Staying in the Pattern.

I wouldn't have been able to do this before the exhaust wrap was installed. It was about 90F, 65% humidity with light winds. I had to wait in the runup area for the oil temperature to come up. There was a 'Gyro doing touch and goes and a Gulfstream reported a 3-mile base for runway 05. An almost unintelligible student reported 10 miles north (I think). I took off after the Gulfstream cleared the runway and followed behind the Auto-Gyro. I stayed wide and deep giving him plenty of room. The final was a bit long but I nailed it just the same.

The 'Gyro departed and another Cessna entered behind me with a teardrop entry. The next landing was beautiful, almost rolled it on. The next one was a go-around, high and fast. I would grade the last 3 as above average.

The flight lasted less than an hour. What a great vacation.

Back in the hangar.

Out Among the Clouds

I planned a trip to fly down to Okeechobee County Airport (KOBE). The weather forecast showed typical Florida convection with build-ups in the early afternoon. If I got an early start I could get there and back before the thunderstorms rolled in. 

I got a late start. A lot of little things captured me at my desk. It's amazing how much time it takes to get through appointments, phone calls, and email. Still, I thought I was at the airport in time to make the flight. A few minor discrepancies during the preflight. She needed a little oil, the nose tire needed air, The canopy needed to be cleaned. She also needs a bath but that can be done on a no-fly day. She burped after 15.

Another weather check was still good. Taxi and run-up revealed no issues although I had to wait for the engine to warm up...on a hot day in July. I think the exhaust wrap may be a big step forward in controlling the CHT issue. I was concerned that I didn't see any ADSB weather prior to take off. Clearly, there were clouds all around me but nothing was shown on my GPS. This would be a good test of the weather capabilities of the system.

Normal take-off on RWY05. (No gators this time.) Light traffic in the area and I saw the little arrows for traffic alerts, and suddenly I had full weather by the time I was passing 1500'. The smooth air and excellent visibility were encouraging but the clouds were building quicker than expected. I decided to climb above them to see where the tops were. Since I live under a Class B I had to do this in steps. The GPS alerted me each time I approached a border or a floor of the airspace. I'm still getting accustomed to the touch screen and have found comfortable places to rest my hand prior to poking at the information I want. ""East is odd, West is even +500ft". I decided to climb to 7500ft. That wouldn't cut it. So I checked the weather down at Lake Okeechobee. Well, it was looking "iffy". Too many reds and yellows for a fun flight. Let's go to plan "B".  So after passing 8500ft we turned north and started looking for a hole.

I pulled the power to idle and trimmed for 100KTS. The view was spectacular. Towering clouds on either side as we flew down the valley between them. I forgot how long it takes to get down. The bottoms were at 3000+ft and I turned toward Plant City for some touch-and-goes. I forgot about engine cooling during descent. As I put the power up I got a "High RPM" alert as I advance the throttle. The oil tempertaure had dropped below 122. So I set it at 4000RPM and used pitch to control it by pitching up a bit whenever I go the audio alert. After a short time, it was back to normal. 

I'll put KOBE on my list for another day. This flight was a successful day for systems checks. ADSB weather works and the exhaust wrap seems to be effective.

Unintentional Flight

Do your checklist. Even if you plan to just taxi to the other side of the ramp. There really are reasons why items are on the checklist and why they are there in that order.

I've been fighting the engine cylinder head temperature for a long time now. Now with summertime at full strength in Florida, it was likely to become a real show stopper. I've done my best to mitigate the problem by changing the radiator, oil cooler, swapping temperature sensors, and inspecting for coolant leaks. All of these things helped but didn't eliminate the problem. She was still getting up to 250-degree range approaching top of climb. Bruce was having a similar problem made worse by flying out of a busy airport with long hold short times. He decided to try this wrap. Now, even on the hottest days, his CHT stabilizes at 230-degrees. So seeing the successful implementation of this solution I asked CERTUS to do Sally. Yesterday we spent the morning installing the wrap on all of the exhaust pipes.

Before I continue it must be understood that I had no intention of flying. The weather conditions were marginal with thunder and lightning in the vicinity. My thought was to taxi to the farthest runway, point the nose OUT of the wind to minimize cooling and do a very long, deliberate runup. OAT 88F and high Florida humidity yielded about 220-degrees on the CHT. So I planned to do an aborted takeoff and a long slow taxi back on RWY23. No one else was in the pattern so I announced my intentions and took the runway. All indications were good. But there was a black spot on the runway centerline. Now this runway has just undergone a major improvement program so my first thought was maintenance debris. Nope. It was a gator. Probably 6' or 7' right on the centerline. Too late to abort or go around I instinctively pulled back....and went flying.

I radioed Skyport Aviation and they sent a crew out to chase it away. I made one pass to ensure it was clear then made a full stop landing. I was done for the day. The temperature never got above 230-degrees. There is nothing boring about flying in Florida.

Maintenance Check Flight