The 2005 Flights
It's
a new year and another on-line logbook.
As always, each entry shows the duration for the flight and my total
accumulated hours in the air.
Flight 264/January 5, 2005-First flight of the year! It's time to deliver N3082U to Pullman for her annual inspection. The weather looks promising this afternoon so I trade the boss a Wednesday afternoon for next Friday afternoon. The weather is going downhill from here on in. I meet Tommy at about 12:45pm. He is going to shuttle me back after the drop-off. We hit the sky just a little after 1:00 p.m. I let him go first since his new engine will leave me in a cloud of dust. I take off and climb out at about 1,000 fpm. It's a cool day with the temps just below freezing. I climb to 4,500, get flight following, and settle in for the short flight. There are some bumps just south of Spokane but it smoothes out. I listen to the Pullman frequency on the second radio to keep track of Tommy. He calls into Pullman's runway 23 about six miles out so he's about 7 or 8 miles ahead of me. I hear him land just as I cross Kamiak Butte. I call in a mid-field cross (and miss it by going over the runway 5 threshold-rats!), turn left downwind for runway 23, then base, then final. We've got some cross-winds here! I crab, then it turns into a cross-control descent. Finally, a great touchdown just to the left (of course) of the centerline. I taxi over to Aerocraft and toss the keys, and a short list, over to Terry the fixit guy. After a half hour chat, Tom and I take off and return to Spokane in the Cessna Rocket. (0.7/228.9)
Flight 265/January 15, 2005-It's really cold! At 9am, the temperature outside is a balmy 7F. Inside the engine compartment, it's 25F. It's amazing what a 60 watt bulb and an arctic cover will do. But, it's still too cold to run the engine, in my opinion, so I'll wait. I up the light bulb to 100 watts. At 2pm, the outside temperature is about 20F. It must be warm enough now. I call Ted to see if he is interested. Yep. Upon arrival I check the temperature inside the engine compartment-it's now at 40 degrees. That's good enough for me. I preflight, Ted shows up, and 3082U starts with the usual two shots of prime. I love this plane! After some discussion, I decide on an east departure. I let a Champ taxi down to the runway before me and I do my runup on the taxiway. There are three aircraft waiting and I'm number 3 in the line, however I finish my runup first and sneak by the other two. We lift off and decide that the east departure was a good idea as there are about 4 aircraft all coming in from the north. We head to Coeur d'Alene, then south down the lake, over the casino, to Tekoa. We turn over Tekoa and look for our co-worker Jay's pickup at the airport, we think we see it. It's too late in the day to land and play around so I turn north. Out of habit, I call Spokane approach and pick up flight following. I contact the tower at Mica Gap and start looking for a Cherokee that is departing. We find him above us over the hills so no factor. I turn over to the west over the toe of Brown's Mountain and get into a right base for runway 3 right. Smooth touchdown and taxi to the hanger. A good flight with minimal passenger screaming. (1.0/229.9)
Flight 266/January 22, 2005-The ceilings went up in the late afternoon so I decide I need to aviate...but, I need a passenger. Shawn has to work, Dave and Mikey won't answer their phones, Tom wants to wants the Gonzaga game. I finally track down Chris. He'll go! The plane needs gas so I taxi over while I wait for Chris. There's a Pitts and a Cessna 180 at the pump so I'm number 3 in line. Chis gets there and we splash in 21 gallons. We take off to the east and do a Coeur d'Alene city fly-over and back. I call in over Liberty Lake and they give me a straight-in for 21 Right. I advise that I'm really south of there so we settle on a 21 Left base approach. Nice landing. (0.6/230.5)
Flight 267/January 23, 2005-Wow! Another nice day! I wait for Shawn to finish his homework so he can come out and play. We hit the field at around 2:15 p.m. After a pre-flight we are off to the west to buzz the farm in Reardan. Sadly, Grandma and Grandpa went to the casino, so we do a 360 around the ranch with no audience. I head for Davenport then decide to swing to the south to Cheney. I need to stay out of the Class C airspace so I'm trying to figure out where we are. We can see the Air Force Base and Sprague Lake, but we can't find the freeway or Cheney. We're not lost, we are just location challenged. Fianlly, we cross the freeway and get our bearing. I call into approach and all is well. We cross over the town and I point out my old dorm and apartment building to Shawn. As we get closer to town we are switched to Felts Tower and get a straight-in approach to runway 3 Left. Aha! The right over the south hill and downtown approach-a new one for Shawn. Good approach and smooooooth touchdown that Shawn likes. (1.0/231.5)
Flight 268/February 1, 2005-A lunchtime quickee touch and go session with me. I do a couple of reasonable landings. (0.2/231.7)
Flight 269/February 5, 2005-I've never flown in and out of Yakima, so when Ted calls and asks if I want to go it was a tough decision....stay home and do income taxes or fly....We lift off at about 10:45 a.m. with Ted at the helm. I'm playing with my newly won-in-a-drawing-at-the-pilot-store JRC 520 Nav/Com. Of course, everytime I say something to Ted, it's at the same time that ATC talks to him. They finally ask him to listen more closely. I'll shut up and play with my toy. I plug my heaset into the little radio and call Flightwatch for Yakima weather. It works! I also play with the VOR Nav feature and it matches the VOR in the plane. Yay! We have a headwind so it takes us awhile to get to the Yakima area. I'm especially interested in looking at the lay of the land around the Yakima Firing Range Restricted Area, so that when I go this way, I'll know where the boundaries are. Ted does his usual route that sets him up for a straight-in approach to runway 27. A steep approach and we are on the ground. After lunch I do the math and order 6 gallons of very expensive gas that should get us home with fuel to spare. I call ground, taxi to runway 27 for a downwind departure and take off. It's a little bumpy with a variety of winds in this valley. Just to the east, Ted points out where I need to fly to stay out of the firing range. I remain south of Highway 124 and all is well. Departure asks us if we know about the firing range and I reply that we will miss that plus the Hanford Nuclear Reservation. She says that there is no problem overflying Hanford at our altitude of 5,500 feet so I just mozey on across. It's a smooth flight and I work on maintaining altitude and heading. We notice that the clouds are building near Spokane and to the south. We check the ATIS and the report says that it is snowing 5 miles to the south of the airporrt-that would be right at my house. Nancy is gonna worry. I cross over the south hill and set up for a downwind approach to runway 21 left. The sun is low and it's hard to see the wind sock. A perfect touch down and we are home! (1.6/233.3)
