach to fly a kite and watch all the other kites. It seems there was a kite festival going on, and the sky was filled with them. I think some of them were bigger than 95H!

By the time we left at 3:00 PM, the sky had started to clear. A couple of miles out from W04 we were able to climb to 3500' and stayed at that altitude until passing Tacoma Narrows. The dramamine helped a lot. Not only did my wife not get sick, but she slept half the flight! Touchdown was without incident.

Total time: 2.2 hours.


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Wash Day

I went to the airport this morning for the Spring airplane wash and barbecue. About 15 club members attended and we washed all four airplanes, cleaned up the hangar, and repainted the parking guidelines. We finished off the day with some awesome smoked brisket that Bryan, the club treasurer, made. It was delicious. Pictures will be posted soon.

Update - not a Jaguar?

After doing some research, I think the airplane I thought was a SEPECAT Jaguar may in fact have been an Alpha Jet. There's a company called Abbatare Inc., located at Arlington Airpark, that sells Alpha Jets. Both aircraft share a similar profile, especially when viewed from above.

Almost Friday Harbor

The plan today was for my friend Tony and I to fly up to Friday Harbor for dinner. The weather forecast all week had been for partly cloudy skies with a chance of showers, so there was a chance the weather would prevent us from going. I kept an eye on things all day, and the ceilings were holding at about 2500 - 3000' along our route, so we headed for the airport at around 2:30 PM.

We got to the airport and I checked the forecast again, and things were still holding up and forecast to be VFR into the evening, so we started getting the plane ready. We taxied out to runway 34 and headed North.

Once in the air, visibility was greater than 10 miles, and the ceiling was generally between 2000' and 3500'. There were a few spots of lower hanging virga, but otherwise things looked good for the trip. In case the ceilings did start to come down, the skies looked fairly clear on the west side of Puget Sound. As this was Tony's first flight in a small airplane, I let him take the controls for a bit and make a few turns. He did pretty good for a first-timer!

We proceeded North to Arlington, and as we approached the field Tony spotted a camouflaged jet taking off below. I called up Whidbey approach to get clearance to transition their Class C airspace, and they asked me if I could identify the "fast-mover." I told them it appeared to be a SEPECAT Jaguar. We heard nothing on the Arlington CTAF from him.

Whidbey cleared us to transition, and so we headed West direct to Friday Harbor. As we neared Whidbey NAS, approach warned us not to fly directly over the airfield, so we slid a little North to avoid an overflight. A T-34 Mentor was up orbiting over the airfield. Heading out over the water toward FHR, the weather started improving greatly. We climbed up to 3500' and could see Friday Harbor just ahead.

The FHR ASOS was reporting 10 kt. winds gusting to 16 kts. directly across the runway. I set up for runway 16 and as I cleared the trees off the end of the runway on final things started getting squirrelly. There was a lot of turbulence bouncing us around, and as I approached the runway the gusty crosswind was making it hard to stay lined up on the centerline. The left wheel kissed the runway, but then a big gust picked us up and tossed us to the left, so I pushed in the throttle and went around for another try. I added a few knots on the approach and only put in 10 deg. of flaps, but the second approach was no better than the first. As discretion is the better part of valor, I opted to give it up and head back to Auburn. They have restaurants there, too. :)

We followed a reciprocal route home, and as we approached Arlington again, we say the same Jaguar we saw on the way up taxiing for takeoff. We didn't hear anything on the CTAF, and so I radioed asking for the Jaguar taking off to say his intentions and let him know we were above him. No repsonse. I don't know if he was NORDO (no radio), was on the wrong frequency, or just wasn't paying attention. In any event, he took off below, and I rocked the wings back and forth to make us a more visible target. He eventually turned off to the West.

We hit some more virga as we headed south, but then the ceilings went back up to about 3000'. It was a smooth flight the rest of the way, with an uneventful landing in Auburn, where the winds were calm. I filled up the tanks and we put the plane away. We drove to my house and stopped off for Chinese along the way.

Time: 2.7 hrs.

Thanks to Tony for all the pictures!

