Looking forward to Spring

Her pants are back on!

Temperature hit 73 on March 8. I know it is still early, but I can hope can't I?

N30

Landing at N30

 Winds NW @ 5 - 10 KTS. That was the best forecast I had seen this month. The winds have 'come in like a lion' keeping my little airplane securely tied down on the tarmac. Today was different.

I met with members of a flying club to discuss Light Sport Airplanes over the weekend. Too windy to do a flight, I concentrated on providing as much information as I could including a detailed cockpit static display. They were impressed with the Dynon Avionics and fit and finish of the airplane. After we finished they offered to take my wife and I to lunch. We spent another few hours discussing the club, how to entice new members, operating costs, interesting $100 hamburgers, and the current state of aviation. (Don't think we solved any problems, but the lobster bisque was excellent.)

N30 (Closed for Winter Hours)

After we saw them off we went back to Sally to finish the tie down and cover routine. I noticed I had left the Master switch on along with the avionics switch. For THREE hours. Not good.

Economic cruise 4900RPM at 4.9 GPH

So I was a bit concerned when it came time to turn the key to start the ROTAX engine. She started right up, no problem. All instruments looked normal including voltage.

One of the spots mentioned at lunch was Cherry Ridge. Located just north of Scranton, it would be a nice stretch of our legs and a chance to explore another part of our local map.

The flight was pretty straight forward. After takeoff Sally and I climbed to 5500 and leveled off over Butter Valley. I called Allentown Approach for flight following and received a transponder code. (Nothing showing up on Flight Aware today.) Unlimited visibility and stable air made for a very enjoyable flight. The heater was working, the sun was shining and all was right with the world.

Soon I was handed over to Wilkebarre/Scranton. I passed the Blue Mountain and Camel-back Ski areas, and saw the massive triangle of the Pocono Mountain Speedway. I also saw some snow lying in fields and under some trees. Lake Wallenpaupak  was my last checkpoint and the GPS said I was within ten miles of my destination. I was pretty sure I could see the runway and cancelled with approach to continue VFR.

Crossing over at Blue Mountain

Cherry Ridge is a nice little airport. I have to smile as I always compare "little" to 7N8, and N30 is bigger. There were little piles of snow on the edges of the taxiways, left over from plowing the last snowfall. Unfortunately the restaurant was operating on Winter hours and was closed. I stretched my legs, took a picture or two and climbed back into the cockpit.  It was about the trip, not the destination. Again I turned the key and...no problem. Good battery.

Normal operations for the flight home. I was surprised how close the GPS tracks lined up when I pulled the data from my 96C. This GPS stuff might just make an impact on aviation.