Staying in the Pattern

Sunday I woke up to beautiful blue skies. As I ventured to the computer I was glad to see very little wind outside and no frost on the ground. Maybe. But when I checked the local weather many of the nearby airports were reporting fog. I decided to wait to see if the sun would burn it off. As I waited clouds from the west started to turn the blue sky to gray and brought the winds with them. Not today. I bought 10 gallons of gas and fueled Sally anticipating some flight time later in the week.

Sally at Butter Valley (7N8)

An early appointment had me out of the house on Monday, again beautiful blue clear skies. Maybe. I checked the weather when I got back home and this time the METARs were good. I made my break at just before noon and went over to Butter Valley. Harry had his door open and was busy working an annual inspection on a C172. We made the visit short this time, good weather doesn't last very long.

Gary wrote in his blog about moving his plane to New Garden (N57) so I planned to fly the 20 minutes south to check it out. I had overflown it a few times but never landed there. But as I did my run up the windsock showed the breeze had really kicked up a notch and a scattered layer was moving in. Nothing on the 696 but local METARs did indicate winds from the East at 10 gusts to 15. Change in plans. We took off to the North and announced "closed pattern".

I haven't had much of a chance to practice any under shooting crosswinds lately and the long base leg does require some patience. The first landing was bit firm. Some pattern adjustments and the next two were sweet. So I got bold and flew one in the no flap configuration. This requires an extended downwind leg to allow for a long, flat final. The gusty winds added a bit of extra challenge while flying the approach about 10 knots faster. Not bad.

The next was a non-standard right hand pattern. Without my normal ground reference points I let the wind blow me too close on downwind eliminating any base leg. I salvaged it with a nice slip an made one of the better landings of the day.

For the next we departed to the west, bore a couple of holes in the sky and made a normal re-entry. All very nice. One more circuit and we called it a day. A wonderful workout.

Valentine's Day 2013

Sunday was the day after the big snow storm. While Boston got pounded, we only got about 3" and that was rapidly melting. The winter weather was finally perfect for Light Sport flying!

As I entered the airport I was disappointed to see snow still on the runway. The turf taxiway was also covered although it was hard to tell how deep the snow was. I drove through the parking lot and over to the hangar. Situated between two buildings, that concrete taxiway was still covered with the 3" of wet, melting snow. I parked the car and walked the path I would take to get to the runway. A little slippery. That turn at the silo could be interesting. And then the trip across the sod, which might be too soft for Sally and me. And the runway with partial snow, no winds now but what about the return trip. Consider a crosswind landing on a narrow strip with partial snow and possible ice. Very reluctantly I decided No Go. (Perhaps too conservative, perhaps not. Remember, I'm doing this for fun.) argh.

Thursday was the day after another snow storm.  Around lunchtime I decided to venture out to the airport to look at the conditions again. This time I was pleased to find that the snow was gone except for a few patches in shady areas. I walked the taxiway and cleared it of a few sticks and stones and came back and pulled Sally out of the hangar. It had been awhile and I found myself a bit rusty so I pulled the checklist out of the side pocket and took my time looking at each item. Once I sat down and buckled in I felt at home again. Sally started easily and it was a joy to sit there with the engine humming while the oil warmed up.

No wind to speak of, we chose runway 34 and departed to the east. The Pennsylvania countryside was still mostly white and much of the lakes were iced over. We turned south toward the power plant and continued to climb up to 2500'. All checks were good, Sally was running nicely. Satisfied with all engine system checks, we re-entered the pattern at Butter Valley to see if I still remembered how to land. A little fast but not bad. So we stayed in the pattern for another. A bit high and close this time, I needed to slip to get back down to the proper glide slope. I salvaged a nice landing from a crummy pattern.

We departed and headed towards KLOM. A light scattered layer at 3500' was a little choppy so I let the autopilot continue the climb to 4500'. Very smooth there and all the navigation systems were performing well. After a few minutes I went to the FPL button, selected 7N8 and hit direct/enter/enter. Sally made a nice turn to the left and started heading towards home. I disengaged the NAV button and went to HDG mode, twisted the knob to the left and once again headed toward the power plant. Another push of the knob, selected 2500' and let Sally start the descent. The RPM crept up to 5400 and TAS read 123 kts. Nice.