Flight 270/February 10, 2005-Another lunchtime quikee on a nice day. Tacky pattern work with one decent landing and one survivable arrival! (0.3/233.6)
Flight 271/February 12, 2005-A nice Saturday in the morning with some clouds rolling in around noonish. I get ahold of Byron Henry and he meets me at the hanger. We take off to the east and do a flyby over his house near CV High School. It's a little breezy with some bumps here and there. Over the City of Coeur d'Alene and down the lake to the casino then to Rockford and home. Byron likes it. (0.9/234.5)
Flight 272/February 16, 2005-I decide that I still need a lot more practice landing…so off to the field at lunch I go. I do a couple of touch and go's. Can you say sloppy pattern work? Yep. But OK landings. By the way, this is my 499th and 500th landings of my flying career.....but who's counting? (0.4/234.9)
Flight 273/February 17, 2005-After yesterday’s sloppy pattern work, I still need more practice. Back to the field. I do two more touch and go’s. These are slightly better and will have to do. (0.3/235.2)
Flight 275/February 20, 2005-We’re in Las Vegas! The weather here has been crappy. We were originally scheduled to fly on Monday, but we changed to Sunday. Sunday may just be the only nice day in our 5-day trip. Dave and I arrive at First Flight Aviation at the North Las Vegas Airport (VGT) at about 8:45 a.m. We meet up with instructor Luke Simons who will take me through a few landings to see if I can really fly or if it is just a figment of my imagination. We spend a few minutes getting acquainted and do some paperwork. They lost our stuff from last year so we have all the insurance, rental agreements, etc. to complete. I finally do a pre-flight on N2021W, a 2003 Cessna 172SP and climb into the left seat. Luke is in the right and Dave is in the back. It is very windy with the breeze coming from 60 degrees off the runway heading at 12 knots with gusts to 18. This is a little more than I normally fly in. I take off on runway 12 right and have a little trouble holding the runway heading. I get blown away from the field on my down wind, but manage to line up for runway 12 left. I drop out 30 degrees of flaps and am able to make it on to the runway, but way left and Luke helps me out a little. Dang!. Up and away with a repeat of the sloppy wind correction in the pattern. This time, less flaps and a better landing. One more turn around with a little tighter pattern and a much better landing. Luke understands the tough crosswinds and gives me a passing grade. Yay! Dave also does a few T & G’s with Luke. A half hour for me. (0.5/235.7)
Flight 276/February 20, 2005- Still in Vegas. Dave had taken a turn doing some touch and go’s and now we are on our own in Sin City airspace. I am in the left seat and we get a clearance to take off on the Showboat departure to the east. They are really busy. We get vectored away from the route ands have to head to the west for a while. Then it’s back to the Bank of America Building and across the city. We are told to climb above the usual route but all is OK. The air traffic controller is having an interesting conversation with a Bonanza driver behind us. He tells the guy to do something, the pilot acknowledges, and then does something else. Then the controller comes back and advises the guy that he’s not following instructions. Then the Bonanza guy says that he can’t hear the controller. Funny….we can hear everything. The pilot is a dweeb. The controller finally gets him out of the Class B airspace and tells him to squawk VFR and go away. Dave and I head to the south. Our original plan was to go to Bullhead City/Laughlin and Lake Havasu but the weather is iffy and we don’t want to stray too far away. I decide that we should cruise over Hoover Dam so I turn a little east and head for it. A nice, smooth flight. Dave spots a couple other aircraft but they are no factor. Wait a minute. There’s another plane just ahead at our altitude. Oh, no! It’s the Bonanza! Aiiieeee….fly for your lives! I do a diving right turn to escape the path of that wayward pilot. We are now on a southwest course and lined up for Boulder City airport about 20 miles away. It’s a nice partly cloudy day with no bumps and great scenery. I fly along and lose a little altitude and we cruise over the field looking for the wind sock. Dave finally spots it. The wind is favoring runway 15 so I do a real wide 270 degree turn and enter the left downwind leg. The sock is standing straight out with a 15 knot wind, but right down the runway. The surface slopes away from me so I float for awhile but make a smooth touchdown. We taxi over to park on the ramp and take a few photos. So far, so good. Dave the CFI flies us home from the right seat and makes a perfect landing at North Las Vegas with a great forward slip. I do an hour PIC with some great Class B action. We’ll be back next year. (1.0/236.7)
