Arcadia X06

 Video Arcadia

According to The Atlas of Florida, "The Rev. James Madison ("Boss") Hendry (1839–1922) named the town in honor of Arcadia Albritton (1861–1932), a daughter of Thomas H. and Fannie (Waldron) Albritton, pioneer settlers. Arcadia had baked him a cake for his birthday and he appreciated it so much that he named the city after her."

Turning downwind X06 RWY06

From 1917 to 1922, Arcadia was the home of Carlstrom Field, a grass airfield of the U.S. Army Air Service named for deceased aviation pioneer Victor Carlstrom. Carlstrom Field was used for pilot training both during and after World War I. In May 1941 the site again became an airfield for military primary flight training, operated by the Embry–Riddle Aeronautical Institute (now Embry–Riddle Aeronautical University). Carlstrom Field, one of several satellite fields in the Fort Myers area, also trained pilots for the Royal Air Force until its closing in 1945. Arcadia Municipal Airport is a public-use airport located 1 mile (1.6 km) southeast of the central business district. The City of Arcadia operates the day-to-day operations of the airport. It is leading the State in low fuel prices and has a nice Fly-In & Camp Out facility called Aviation City. It is becoming locally famous for weekly fly-in Taco Tuesdays.

Arcadia and other areas of Florida have a rich history of cattle-raising, which means it also had – and continues to have – a large contingent of cowboys, known locally as Florida Crackers (for the sound made by their whips). Located just one hour east of Sarasota and Bradenton and one hour north of Fort Myers, Arcadia sits in the middle of Florida cowboy country and it is a place where the Old West meets the Old South. Rodeos and other competitions in Arcadia are common, and the town also hosts the De Soto County Fair in January and the Watermelon Festival in May. 

Sally looked good when I opened the hangar doors. Still clean from her bath, the sun shined on the spinner as I began the preflight.  Nose tire was a bit under pressure so I put about 5 lbs. of air in the tire. I also marked the spot where the stem comes out with a silver Sharpie. The wheel pant makes this a bit difficult to find. The rest of the checks were good. 

Citation taking off on RWY18

The weather looked good for the 30 minute flight. The temperatures are in the mid 70°s and we're under a low pressure system.  Light winds  and haze. The farmers are burning their winter weeds so there is a lot of smoke is in the air. 

Runway 5-23 is closed at KVDF for improvements. It won't be open again till the end of March so all traffic is forced to use 18-36. Only a slight inconvenience for me since my hangar is just off this runway. It does mean a significant increase in traffic. I got an airshow today as a Citation took off on RWY18 as I taxied out of my ramp area. I waited a few extra minutes for wake turbulence to clear prior to to taxi. 

The flight plan was pretty routine except for one thing, my "nightmare towers". These are a group of monstrous cell phone towers with long ugly arms that reach up out the ground trying to grab unsuspecting pilots on smoky, hazy days. I looked for them as soon as I crossed over I75 and kept well clear to the east. Sally took us up to 2,700' and we stayed there with a few burbles in the air for most of the trip. A few orange groves and a lot of pasture were the only sights to see along our route. Florida is pretty flat.

On final RWY06 at X06

The engine is performing very well. Prior to the flight I took the remaining tape off the oil cooler and I may have done it too soon. Temperature stayed in the 180°F range and I would prefer it get up to 200°F. I'll add a strip next time. The prop repitch is a success. TAS was 118kts for cruise at 5300RPM (about 5.5GPS). That's about 5kts faster than before the adjustment. Takeoff is at 4950RPM and climb out (80kts) is about 5180RPM. I'm happy with all of those numbers.

Arcadia only had a few visitors. None were in the pattern when I got there. It's a nice, well maintained airport. I'll plan on going back for some tacos. A touch and go and I was on my way home. I decided to climb above the smoke and leveled at 6,500ft. There was smoother air but still smoky. The Tampa class B was coming up so we went back down again, just in time to fly over my house. The development is expanding to the north and the sandy soil stood out from the rest of the green lawns.

The landing pattern was a little busy with student pilots at KVDF. I was number 3 on the downwind and someone was turning crosswind behind me. But the spacing was all good and I made an uneventful full stop landing.

Uneventful is always good.

*Question from a reader about smoke: 

Smoke from local burns at about 5000'.

Paying your Debts

 Video Introduction Flight

I was browsing Facebook and read a post about young man offering to wash airplanes for an airplane ride. I made an appointment almost immediately for the next available Saturday morning. It turned out to be a cold but sunny Florida winter's day. 

