Friday, November 30, 2018

Touch and goes

9 of them.

The wind was good, and, for once the ceilings were high enough for some pattern work (2300ft...the weather has been terrible for flying recently).

So I went and did some pattern work.

Worked on approach speeds...with one person and half fuel, it likes 72 knots (The POH lists from 65-80) with 20 degrees of flaps.

80 is WAY too fast. It wants to porpoise at touchdown. 65 is too slow, control is difficult, although doable. I'm gonna have to practice some short field./40 degree stuff another time.

72 to 75 is Just Right with 20 degrees of flaps.

I did try the advice of another 182 owner....I put 40 pounds of water in the baggage department at the aft end. Really made a big difference in the roundout. 2.5 gallon jugs are cheap and can be removed if needed, but they make a great difference in the landing when lightly loaded.

With fairly cool weather, climb rates were in excess of 1200FPM. easy to overshoot target altitudes in the pattern when one is used to less powerful airplanes.

I'm not sure the fuel gauges are accurate though. Both showed about 5/8 full, but I put 22 gallons in each side......and the bladders are only supposed to hold 37.5 gallons each (35 usable)...the math doesn't add up. I'm gonna run one empty at altitude and see what it takes to fill it...then, if need be, get the gauges fixed. It is possible that the bladders were replaced with larger ones and the  placard is incorrect. I dunno.

If the weather ever gets nicer I'm gonna do me some $100 hamburgers and get some cross country time.






Thursday, November 29, 2018

Just under a month

And I went and walked with Dad today for a bit over a mile and a half at the mall. From open heart surgery to replace a valve to pretty much fixed in less than 30 days.

He's doing great. Not back to 100%, but pretty well. And improving every day.

The docs cleared him for pretty much everything but parachute jumping and waterskiing and bungee jumping lifting heavy weights....



Tuesday, November 27, 2018

I think this was a movie......

Except that movie happened in Florida.

"What we have here is a faaailyuuure to CommuniCate"...I wonder how you say that with a North Texas accent?

Cutting heads of of parking meters will still, apparently, get you placed into the pokey.

Monday, November 26, 2018

First "Winter Storm"

The Media is getting people all excited.

Heavy wet snow, but it is, after all, the Winter season.

At the end of it all, there will be worse.

Deal with it,  folks.


Saturday, November 24, 2018

Be a survivor:

I remember.





Boot on the ground:

Murphy is there. At the border.

You can find his posts HERE.

The info on the border starts at Nov 18 (HERE) and continues to the present.

Interesting. You should read. 

I know him, he's opinionated but is a straight shooter. If he says it, it's the truth. And much  the picture he paints of the shennanigans down at the border isn't pretty.

Friday, November 23, 2018

Tough choice...But I went flying

So there was a match at the range today....I was tempted. Practical Pistol match. I haven't done one of those in a while. 

But then again, the weather hadn't been good for flying all week and today was good, if a bit windy.....and it isn't forecast  to be good for next week either.....

So I went flying.

Flew to KCMI (Champaign, Il) for lunch. Took MidWest Chick with me...

39 knot headwind, so it took a while to get there (1.2 hours for a bit over 115 or so miles) (we tried as high as 6500 feet, same winds...ForeFlight said they were even worse higher up so we stayed at 4500) , but we got there. Smooth flight, no bumps. I'm falling in love with the STec-55 autopilot. Set it and forget it.

Not my best landing though...Runway 14 had winds at 160 variable at 18 gusting 32...pretty much at my limits. I debated not landing for a just a moment as we approached the airport..but decided to try.

I landed anyway. A long base entry approach as called for by the approach controller and the final was a nightmare of gusting winds...so much so I almost aborted the landing twice....what with the ATIS warning of potential windshear on final and all... But I got down and it smoothed out on short final so I landed. ....and got blown by a gust about 3 feet from touchdown. Very nearly did some agricultural taxiing for a moment. But I got back on centerline and landed and taxiied to the FBO.

Took a crew car and went into town and ate (Chinese AND Pizza). We were gonna look around for a bit, but the visibility was falling back at the home airport earlier than forecast, so we went back, preflighted, and took off for home. We had a 41 knot tailwind at 3500 feet on our way back, so our ground speed was about 175 knots. 39 minutes on the return trip. I did some hand flying just for practice instead of using the autopilot. Very smooth flight though, only one big bump. 

