Cross-country accomplished!!!

The dual one, that is. I went with Steve today to make a cross-country trip of at least 75 nautical miles(NM), with one leg at least 25 NM long with a minimum of two full stop landings at two different points. I got to KRRL early and did the pre-flight inspection, topped off the fuel tank and added about 4 ounces of oil to the engine oil resevoir (trying to finalize the proper oil level on the stick). I met Steve at the terminal where we went over my preparations for the flight. We called the 800 number for a VFR flight briefing. This gives you current weather conditions, wind direction and velocity, winds aloft, etc. We took off for Medford and started acquiring reference points to verify our course progress. We used a stop watch to time intervals between reference points and we used my GPS for establishing our initial heading. Also handy for how far away from our target we were. Half way to Medford the GPS batteries gave out (only 20 degrees outside and probably in the plane, too). I had some new batteries with us and we swapped them out when we landed in Medford. We did a stop and go there and headed to Central Wisconsin Airport near Mosinee.
Being my first time at an airport with a control tower, I was a bit nervous about getting things right. I asked Steve what would happen if I screwed up at CWA, would they send up a fighter jet to take us out? "NO, NO, but try to do it right and I'll help you", he said. It went generally O.K., we did 3 stop and go landings there and then asked to park. We went to one of the terminal buildings and warmed up, then headed back to the 'tarmack', what ever that means......
So soon we were cruising North, skirting the power plant at Weston, flying over Lake Wausau in the vicinity of the Downtown Airport. We headed towards Merrill, picking up reference points along the way. I had a great time.

We made it back to Merrill, where I made a nice touchdown, if I may say so myself. End of a great afternoon of flying and a milestone in my training. I'm starting on the plan for my solo cross country flight, which I hope to complete soon. I'm at home now where I had macaroni soup as a celebration supper, and finishing things off with a double vodka gimlet. Life is good.....

February dwindles.

Greetings, earthlings.
Last weekend was way cold, this weekend is shaping up the same way. Looks like we are having January in February this year. March is only a few days away, perhaps we'll start having more warm than cold days. I mean above freezing when I say warm... for you California eggheads, picture your bad days (like when you have frost on the golf course in the morning). Those would be our wonderful winter days. And we don't have wonderful winter days. Just winter days, and in winter, some folks do this. The birkie was today so I imagine that the Hayward area is in a frenzy.
Rosie's birthday was last Thursday, Bryn's is coming up in a couple of weeks. Guess that means another running of the Spaghetti Extravaganza, otherwise known as 'the kids birthday party'. Here is a pic from several years ago.
The next two are maybe 2 and 3 years ago, I don't remember which.




I think this one is from last year. At least that's the folder it was in...... I will have to have one photo from each year with someone standing next to the calendar to document the year!! I should have thought of that long ago.



Now this is the one that I like the best. "Oh, it's soooo good....." Just like Mr. Food on channel 12. That's what I'm talking about.



You may ask, "what is she doing?". The answer is 'who knows....'.



I know these pix of the turkeys are not too good, but as nervous as they are I'm lucky to get any photos, let alone with good angle and lighting. Oh, well.
Went flying last Wednesday for another two hour session. We started out with touch and go's at Merrill, went a ways out to do some turns and such. Then we headed North to Tomahawk airport where we did a few landings. Headed back to Merrill for some more landings. Starting to get the hang of this new plane...