I taxied over to the wash area and waited just a few minutes before he and his mom arrived in their car. They introduced themselves and quickly got their equipment out and began to work. I brought along a beach chair and sat down to watch. I was impressed. Attention to detail. They assessed the trouble spots on the belly and decided how to coordinate their efforts to get the job done. Constant communication. 

It had been awhile since I did this so the airplane was dirty. Some areas are harder to get to, even on a creeper, but they never slowed down. Their clothes got soaked as they laid in the puddles to get the dirt off the brakes. I was amazed when he cleaned the top of the vertical stabilizer without using a ladder. Teamwork.

After about 2 hours they finished up. The best the airplane had looked in a long time.

This past Saturday was my turn to pay up. When I left home the weather was marginal. Foggy mist was breaking up and low clouds were forming. Winds were still light but getting stronger. The forecast was good and I hoped it would be right for a change. It was chilly for Florida, low to mid 40°s. I asked them to dress warmly. They arrived on time.

I briefed them both in the FBO break room. We chatted briefly about objectives and expectations. Then I talked about the airplane, emergency procedures and what I planned for each flight. He went first. After an hour we returned and gave her a chance. Not quite as long but it was her very first time to control an airplane. Both had smiles on their faces during the debrief in the break room. 

He is 14, just starting his adventure. She is a manager at the airport and for the first time saw a traffic pattern from the cockpit. The debt I owe aviation is huge. I was so happy to give just a little bit back. It was a very good day.

Plant City KPCM

Video: Plant City

Located between Tampa and Lakeland Plant City is known as the Winter Strawberry Capital of the World and hosts the annual Florida Strawberry Festival. Stretching back more than 80 years, this Plant City festival bursts with midway hilarity, on-stage entertainment (much of it free), livestock and, of course, plenty of ways to eat strawberries. Usually in February or early March it is attended by people from all over the United States as well as many people from around the world. Despite many thinking it was named for flora grown at plant nurseries (especially vegetables and fruits, as well as tropical houseplants) in its tropical Gulf Coast climate, it was named after prominent railroad developer Henry B. Plant. 

The Plant City Municipal Airport was founded in 1948 to ship strawberries. Runway 09/27 was lengthened in 1999 and redesignated 10/28. In 2000, a new terminal was constructed, along with two new hangars (E and F) and a new Jet-A fuel tank. PCM is a public-use airport located two nautical miles (4 km) southwest of the central business district of Plant City in Hillsborough County, Florida, United States. The airport is publicly owned by the Hillsborough County Aviation Authority, which also operates Tampa International Airport. ~Wikipedia

Me and my shadow at KPCM RWY28.

The pickers are busy getting ready for the festival. As I drive the local roads, bands of workers with various colored team shirts work the early mornings and afternoons harvesting the winter crop of sweet strawberries. Hard work.

The cold fronts come pushing through like waves on the beach. The air gets churned and is often very gusty, but unlike northern cold fronts these do not bring snow. Florida temperatures vary greatly throughout the day making typical attire shorts and jackets (mid 30's) in the morning then peeling back to t-shirts (mid 70's) in the afternoon. It was calm early in the morning but the local TAFS said to expect gusts into high teens by mid-day. I got out to the airport early.

During my system checks on preflight the ADSB-out transponder failed with a 1090es fault. I found the coax from the GPS antenna was loose. I was able to reach under the panel to tighten it but will need to investigate just how it happened.

I taxied out with new databases and updated software (version 5.60). I had to unlatch the GPS unit from the plane and bring it home to my office and attach it to my computer with a cable. Garmin Express recognized it and installed all of the updates. This is a process change from my 696 when I could leave the unit in the plane and do this using an SD card.

The TAFS were right this time. The winds were getting "sporty" so after three landings at KPCM  I headed for home. 

Sally is running very well. It was a fun flight, but I need more landing practice.

Cedar Key (KCDK)

Cedar Key derives its name from a 1542 Spanish map that identified the area as “Las Islas Sabines,” meaning “The Cedar Islands.” Although the island on which this town is located is called North Key, the “Cedar Islands” reference applied to the abundant growth of cedar trees that formerly covered all of a group of islands located in the area. The Town of Cedar Key was established during the Civil War (circa 1840) on Atseena Otie, the Creek Indian name for Cedar Island. Lumber was the primary industry, although fishing and cotton shipping were also important, and sawmills and pencil factories dominated the town in the 1880s. The pencil plants closed down when the cedar was depleted. Shipping by rail and sea made Cedar Key an important port city until 1886, when the port of Tampa began to draw shipping away from Cedar Key. The old-fashioned fishing village is now a tourist center with several regionally famous seafood restaurants. The village holds two festivals a year, the Spring Sidewalk Art Festival and the Fall Seafood Festival, that each attract thousands of visitors to the area. ~ City of Cedar Key 

