PiperSport Fly-in

GA Hanger Space

The reason for the trip was to meet other owners and flyers of PiperSports and SportCruisers.  We arrived on a Thursday, a session was arranged for Saturday to include presentations from US Sport Aircraft (the distributor we purchased from), Dynon Avionics, Rotax, the organizer of the event, Dick Russ from Piper Flyer Magazine. Casual get together's were also planned so that we would all have a chance to meet and talk with each other. I really enjoyed this aspect of the trip.

Business side of the terminal

The second reason was to play. Branson is a wonderful community built on music. We, were able to see SIX, visit Silver Dollar City, ride on the Branson Belle and enjoy dinner at the Dixie Stampede. We highly recommend all of these shows and would not hesitate to go back and do it all again. We had a great time with all of these family oriented shows and it was great to be in a place where veterans are honored and gospel music sung in nearly every show. (Even during the free hotel breakfast.)

Flight planning in the FBO

Inside the FB

The pilot sessions were outstanding. US Sport Aircraft was unable to attend, but did send in some talking points about warranty service. Dynon stressed pilot education using any glass panel aircraft and devoted much time to answer questions. It was good to hear other owners speak about their experiences and have an expert address possible solutions. He even provided business cards with his cell phone number.  Refreshing.

The Rotax rep was just great. He started with a brief presentation about the company, stating that the Rotax engine in our airplanes was built from the ground up to be an aircraft engine. He brought a display model with him so that he could point out areas as he discussed them. Fuel, oil, cooling and electrical systems were all discussed in detail. I've decided to fly down to Mississippi this fall to take the owners course from him (he was just that good).

At the end of the session a raffle  was held to give away two LightSpeed Zulu headsets. My wife won one of them. Thanks to the sponsors (LightSpeed and Piper Flyer) for this fantastic door prize. What a fantastic vacation!

KBBG

We decided to accept the invitation for the inaugural PiperSport Fly-in in Branson, Missouri.

I used Airnav fuel planner to divide up the trip, specifying 220 miles between stops. I initially requested MOGAS but got zero results so had to go with 100LL. Next I used the comments section to check on facilities, restaurants and available hotels. I cross checked that information with AOPA's airport directory and came up with a list and some alternates. I started watching weather about a week ahead of time to get a feel for tendencies.

I also did some flight testing. I new we would have some lines of weather to cross over so did a few altitude tests. 4PS easily climbed to 9500 feet and even though Light Sport pilots are limited to 10,000' I knew I could go higher. (I suspect 4PS could go up to 12,000' if I had to get there...and I do carry a portable O2 bottle in the airplane...Sporty's).

More troubling was an intermittent low fuel pressure warning. First appeared at top of climb, but developed into a truly random event. Turning on the standby electric pump did not increase the indicated pressure. I had Harry put an analog pressure gauge on and compared the pressure readings in the cockpit for different power settings.  The engine driven mechanical pump was within limits while the cockpit indication was approximately 1 - 2 psi lower. We decided this was not a 'show stopper' and I will continue to investigate. (BTW, a few others spoke up during our session in Branson with the same issue, and Facebook has found even more complaining of this common problem. Dynon sensor, Piper plumbing, or Rotax fuel pressure, all have to be pursued.)

Another issue is my HS34. This electronic device gets input from a navigation source and outputs data to the AP74 autopilot. (All Dynon, except the input - Garmin 696 GPS or Garmin SL30 VOR.) This intermittent problem meant that instead of letting the GPS navigate, I would have to manually enter heading commands. This one seems to be heat related, if the plane sits on the ramp for awhile the HS34 doesn't work. Dynon has provided an RMA for me to return the unit for inspection.

So, with all known problems mitigated we took off to the west from our little home field at Butter Valley. It was a very hazy morning but smooth air. First stop would be KIDI (Jimmy Stewart) and as luck would have it the air got bumpy. The haze turned into cumulus with late morning heating and the gusts picked up as well. METAR (I love my 696) read gusts to 24 kts, but right down the runway. No problems except to say that a LSA does feel just about every breeze that comes along.

A short rest/fuel stop and we were off to KBJJ (Wayne County) to spend the evening with relatives. The cumulus clouds were still growing and it took some weaving to stay clear of clouds. 4PS reached her new altitude record of 10,500' with 75% of the tops beneath us. Afternoon heating would grow these clouds into monsters, but after just a few miles we were in the clear. Although we would fight strong headwinds, I elected to stay at altitude to enjoy the smooth air. This resulted in an uneventful flight, I like that.

Just a quick note here to talk about VFR Flight Plans. I don't use them. A very strong believer in Flight Following, I find it a much better tracking resource and I don't have to worry about forgetting to close my flight plan at my destination.