Around the Peninsula

I booked 34H for the whole day and had planned to make a trip across the cascades to Cavanaugh Bay Airport (66S) in Idaho. I called up the briefer and, while conditions looked great for the trip out, the return flight might have been a problem. Afternoon ceilings were expected to come down to around 4000', which would have made crossing the mountains impossible. The conditions were not expected to improve the following day either. So, rather than risk getting trapped on the East side of the cascades for a few days, I decided to head west to Ocean Shores (W04) and then complete a circuit around the Olympic Peninsula.

I departed S50 with overcast to the East and a layer of broken clouds to the West. I stayed below 1600' until past the SeaTac class B, and then once over Dash Point began a climb to 2500' and called up Tacoma-Narrows on the radio to request transition of the class D. The broken layer was holding at about 3500' and rather than risk getting caught on top I stayed at 2500' the rest of the way to Ocean Shores.

About half way to W04, I spotted an eagle circling ahead and to the right. As I passed I held up my camera and pressed the shutter. By pure luck I caught him in the frame as I went by:


Here's a cropped image blown up:


I've encountered birds before, and other species have always made an effort to get out of the way, usually by dropping straight down. This guy was completely unperturbed by my passage. I was clearly the interloper in his territory.

After that exciting encounter, the rest of the flight to W04 was uneventful, and I made a nice landing in a slight crosswind.

Ocean Shores Airport is a nice little field. There are no services available, but they have tie-downs, a bathroom, and a nice little pilot's lounge. I used the bathroom and signed my name in the guest book. On the wall the number for the local dial-a-ride is posted, but I decided to walk into town and then to the beach. It was a little further than I thought, and I think I ended up walking about two to three miles all told. There were lots of kites flying at the beach.

After wandering around the beach I stopped for lunch and then called the dial-a-ride for a lift back to the airport. I had to wait 45 minutes, so while waiting I made an attempt to find a local geocache but had no luck. Supposedly it's somewhere near this sculpture, but the hint didn't make any sense. The bus finally came and dropped me at the airport. The dial-a-ride is a great service at Ocean Shores. They'll pick you up and drop you anywhere in town for 50 cents.

Once back at the airport I pre-flighted 34H and took off on the next leg. I planned to fly up the coast to Quillayute (UIL), then up to the Tattoosh VOR and around Cape Flattery, then follow the coast to Port Angeles to refuel at Fairchild International (CLM). After lifting off I contacted flight service to check on the status of the Olympic MOAs. I was pretty sure they were cold, but I wanted to make sure. Unfortunately flight service didn't know the status, and I was unable to raise Seattle Center on the radio. I elected to fly up the coast at 1500'. The floor of the MOA starts at 1200' and since I was pretty sure it wasn't hot I felt safe from any intruding fast movers (though I kept a sharp eye peeled the whole way!). I passed Copalis Beach airport (S16) and snapped a shot of a Cessna parked on the beach. Copalis is interesting in that it's the only beach registered as an airport in the United States. I haven't landed there yet, but I plan to this summer.

On the way to Quillayute, I noticed the ceiling starting to lower. As I moved inland from the coast, it was at about 2500', and getting lower. It especially didn't look good toward Cape Flattery. I called flight service for a weather update and they said Fairchild was reporting clear below 12,000'. So rather than head all the way around the peninsula I turned right and made straight for Sekiu (11S). Over Sekiu the sky was clear and beautiful. I then made direct for CLM, where I landed for fuel. I hadn't landed there before, and I didn't see the fuel pumps as I was landing, so I taxied over to the likeliest looking building, which happened to be the airline terminal (Fairchild is an international airport, and Kenmoore Air provides scheduled service from there). That was not really where I was supposed to be, considering the ramp there is a secure area, so I asked where the pumps where and was kindly escorted back to my airplane and pointed in the right direction. :) I got back in the plane and taxied over to the right place and refueled.

I then took off for the final leg of the trip. It was an uneventful but nice flight from CLM to Jefferson County (0S9), and then from there to the CARRO intersection, and from there direct to S50. I landed, topped off the tanks and put the plane to bed. All in all it was a great day for flying.

You can find more pictures from the flight at Picassa Web

Total time: 4.1 hrs.

Around and around

I booked 34H for this Memorial Day morning hoping to take my son up to poke some holes in the sky. The weather forecast wasn't looking too good however, and things weren't getting much better on the way to the airport. After we arrived I pre-flighted the plane and then watched the sky. The forecast said the ceiling was supposed to start lifting later in the day, but this morning it was sitting solidly at 1000'. Since we didn't have anything better to do we took off and just stayed in the pattern. While my son didn't get to see much, I did get in five touch and go's.

