LHV

A beautiful Sunday morning. Temperatures were just above freezing, but the skies were clear and visibility was at least 1K miles. It tokk about 175 props to burp (and I did try moving the blades v-e-r-y slowly for about 20 of them) and the rest of her looked just fine. I flew direct to the ETX VOR while climbing to 6500 feet letting the autopilot handle the chores. She tends to chase the needle with VOR as the Nav source and loses the NAV source passing the VOR. (This might be user error and I'll dig into the books to find out how it is documented.)

Climb performance was good (+700 ft/min) all the way up in the crisp air. Smooth sailing our to SEG VOR and then over the last ridge to Lock Haven. I really paid attention to the oil temperature during my descent and intentionally kept high RPMs to stay warm. Even so I got the warning as I passed 3000 ft. I probably removed  the cold weather kit too soon. At least I was prepared for it and wasn't surprised when she stated chanting "RPM too high".

LHV is located between two ridges next to a river. This makes for an interesting entry to one of its parallel runways (paved or turf) and I chose 27R. The trip was almost exactly 100 miles. Anyone that has Piper written on the side of their airplane should be familiar with William T. Piper Memorial Field.

On March 16, 1937  Piper relocated to an abandoned silk mill in Lock Haven, Pennsylvania. By November, 1937, all traces of Taylors' involvement with the company were erased when it was renamed Piper Aircraft Corporation

The Lock Haven facility was nearly destroyed in 1972 when torrential rains from Hurricane Agnes caused the great Susquehanna River flood of 1972, flooding the manufacturing plant and destroying airframes, parts, and much of the tooling necessary for production of several designs, including the Aztec, Navajo, and Comanche. The company decided to end production of the Piper PA-24 Comanche and Piper PA-30 Twin Comanche, neither of which were selling particularly well (and were very expensive to produce), move the production of remaining models to Florida, and within 5 years close all operations in Pennsylvania.

So in some respects it was a home coming. We had purchased 4PS in Vero Beach and now I was able to sit on the ramp at Lock Haven. I waited for about 20 minutes for the oil temp to climb back up, did some checklist items and departed. I hope to be back for the Sentimental Journey event.

The trip home was at 7500 ft and smooth as glass. I enjoyed checking the 'nearest button' and searching for airports, trying guess the distance. The GPS direct NAV mode was rock solid.Wings level, nice crab with very little searching. Altitude hold was also very good with no complaints.

I landed just in time to run into the cafe and get a cup of coffee before it closed and sat in the car getting warm before I tied her down. I found a new spot where all the tires are supported by concrete slabs. I didn't use it before because no tie down anchors were available. I solved that with 'the claw'.

She needs a bath! I found a faucet, just need some WARM weather. The calendar says its spring, I'm still not too sure.

I put my pants back on.

The initial oil change was a bit late and  I'm glad I got it done. The plane just seems to fly better with clean oil. Harry was very good, pointing out aspects of the Rotax, recommending improvements like an oil filter with a larger diameter, etc. I enjoyed watching him work. The oil sample should be back shortly and will serve as a good baseline for future analysis. I will definitely need to take the Rotax Owners maintenance course this year. After a good run-up I took her up for about a half-hour just to insure everything was buttoned up correctly.

I was away for two weeks on business trip and will confess I thought a lot about 4PS, so I was anxious to get airborne when I got home. I decided to celebrate St Patrick's day with a little local tour down to N47. My preflight took a little longer since I've incorporated some of the items Harry said I should look at, but still pretty simple compared to many other aircraft I've flown. No water in the sumps after two weeks of very wet weather. She burped after ~120 props. The rest of the ground operations were all normal. (I flashed my landing light at two golf carts to let them pass in front of me before I crossed over the cart path to the runway.)

It was just great to get airborne. Just a little choppy in the air before a weak cold front, the temperatures are starting to be spring-like. It really registered when she called out a high cylinder head temperature on the top of climb. Obviously time to "de-winterize". About an hour total, 2 landings at N47, 3 back home. Basic airwork was sloppy, and headwork was weak. It doesn't take long to get rusty.

Yesterday I went out and put the wheel pants back on and took the intake baffles off. It must be Spring....finally. (I couldn't go flying because we had an appointment with the tax accountant...another sure sign of Spring.)

Taking Advantage

We haven't had many good flying days. Winter weather and snow packed fields have kept me grounded most of the time, but there have been a few opportunities to get airborne.