Flight 277/February 26, 2005-We are going to try to get to the Washington State Aviation show in Puyallup. The forecast for Thun Field indicates that the marine layer in Puget Sound should clear by 11:00 a.m. so Ted and I lift off with the plan to stop in Ellensburg to wait it out. I’m in the left seat and we lift off at 9:00 a.m. There is just a little haze and the air is smooth. I rool the plane up to 6,500 feet and we settle in for the ride. We fire up the IPOD for some tunes and cruise over the wheat fields. When we reach the Columbia River, Ted calls Flight Watch to check the weather in Puyallup. It’s still reporting a 400 foot ceiling but was improving. OK….plan B. I start descending into Ellensburg. About 10 miles out I call in for an approach to Runway 7. It’s listed in the Flight Guide as the preferred calm wind runway. A voice comes back and says, “Runway 7 is closed.” OK, I’ll use 29. I set up for a right base to 29, slide into a nice touchdown, and we taxi over to the FBO. It’s now 10:20 a.m. Ted calls Flight Service and the weather is still no good. We hang around with a few other Puyallup hopefuls until the 11:00 a.m. weather. I call and the story is the same. No good. We give up. Now where do we go? One of the other folks said that there is a little restaurant in Mansfield. OK, we’ll try it. I lift off and turn west then northwest. It’s about 50 miles. Still smooth air. We cross the river and I can see some grain elevators off in the distance. It must be Mansfield. Sure, enough. I spot the sock and do a left downwind entry to runway 21. There’s no wind and everything looks good. Here we go. Smack! Oops. It wasn’t one of my best, but Ted is still with me. We wander off to lunch at the little tavern on Main Street. Tacky place, but good food. Ted Flies us back with a stop at Grand Coulee. (2.2/238.9)
Flight 278/February 27, 2005-It’s the next day and way too nice to stay on the ground. Shawn and lift off at about Noon on a perfect sunny day. We turn east and climb up to 5,500 feet. We cruise over Coeur d’Alene and follow Interstate 90 to Kellogg. We swing by Silver Mountain Ski Resort. The chair lift are running but there doesn’t seem to be a lot of people on the slopes. I do a 180 degree turn and drop down to 4,500. We follow the Coeur d’Alene River and spot the little lakes along the way to Harrison. I cross the big lake, fly by the casino and down to Tekoa. It’s gets a little bumpy. At Tekoa I call Spokane Approach and get a code. We bump along over the south hill and land on runway 3 right. A minor smack-o but Shawn survives. (1.6/240.5)
Flight 279/March 4, 2005-A video producer I know, Phillip Sondericker, e-mailed me the other day about some flying DVD's. I decide we should go for a cup of coffee and a flight. He's a pilot with about 120 hours and almost has his instrument rating. We meet at the Skyway Cafe and chat for awhile, then over to the hanger and N3082U. It's a perfect day, and we take off to the north, cross east around Mt. Spokane and Spirit Lake, then south. It's quiet around Coeur d'Alene airport and I decide that today is the day-I'm landing at COE! It's usually so busy with no tower that I avoid it. I'm coming in from the north and there is just a flicker of wind coming out of 050 at 3 knots. I enter a left downwind for runway 7, turn base and final and do a one bouncer. We taxi over to the restaurant, park by a couple of Cessna Citation Jets, and grab a Diet Pepsi. A few minutes later we are off again, taking off of runway 1 and flying to the south over the lake. I cross over the casino, then down to Tekoa. I do my usual call in to Spokane Approach at Tekoa for the trip home. Just like last weekend, it's kind of bumpy over the Palouse wheat fields. Through Mica Gap and a right base entry to runway 3 right. Another one-bouncer and we are back.(1.5/242.0)
Flight 280/March 5, 2005-Tom still needs to put some time on N457BC with it's new Penn-Yann engine so this is a good excuse to go someplace. We had been talking about checking into the Desert Aire campground on the Columbia River and, since they have an airstrip, we are on our way. Tom flies down from Felts Field (it's his plane and his choice) and we make it in about 1 hour and 20 minutes. The weather is clear with smoggy haze and there's a bit of a headwind. After landing we check out the campground. No hookups, but it's right on the water with a boat launch and dock. Tom allows me to fly us home so I hop into the right seat, do the usual run-up stuff and zoom down the runway. This 180 hp engine make the plane leap off the ground and climb fast. I get 1,100 feet per minute climb rate up to 5,500 feet. It's takes a few minutes, but I get the plane stabilized and fly hands off for the next 45 minutes at 160 miles per hour! We are really zipping along and Tom is pleased with the performance. As we approach Spokane I'm talking to Air Traffic Control and they don't seem to mind that I am flying on a course that will take me directly over Spokane International Airport. It works for me. I contact Felts Tower and they advise a left downwind for runway 21 left. After some discussion, Tom and I decide that we are set up much better for the other runway so I call in and ask for 21 right. No problem. I enter downwind, turn base, then final and I am very high. Just like Tom wants it and he praises my approach. He likes those high, dive bomber entries. Less chance of coming up short with an engine failure. I'm a little fast and I can't get the right angle of attack with this silly plane. It's a flat landing and a bounce, but Tom survives. (1.0/243.0)
Flight 280/March 6, 2005-Mikey comes over to the hanger to help me with some shelves in the lockers. After we are done, we need to take a ride-off to the south practice area we go. I do a few turns and then we wander over by Rosalia. What the heck. I cruise over the field to check to sock. It shows a breeze down runway 20. I do a wide 360 and enter a right base to the runway. There are some weird winds coming off the surrounding hills and I'm a little sloppy but we touch down safely. A few photos of the plane and us and we zip back into the sky to head home. Over the south hill and into a left downwind to runway 21 left. Another survivable flight. (1.2/244.2)