Winds at home were 170 variable 11 gusting 26 on final, lots of updrafts due to mechanical turbulence from the trees a half mile from the end of 18.....so I planted the plane in a shortfield landing to get it firmly (but smoothly) on the ground. Firm, but not hard. Hit my marks too. What with the headwind, I was nearly stopped in about 350 feet. Lots of other planes in the pattern were having issues on landing. 'Twas a good day for practice.

1.9 and 2 (as Aaron puts it). All in all, it was a good trip. even if I did push up against my limits.

I'm LOVING the 182. So much smoother than a 172 or a Warrior or Arrow. More stable and a lot easier to fly... and about 30 knots faster in cruise than a 172 for not much more gas.

I'm glad I didn't go shooting instead.




Thursday, November 22, 2018

Thanksgiving

Please, while you are stuffing your Pie-Hole with Pie and Turkey and stuffing and taters and gravy and bean casserole and bread or rolls and all the other stuff we eat on this day....plus desserts afterwards...

and while you are enjoying (or not) the company of family and friends.

Please, do these two things for me:

Take a moment and reflect on why we have this holiday. Appreciate the fact that we are so rich...so wealthy...that we have such a holiday, where the abundance in our lives lets us eat and have a celebration of thanks for all that is good in them.

And take a moment, and think of a serviceman away from his family, out on a post somewhere, his very presence on that post helping to protect that life I discussed in the paragraph above this one. Remember him or her. Perhaps they got a turkey dinner at a mess hall on land or on a ship , or perhaps they got MRE's on the line or on patrol. 

Either way, they ain't where they'd prefer to be. But they are there. Say thanks for them, as well. 

Wednesday, November 21, 2018

It is entirely possible

That, as a whole, there is a more inept organization that the folks at Wells Fargo Bank.

It could be that I have just not encountered said organization.

Then again, if there were a group more inept, they would probably not be able to breathe or eat on their own, use dangerous objects such as forks and blunt scissors without hurting themselves or use machinery more complicated to operate than elevators or doorknobs.... much less do any sort of business.

I, the previous owners, and the title company are still trying to get the title to the plane fully cleared. It will happen, but demonstrably not with any sense of urgency nor any demonstration of competency on the part of Wells Fargo Bank employees.

One would think they would understand the process and the verbage needed on such a simple document as a lien release...especially one this old and with a zero balance for years. 

Tuesday, November 20, 2018

Enough to piss me off

Got the new plane, and since then, the weather pretty much has been MVFR and IFR either at my home airport or at any destination I would like to travel to.

I think Murphy and Mother Nature are cooperating to jam it to me here.

Hopefully, they will smile upon me this afternoon. 

Monday, November 19, 2018

You can check out any time you like....

So I left the house for a while yesterday....several hours...

and when I came home, I found a TERRIBLE mess.

Seems that a mouse had gotten into the house (It happens every year, after the first frost or two...I've never been able to find out where they get in and I only get one or maybe two in the fall....and, having cats in the house, it is usually not a problem: I find a small, cold, mouse corpse on the floor, pick it up and dispose of it, and that is that...).

This time, as per usual, the cats had found the mouse and had dispatched it.

Sadly for me and the floor, they apparently punctured an artery on the mouse before playing with it unto death.

There were bloody trails across the kitchen floor...ALL ACROSS THE FLOOR. I mopped, and I scrubbed, and I mopped some more.

Then I got out the floor scrubber.

Used it twice.

Finally, the floor stopped looking like the killing floor in a slaughterhouse.

Cats, just doing their job, and being cats. 

But Lord, what a mess.

Friday, November 16, 2018

Heh:

Ain't it the truth?

Here

ETA: This is true as well.

And, HERE

he's got a point:

Aesop has a good one.  Even small actions, in concert, will have a great deal of effect.

The hard part is doing so without getting caught..... or, in planning, not giving the government notice when someone informs.
Easy to plan, much more difficult to execute on a meaningful scale.

The comments, however, are priceless.


Thursday, November 15, 2018

Just a fun flight

2 hours of learning.

Flew for 2 hours. The strobe control box came in (finally) at 10:30, they had the plane ready at 1.

Pulled it out, fired it up and taxied to 27 for a left turnout departure. Flew around south of the field and got a feel for the AC. Then I climbed from 2500 to 10,500 MSL and flew west for about 20 minutes. No wind to speak of and had a ground speed (according to both the 430 and ForeFlight) of 137 knots.

