July 4th – Santa Paula – Breakfast and a Bike Ride
We have a couple of folding e-bikes from Citizen Bikes that we purchased specifically to take in the plane and use at our destinations. I am embarrassed to say that while they have been used some since we got them 18 months ago, they had yet to find their way to the airport and into […]
Part III – Oshkosh Rookie – Getting out of Dodge
“All good things must come to an end,” or so they say. Our plan was to stay for the Wednesday evening airshow and depart Thursday morning. As I had done every morning, I woke up and looked at the weather forecast for the day. Unfortunately, what I saw was thunderstorms forecast for the evening with […]
Part II – Oshkosh Rookie – The Show
“Welcome to the show!” You hear it multiple times on the radio as you are arriving at Oshkosh. I wonder, do the controllers mumble that in their sleep at night? After arriving on the “Green Dot” we followed the marshal’s directions along the taxiways, crossing runways, and eventually to a parking place. When it was […]
Part I – Oshkosh Rookie – Getting There
The uncertainty, the expectations, the anticipation, and a myriad of other thoughts and emotions combine to make the “First Time” different than all the rest, regardless of the event. Oshkosh, the mother of all air shows, is no exception. 2020 was going to be my Oshkosh Rookie year, but like many other things it was […]
Carburetor’s, Fuel Flow, and CHT’s
This article specifically only applies to those of us with an O-360. However, the rest of you with fuel injection likely know someone with a carburetor so you could keep reading to share your newfound knowledge with them. I hope that sharing my carb replacement experience will help others when they come to that point […]
Because I was Inverted
About five and a half years ago, shortly after getting my private pilot license, one of my sisters asked me, “If you got a Top Gun t-shirt, would you want it to say Goose or Maverick on it?” I responded, “Maverick, of course. Goose died.” It’s still one of my favorite t-shirts and shows the […]
IFR Checkride!!!!
September 29, 2021 More than a year in the making, the day was finally here. I began studying for the written portion of the IFR Exam August 20, 2020. After a few months of study I gave myself a deadline to take the written and scheduled it for December 22, 2020, scoring a 92%. I […]
IFR Training – 1.2 Actual in the Log Book, Extended IMC
Flight 23 – August 18th I scheduled a flight after work and all day I was looking at cloudy skies. The forecast said it should still be cloudy at 6pm when we would be flying so I was hopeful for some more actual IMC. When I got to the airport after work the skies had […]
IFR Training – Fullerton to John Wayne and Back – With a touch of IMC
After 21 training flights and only spending a couple of minutes in actual IMC (Instrument Meteorological Conditions) on flight 19, I had back to back flights in actual IMC. Where the first time my heart was racing, these flights felt much better. When I was done with flight 23 I came to the conclusion that […]
IFR Training – First Time in Actual IMC
This was first published in The Mooney Flyer in the August 2021 Edition. If you have been following along on my Blog, you know that I started the flying portion of my IFR training in February of this year. It is something I have wanted to accomplish for quite some time, but I was waiting […]
IFR Training – Aviate, Navigate, What’s Next?
All pilots know that when you are flying the number one priority is to “Fly the airplane first,” AVIATE. Next on the list of priorities is to know where you are, NAVIGATE. Finally, rounding out your responsibilities is COMMUNICATE or using the radios to talk to ATC (Air Traffic Control) or in the case of […]
IFR Training – Cross Country Completed
Among the requirements for the IFR rating is the IFR Cross Country flight. It must me a flight of 250 nautical miles along airways or by directed routing from an air traffic control facility, an instrument approach at each airport, and three different kinds of approaches with the use of navigation systems. I reviewed distances […]
