Sunsets and Steep Turns
With a free evening I took my son out to the airport and we headed to the practice area so that he could do a little more flying. It was a beautiful Southern California sunset. Now that he has his cushion and can see over the panel he wanted to try steep turns (45° bank) again. […]
Camarillo – War Birds – LA Tour
I got a text from a friend on Thursday asking “Any chance we can fly this weekend?” My schedule appeared to be open, but I thought I should double check with my wife. The beautiful Mrs. Brown confirmed that yes, the schedule was open. (I guess I’m bragging a little, but I must have the best […]
A Budding Pilot?
My youngest son loves to fly. Not only that, he actually enjoys it when you are getting bounced around. We haven’t been in what I would consider severe turbulence, and I hope to avoid it if at all possible, but we have been in moderate where I saw his bottom bouncing off the seat cushion […]
CA Poppy Preserve – 100 Total Hours of Flight
We decided to take a flight over the California Poppy Preserve near Lancaster today. At the height of the bloom a few weeks ago we weren’t able to go as there was an airshow at the Lancaster Airport and a TFR (Temporary Flight Restriction) that extended almost to the edge of the Preserve. I probably […]
Mooney Time Machine to Phoenix
Many people when they are thinking of purchasing a plane start by looking at the cost to own, fly, and maintain an airplane. Of course that makes sense, one must know what one is getting into. However the next step, when they start trying to justify the expense and they try to explain to themselves […]
Lake Havasu – Anza Borrego State Park
I was looking forward to today ever since that Mooney fly-in at Santa Maria got rescheduled because of bad weather forecast. It would be a chance to meet some of the other Mooney owners from MooneySpace, meet a WWII P-40 fighter pilot, and fly someplace new. All week long the forecast was looking good, that […]
Flightseeing
Not that I need an excuse to go fly, but it doesn’t hurt to have one. A friend sent me a text asking if I had plans for Saturday morning. I told him I didn’t to which he responded that he was going to be out my way and wondered if he helped pay for […]
Camarillo by Night
I love flying at night! Here in the LA/Orange County area there are so many lights on the ground that even when there is no moon there is enough light to help you keep your bearings. I have been to the airport a few times and just flown around the traffic pattern to get in […]
“As long as it’s not in that weather…”
I was looking for a title for this post. That was my son’s response to my question of “So, will you go flying with me again?” In all fairness, my answer to him was “I don’t really want to fly again in that weather either.” What kind of weather was it you ask? Well, let […]
French Valley Dinner Run
Finally, I get to fly with passengers in the Mooney!!! It was hazy/misty this morning, the remnants of the rain that never quite materialized yesterday which meant plenty of time to get some yard work done while waiting for the skies to clear up. A little after noon my wife and I piled in the […]
“Flightseeing” – Was that Wind Shear?
Ah, finally coming down to the end of the insurance transition requirements. I’m feeling pretty good in the plane, although I still have quite a way to go in learning how long it takes to slow her down. The Mooney really isn’t that different to fly than the Cherokees that I trained in, it’s just […]
Smoother Landings
I’m still working on my solo time prior to carrying any passengers. I don’t find cross country to be very difficult at all so I decided to just focus on pattern work and landings today. Cross country basically involves climbing to altitude, going through the cruise checklist to get everything configured, making sure you don’t […]