Turned and descended to 5K, and had a GS of 128.

Banked and turned and played with pitch, power and airspeeds leaned and played with cowl flap settings. (I did stay out of the approach path to Midway airport, which was about 10 miles from my "play" area....those SouthWest 737's are often overflying at 5500 feet).

Turned towards home and did a downwind midfield entry to the pattern for 27. First approach was too fast, but it worked. Winds were calm to 5 220-300 variable. extended my downwind for inbound straight- in traffic.

Second one was better and the landing was a greaser. So was the third.

I can't seem to find the point wherein people claim that the 182 series is nose heavy on landing though. Flare was easy and touching on the mains first seems to be normal. I don't understand how folks bang the nose/damage the firewall. My worst landing might have been a little flat, but it wasn't hard.

Taxied back and topped up the tanks (44 gallons) with 100LL avgas and put it away. The POH says I can use as low as 80/87 or 100LL. I might try the UL94 available at nearby airports just to see how well it works (it ain't much cheaper, but no lead to contaminate the oil....)

Tomorrow, weather permitting, it's gonna be touch and goes at a few close-by airports and me and the STec-55X are gonna get acquainted. If not, then the day after that. Gonna do a short cross country on Sunday if the weather folks don't change the forecast again, so I gotta gain some confidence in the aircraft first.


This plane flies like a Cadillac after the Warriors, Arrows and 172's. Not a screamer or a truck, but a good, solid, comfortable sedan. Smooth flier, fairly light on the controls. Easy to fly well.

130 knots will take me where I need to go at a decent rate, even if not as fast as I would wish....all at 12.3 gallons per hour.


Tuesday, November 13, 2018

Spending money

As I expected, the new plane is costing me money. (this was negotiated OUT of the purchase price.)  Like a boat, a plane is a hole in the air which one tosses money into....

Flap limit switches, New strobe power supply, throttle control cable.

But, it's fixed, and as soon as the weather is VFR (Wed, supposedly, according to the "expert"prognosticators) I am gonna go do touch and goes at all the nearby airports to wring it out and see what else is wrong, if anything. Plus burn some of that old avgas.

I've got most of the manuals read, and have spent enough time on the ground working with the assorted (non-obsolete) avionics that I am comfortable.

More later as it happens. 

Sunday, November 11, 2018

One wonders

Exactly how many ballots will "suddenly be found" in Arizona and Florida?

I mean, this is like Chicago in the '70's.

Will the citizens allow it?

Will the Feds allow it?

Can the Republicans beat the "Margin of Fraud"? 

Flew Saturday.

The Insurance company wanted a 1 hour checkride and endorsement with a Flight Instructor before solo flight in my new plane.

My instructor had an opening (student cancelled) on Saturday. So I dropped everything and went to the airport and preflighted so I would be ready when she was.

I had no flaps, but she (and I) did not seem to be bothered by that fact.

So we flew.

Steep turns, climbing turns, spiral descents, slow flight (harder without flaps), straight and level flight, etc.

Kinda like any other checkride.

3 landings. (Still no flaps though)

I am signed off for the aircraft. Plus High Performance endorsement.

Yeah. Now I can fly it whenever (VFR conditions permitting, of course) I choose. 

Today

Take a moment....Thank a Vet.
Today is Veteran's day.

Speak English in this country? Thank a Vet

Live Free? Thank a Vet.

Feel safe from Russians or Chinese governments telling you what to do, or taking your country...limiting your freedoms? Thank a vet.

Get to speak your mind????Thank a vet.

Not all fought. But they Served.

And their Service kept your country and your Constitution safe...so you could live as well as you do...better than most citizens of any other country on this mudball.

Thank a Vet today. They, by their Service, kept the Wolves at bay.

To all who Served: Thank you with all my heart. 

Friday, November 9, 2018

It is mine

Yes, it has some warts. It is, after all, a 1976 vintage.I knew that going in, especially after the Pre-Buy inpection. I didn't, after all, have the scratch for a brand new one. But this one is good, even with the warts, and it does have the instrumentaton that I wanted.....So, despite the warts, I bought it.

But it is mine.

There are some issues that come from any piece of machinery that sits for long periods of time....This was owned by an older couple that didn't fly much the past few years.