Time: .6 hrs.

Short Cross-Country

It's starting to feel like summer. Today had clear skies and it was downright hot. On the way to the airport the thermometer in my truck read 93 degrees. Though I was flying solo and had plenty of runway, I still checked the density altitude, which was not a problem. I planned this flight as a short cross-country to practice my navigation skills and learn how to use the GPS that's in 34H (a Garmin 250XL). My route was S50-W16-S36-S50. After a sweltering pre-flight I taxied out to the run-up area, where I did the run-up and programmed the route into the GPS. By this time it was getting pretty hot in the cockpit, so I was glad to lift off runway 34 and head into hopefully cooler temperatures. Unfortunately altitude didn't help much, as the temperature was still reading 88 deg. at 2,500 ft. I flew the whole flight with the window open.

After just a few minutes I had W16 (Firstair Field) in sight, and crossed mid-field to see if I could spot a windsock. I didn't see one this time either, however there happened to be a fire burning off the west end of the field showing a gentle wind blowing straight down runway 25. I entered the pattern and set up for a touch and go. There are some trees off the end of the runway, but they weren't a problem and I did a nice T-n-G.

I then turned South and headed for S36 (Crest Airpark). Along the way I decided to divert East and flew over Snoqualmie falls. I have never seen the falls raging so much. The snow-melt from the mountains turned the Snoqualmie river into a torrent. I then flew along I-90 East past North Bend and then Southwest over Rattlesnake lake and headed into the practice area, where I flew around looking at the hugely swollen rivers. Some of the rivers had been closed to the public due to dangerous conditions, and sadly, a few people died on the river that day.

I next headed to Crest for a touch and go on runway 33. There are some fairly tall trees off the end of the runway, and I find it easier to make the approach a little to the left of centerline, where the view of the runway is less obstructed. I touched down nicely and was off again to fly the remaining few miles to Auburn. I wasn't happy with my approach to Auburn, so I went around and set it down on the next try.

Total time: 1.8 hrs.
Three landings

More Practice

I had N9534H reserved from 4:30 - 7:00 PM, so I left work a little early and headed to the airport. the weather was gorgeous as a heat wave had settled in to the Northwest making for clear skies and warm temperatures. Today my goal was to practice basic maneuvers, so after take-off I headed to the practice area and worked on steep turns, stalls, and rolling on a heading. I definitely need to work on my rudder flying. It is often said that nothing teaches you how to effectively use the rudder like a tail-wheel airplane, so getting a tail-wheel endorsement is something else on my to-do list. Fortunately my instructor has a Citabria, and I look forward to doing that this summer. Made three good landings and put the plane away for the night.

Time: 1.2 hours

Ouch!

I headed out from work a little early in order to log some time. I took-off from rwy 34 at about 5:00 PM and headed north to practice and just enjoy the sky. I flew up to Firstair Field in Monroe, WA, but didn't land since I couldn't see a windsock and wasn't sure of the wind direction or strength on the field. I then headed back for an uneventful landing at S50.

Unfortunately a great flight was eclipsed by an unfortunate accident while putting the airplane in the hangar. While backing the plane in, the right elevator bumped into one of the support posts in the hangar. ARGH! I inspected the damage and there was a crack in the plastic end-cap of the elevator, and a slight bend in the corner. Fortunately I was pushing the plane in slowly, so the damage was minimal. Unfortunately this looked like something that has happened a few times before, as both elevators showed signs of previous hangar rash, and the posts on each side of the hangar had numerous scuff marks from previous altercations with airplane elevators.

I wasn't quite sure what to do in this situation, so I gave my flight instructor a call. He gave me the number of the maintenance officer, and I called him. Just as I was explaining to him what happened, another club member, who was taking the airplane out after me, arrived. He spoke with the maintenance officer and they decided that the damage was pretty minimal and nothing that some aluminum tape couldn't take care of temporarily. After a quick patch he was off and I went home. I feel doubly stupid for this since just yesterday my instructor warned me about being extra careful when putting the plane away, as the posts do not provide much clearance on either side of the tail. Doh! It wasn't until after the fact that I noticed some white markings on the tarmac in front of the hangar that are there to help line the bird up properly. This was definitely *NOT* how I wanted to end my first solo flight in a club plane! Grr...

