Returning to a Challenger II

For much of the last 12 years I had been flying gliders with Iroquois Soaring Association. First with their ships, then purchasing my own Pilatus B4 PC11, followed by Glasflugel Libelle 201B. Great aircraft, both of them. Decent glide, low sink rate and easy to fly. I averaged 3 hours per flight from a 25 dollar tow!

A few years back I had the opportunity to purchase a Cessna 150 with my friend Kate. I saw this as an opportunity to fly without the need to assemble/disassemble or to be dependent on tow pilots or soaring weather. Now I could cruise places.

At the time, fuel was about $4.00/gal so with a plan to throttle back to less than 5 gph I could keep flying costs low.

Almost immediately I found that our little Cessna's engine didn't like lugging around at 2200 rpm. Plugs were fouling, and at run-up we were seeing excessive rpm drops. On advice from our mechanic I kept the rpms up. This solved the problem with plugs but brought fuel burn up to over 6 gph. Over the  past couple years fuel prices have risen to over $6.00/gal.

At this rate flying wasn't unaffordable, but I wasn't feeling like I could just go up for no reason other than 'it was a nice day'.

About 6 weeks ago there was a note on my hangar door with a phone number. One of the local pilots had bought a Challenger and wanted me to ride along with him until he was feeling comfortable. I instructed in a Challenger back in the 90s but hadn't flown in one since 2000. They aren't at all difficult to fly, but they do fly a little different from regular aircraft and it takes some getting used to.

We took a few flights together and he did just fine. However for personal reasons he decided he would take a break from flying and wanted to know if I was interested in buying the plane. At first I said no, but after a couple flights alone I knew buying the plane would be a good decision for me.

I immediately felt at home in this plane. Though quite a bit heavier than the Challenger I built, it still had the familiar feel of the plane I had spent 600 hours in.

With the doors off, my camera has an unrestricted view to the lakes and farmland of Central New York. Fuel burn appears to be extremely low and I think hourly cost for fuel and oil might be between $10-15/hr cruising at 70+ and under $10/hr when lazily floating along at 45-50 mph. My last flight a few days ago was for 1 hour with 2 takeoffs and a climb to about 3,000'. During this flight 1.7 gallons of auto fuel was drawn from the tank. Not bad at all!

Looking south over the village of Skaneateles and Skaneateles Lake beyond

My home base, Marcellus Airport

Can't help smiling when flying a Challenger!

Sunday flight to Alexandria Bay

Our flying season is underway! Last week Dansville, NY for a fly-in breakfast, this week north to Alexandria Bay. It took a while to start flying more regularly because of other commitments but finally we are getting into the air!

When talking about places to fly during last weeks' adventure, Kate said she always wanted to see the 1000 Islands from the air. This part of the St Lawrence River is a favorite destination of mine. It it's not that far from my home, only about 2 hours by car and under an hour in our 150. For a few years, back in the 60's, my parents rented a cabin on Wellesley Island's Lake of the Isles.

As a kid I spent hours exploring along the lichen covered rocky shoreline of the area from a little rowboat with a 10 HP engine. Everything was interesting to me and so different from my home in Central New York less than a hundred miles to the south. Pine trees growing from granite rock that rose steeply from the water. Small bays filled with cattails and bass. Leaving lake of the Isles through one of two channels brings you out into the current of the St Lawrence where the water swirled around the many islands or submerged rocky shoals. Always the feel of adventure.

Forty years later I paddled those waters again in my kayak and they are even more exciting than they were back then.

From the air this area is breathtaking. So many islands, small outcrops of rock and many shoals so easily visible from above but frequently invisible to boats navigating the river resulting in the many ships lining the bottom of this river.

(click any image for large size)

Flying north from Watertown we joined the St Lawrence at Clayton as the Algosteel makes the sharp turn to stay in the channel. A few years back I was in Fineview watching a ship approaching from the west, and was able to see this turn being made in the distance. One moment the ship was at an angle to me, next time I looked it was almost straight on.

A moment before, the ship had just made the turn and its wake shows just how tight a turn it is.

Finveview, NY. A pavilion along the waterfront is great place to watch the passing ships. At the other end of the park to the left is a hotel that posts the schedule of passing ships. To the right across the street from that is an ice cream shoppe with many interesting and unique flavors.

The Thousand Island bridge. There is a walkway along the western side of the bridge and if you've never walked on a suspension bridge before it is quite an experience. The bridge moves and bounces with passing trucks. When a truck weighs down one side, the other goes up then down as the truck passes. With my fear of heights it was to say the least, exciting, and a little scary. I've been across it 3 times. Just like fire towers which scare the heck out of me, I force myself to do these things at every opportunity.

Alexandria Bay. The Mearsk Illinois about to pass Boldt Castle.

We landed for a short stop at Maxon Field located a mile or so south of the town of Alex Bay. The airport is abandoned and falling into disrepair. It is amazing that a tourist town with so much money doesn't value having an airport located within walking distance. Flying across the south it is a different story. They realize the value that an airfield brings to an area. In the south airports are well maintained with spacious and beautiful pilots lounges.

On the way back we flew along the shore of Lake Ontario, another favorite destination of mine. Last weekend I camped at Southwick Beach State Park. It was the last weekend before Memorial Day when things really pick up. I got a prime camping spot along the waterfront and had the place mostly to myself. I was in the spot opposite the tree in the water and right next to the walkway across the barrier dunes.

There I experienced one of the most beautiful and colorful sunsets ever...

Flight from Winter Haven, FL to Huntingburg, IN

Lambada at sunrise.

Loaded up for the flight to IN. There isn't much spare room in a Lambada and the area behind the seats was filled with a few parts flying with the plane to its new home. Jeff took my sleeping bag with him to VA so I was able to fit the rest of my stuff in the passenger seat. I've got to work on this minimalist thing...