Last week I departed 7N8, headed north to ETX and out V30 toward KZER. It was a great exercise to get out of the local area and play with the VOR. Everything worked well (NAV SRC is a GREEN light, not red like the GPS). A touch & go at Zerby and a short trip back home with 3 full stop landings made for a great trip.

I was over booked with work this week and suddenly an afternoon opened up. The weather was great so I had to take advantage of it, but I didn't have a 'plan'.  However I had just been reading about short field landings over an obstacle and decided to see what 4PS could do. The real trick here is to finesse speed control at the lower end, close to Vso. Nice workout. (45kts seems to be about right.)

I also went over to Bally Spring Farm for a low approach. Shorter than 7N8, it sits down in a "bowl" and the GPS squawked "pull up!" the whole time in the pattern. Nothing I couldn't get into or out of, but this was one place that requires quite a bit of respect.

I also tested the 180 degree option on the autopilot. If a pilot pushes his luck and gets into bad weather, he can press and hold the autopilot button and the plane will execute a level 180 degree turn.  Nice.

In other activity, I just got a letter from the Pennsylvania Bureau of Enforcement, Planning, Analysis and Discovery (The Discovery Division). They would like a check for 6% sales tax on N674PS. (8% if I live in Philly.) I previously investigated trying to register the aircraft in Delaware to avoid the sales tax...AOPA Lawyers and other tax accountants said that was a myth..."if the property or services subsequently are used, consumed, or stored in Pennsylvania" 104-31.7.

I also passed my 2nd class medical. That's something I might be able to take advantage of in the future.

AHhhh.....

Like giving a parched man a cool glass of water.

Five landings. I'm still working on my muscle memory for power adjustments in the pattern. Full power back to 4000 RPM is a lot of travel, and back again to 3000 RPM is more than you think. Basic air-work was good (considering the layoff) and the landings were sweet.

I'm still thirsty.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eYAhfB8srl0

Mud

I'm learning why it might not be a good idea to call a place with turf tie downs and taxi ways home for the winter. Snow removal is a big problem.

Yesterday was 'good' Pennsylvania winter weather. Temperatures above freezing, winds below hurricane force and much of the snow/ice had retreated. I went out to the airport around 11:00am with the intent of doing some basic air-work and a few landings.  123 props to get the burp, about 15 gallons (3 hours) on board and no ice on the airframe. I still had to negotiate snow drifts to get the tie down straps and cover off and perform the exterior walk around. Carefully manipulating my balance to get inside without getting snow on anything, I buckled in and pulled out the checklist. She started after 6 props and hummed nicely.  This was to be the best part of the day.

Warmed up and ready for taxi we moved about 6"s and stopped. Full power to taxi just didn't seem reasonable, and she wasn't moving even with that. Slow exhale.

Shut her down, unstrapped and got out to take a look. The left main was up to her wheel pant in a ditch. It became abundantly clear why former owners had placed wooden pads in the ground for tire support. The PiperSport has a narrower stance so the only wheel supported for her was the nose.  I couldn't push her out. Slow exhale.


One of my other hobbies is woodworking. I always have a few pieces stored in the garage waiting on the next project, so I cut a 6' 1x6 into 3 pieces, grabbed a small garden shovel, my screw driver and some work gloves and after a little lunch headed back out. First I took the pant off and insured no damage was done, then I worked with the shovel and my pocket knife to try and clear a path. I couldn't push her out. Slow exhale.

Sat in the car for a bit. Obviously I needed some help, so I called the office and Ashley said she would send someone out. I remembered why Pennsylvania is nicknamed "Linebacker" country. Troy was at least 6'4" and ~220#s. I'm pretty sure he could have lifted the LSA out of the hole by himself, but graciously allowed me to help by pushing on the nose. Done, no problem. Five minutes later he was back in his warm equipment shop and I was sitting in the car figuring out what to do next.

Surveying the current spot, if I could move the airplane about a foot to the left I could get the left main and nose on former blocks and use one of my freshly cut boards for the right main. So I filled the ditch with ice (plenty of that) and decided to taxi forward enough uphill to allow me to reposition the airplane.  Carefully manipulating my balance to get inside without getting snow on anything, I buckled in and looked up to see my car sitting on the taxi way in front of me.  But that's OK because I'm not going to go that far anyway. Right. Slow exhale.

I moved the car and, carefully manipulating my balance to get inside without getting snow on anything, I buckled in and pulled out the checklist. Took a bit longer to start, probably really didn't need any choke. I moved forward slowly and tapped the right brake to straighten her out. Nope, just continued to slide left. Mashed both brakes and stopped. Close enough. Glad I moved the car.