★ George T Lewis Airport is named in honor of Petty Officer First Class Lewis. He was a World War II Era casualty on October 25, 1944 during The Battle of Leyte Gulf. ★ He served with honor in the United States Navy. ★ Remembered by the people of Georgia ★ May his example inspire us to be strong and responsible global citizens. We can do great things. Together.★ 

Video: Cedar Key

Certus had come down to do some work for a few Florida customers and by Thursday we were ready for a break. I wanted him to fly Sally to see if he would notice any maintenance issues that I may have overlooked. We decided to fly up to Cedar Key. The airport is located about 75 miles northwest of Tamps, but to avoid a long leg over water we stayed "feet dry" flying up the gulf coast past Crystal River then headed out over the water for the last 30 miles of the trip.

I called at 10 miles to announce our arrival and a sweet voice responded by asking if we required transportation into the village. Sure! She said she would send a car to meet us. We couldn't see the airport. The runway is short - the shortest paved public runway in Florida and surrounded by trees. At 5 miles I thought I saw the runway through breaks in the tress and soon after we entered a left base for RWY23. Certus made a great landing right on the numbers.

Judy came by in a van to pick us up to take us into town. $20 roundtrip with a restaurant discount if we ate at "Steamers".  The grouper sandwiches were great. We asked her to come back for us at 1:00pm and when the minute hand was straight up she came rolling down the street. She gave a locals history of the town during our trips and we enjoyed the conversation very much.

As we did our preflight for departure I saw a bald eagle land on a small tree near the end of the runway. Just beautiful.

After takeoff we flew down the coastline to get another look at Cedar Key. I'm convinced I'll be back. It might make a good destination for a SportCruiser Fly-in!

I added some more tape to my oil cooler inlet before leaving Tampa Exec. I want to get the temperature up to approximately 200°F during cruise. I have more than 2/3 covered now and she is finally running hot enough to burn off any moisture in the oil.

Now having flown Sally, Certus has some ideas to improve performance even more. Stay tuned.
 

Apopka X04

 Video Link: Apopka 

Apopka comes from Seminole word Ahapopka for "Potato eating place". Apopka is often referred to as the "Indoor Foliage Capital of the World" due to the extensive Greenhouse nurseries there. Orlando Apopka Airport is a privately owned, uncontrolled, public-use airport located four nautical miles (7 km) northwest of the central business district of Apopka, in Orange County, Florida, United States. It was previously known as Orlando Country Airport and McDonald Airport prior to that. ~Wikipedia

On the 45° for RWY15 (RHP)

Cold. As I pushed to open the hangar door the cold aluminum stung my hands. It's a cold day in Florida when the temperature gets down into the 40°s. However I do remember using an ice chipper to get the doors open in Quakertown. At least the sun was shining on my back and there was very little wind. It was a good day to go flying.

The nose tire was a little low so I put some air in it. A lot of pulls to get the burp. It never comes easy on cold days. I should remember to do it after the flight. I covered about 1/4 of the oil cooler with tape to help the engine run warmer. All the electronics checked out but I was close to my "bingo fuel" number for takeoff. 100LL was listed as $3.25/gal if I needed any. It would take just over an hour to get there and back.

Turning final for RWY15 X04

The trip up was nice. Very little traffic and as I listened to the radio the busiest CTAF seemed to be Winter Haven to the east. The track took me right by Zephyrhills and I kept a good scan going for jumpers. The jump plane did announce "Jumpers in the air" as I transited the airspace but I didn't see any 'chutes. The air was smooth with about 10kts on the nose at 2600'.

Apopka airport is located just north of the large lake. Winds were generally out of the north but traffic was using 15. Winds weren't really a factor so I went with the prevailing traffic.  Runway 15 uses a right hand pattern so the entry from the south is pretty easy. At ten miles out there were two in the pattern and another called ten miles north. As I entered I saw the Cessna above me about mid-field and he took interval on me. My pattern was bit bit tight but resulted in a smooth touch down for my only T&G there. I departed for home.

There was a slight chop at the 2500' haze layer so I climbed above it to 4500'. Sally loves the cool air. We climbed at ~85kts which yielded ~1000ft/min. The oil temperature never got above 165° so I'll have to put more tape on the oil cooler. It should be running closer to 200°F.