I thanked Sally for her help and told her I would take it from here, so I pushed the red "Autopilot Disengage" button and swung back to the north. Runway 34 was directly in front of me at about 8 miles. I made my radio call planning a straight in. No one else was flying today so I continued as planned. Another call at 3 miles and I committed to the straight in approach. Without the standard checkpoints a straight in can be a bit challenging. Getting on speed, on glide path configured properly takes a good eye and a bit of planning. As it happens a nice breeze from the west gave me the opportunity to practice with a crosswind. What a sweet landing.

Back to the barn. Less than an hour, but it felt soooo good.

Soft Field Take Off

Its wintertime, so its cold. Yesterday the dismal gray clouds finally parted but we were still grounded by the frigid blustery winds. The Saturday morning forecast looked like flying might be possible if Sally and I got out before the sun started to warm the earth. Friday afternoon I stopped by the Sunoco station and got five gallons of 93 octane and drove out to 7N8 to give Sally another hour of fuel. I took the time to do a quick preflight and a little cleanup just to insure I would have no surprises in the morning.

Its hard to get up when its still dark outside. When the alarm rang I just pushed the button and rolled over. Not yet. Minutes later I focused my right eye on the display and read 30 degrees and sunshine. Not bad, but my old body was feeling every day of its age. I slumped back on the pillow until the sunrise glowed in the curtains. I reminded myself that there simply won't be many good winter flying days so I need to take advantage of the weather when I can. My heart just wasn't in it.

I started the coffee and sat down at the computer to do the planning. Not bad, actually pretty good. Southerly winds at 5kts, clear skies and temperatures just above freezing. Airmet for moderate turbulence, no TFRs or NOTAMS, nothing that would hinder a short flight. I heard a "pop pop pop" in the distance and realized someone was making venison. I poured some coffee in a stainless steel travel mug and headed out.

The hangar doors seemed heavy. Sally felt cold as I ran my fingers over the control surfaces and did the other preflight checks. I noticed ice on the pond during my F.O.D. walk down. Geese were honking as I pulled her out of the hangar and I thought they might be a hazard during my pattern work. I put the mug in the cup holder and climbed in. My disposition changed. Although cold, I was comfortable. I shouted "Clear" and quickly closed the canopy. I apologized to Sally before turning the key as I knew cranking that cold Rotax was going to hurt. Five props and she started, ran roughly for a few seconds then smoothed out. We waited for the oil temp and I took the time to complete my cockpit checks. I appreciated the coffee and the bubble canopy to help warm me up.

We taxied down past the old silo, out onto the turf to go over to our run up spot. The engine was humming smoothly and all checks were good. The windsock showed a direct crosswind tending from the south so we back taxied to use runway one six. That end has an extended turf threshold. I decided to do a soft filed take off and use a maximum angle of climb airspeed, treating the geese on the pond as a possible fifty foot obstacle. There was frost on the grass.

After the checklist was complete I added full power, got over 4900RPM and although breaks were applied started to slide. I kept her straight with differential braking and set the take off attitude immediately to get into ground effect. We were airborne before the asphalt and accelerated quickly to 60kts. Nose up, positive rate of climb, flaps up, we were climbing quickly. The geese were not a factor.

Ahhhh. That feeling. How fortunate I am to be flying this airplane on a crisp beautiful morning. Sally is at 2500' in no time. Recheck flaps, fuel pump, and landing light, set the throttle for under 5 gal/hr and stabilize cruise. I took another sip of coffee and we headed south towards Pottstown Muni.

The radio was quiet. The nuclear windsock showed winds from the southwest so I chose runway two six and called traffic at five miles out. The crosswind entry was bumpy. The downwind was bumpy and when I checked the windsock it confirmed my choice of runway. I turned on final a bit high so did a shallow slip to lose excess altitude. (Sally told me to beware of sink rate.) Gusts were from the left so I crabbed a bit in that direction before kicking her straight before touchdown. Nice. I looked down the runway to see three beautiful bucks waiting patiently just off the runway for me to make my exit.  Once I called clear they crossed over and ran down the runway.  I watched until they were out of sight. wow.

We did one more circuit and departed to the north. It was getting bumpy and my 696 showed that local METARs had winds picking up as well. We headed for home. The bright new windsock showed almost a direct crosswind so I decided to use one six for landing. Sally doesn't like that runway very much and constantly reminds me about the terrain just north of the field. We turned base over the power lines and planned our touch down point on the turf, well before the asphalt strip. (The runway goes downhill at that point so planning to land on the asphalt won't work.)  An easy touch down and we were almost at taxi speed when we transitioned to the hard surface. When we passed the windsock it was pointing straight out. Time to call it a day.