Tomorrow, Sunday, we are going to do a cross country flight. Starting at Merrill we will head for Taylor Cnty Airport at Medford. We'll do a landing there and then head to Central Wisconsin Airport at Mosinee. We'll have to deal with the control tower there and do what they say.... I'm kind of nervous about that. We'll land there and then take off for Wausau Downtown Airport. We'll land there and possibly take on some fuel. Last leg will take us back to Merrill. I have planned out each leg with mileage, landmarks for navigating purposes and airport info such as radio frequencies, elevation, runway headings and lengths, etc. Tomorrow before departing, the wind direction and speed will be noted and used to determine ground speed, wind correction angle for heading, and noting when each landmark should be passed. I'm guessing that not many people do this anymore, what with GPS devices that can be used by us 'non-instrument' folks. I do have a simple GPS and I have all the co-ordinates of local airports loaded into memory. I'm thinking that I'll be using that the most in the future, but the other method of course planning and plotting is necessary to know. I mean, what if your GPS quits???
Anyway, I'm looking forward to this trip and it means another big step toward the goal of my Sport Pilot certificate. Yee haaaa!!!!!
I gotta go, Carlo

Who says you can't have fun in Febuary?

First things first.... take a look at this site and tell me who you think is being sung to?????


O.K., a little well-deserved update on the flying caper. We did meet with Carl Greene, from Crivitz, on Sunday the 12th. Carl showed up at about 9:00 and I went up with him right away as the engine was warm and why wait anyway????? He let me take the controls right from the start and we took off O.K. There were about 15mph winds, or maybe a bit more, with a little gusting, so it was interesting. We flew out
a ways and I did a couple of turns to get the feel of it. Carl said "It handles pretty nice, here, I'll take the controls for a minute..." and he launched it into a 60°+ bank turn to the left for 180°, then immediately rolled it into the same type turn to the right. By this time I was experiencing the same kind of motion sickness that ended my carnival ride career.


One more of those turns would have had me talking to ralph over the intercom, if you catch my drift....... All I wanted to do then was return to the ground and lie down, but I stuck with it and we did 4 approach to landings. Went pretty well.


When we got back to the hangar, we talked quite a while about the plane in general, the engine, some things that need attention (Carl is graciously supplying a few new items!) and flying in general. Then we all piled in the cars and headed for McDonalds, bathrooms, coffee and filling out bill of sale!


These pics, obviously, are of our new-to-us plane, resting in Steve's hangar and just waiting for someone to get airborne with it... So now I am on the quest to figure out what I have to do to make it airworthy in the eyes of the FAA. I just got my kit of stuff and such from the EAA that will supposedly walk me though the steps necessary to achieve the goal.


Today, 2-15, I left a work a little early and got things ready to head to Merrill. Got a section of vinyl hose for a gas can nozzle extension for fueling the plane and clamped it on the nozzle. Took another can along and stopped and filled them both in Ogema. Also took along a turkey baster bulb, an empty milk jug and some rags. The engine had been overfilled a little and we suctioned a little oil out of the resevoir tank.


We wheeled the plane outside, filled the gas tank and fired her up. We ran the engine for about 5 minutes and then shut it down to check oil level. According to the engine manual, this is when you read the dipstick. Looked good, so we got in and got ready for take-off. Yee-haaaaaa!!!!! Off we went! We headed north and did a few turns, some about 45° banks, goofed a little bit with the trim control. I asked what we were going to do next


and Steve said "How about going to Wausau and trying a few landings at a different airport?" Carlo says "Sure!" Off we went, flying toward the smokestacks at the Weston powerplant. Steve asked how I liked the plane, I said 'great'. Steve says "Yeah, this is a real airplane!!" He's a good flying partner.


So we get to the vacinity of the airport and, of course, I need to do all the radio communications necessary around airports, and there were a couple of other planes in the area, so it was kind of nerve racking doing the maneuvers, but I managed 4 landings there that were all pretty good. Then we headed Northeast out of the Wausau area, then north to Merrill.


Can you say "Happy Camper"???? You're looking at one right now...
Onlyhow, we got back to the Merrill airport and there was another plane in the pattern, looking like they were going to land, then did a go-around, another approach and a landing. We came in for a touch and go between one of their attempts, and on another approach to land, we found them back-taxiing after landing on the runway we were approaching. That gave the opportunity for a go-around for us. We ended the session at 5:30. The runway lights were on and the lighted windsock looked wicked cool out there. We flew for 2.1 hours and used only 5 gallons of gas, even with all the take-offs. These four stroke HKS engines are nice. The plane is quite quiet inside with the engine a ways ahead of the cab, and the muffler is way up top. The motor runs pretty quiet compared to some, so it's an enjoyable flight. Kind of strange not having all the wind you get in the Quicksilver!