Departing Winter Haven I make one climbing circle for a view of the airfield and surrounding area that was my home for a few nights.

Flying north over central Florida there are long stretches of little more than forest and swamp. There were fields within the Lambada's gliding range however it would still be a long, long walk out. It was a balance between moderate headwinds higher and enough altitude to safely cross these remote areas.

Cruising on course. Low clouds in the distance had me checking AWOS further along the route and hoping that the forecast clearing would occur as expected. Northern FL and southern GA was still IFR with low clouds and visibility.

Cruising on top. Beautiful, but looks worse than it really is. In the distance there were openings to let back down through and I knew daytime heating would shortly break up this low layer. The tanks were mostly full giving me many hours if needed. Approaching Gainesville, FL I diverted over to Keystone, FL (42J) for a quick stop. Eating a breakfast bar on the ramp I could see the sky had changed. The air had warmed, and once back in the air these clouds were gone.

I topped off the tanks at Waycross, GA (AYS). For the duration of Sun-n-Fun the airport offers free barbecue sandwiches or hot dogs, chips and a drink to transitioning aircraft.

Navigating with the Garmin 496 makes cross-country flight so easy. It provides airspace and airport information along the route and almost eliminates the need for paper maps. It is always a good idea to follow along with a map too. Here, my course passes over power lines that can be seen running NW-SE in the background of this image.

Above or below? Down low there was less headwind, but it was warm, hazy and a little bumpy. Above, smooth and cool but a 10 kt headwind. I chose above for most of the flight. This kept me over airspace and traffic and the smooth clear air made the fight much more comfortable.

Originally, I had planned on leaving Florida on Saturday. An extra day at Sun-n-Fun was nice and there was a low pressure system, the back edge of which is seen here, had showers and thunderstorms all along the route. Sunday, much better!

A couple times the cumulus cloud tops were higher than my 8,500 foot cruise and 10,500 might not have been enough either so I dipped below. The same up and down that is an annoyance to power pilots is what gives life to sailplanes enabling them to stay up all afternoon and cover hundreds of miles. I circled as this ASK-21 was towed aloft behind a Pawnee out of Monroe Ga (D73)

Watching the scenery pass is something that I will never grow tired of. Lake Sidney Lanier NE of Atlanta with its blue waters and fractal shoreline busy with boaters on a Sunday afternoon.

Just before a brief stop at Mark Anton (2A0), Chickamauga Lake near Chattanooga, TN reflects the afternoon sun.

An hour later I cross the Ohio River just 20 miles south of my destination. Several barges are visible moving up and down the river.

Descending towards Huntingburg, IN the late afternoon sun, clouds and haze create one of those memorable moments at the end of my flight.

Huntingburg, IN (HNB)

Mission accomplished! Joe Kulbeth the Lambada dealer for the US ready to put 871LP into the hanger. From here this plane will head to the west coast to be sold.

Thank you Jeff for suggesting that I could ferry this plane, Larry Stahl for the flight down to FL, Both Joe Kulbeth and Laren Pitcairn (the owner) for trusting me with this beautiful bird, and Bob Bennett for time off from work with zero notice. (Actually it was more like -3 hours notice. "Anyone seen George tonight?")
Laren, good luck with your new Stemme!

Sun-n-Fun 2012

It's Friday morning and I'm in Lakeland FL attending the annual EAA Sun-n-Fun convention. This was totally unexpected as just 48 hours I had no plans on being here! We had arrived Thursday afternoon after a flight from Petersburg WV in a Cessna 172 XP. Originally the plan was to get a ride over to Sun-n-Fun for camping on the air show grounds but it was getting late and the sun was already close the the horizon. Jeff and I set up camp at Winter Haven along with 3 other tents. There were bathroom and shower facilities for campers as well as picnic tables and a fire pit. By Friday morning we decided that simply staying at Winter Haven and riding the $5 shuttle back and forth was the best plan. First stop was in the Ultralight area. The powered parachutes had already landed after their early morning calm air flights and the heavier ultralight and LSA aircraft were in the air. I believe this is an Eagle, designed in the mid 70's.

Just Aircraft - Highlander. 110 mph cruise, 300 ft ground roll takeoff and landing with 100 hp Rotax 912S

Airplanes, CAP and Mennonite(?)

Shades are a must when watching air shows...

Rotax 912iS Fuel injected 100HP. A digital control unit manages fuel flow from start to finish resulting in a 21% decrease in fuel usage.

Display for 912iS.

Savannah S - Rotax 912S. Cruise 111 mph, stall 30 mph, 1200 fpm climb.

Jeff trying on for size...

Space and weight limitations limited me to carrying my general use Sigma 17-70. For air shows a little more reach is desirable.

Maybe all my dog of a 150 needs is a few more propeller blades...

Harrier

Transitioning from hover to forward flight.

Vought F4U Corsair

L39 and Mig 15 in formation.

On friday night when returning from dinner we were greeted by a campfire, Smores and flying talk

The winds had already picked up on Saturday as we left in the shuttle from Winter Haven for Lakeland. Turning out of the airport I caught a momentary view of the tent in the distance and noticed it didn't look quite right. Returning, we found one of fiberglass poles had snapped allowing the tent to collapse in the wind. It's good we went back to check because a line of showers passed through later in the afternoon bringing 40+ mph winds and a brief shower. Our stuff would have been soaked.

Again on Saturday the Thunderbirds flew. Loud and fast. I'm always amazed as how quickly fighter jets go from takeoff to blasting across the sky at unreal speeds.

Thank you to our shuttle driver Tracy for the lift back and forth to the show and also with the help when the tent collapsed!