The next day was uneventful. KGEZ and then KSAR (4 hours of flight time plus time on the ground for rest and refueling) and we had a decision to make.  The weather was good. We picked up an hour of daylight heading west (Central Time Zone) and the airplane was doing well. I hate not to take advantage of good weather. She agreed and we pushed on. The 2.6 hours was again uneventful (except for the magnificent views of clouds.) I started looking for the airport about 10 miles out, but all I could see was a brown slash in the green hills, much too large for an airport, or so I thought. KBBG is huge, over 7,000'. I entered an extended left base for RWY 14 while speaking with a very friendly tower.

1014 miles, 64 gallons, 11 hours and about $375 in fuel.

First Day of Spring

Not necessarily according to the calendar, but today was really the first day of Spring. Prior to today the weather has been rotten. Cold, low clouds, poor visibility, rain and thunder-bumpers almost daily, preventing any sort of aviation activity. I bought the plane figuring I would have 8 months of 'flyable' weather. So far it just doesn't look like 2011 is going to be that generous.

Last weekend we did get over to Wings Field (LOM) for the Fly-B-Que. A very nice group of people from far and wide (a mere 20 min hop for us). Proceeds go to benefit Angel Flight East. 4PS got some attention and we were VERY proud to show her off.

The lead video is from a "local familiarization" flight yesterday. After putting 10 gallons in ($41), I made a quick flight down to N47. Then I traveled east for awhile, just checking out a variety of Private/Restricted fields depicted on the GPS. It was fun just to be free...

Some activity on the airplane:

1. Installed cup holders behind each seat. I love that sip of coffee after the flaps come up.
2. A friend posted a picture of a headset storage rail. This looks very interesting and will be investigated.
3. I'm working of the auxillary air scoops and should have them painted and installed this week.
4. I took both upper and lower cowls off to see if anything remained from the birds nests.  I think that problem is resolved.
5. I found that my 'landing light ground wire' was actually a broken (#2) cylinder head temperature probe. Not sure why this failed, but on my list of inquiries.
6. Landing light is still a problem, an intermittent one. I plan to hold off on that until the new Night Lighting Package is available. (Seems to be "soon".) I'll work with Harry to trouble shoot that and get the new package installed at the same time.
7. I need to update the checklist again. It doesn't make sense to 'raise flaps' on the Take Off list. I need to add a "Climb" portion prior to cruise. A few other changes as well.

Blue sky, 80 degrees, very little wind and someone just reported downwind for 34 at Butter Valley. Gotta go.

Pests

It’s mating season for birds, and many are out gathering the materials to build a home and settle down. Just as they may pose a hazard to aircraft in the air, their nests could do damage on the ramp. The nooks and crannies in your aircraft—in the cowling, exhaust, and behind control surfaces—are enticing shelter for cavity-nesting birds such as the European starling and the house sparrow, as Bill Knight explains in “Nesting Birds: Their brains are small but their will is strong.” Birds (and mice) can destroy an aircraft’s insulation and wiring; nests and droppings can cause corrosion.  Here

I've always been fascinated with birds.Amazed at their maneuverability, speed and gracefulness, they make human efoorts at flying pale by comparison. However, this is not where I wanted to find them. What a mess! It didn't take long for them to make this nest. So a good lesson reinforced, always take the cowling off to do the preflight.

I also found a wasp building a nest in the pilot's side air vent.  I thought this protected by the canopy cover but these pests always find a way in. Would not be good to open the vent and invite a swarm of wasps in the cockpit.

I ordered a new landing light. Mine failed to switch on last time, but while cleaning out the birds nest a found a broken connector.  I'll talk with Harry about it since I'm very close to my 50 hour inspection.

Runway 16

Still caught in the weather transition to Spring, the past few days have been just too gusty to fly. Today we were just north of a stationary front and a high pressure system in New England was feeding us with cold wet air. It was stable, but getting grayer and darker by the hour. Winds were light and predominately out of the south.

The plane was filthy. After the time spent polishing off the dirt a flock of large birds must have decided to make their mark. What a mess.

Lots of golfers out today. Special care to watch the driveway at the approach end of 34, and keep a watchful eye on the grounds beyond the runway markers for wild shots and golfers chasing balls out of bounds.

Landing on runway 16 was a bit like flying to a different airport. All of my normal 'keys' were gone so I had to fly the pattern with visual reference to the runway instead of my checkpoints on the ground. It was fun to establish the right downwind distance and the point used to turn base. I found that turning over the power lines is just the right depth for final. Landing in this direction is also done on turf rather than the small asphalt strip used for RWY34. My pattern work lacked consistency, but all in all a very enjoyable flight.