Flight 281/April 2, 2005-Today I take my brother and his 11 yr old grandson, Tommy for a Young Eagles Flight. I do a long pre-flight explaining everything to Tommy and why it does what it does. We pull out onto runway 21 left and I accelerate to lift-off speed. We turn to the east, but I can tell we aren't going to get too far. There are clouds hanging out at 4,000 feet or so and I don't think my trip down Coeur d'Alene Lake will work today. We fly over Bills house in Liberty Lake, turn back to the west and fly over Tommy's house to the west of that, then I head south to the practice area to do some wandering. We head out over Spangle then turn back toward the south hill, then across downtown. I enter a left downwind approach to runway 21 left and make a smooooth touchdown. Back toi the barn. Tommy is quiet but I can tell he had fun in the right seat. It was too bumpy to let him fly. Maybe next time. (0.8/245.0)
Flight 282/April 6, 2005-The plane is acting weird. After I flew last Saturday, Ted and Tom went up. They discovered a vibration at about 2,300 rpm that they didn't like. Ted and I took the cowling off on Sunday and looked around. Checked the spark plugs, motor , etc. Everything looked OK. Ted took it up in the pattern (I was holding on the right seat) and we duplicated the vibration. Today, we decide to venture out of the pattern to get to cruise speed. I am flying and we head to the north practice area. There's plenty of roads and a couple of airstrips if we have a problem. I roll it up to 4,000 feet and try a few power settings. Yep-still there and I've heard enough. I turn back to the field. I make a crappy approach and sloppy landing, ( I wanna be on the ground!) and we are back to runway 3 left and I make the first turn off. (0.4/245.4)
Flight 283/April 24, 2005-Biennial Flight Review! Up in the air with Tommy for the every two year pilot test. Since N3082U is still in the shop, we are off in the SuperPlane-Tommy's 1974 172M with the new Penn Yann Aero conversion. This is no longer the plane I learned to fly in. I start with a short field takeoff and I think Tom just wanted me to do that to see how quick the SuperPlane would leave the ground. It doesn't take very much runway. Just away from the airport it's on wit the hood for some instrument flying. It's been a while for this and it takes awhile to get used to it again. I track the Spokane VOR inbound and finally get into the groove, then I track it outbound. I think I'll just stay a VFR pilot. This is a lot of work. Then stalls, stalls, stalls, and more stalls. Since he knows how much I hate them, we do even more stalls. Tom comments that my rudder control is much better than he's seen for a long time. Some very steep turns and he pronounces me fit to fly for two more years. (1.3/246.7)
Flight 284/April 24, 2005-Citabria with Lou. After the biennial I head up with Lou is his Citabria. I do a half hour of flying. It's a little bumpy. No landings, though. This is a tail wheel aircraft. (0.5/247.2)
Flight 285/May 25, 2005-Aerial Photos. I need some pictures of the new freeway for work so I con Tommy into using the SuperPlane. He tosses me the keys for the left seat. I won't complain since it's been a month since I had flown. Les, the neighbor from across the street form the hangers is also along for the ride. I take off and we zip up to the freeway construction. Tom pilots for a few minutes as I snap the shots. Then we cruise on back home. (0.6/247.8)
Flight 286/June 10, 2005-N3082U is back in the air after two months! I grab Art Busby, one of my partners in this little airplane. We take it to the south practice area to see how it's running. It's a little bumpy, but OK. Art also feels the "pulsating vibration" that we have been wondering about. We have an appointment for a propeller balance at Spokane Airways. We turn north to Spokane International Airport and I do a left base to runway 21. Nice touchdown in slightly gusty winds. We pull up to the fixit shop and turn it over to the mechanic. (0.6/248.4)
Flight 287/June 10, 2005-The prop is balanced and they say it should be a marked improvement. OK. I call Clearance Delivery and get my transponder code. Then we fire up the rocket, call ground and taxi to runway 21. The airliners have been reporting gusty winds and wind shear, so this could be an exciting flight across town. I wait for an airliner to land and the wake turbulence to blow away. Down the runway and we're off. It's a bouncy trip over downtown Spokane. I try a few RPM settings and Art and I think we have the vibration problem licked. Almost to Felts Field. A right downwind and base for runway 21 right. My feet are busy on the rudder to keep the plane on track in the gusty winds. I make a smooth touchdown and we're done. (0.4/248.8)
Flight 288/June 15, 2005-I have a meeting this afternoon in Pullman. Alternate transportation is in order. My passenger today is Assistant Project Engineer, Chad Simonson-his first small aircraft ride. There are very scattered puffy clouds out and about and I think long and hard on a no-go decision. I advise Chad that it could be a bit bumpy, but he's still game. I liken the ride to a moderately choppy day at the lake. We gas up and hit the skies at 11:45 a.m. and I didn't lie....it's just a little bumpy, but Chad does well. There are only a couple of bumps that get a reaction. I do a left base entry to runway 5 after an approach over the town and a smooth touchdown. We park the plane at the mechanics shop and borrow his car to get downtown. After an hour with the media and contractor, we zip back to the field. Terry has filed a small nick in the prop and puts some air in the nosewheel strut. No charge. Of course, we ran up a $2,500 bill at his shop during the last two months, so I think he's feeling generous. Chad and I are off for the quick trip back. Fewer bumps. The wind is a little weird at Felts with an 8 knot tailwind developing as we are on our base leg for 21 left so I opt for the right. I use about 2/3 of the 4,500 foot runway instead of the usual 1,000 feet or so, but a good touchdown. Plus, today I crossed the 250-hour mark. (1.6/250.4)
Flight 289/June 29, 2005-I needed a few more aerial photos of the new freeway, so Tommy came along as the alternate pilot. We do the usual and contact ATC for flight following in this area. A smooth flight and the pix are good. (0.6/251.0)
Flight 290/July 11, 2005-It's Monday and I needed a copilot today. Chris volunteered. We head to the south practice area and he flies the bird for about 40 minutes. I enjoyed the view (and watched him). Chris held altitude well during a series of turns. He likes it. (1.1/252.1)