When I switched to the VDF CTAF my hangar neighbor Brian, was announcing his takeoff in his Stearman. Kind of like watching a mini-airshow while on the downwind leg.

This was a good flight to another Florida airport that I had never been to.

Turning final RWY05 KVDF.

https://mewe.com/i/davefisher29

https://www.bitchute.com/video/Td1tYDkA9nt7/

Crystal River KCGC

Video Link: Crystal River

Crystal River is at the heart of the Nature Coast of Florida. The city is situated around Kings Bay, which is spring-fed and so keeps a constant 72 °F (22 °C) temperature year round. Kings Bay can be home to over 400 manatees during the winter when the water temperature in the Gulf of Mexico cools, and is the only place in the United States where people can legally interact with them in their natural conditions without that interaction being viewed as harassment by law enforcement agencies. In December 2013, the Citrus County Board of County Commissioners passed a resolution modifying the airport's name to Crystal River Airport – Captain Tom Davis Field. CAPT Tom Davis, USN (Ret), is an accomplished Naval Aviator out of the Navy's jet fighter community and a recipient of the Legion of Merit and the Distinguished Flying Cross. ~Wikipedia

 

Departing RWY05 KVDF

CGC is about 50 miles north of VDF. It was a good flight on a cool Florida morning and gave me a chance to check our my new avionics. I'm still getting use to my 796 and this trip would be a chance to couple it to my GDL 39 ADSB receiver.

Preflight went well. It took a lot of pulls to get the burp but no leaks, flats, or electrical problems. However on my taxi out to the run up area I did notice that the GPS input to my Dynon system had failed. No purple arrows. After the engine runup I did a DSAB configuration check and all was well on the Dynon side. The GPS was fine so I decide to depart and drive the autopilot manually. I pushed the Map button and brought up the HSI panel. I hadn't used this old friend in a long time. I set the altitude for about 2800' and put the heading bug just to the right of the arrow to compensate for the northerly wind.  (No wind arrow.) The air was smooth.

Meanwhile I checked weather and traffic on the GPS. It works! The GDL 39 has and independent battery and uses Bluetooth to connect to the 796. It was a very easy setup and I'm pleased with the results. If you watch the video you can see the antenna setting on the glare shield. It was a quiet day so very little traffic and I didn't see any weather until I returned to Tampa Exec. Just a couple of pixels of green but enough to prove the the ADSB system works.

I also figured out why I wasn't connecting to the Dynon system. I had the 796 home over Christmas to learn some "Knobology" and let the battery go dead. I lost some settings and one was the interface to Dynon. I called Certus and replicated what he had on his device. My purple line is back.

Arriving RW09 CGC

Out with the old, in with the new.

This week I had the opportunity to work with CERTUS on a engine change. He put the new ROTAX 912 in his car and drove it down from Wisconsin to central Florida. I was busy on Tuesday so he began the disassembly by himself. When I arrived early Wednesday morning the old engine sat in a tray on the hangar floor and the shiny new engine sat proudly in her mount on the SportCruiser. Wow! 

The next few days were spent assembly and reattaching systems. Oil lines, fuel lines, cooling lines, electrical lines all have to installed and routed in a particular way. As you might expect, not all parts fit perfectly the first time. He seldom had to disassemble a previous item to install the new part. I was the "GoFor" and helped by finding wrenches, pliers, screwdrivers and such. I also leaned how to buck rivets. As each hour went by the engine turned into a system. Friday afternoon I turned the key and she came to life. All temperature and pressures in the green. No leaks, no smoke, no issues. We pushed her back into the hangar for final adjustments.

It was IFR Saturday morning but improved throughout  the day. Saturday afternoon we put the cowling back on. CERTUS and I prepared for a maintenance check flight. KLAL is a controlled field so in my initial call to ground I let them know what we would be doing. This plane doesn't have a BRS so my cockpit brief stated we would stay in the pattern. In case of engine failure he would fly the airplane and I would assist as backup and handle the radios. We would not attempt a restart and if an airport landing was not feasible we would look for something soft straight ahead. Good runup. 5050RPM on the roll. No noises, shutters or smells and the instruments were all in the green. Smooth and quiet. Two full stop landings a Go Around. She went smoothly from idle to full power without any hesitation. 

Maintenance check complete. Back to hangar, CERTUS got out and the customer got in. Same brief, same plan, and we got the same results. Acceptance check complete. Not including the transportation time, it took just 5 days to do an engine change and put the airplane back in the customer's hands.. 

Good job CERTUS.