FS-1

As I drove across the end of the runway I could see a beautiful Mooney sitting on the pad by the fuel pump. Butter Valley hasn't had gas since I've been here so I stopped by to see if he needed any help. Jim was wearing a TWA cap and obviously had a wealth of experience. He was simply waiting for his flying buddy to land. I asked for a PIREP and we got to talking about our planes and he asked if he and his friend could see Sally. Absolutely.

Harry's hangar door was open and he was in the back rust proofing some parts but stopped what he was doing to come out and chat. If people aren't flying their planes they're getting them worked on so the bad Pennsylvania weather has given him quite a backlog. He'll fit me in for an oil change.

Dale arrived in a beautiful RV7. Both men are from Doylestown and stopped in for a brunch. I opened the barn doors and we talked about LSA for 10 minutes. An all metal low wing LSA was new to them and they both gave Sally a thumbs up. Nice to have the option of flying with a driver's license.

Human beings, who are almost unique in having the ability to learn from the experience of others, are also remarkable for their apparent disinclination to do so."

--Douglas Adams, British writer, humorist and dramatist --

Flight School Flight #1. I had made arrangements to spend some time with Paul at AvSport in Lockhaven. I wanted to utilize his knowledge and experience to help me decide about a variety of potential options available to me as a Flight Instructor. Paul was generous with his time and candor and we discussed a wide range of topics over the next 2.5 hours or so.

• How to start? Where to start? Investment capital, equipment, tools, staff
• Insurance, taxes, expenses. Can it be done with one airplane. Downtime? Leaseback?
• Other business: BFRs, tours, etc.
• Legalities, TSA, Security
• My continuing education.
• Records keeping, student packages, publications, text books.
• and more, and more....

He also instructed me in the Wings program (I knew it existed but was not a fan of the system) and we took a Wings flight in his A/C. He showed me how to sign off an event as an Instructor. My FIRST official act! A fantastic day, others will be planned.

The flight up took about an hour. I went VFR without Flight Following. I used Garmin Pilot on my Nexus 7 as a backup and enjoyed its capabilities. Its another gadget in the cockpit requiring some attention so its tempting to keeps my eyes inside. As with all other devices it will take practice and a better understanding of all its functionality, but overall I was pleased with it. I was impressed with its value for preflighting for my trip home. Using the application on my cell phone I got a good weather brief while waiting for the oil temperature to rise up to 122 degrees.

About the time I got to Reading I noticed fluctuations on the Amp meter (-11). I toggled the various switches and didn't find a cause/effect. I flew her again on Sunday (stayed in the pattern) and had the same problem. I suspect the "Regulator/Rectifier" and ordered a new one from Sam.