Flight 291/July 17, 2005-It's a nice Sunday morning and I need a long flight. Mikey volunteered. We zoom off to the west toward Grand Coulee Dam. Originally I thought we might land at the Electric City airport, but time is short so I decide to head back after we buzz the dam (not really, but Mikey had never seen it from the air). Back we go. Some bumps but not bad. (1.5/253.6)
Flight 292/July 21, 2005-I have lunch every few months with Bob Lutz from the traffic reporter company. Instead of eating during the lunch hour, we go flying. He gets to see the North Spokane Freeway construction from the air. It's hot and bumpy, but Bob survives. (0.7/254.3)
Flight 293/July 24, 2005-Shawn and I go out for a quick flight. We zip over the valley and Coeur d'Alene. It's a beautiful Sunday afternoon and we amuse our selves by counting boats on the lakes and rivers. Shawn sees 30 boats on Liberty Lake (where he lives and has my boat!) and we lose count on the vessels in the Spokane River and Coeur d'Alene Lake. (0.7/255.0)
Flight 294/July 28, 2005-Mikey and I used to play golf at 5:30 in the morning. We could get 9 holes in before work. Today we try the "Let's Go Flying Before Work" concept. Almost like golf, but there's no score and we never lose any balls. Very smooth air at 6:00 a.m. Daytime temperatures have been in the 80's and 90's so early in the morning or late at night is the only time ot fly. We do a quick valley and Coeur d'Alene tour and I'm in the office by 7:00. (0.8/255.8)
Flight 295/August 6, 2005-Another EAA Young Eagle flight. We had "bring your kids to work day" at the office a few months ago and our Real Estate Office administrative assistant had two boys in tow. They saw my airplane posters and pictures on my office wall. so I offered a flight. Today was the day. An early start to beat the heat and the bumps. After a long pre-flight, where I explain everything to Chet and Jared Davis, we climb in and zoom off to the north practice area. We're in smooth air just southeast of Deer Park, so I let Chet take the controls and make a couple of turns. About that time, ATC advises of some traffic so we turn east. No problem. Then there is traffic to the south. No problem. Then ATC advises that, "N3082U, they've got you surrounded." It's a busy day in the north practice area-time to bail out. We drop down to 4,000 and zip to the southeast and cross over the hills by Newman Lake. I advise my passengers of a few bumps by these hills and, sure enough, we get a couple. No problem, though. We follow the RR tracks up to Rathdrum, then I do a slow turn back to the barn. A smooth touchdown and we are back. The kids had a good time. (1.1/256.9)
Flight 296/August 8, 2005-We've been camping at Priest Lake for years. And, in many of those visits have been parked next to a family of Canadians from Calgary, the Adam family. Well, part of the group is Claude (pronounced cloood-he's from Quebec). Claude has a 1967 Mooney M20F that he and Marni (and son Ryley) fly down from Calgary to the Cavanaugh Bay airport. I'm not shy...I conned Claude into a flight. I traded him some Jet Ski time for some air time. We took off from 66S and, after Claude did a few steep turns over the campground, he handed the bird over to me. I flew this low wing rocket (180 mph) from there, down the valley, and over the mountains toward Sandpoint. I put in about 3/10 on the Hobbs. However, I'm no fool-I let Claude set up for his landing and put it on the ground. It was fun. He flies us back to Cavanaugh where we meet "SkyChick" at the field. (Check out her site at http://www.skychickadventures.com). She takes a couple of shots of the Mooney as it lands. We also get the scoop on the RV-4 crash the previous Friday just south of the field. (Stupid pilot tricks ended up as a double fatal.) A good day for me and I am back on the beach by 1:00 p.m. (0.3/257.2)
Flight 297/August 13, 2005-Ted and I change the oil on N3082U. We need to take a flight to see if it works. Ted flies to St. Maries and I fly back. This is a nice airport with 3 courtesy cars, ($5 plus 30 cents a mile and gas). He gets the smooth leg and I bump us home. (0.6/257.8)
Flight 298/August 24, 2005-I need to take a few more aerial photos of highway construction. No Ted, no Tommy, no Mikey. Who will go? I can't take photos and fly steep turns at the same time. Maybe Gina (the executive secretary) will go. Yep. She even checks with the boss and we get an official Okee Dokee. We lift off at around noonish and head toward the freeway project. It has warmed up a bit and there is some chop. Gina likes it though and has fun snapping a few pictures. We do one turn over the freeway and head over to SR 206. Gina tries to take a couple pix but the battery in the camera dies. It's too bumpy for me to change the batteries so we head for the barn. We'll try again some other time. (0.5/258.3)
Flight 299/August 27, 2005-Ted is in town and we had decided to try for the Republic fly-in this weekend. I get out to the field early and putter through a pre-flight. I'm just about ready to fire it up to get gas when Ted shows up. We stuff in 11.7 gallons and take off about 8:30am. I had planned to got to Deer Park, Chewelah, Colville, then over Sherman Pass to Republic. Ted and I kick it around and decide to give that route a try. I roll up to 6,500 feet and hit smooth air and we zip right along. Just after Chewelah I climb another 2,000 feet. We have some 7,000 foot mountains that we might have to clear on Sherman Pass. I turn left at Colville and get the bad news: Seattle Center is losing radio coverage and they dump us. Drat! I thought 8,500 would be high enough. We are now on our own. It's not going to be hard though. We do a little looking and we figure out where we should be to cross the pass. Over the mountains with a little bumpiness and we can see Curlew Lake which is adjacent to the airport. OK....I now have 6,000 feet to lose in 10 miles. I step on the brakes and down we go. I reach the runway 17 downwind leg at about 500 feet above the pattern altitude. Easy. I go to the flaps. Make a base and final approach and reach the runway. I do a one bouncer landing and we park it. We hang out for a while. I was looking around and spot N59AM! This is the plane I took my first solo in at Custom Aviation. I meet the new owners-Mike and Teresa Thompson from Colbert. They keep the plane at Mead. Cool. Ted and I decide we are bored and it's only 10:30. How about lunch at Chewelah. OK. Ted flies this leg, lifting off at around 11. We make Chewelah by 11:45, eat, and we are home by 1:30pm. (1.2/259.5)