With the tow bar attached it was easy to move back into the position I wanted. All 3 wheels are now out of the mud and I decided to remove the other two wheel pants. After getting two of the six screws out of the right main, the next screw got obstinate. Having gone way into debt on patience I decided to replace the two removed and call it a day. Strapped, covered and secured I headed for the house.

Hey, no damage, I got a start and a 'run-up' and whole lot of exercise. And I continue to learn how much I really don't know about aviation.

Frustration

I heard on a Podcast that the weather this winter has been 'a bit squirrely'. I might have another word for it but you get my drift. Another week of flying lost to poor weather conditions. I went out to the airport to clean the snow off and struggled just to get out to the plane. Snow is roughly a foot deep with more coming down. Another inch or so expected today, another inch or so tomorrow with a blizzard expected mid-week.

The trick is finding something to do while waiting. Read, study, explore, and dream about warm sunny days seems to be the way to get through the bad weather season. I'll admit it is frustrating to have a new airplane sitting on the ground.

"a different business perspective"

Stunning news that Piper decided to discontinue its business arrangement with CSA. Initially I felt like an orphan, that the most expensive investment of my life (aside from my house) had just been ruined.As I had time to absorb the details, I found that I was not so much an orphan but more the victim of a divorce and would get child support.

What happens now? The name of the aircraft will change from PiperSport to SuperCruiser. But other than that it is very much business as usual. The network of dealers, distributors and service agents that surrounds former SportCruiser will continue to operate and to be strengthened; though now directly under the Czech Sport Aircraft banner. Both new and existing clients will continue to be receive the highest possible levels of service – much of the supply and logistics chain has always run directly with CSA.

As the aircraft continues to prove itself as a market leader, fun, economic and reliable Light Sports Trainer and Tourer; sales look to continue to hold market share and grow in numbers. Clients can also be reassured that CSA is a strong and stable company. Backed by leading European private capital firm Slavia Capital, the company enjoys respect in the market, has a current order book in excess of 150 aircraft and continues to invest in R&D.

Slavia Capital continues with leading international financial institutions on preparation of the Initial Public Offering of CSA shares at the Prague and Warsaw Stock Exchange, CSA is financially strong and transparent, meeting fully IPO information standards.

What this does to sales of the airplane is unknowable. Piper's involvement seems to have ginned up sales. Its abandonment won't help, I'm sure. From my day to day operations nothing has changed. My goals are still the same. My involvement in aviation is still the same.Plus, I have a great airplane sitting at the airport waiting for me.

I read an interesting analysis in SportPilotTalk.com:

CSA is floating an IPO and concurrently trying to broaden its markets (military trainer sales, broader international distribution, more instructional sales). It wants to grow internationally. However, we don't see in its announcement any reference to increased manufacturing capacity. That boils down to a relatively fixed supply of a/c needing to fill a potentially expanding number of sales slots. If we were Piper, business growth would be our goal as well and we would view this as an undesirable restriction on growing domestic sales while overhead costs associated with the master distributorship are probably somewhat fixed.

From a macro perspective, both companies appear to be making rational decisions. From a (N America) customer perspective, it may end up meaning little in the near term, given the alliance of regional distributors that was announced. From the individual distributor's perspective, slow sales volume probably fits the financial realities of the current economy that they must accept for now. But it appears that all of this is driven by the financials (no surprise; we are talking business here...) rather than decisions being made on some high philosophical plain.

Glitch #1. I had a long conversation with the mechanic. I had him load the video I sent and review it for any unusual problems and he immediately pointed out the oil temperature. His solution was to add the baffle over the oil cooler inlet duct. While skeptical I agreed to do this and so far the unusual indications have stopped. It could just be that this simple mechanical fix could solve the perceived complex electronic fix that I thought it was. I need some additional cold weather flights to verify.

While I waited for the oil to warm up I spent some time customizing my instruments. I’m a “North Up” kind of guy so I dove into the menus to make that change. (It seems that when set as “Track Up’ my position report is always 10 miles south of the field.)  I also adjusted the Dynon EMS 120 configuration to recognize when I added fuel so that it would display a ‘quick path’ to initiate the fuel computer. (I also added a step on my checklist to check the fuel/trip computer prior to each flight.)

So now I wait for the weather to improve. I think this quote is typical: “"Very slippery conditions can develop early, but at the end there will be slush, puddles of standing water and areas of fog all draped by a dreary and ...dull, dim and dismal display of gray," AccuWeather's Elliot Abrams