The other pilot mentioned that typically what the club does is, at the end of the year, note whomever was responsible for any hangar rash and split the repair costs among them. It's a fair system and hopefully for the plane's sake I'm the only one who has to pay out at the end of the year!

Flight time: 1.3 hrs

Stupid mistakes this flight: 1

First Flight! (again)

I'm finally back in the air after three years. I recently joined the Valley Fliers flying club located at Auburn Airport (S50) in Auburn, Washington, and today I went up with an instructor for a Bi-annual Flight Review (BFR) and to get checked-out in one of the club's Cessna 172's. Prior to the flight I had completed a written questionnaire that went over the details of operating a Cessna 172, including important things like weight and balance, density altitude, maintenance, etc., and the instructor and I spent some time reviewing aviation regulations and discussed the details of the flight. I told him that since it had been awhile since I flew, I might be a little rusty, so we decided to take things slow and see where I needed work.

I did the pre-flight inspection and then we climbed aboard and prepared to take off. Getting back into the cockpit was like coming home. As I went through the pre-take-off checklist things started coming back to me and I quickly started to feel comfortable again. We departed runway 16 and the instructor commented that it was a great take-off. We headed out to the practice area and I performed stalls, slow flight, steep turns, and other flight maneuvers. The instructor commented that if he hadn't known, he would never have guessed that I hadn't flown in three years. After a few more maneuvers, he cut the power and I went through a simulated engine-out emergency. My instincts kicked right in and I immediately trimmed for best glide speed (65 knots) and identified a suitable place to land. I then ran through the engine-out procedures in an attempt to get the engine running again. Failing to get it cranked back up, I set the transponder to squawk 7700, tuned the radio to 121.5 Mhz, and declared an emergency (all simulated of course). I set up a downwind leg for the spot I picked out and flew the rest of the pattern. On short final, once we determined we would make the field, we increased power and started heading back to Auburn. I was happy to know that, had it been a real emergency, I would have probably made a successful landing.

Upon arrival back at the airport I entered the pattern and made three decent landings. Again, the instructor commented that I was doing a great job, with no evidence of being out of the saddle for three years. I suspect that all of the time I spent flying Flight Simulator probably had a little to do with it, plus flying has always been something that seemed to come naturally to me. I've always felt at home in the air, from the time I was a kid taking my first ride in an airplane, to the four years I spent in the Army jumping out of them, to taking flying lessons back in Colorado.

After making the final landing of the day and putting the airplane back in the hangar, we reviewed the flight and my instructor signed off on my BFR and the check-out, which meant I was legal to fly, both in the eyes of the government and in the club. I had actually planned on spending a few hours with the instructor to get back into the swing of things, however the flight went so well the instructor was confident in signing me off right there.

I plan to log a few hours solo and continue to practice and tune up my skills. I'm also going to schedule some time with the instructor to get current flying at night. I could probably do this solo, but I'd feel more comfortable with an instructor. After that, I will get checked out in the club's Cessna 182 and Piper Cherokee 180. I've never flown a low-wing, so that should be interesting. As part of taking up my hobby again I'm making a commitment to fly a minimum of 100 hours per year, and try to fly at least two to four times a month. This can be hard to do in Washington , where winter weather brings low ceilings, rain, and freezing temperatures. That means getting an instrument rating is high on my list of things to do.

The rest of the week is forecast to be sunny and clear, with temperatures in the 80's, so I've scheduled the plane for the next three days in a row.

Time this flight: 1 hr

New Blog - My Flight Log

I've been a licensed private pilot for nearly 10 years, and I did quite a bit of flying the first year after I got my license. Unfortunately, due to work schedules, finances, family obligations, etc., I wasn't able to do much flying at all since then. Now, however, I've reached a point in my life where I can turn my attention back to my greatest passion and get back into the air. I've joined a local flying club (Valley Fliers) and plan to fly regularly. I keeping this blog as a more detailed adjunct to my log book, and to note my more memorable flights and track my progress toward additional ratings. I'll also add the occasional interesting aviation link, news item, or other aviation-related thought.