/August 31, 2005-Kevin Littleton, an engineer at work, has his pilot certificate but hasn't flown in 10+ years. Today is his day. We zip off during lunch with a camera in hand and a goal of taking a few shot of the new "roundabout" intersection his office is building. I had filled the tanks before work, so all I had to do was dribble in a little TCP to control the lead deposits, do the pre-flight, and plug in the headsets. We lift off about 12:15 with some puffy clouds building a little bit, but otherwise clear. We found a few bumps. Just north of the airport about 7 miles is our target. I do a 360 degree turn while Kevin takes the photos, then we head further north. I give Kevin the controls and let him have at it. He does a few turns (up to 30 degrees and holds altitude) and putter around for about 15 minutes, then I have him turn back toward the airport. Lunch hours just aren't long enough. I take the controls back about 5 north of the field and bump my way back to a final approach to runway 21 right. Got a little variable cross wind and cross the threshold a tad fast. A slight balloon and I plunk it down on the runway. Good flight for number 300 and I cross the 260 hour mark. (0.7/260.2)
Flight 301/September 8, 2005-A lunchtime quickee flight. Shawn joins me and we do a loop around Mica Peak. It's bumpy everywhere except right over the lake. The grass seed farmers are burning their fields south of the lake and there are some smoke columns up to about 7,000. It was a busy hands and busy feet landing. (0.9/261.1)
Flight 302/September 14, 2005-Cruised over the valley at lunch with Lou Sherry in the right seat. Bumpy ride! (0.4/261.5)
Flight 303/September 16, 2005-My airplane partner Larry hasn't flown for over a year and needed to get back up. He's not current so I volunteered to be pilot in command and take him up. Other than one interesting landing at Felts, he does fine. (1.0/262.5)
Flight 304/September 16, 2005-I need another person from work to handle a shift at the fair. I was desperate. So...I gave away a free flight to one of the project engineers, Glenn Wagemann. We finally connected at about 11:30 a.m. and zipped into the sky. I did the usual Coeur d'Alene Lake loop. They were burning a few small grass seed fields near Worley. I set up for a landing on 21 left. I'm a little high and a little fast. Argh! Smak! Boing, boing, boing! What a crappy landing! Whew....Glenn survived. (0.9/263.4)
Flight 305/September 20, 2005-We have a small piece, about the size of a silver dollar, broken off the bottom engine cowling. Apparently caused by the towbar hitting just below the air filter. I decided that the weather was going to be great and I needed some time off so I call the fixit guy to make sure he can do the work, and then call airplane partner Art to come along. It's a typical flight to Pullman with some squirrelly winds on final approach and landing. Art flies back. (0.9/264.3)
Flight 306/September 23, 2005-Another aerial photo flight for the folks at work. Tom is my co-pilot and we do the usual freeway and SR 206 photos. Smooth air as he does a few steep turns while I shoot. I do a nice smooth landing 21 right. (0.5/264.8)
Flight 307/September 25, 2005-Wahoo! I had decided to go flying this morning since it was such a nice weekend. On a lark, I asked Nancy if she wanted to come. She shocked me by saying 'maybe'. The weather is great with clear skies and no wind. After a careful preflight we scoot off of runway 21 left and turn to the east, climbing to 5,500. Nancy wanted to go over Liberty Lake and Black Rock so I'll do the usual Coeur d'Alene loop. We head east, then turn south over the lake. Nancy even spots another airplane below us. Good eye! It's super smooth so I turn east again and fly over Harrison and Conklin Park. As I turn toward the west I drop down to 4,500-oops, too bumpy. I want to keep this flight as smooth as possible so I change my plan and climb to 6,500. Ahh...that's better. We cruise over the casino and check out the golf course and all the burned grass fields. I want to extend the flight a little so I turn south toward Tekoa and do a turn around the town before heading back. At Tekoa, I contact Spokane Approach for flight following. It's time to start the descent as we cruise toward Mica Gap. As I get lower, the bumps start and we do a fair amount of wobbling over our house. Felts Tower advises that winds are now 220 at 10. Aha, that's why we were bouncing by the Gap. I set up for 21 left and make a long landing to assure smoothness. Nice touchdown. Whew! We're back! She liked it! (1.1/265.9)
Flight 308/October 2, 2005-I wander to the airport to pick up the logbooks and check some safety bulletins. Hmmm. Nobody's using it. It's full of gas. The weather is reasonable. Why not? A couple of so-so touch and go's. The big discovery: my headset band is cracked. Drat. I'll have to get that fixed. (0.4/266.3)
Flight 309/October 10, 2005-OK....another lunchtime quickee. Weather is good, slight wind, plane has gas. Alright, I'll try a couple of landings. Blech! A couple of D+ landings. I'm much better at landing when I'm not doing touch and go's. (0.4/266.7)
Flight 310/October 12, 2005-Another lunchtime touch and go session. Did a couple reasonable landings with sloppy pattern work. (0.3/267.0)
Flight 311/October 18, 2005-A mid-day aerial photo mission with Mikey as the shooter. We do the new freeway construction, roundabout, and Interstate widening project in a quick flight. (0.6/267.6)
Flight 312/October 21, 2005-I had found a loose cable tie on the hanger floor the other day, so ex-partner Ted helped me take off the cowling to check out where it may have come from. Upon inspection of the engine compartment, we couldn't find anything amiss and decided that it was one that Terry the fixit guy must have cut when he tore it apart a few months ago. We buttoned it up and went for a flight. (0.5/268.1)