Oh, yeah, Lucy.... here is the item that you would be most interested in. It's the BRS (Ballistic Recovery Systems) whole plane parachute that can be deployed in an emergency. Actually, I guess you could deploy it even if you weren't having an emergency, but the results would not desirable.... Actually, I'm quite fond of that unit myself.


So I'm having a great time, the winter is whizzing by, snow in the forecast for tonight and tomorrow, windy the next day and then high of 9° on Saturday. Oh, well, looks like we had the last nice day for awhile to go flying.

Have a wonderful Valentines Day season (if there is such a thing) and remember, don't do anything I wouldn't do!

Carlo

Wow, it's not January anymore........

Can't believe my last post was January 26th!!! Time flies when you're working overtime and having fun besides. Actually, I kind of wimped out this week and only put in 44 hours at work. Feeling kind of under the weather the last couple days, slight sore throat and headache sort of stuff.

I've had a couple of flying sessions since last post, hoping that one of them would be solo, but the winds have been a little much for that, practiced crosswind landings instead. Also revisited power on and power off stalls. Did a couple of turning stalls, too. One needs to know how to recover from a stall if it happens inadvertently, especially near the ground!!

I've been dealing with a guy in Crivitz about an airplane that he has.
It looks like this. The red and white one on the main page. This plane is about the same size as the wire-braced plane I've been training in, only it's mostly enclosed with removable doors for warm weather flying. The one I'm looking at has a four-stroke engine (more durable and fuel efficient than two stroke), full instrument package, upgraded brakes, in-flight trim system, adjustable 3 blade prop, and a BRS ballistic chute system!! This last item is a whole-plane chute that will allow plane and occupants to float down to ground on the chute in the event of a major failure in the air. That's a definite plus!
Today we were supposed to meet the owner at the Merrill airport to look at and test fly the plane. According to my flight instructor, the owner is a dependable fellow that he's know for years and I don't need to be afraid to deal with him on a plane. This is better than finding a plane somewhere and not knowing anything about the plane or owner. Anyway, the guy got hung up in Appleton this morning and won't be able to make it today. Looks like we will try to meet tomorrow morning in Merrill. If things look good, I'll give the guy a ride back to Crivitz and the plane will stay in Merrill at Steve's hangar for a while. I'll use the new plane to finish up the sport pilot requirements before I move it to Phillips. Or, I can always move it to Phillips and then fly it to Merrill for the remaining dual instruction appointments that I will need to meet the requirements. In either case, I'm looking forward to it!!! I'll also have to get going on getting the plane ready to be inspected for airworthiness so I can register it with the FAA and get it N-numbered, as that is what is necessary to be able to fly with a passenger. I ordered a kit from EAA in Oshkosh that has all the necessary info and all the labels for gauges and controls and will need to get that taken care of ASAP.

We're kind of back in a pattern of cloudy, cloudy and then cloudy weather. Makes it kind of hard to schedule air time....
We still haven't had any REALLY cold weather since late November, early December. I hope it continues to be somewhat mild and then sunny and warm starting March 1st.

Not much new going on around here. Turkeys continue to visit near the house and yard, but not many other critters around. I have all my supplies to start another round of taxidermy. You may recall the stories in this blog from last year's first-time attempts at mounting deer heads. Ivan and Jerry have been busy already with getting some mounts done, I need to focus on getting a couple of hides fleshed and tanned so I can get on with this!!! I have two heads to do this year, and hope they turn out.....

That's about it for now. I'll let you know if we meet the Crivitz dude tomorrow! I'm going to go take a nap in the recliner and see if this headache will go away.