Slow Flight

Winter does allow the time to review magazines, blogs and forums. One of the common topics lately has been high work, discussing stalls, steep turns and ground reference maneuvers and how glass panels and advanced avionics have distracted pilots from practicing basic skills.

Yesterday was a rare winter's day. The Sun was out, winds were mild and temperatures were 'moderate' (above freezing). Planning indicated it would be a good day to fly so I finished work a bit early and headed out to the airport. Kathy had surprised me by putting some decorations on the prop (my Christmas present this year). Less than ten pulls to get the burp. The ten gallons of gas I put in last week week sumped clean and Sally's condition looked great. She started easily. I moved her up past the old silo to get out of the shade and we sat on the concrete apron as the oil warmed up.

Butter Valley was busy! David had his Rans Airaile up doing some pattern work and a Cessna stopped by to try our little airfield out for size. It was fun sitting in my airplane, warmed by the sun, just watching the show. Just as David had finished my Rotax reached 122F so I taxied out to take his place. After my run up the Cessna was ready for his takeoff so I waited while he was on the roll, then announced my intent to 'line up and wait'. (Don't get to say that very often at this airport.)

We took off and departed to the east, climbed to 3500' and trimmed for level flight at about 5 gal/hr. The steep turn to the left was easy and I was pleased with my control. I rolled out 5 degrees late and decided to account for that for the turn to the right. The point of reference is very different for right turns and it took me awhile to stabilize. Within the PTS but not at all pleased, I decided to do the series again. I got that satisfying burble when I passed through my own wake.

Next I lined up on a cardinal heading and transitioned to slow flight. My feet danced a bit but I was happy with heading and altitude control. Once trimmed I brought the power to idle and waited for the stall. Sally flies slow! Right around 32 knots she broke clean ahead, recovery was easy and adding power was very effective. We did that exercise one more time and I'm comfortable with the exercise. Time to go home.

I made my radio calls but I was the only one in the pattern now. A normal landing (very nice) in almost zero wind conditions. We back taxied, took off and departed again to the east, and I gave myself an engine failure. I extended the turn to final, lined up and dropped the flaps when the field was made. Nice.

Two more turns in the pattern and I was done for the day. Just over an hour of Fun.

Back in the barn I did a brief post flight and burped her again. (Less than 30 pulls). Covers and chocks, and I pulled the hangar doors closed. I don't know when the weather will let me do this again.

A little Winter Workout.

The weather radio said partly cloudy, low temperatures below freezing with the highs slightly above. I peaked through the bedroom curtains to see a bright red sunrise. Patches of snow and ice are still in the shady parts of the yard, still in the gulleys where the high winds of the past few days haven't been able to scrape it off the grass. Winter in Pennsylvania is not good for flying.

The backyard weather station was only indicating five to ten knots and the noise of wind buffeting the house was gone. By noon the clouds had thinned out and we had almost reached 0C. Planning indicated no TFRs and nothing really bad with the weather so I decided to go see how Sally was doing. It had been over two weeks since we were out together.

Harry's door was open so I stopped in to chat. He has a 182 in for an annual, the little home built "kite" is ready for some more test flights and the refinishing project is still on schedule. He is happily keeping busy. We discussed the legal actions Pennsylvania has taken against the NCAA and agreed that any and all due process is a good thing. He advised me to be careful of the ice patches on the taxi way, to make sure I had plenty of room to maneuver. I wished him a Happy New Year and drove up the little hill to the Hangar. (It was slippery.)

Sally looked good. A little dust on the canopy is all that was apparent from the awful weather we've been having. Just so much better than being out on the line. I'm really fortunate to have her protected now. It took just ten pulls for the burp. I like doing this procedure AFTER each flight as it makes the preflight so much easier. I carefully pulled her out and did the remaining checks. It was cold.

Five seconds and no start. Wait five seconds, check everything again, and turn the ignition. Three props and shes going, oil pressure is good. Slowly advance the choke, set the throttle for 2500 RPM and wait for the oil to warm up. I pulled on the cabin heater but most of the warmth came from the sun shining through the large bubble canopy. There is comfort in the sound of a smooth running engine. After awhile the oil temperature finally got up to 122F and we taxied out across the turf to the run up area. All was good. The new windsock showed a slight left to right cross wind. RPM well over 4900 and all engine instruments looked good. I released the brakes and she jumped into the air. Rate of climb well over 1000FPM, I had to concentrate on keeping the nose up higher than normal to maintain best rate of climb. Airplanes love the cold winter temperatures (even if their pilots don't.)