Flight 313/October 22, 2005-Shawn and I are going camping at Cavanaugh Bay. We have talked about this trip for 3 years and we are finally going to make it to this nifty fly-in campground at Priest Lake. Of course, nothing is perfect. We lift off at 11:55 a.m. from Felts Field. On climb out we looked toward our destination 55nm to the north and saw nothing but low clouds laying in every valley. As we got closer it looked even worse. However, amazingly the fog layer cleared about 5 miles from the airport and the north approach over the lake was in the clear. After an uneventful landing (OK the beaver pond that was backing up onto the left side of the runway was a somewhat interesting obstacle), we taxiing to parking at 11:35 am.. After having lunch at the restaurant then chatting with the airport manager about local weather patterns, we were torn between staying overnight or heading back due to the odds of a Sunday, all-day, fog event messing up our departure. After weighing all of the factors that would come into play if our liftoff was nixed due to weather and we had to stay an extra day: Son's job duties on Sunday afternoon, the south garage wall painting project, my job duties on Monday, we determined that we could not afford to be socked in at Cavanaugh Bay. We took off at 1:45 pm., flew up the lake for some great photos and made it home by 2:45. We'll try this again in the spring (1.8/269.9)
Flight 314/October 29, 2005-Some fog and low clouds out but it's clear at the airport and to the west. Mikey and I take off at 9:35 a.m. and cross over the city. We are near the Spokane International Airport pattern and Approach advises to turn to the north to avoid an inbound Southwest 737. After he passes us (yes, they are somewhat faster than our little Cessna), we return to our westerly heading. I'm watching where we are in relation to where the 737 was and we feel some bumps as we cross his wake. Just like in the boat on the lake! We are at 4,000 feet and as I look to our right I see that there is a little cloud layer about 1/4 mile to the side with more ahead. It's only 34 degrees out so I decide that it might be prudent to wander back to the field. I advise Approach and do a 180 degree turn. I'm thinking we could go to the north practice area and play around for awhile, but it's got a variety of clouds layers too. We decide to cut our losses and put this puppy on the ground. I do a good pattern and a good touchdown. I'm trying to work harder at forcing myself to look farther down the runway when I land. I've been focusing too close in front of the plane. After a quick fuel-up, we tuck the little bird back into the nest. Now that I've got the flying bug out of my system for the weekend, I can go do chores. (0.6/270.5)
Flight 315/November 11, 2005-A nice day and I need a volunteer to join me in the anti-gravity device. I try all the usual suspects....and a few unusual ones. Byron Henry answers the phone and he is game! We zip into the clear western skies at about 9:55 a.m. As we cruise across the city, ATC advises us to avoid the regional jet that is going across our nose and OK our climb to cruise altitude. Ya sure, you betcha. I roll up to 4,500 and we use flight following to Davenport. Just north of Spokane International I see an itty bitty cloud in our path so I drop a couple hundred to avoid it. As we pass under, there's a bump or two. Byron is a railroad guy so he checks out the Burlington Northern/Santa Fe main line tracks that he follows at work. As we approach Davenport, I advise ATC that we have the airport in sight and they unceremoniously dump us from radar service. So, we turn to the northwest and head for the Two Rivers/Seven Bays area. Byron checks out the river, casino, and campground. He's never been to this casino. I make a note of it. We'll have to drag he and Sheryl to this little den of iniquity. I turn around, climb to 5,500 and head for home. This is a no bump trip. It's smooth all the way (except for that little cloud). We cross the city and enter a right downwind for runway 21 right (my favorite runway). There's a 10 knot headwind and I adjust the power to compensate. A one bouncer arrival and we are home. (1.2/271.7)
Flight 316/November 12, 2005-Two reasonable days in a row. I make a call to my friend Paul to see if he's game for a short flight. Yes It's much better than cleaning the leaves and pine needles out his swimming pool. We meet at 9:00 a.m. I already have the plane ready to go. I pulled it out of the hanger to warm up the cabin-especially the windshield (to keep it from fogging up). It's about 34 degrees out and there are a few puffy clouds dotting the sky at 1,200 feet. We take off and steer around the afore-mentioned clouds with Deer Park as our destination. As always, using ATC Flight Following. The clouds are hanging right at 3,400, which is exactly the pattern altitude for Deer Park so I dip down a hundred feet or so. I do a nice approach and nice landing on runway 16 then make the first exit. I taxi back to the runway and we zip back into the skies. I set up over the Kaiser Mead plant for a right downwind to runway 21 right. That will give Paul better camera shots for his house. He lives right under the base to final turn for the runway. Alas, the tower has a different plan, they want me to enter on the base. OK by me, so I divert over the farms north of the airport and come in over the ridge. Paul gets a few shots and we're down. A 1 and 1/2 bouncer, but OK. (0.8/272.5)
Flight 317/November 26, 2005-The Saturday after Thanksgiving. I had offered a flight to my nephew Jason for his 16th birthday and there is a short weather window for a few hours. However, at 9am, he's still snoozing and not interested. Brother-in-law Tim is, however, and we opt for a short flight. I had set up the winter engine heating system yesterday (arctic cover and a 60 watt light bulb) so the aircraft is warm and starts with its usual 2 shots of prime and oil pressure is up in the green within 20 seconds. We use flight following and cruise to the west. I stay low over town because of some lingering scattered low clouds. Out over the west plains and we climb to 4,500 and find a 20 knot headwind. A quick turn around Reardan and we head back-now with a 20 knot tailwind. We make it back to the Felts pattern in 10 minutes. A perfect greaser landing on 21 right with an 8 knot headwind. (0.8/273.3)
