High Work

TAS = 114kts

1ST day of April and the sun was shining, no joke. I left for the airport about 9:00am after doing some administrative computer work. The temperature was warming so I opted not to use the preheater. Instead I pulled Sally out of the barn and relied on solar warming to do the job while I completed the remainder of the preflight. All was in good order so I secured the upper cowling before getting my coffee and gear from the car and climbing into the cockpit. I was immediately comfortable.

As I waited for the oil temperature to rise I could see Harry running back and forth in his golf cart servicing one of the planes on the line. Folks are getting ready for Spring flying, finally. When I turned past the silo I could see a Mooney had parked behind the line of aircraft, effectively blocking my normal route to the runway. So I took an alternate route up close to the pond and used the turf threshold to taxi to my hold short spot. All indications were in the green as we took off to the north. A perfect morning to be flying.

We climbed to 6500' and I let her accelerate until the RPM read 5450. The TAS stabilized at 114kts, a little slower than previous tests but very acceptable. We made a turn and again stabilized at 114kts so I'll use that as my top cruise speed for planning purposes this season.

Next we slowed down and did a clean stall. Poor airwork on my part let us lose altitude during the deceleration,  but the stall occurred when expected. Next I did a dirty (full flaps) stall and again Sally did just what she was designed to do.

See the video here: High Work

All too soon it was time to go home. The entry procedures back into 7N8 were normal and as I flew downwind I was reminded by the full parking lot that the restaurant is again open for the season. The surprise came on final when I saw a car stop at the sign but fail to check for approaching aircraft. "Go around" time.

See the video here: 7N8 Obstruction

Video Notes:

The Virb performed well but I'm still unable to adjust the exposure to capture the engine instruments. I used my still camera for the inset on the "High Work" video. I'll work on a better solution.