We departed to the west, flew over some interesting landmarks and just enjoyed being airborne. At 2000' the OAT was -6C, but the cockpit was comfortable. I haven't put the new canopy seal in yet but the old "home improvement" weather stripping is doing its job. I didn't notice any drafts. We flew over Bally Spring Farm (PA35) and headed back to Butter Valley. A nice little crosswind made the three landing challenging. Just less than an hour on the Hobbs. A good first flight of 2013.

2012 Review

We got out for a little "fly about" this weekend. Only an hour touring the local area. We stayed low, below 2000', which is quite unusual for me. I wanted to enjoy following some of the roads I travel out near Skippack and Blue Bell. Although the visibility wasn't great I did spot some interesting towers out that way, some rising over 1500'. Sally and I decided to climb up to a more comfortable 2500' for the ride home.

Gary inspired me. Over at his blog he posted a summary of his flying accomplishments for the year. I decided to steal a page from his book and try something similar here. I used Zululog to compile this data:

A nice trend in Total Time. Just over 50 hours for the flight out west. The numbers are still good even without that trip. I feel that I'm getting good use from this little two-place VFR airplane.

 

Good cross country time. Sally is a comfortable ride on a long distance and can definitely fly longer than I can. The seats are comfortable, the glass panel is great and I love the autopilot. Another good trend. We added about 30 new airports to our list this year.

I was surprised to find this number roughly equal. Obviously this year I flew more flights out of the local area, but I enjoy just going out to the airport an exercising the process. My target is about once a week, if the beautiful Pennsylvania weather will let me.

This one surprised me, less landings this year. I love to stay in the pattern and shoot landings. That encompasses nearly every element of flight. The convenience of Butter Valley lets me escape with even the shortest bit of notice, and those escapes usually find me in a landing pattern at a local airport. Obviously I'll have to make a better effort on this category next year.

12N

Gray. The weather in the Northeast this time is year is usually gray, dismal, with misty rain (or worse, snow). But not always.

The weather reports (METARs) from the surrounding airports were good. Visibility was over 10 miles, ceilings unlimited (CAVU) and most important for me, the winds were light. I finished up my latest word.docx and headed over to Butter Valley for an extended lunch break.

I had seen a "where is it" photo on Facebook showing a beautiful fall picture of an airport surrounded by lakes and was surprised to find it was Andover-Aeroflex just over the Delaware River. Plus it was another airport that shared 122.8 CTAF with Butter Valley. I had heard traffic calls from there and wondered what the airport looked like. AOPA Flight Planner said it was just over the 50 miles that defines a cross country flight. I decided to check it out for myself.

Two 5 gallon jugs filled with 93 octane from the local Sunoco had to be put in the tanks first. When I drove up Harry's door was open and he was working on the old Cessna fuselage as Ralph watched him prepare the surface for new paint. We talked about my trip out west, complained about politics, and generally discussed the weather and other pilot talk. The three of us agreed it was a good day to fly.

Sally only had about five gallons in each side already so the extra ten was a good idea. I have started burping her AFTER each flight, so now it only took a few props to get that satisfying gurgle. Oil is clean and just below the full line on the stick. I took some time to clean the canopy before I pulled her out of the barn. It was cold, about 45F so I was glad to have the oil cooler baffle installed. Patrick told me not to use the one for the radiator, so that one is stored in one of the workbench drawers.

Smooth start, easy run up, she lept off the ground and climbed quickly to 3500'.  The airfoil just loves the cold air. I flew over Quakertown to keep southeast of the Allentown Class C airspace. I dialed in Solberg VOR to use a radial as my midpoint check and enjoyed searching for airports along the way. Clean crisp CLEAR air, I could see New York City and Philadelphia at the same time.

A Huey Helo was practicing water drops. He announced his position when I made my initial call, I got him in sight as I approached on an extended left base for a 3 mile final. What a beautiful little airport. A smooth landing and off at the first taxi way, I was followed by a pretty Cub as I made my way back to the runway. The Huey said he would wait for me, but I responded I would rather sit and watch the show. When he finished his drop I took the runway and began my roll. (Remember, wake turbulence!)

The return trip was equally beautiful, I enjoyed passing over I78 (frequently traveled) and eventually 309 at Quakertown. Another nice landing at home field and back to the barn. This afternoon adventure took 1.5 on the Hobbs plus another hour on the ground. Not too bad.