Flight 318/November 27, 2005-Kind of a repeat of yesterday's flight. This time Shawn is the passenger. Unlike yesterday, we climb above the scattered cloud layer that's hanging at 4,000 feet. Shawn takes a few photos above the clouds. Less of a wind. We make it to Davenport and back. Good landing. (0.8/274.1)
Flight 319/December 6, 2005-The sun is out and it's another lunchtime quickee! I had a quick bite with Chris and Shawn but they both have to return to work. Temperatures are in the mid 20'sF at 1:00 p.m. This is one of the few flights that I'm by myself. The light bulb has kept the engine warm and the oil drips off the dipstick. It turns over in a few seconds and the oil pressure comes into the green in 20 seconds or so. The "rocket" lives up to its name by climbing out at 100mph and 1,000 feet per minute. Wow. I cruise to the north practice area and do 35 minutes of turns. Snow on the ground and nobody else in the air. It's nice and smooth, too. Back to the airport for a perfect landing. (0.7/274.8)
Flight 320/December 9, 2005-I'm still pushing to make 50 hours in 2005. The sun is out today but I'm helping Chris move into a new apartment. I can't stand it. I spend 2 1/2 hours moving boxes then I leave my truck, swipe Shawn's Saab, and zip to the airport. Mikey is my passenger on this 30 degree day. We just head up to the north practice area where I do some 20 and 30 degree turns. Mikey has some nice snowy mountains and fields to look at as I make my right turns. A good pattern and good landing, although I did get a little directionally-challenged between runway 3 Left and 3 Right as I announced my entry into the pattern. The controller politely corrected my verbal confusion and we returned to earth safely. (0.7/275.5)
Flight 321/December 10, 2005-I continue my mission for 50 hours in 2005. It's another cold day with no wind. At 11am I'm in Liberty Lake and it looks pretty hazy. As I drive to the airport, I can see that the visibility is just fine so I decide to go for it. No takers for passengers, so I go it alone. I zip up to the north practice area and play with 2 minute turns. Fun. Back to the field. I come in a couple hundred feet high on the pattern, step on the brakes, and do I dive bomber approach into 3 Left. There's a guy that's been doing touch and go's for an hour right behind me. I tap the concrete and make the first turn off (about 1,500 feet from the threshold). Not bad! Only 2 more hours to go to make 50 for the year. (0.7/276.2)
Flight 322/December 18, 2005-The sun is out, the skies are clear, the wind is low, and....the temperature is a balmy 16 degrees F. The weather later in the week looks crappy so I need to hit the skies today. I meet son Chris at the hanger 11:00 a.m. I pull off the nose cover and remove the high-tech engine warming system (also known as a 60 watt light auto trouble light) from the engine compartment, do a shivering pre-flight, pour in a half quart of oil, and pull the rocket out into the sun. We climb in and I give her the usual 2 shots of prime and hit the starter. Vrooom! I love this plane! Oil pressure climbs into the green in 20 seconds and we creep across the icy taxiway toward the runways. Our destination today: Lewiston, Idaho. Why? Because I think I can hit my 50 hours for the year with this trip. We head out over Spokane's south hill with an 800 fpm climb rate and roll up to 5,500 feet. The air is exceptionally smooth with about 100 mile visibility. We can see the Lewiston area and it kind of looks like there might be some fog down there. We'll play it by ear. We have about a 6 or 7 knot headwind but it's smooth so I turn the controls over to Chris. I'll hang on, watch the skies and instruments, and let him do all the work. We cruise along over Pullman. Chris is doing great with good altitude control, right on heading, and a nice touch on the rudders. I call Flight Watch for the Lewiston weather and they are reporting clear with 6 knots of wind right down runway 11. There's just a little haze in the Snake River Valley. We call in to the tower and I take over the controls about 5 miles north of the canyon ridge. Tower advises a left base for runway 11 and to report the confluence of the Snake and Clearwater Ridges. I cross the ridge about 1,000 feet above the ground and see that I'm about 3 miles too far west. Oops. Oh well, I've got 4,000 feet to lose-this will give me a little time to get down. I line up for the runway, drop some flaps, pull the power back and float down to the airport on the plateau above the city. We come in over the threshold and I plop (yes..it was a plop!) 3082U down on the pavement. Tower advises me to taxi to parking and I let them know we would like to taxi back to runway 11 and depart back to Felts Field. We head back to the end, do a quick run-up, wait for a twin to land, then scream back into the skies. I turn left and climb up out of the canyon to 6,500 feet, then turn the controls back over to Chris. He flies for the next 70 miles. We now have a 15 knot tail wind and that makes this a quick 35 minutes trip. I take the controls back at Fairfield and start to descend. A right downwind entry to land on runway 3 right and I make a smooth touchdown. Better than my plop at Lewiston. We taxi to the hanger and roll the bird back to its nest. Stuff in the light, cover the nose, and that's it. I did it! This was a two-hour flight and I hit my 50 hours for the year right on the button! (2.0/278.2)
Flight 323/December 24, 2005-The boys and I are puttering around in the shop and the skies clear out so we decide to make a run for the anti-gravity machine. We take off at 2:10 p.m. and climb to the east. There's a few bumps as I get up to 5,000 feet. I turn south just east of Mica Peak and it smooths out. I check the GPS and we've got a 20 knot headwind! I make a couple of turns in the practice area south of town and look toward the airport. Hmmm. I see some haze starting to form. There was only a couple of degree spread from the temperature to the dew point so I decide that we should head back. Over the south hill and into runway 3 Right. (0.9/279.1)
That's it for 2005. Now on to the 2006 Logbook for more aerial thrills!
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