Something flakey with the flaps (they won't always deploy), but that is easily fixed (likely a limit switch, according to the mechanic) and that did, indeed, affect the purchase price.

I'm gonna have to do the prop, as it it out of date (not time (514 hours since 2005)..)...which also brought the price down.

Other than that, she's cherry.

Garmin 430W freshly upadated
STec 55X with all the goodies
KMD 150 MFD (needs a database update)
King 197
KNS 80
Dual HSI with glideslopes

514 hours on a factory reman

It will need ADS-B (Probably I will get a Stratus)

New(er) interior and paint in 2010

Trued out at 143 knots at 5K on the altimeter.

It was interesting during the test flight not having the flaps deploy (oddly, they worked on the ground and on the second approach, so I dunno). Made for an interesting first landing in that particular 182.  Easy though, especially with a 7200 foot runway.





I got a lot of manuals to read.




Wednesday, November 7, 2018

Back home

So from open heart surgery for a heart valve replacement on Wednesday to going home on Tuesday.

I picked Dad up from the hospital Tuesday night at 6 pm. They kicked him out.

He ain't ready to rassle allygators, but it still is amazing that he can be discharged after only 6 days. And he is doing very well.

Thanks for all your thoughts and prayers.

Tuesday, November 6, 2018

Turnout

Voted today at 8 AM. In the rural precinct that I vote at, there are 982 members eligible.

by 8 AM there had been 184 votes cast.

I took my Mom to her voting place, and they said turnout was the highest they had seen since 2008.

At least folks are choosing to exercise the privilege of voting.

The fun part about voting where I do, in Northern Indiana, is that they greet me by name at the door:

"Hi, B"
"hi, Anne"
"I need to see your ID. "

'Cause that's the law, you know.

No dead people voting in my Precinct.

If you voted, early or today,  for anyone, I thank you.

If you voted MORE than once, I hope you suffer a crotch fire.


Praise all the Gods

It is Election Day.

Which means that, finally, for a while  anyway, the damnable election ads will cease.
Have you noticed that few of the ads say "This is why you should vote for me"? Instead, they say "this is why my opponent is a rat bastard" ...Even as they undermine their credibility and veracity because of the half truths and outright lies they say about said opponent.

But after today, for a while, they will cease.

In the meantime, if you haven't voted early or by mail, PLEASE get out today and exercise the privilege.

Monday, November 5, 2018

Women never lie

Especially about Rape
Ever.
At least that is what the folks with an agenda tell us.

BelieveAllWomen

She should face charges and a sentence that is at least as great as what the accused would have faced.And, in this case, it should be doubled since her lie  was used in an attempt to derail Kavanaugh's  nomination to the Supreme Court.

Plus, Defamation of Character charges, with civil penalties.

This woman is a slimeball.

And if women really felt that rape was a terrible crime, and had any honor, they'd lead the charge to ostracize her for her false accusation. But they won't.




Sunday, November 4, 2018

I find it interesting

How the media, once the entire non left or right coast voter base (of both sides...blue AND red) yawned at the idea of Sayoc's bombs being real, or that he was a terrible person and a Trump supporter (which no one with two synapses to rub together believes...except those that think whatever the DNC tells them to) or that the entire story was anything more than an attempt to garner a bit of a sympathy vote from fence sitters...

But innit amazing how, once it became evident that not only did no one believe, but NO ONE CARED....

How quickly the DNC lackys Big Media dropped the story. 

Saturday, November 3, 2018

Looks like I'm gonna own a plane

The offer was accepted, and, pending the A&P inspection on Wed finds no major issues, I will own a 1975 Cessna 182P.


Friday, November 2, 2018

'Tis interesting:

Somehow, "Defunding Planned Parenthood" becomes "Taking a way a woman's Right to Choose"...

Interestin', innit?

If it ain't free, then  the right to do it is taken away.....??

At least according to Democratic political ads in Chicago, that is.


It is amazing, really...

Open heart surgery on Wednesday.

Walking the next day.

Walking a quarter mile on Friday.

Expected to leave in another 2-3 days.

Full recovery in 6-8 weeks.

Sadly, the state of innovation of the medical arts will stall once we get rid of the profit motive with Socialized medicine if the DNC types get their way. 

Thursday, November 1, 2018

So far, so good

Thanks for all your thoughts and prayers.

Dad is doing ok. He's wired like a Google internet server though, and is comfortable as can be expected.