The Impossible Turn

The weather was good for Pennsylvania, winds were less then gale force and overcast high enough to get out of the landing pattern. It wouldn't stay that way very long. I wanted to start calibrating myself for the 'impossible turn' I mentioned in the last post. I like to have options, and Barry Schiff made it clear that understanding how plane and pilot perform could make this option possible. It requires doing it in the airplane.

Two tries. First on a north-south heading, the second on an east-west heading. The results (for me) appear to be this:

• Below 300 feet land straight ahead. RWY34 has some power lines, so I would probably make a slight deviation to the right where there is a nice farmer's field.
• 300 - 700 feet either straight ahead or pull the BRS. BRS should deploy safely at a minimum of 300', but unless it is catastrophic I'm still heading for the field.
• 700 feet and above I should be able to get her back on the runway.

I believe I shall practice this a bit more, but for now I'll use these numbers as my starting point. (By the way, it was raining by the time I had her strapped down and was putting the cover on.)

Another thought: I stated using Zululog.com for an online log book. It took some customization and a bit of help from the support guy, but now I have all of my hours entered. So far, I like it.

58N

Before going out to the airport today I watched a Kestrel perform in my backyard. This little hawk has the ability to hover with amazing precision. Winds were gusting to 12 kts and varying by 20 degrees and this creature stayed fixed in the air like it was somehow pinned there. After 30 or 45 seconds he broke the hover and dove to the ground for a quick snack. It's great to have an office window.

April is half over and I only have two flights so far. (Of course, we had snow on the ground following a blizzard on April Fools day.) The first was just a short hop over to Queen City (KXLL). Interesting because it is a 'semi-controlled' field living under the ABE Class C airspace and the ridge south of the field is high enough that anyone entering from that direction needs to contact Allentown to safely approach the field. This is a nice airport and I enjoyed flying over some old 'haunts', having lived there...a long time ago.

The second was a nice trip over to Reigle Field near Hershey Park. As I was preflighting, the airport owner stopped by to take a look at the airplane. I offered a flight...if he could find me some hanger space.  A friend had told me to use Airnav.com for fuel planning on cross country trips. Preferring MOGAS, I used that as an input which gave me 58N as a nearby source. Reading (KRDG) is about midpoint and directly enroute so even though passing clearly over their airspace I contacted Approach just to let them know I was in the vicinity. I declined Flight Following but he did point out traffic closing at my eleven which turned out to be very close to my VFR altitude going in the opposite direction. Good call and I thanked him for it.

58N is a very nice little asphalt strip under the Harrisburg TRSA. A normal VFR entry to RWY31 and a back taxi to wind around to the fuel pumps. As I got there a man was fueling a C150 and motioned me to park across from him. I opened the canopy and he motioned again and said he would take care of it. Nice offfer, but I felt this is something I could do myself so decided to shut her down and wait. The fellow looked confused, then smiled and said "Oops, I thought that was mine". Turns out he has a PiperSport, same color and thought this was one of his students bringing her home. Wade is a great guy and we traded stories about our planes as I refueled. Good price and a lot easier to pump 10 gallons than it is to carry. I'll be back.

Trip home was uneventful and enjoyable. I cancelled with Approach after clearing Readings airspace and started my descent from 5500 feet. The autopilot is setup for 500 fpm which would never get me there in time, so I pushed the button and took her down myself. She squawked about my rapid descent (good feature) and even though the outside air temperature was mild I still cooled the oil enough to get another RPM warning. Again this is a good thing and I should probably think about the effects of 'shock cooling' the engine. (A VERY nice landing back at 7N8.)

Some other thoughts:

• I bought some Waterless Wash Wax ALL Aircraft Cleaner (Amazon). Remember, I have very limited facilities and moving close to a hose hookup was not going to be easy.  A little pricey, but it does say aviation on the label. This stuff is GREAT. I used about half of a 16 oz bottle and it easily cleaned the whole airplane. Streaks on the vertical surfaces are gone. And the big test, getting bugs off the spinner and prop was actually easy. I went through about a half dozen wash cloths and not a drop of water.
• I got a fuel low warning while doing slips to a landing. Fortunately I had the high wing tank selected, and leaned that 7 gallons is the magic number.
• Started her without using the choke. Throttle up just a smidgen and she started nicely.
• RunwayFinder.com is back. I like this application for preflight planning and am glad the two parties figured out how to settle the patent dispute.
• The Impossible Turn: a very well written article by Barry Schiff. You should read it here. Even Golden Rules have exceptions.
• While planning this flight I had begun to wonder about an aborted takeoff at 7N8. So I noted the distance required, approximated that just using the asphalt (the turf overrun to be used as my buffer) and tried it out. No problem.

Looks like crummy Pennsylvania weather again this weekend, but I'm hopeful this is winter's last gasp.