Check Flight

Sally's back.

I took extra time with the preflight. The upper cowl was off and I looked for that one telltale oil droplet. A smudge on the exhaust, a drip on the nose wheel pant, or just anything "not right". She looked good. So I buttoned her up and climbed in to fly the 30 minutes down to Sebring. Elrod and Joe were there to meet me. Sally was pulled close to the tools in the hangar and the search for fluctuating oil pressure continued. The inspection took about 45 minutes, the verdict was the loose pin. Solid oil pressure for the entire trip. Sally seems to be healthy.

But there is that nagging voice, that little loss of confidence that makes me wonder if she is really fixed. Did we miss something? Time for another check flight.

A front came through on Wednesday bringing low ceilings to the local area. Thursday was perfect! Another extended preflight with the same results, I was airborne by 11:00am heading east. We climbed to 1500' and stayed north of the high cell towers near Brandon (1667FT). I used different power settings, did some simple climbs and descents and generally gave the engine a light workout. I was convinced she was solid so headed over to Lakeland-Linder Airport (KLAL), home of Sun 'N Fun. A brief stay there then back to Tampa Exec for some landing practice.

All systems are nominal. Its great to have Sally back!

Video Notes: To Lakeland, From Lakeland