Last flight of 2011

The weather improved today so I went early to the airport. The engine heater was on, so it only took four shots of prime, six full rotations of the prop, and it started on the first throw.

I let it idle at 1000 RPM for three minutes, then reduced, pulled the tie-down and chocks, and folded myself in. It felt good to back in the cockpit, even though it has been less than a week!

A slow taxi to let the engine warm, then a full runup -- everything checked out. I taxied to the very end of 28, applied brakes, full power, release and in no time the tail was up and we were airborne -- gotta love these cold mornings!

I climbed out and remained in the pattern. Soon we're at 2000' -- rarely are we this high up this quickly. The engine is running strong, oil pressure is good, RPMs are good, and the prop and wing are biting into cold, dense air.

I flew north towards Ephrata, letting the engine stabilize at 80 MPH, 2450 RPM. I did a few steep turns, then headed back south. The air at 2000 was smooth, but there was a strong westerly flow. When I headed west towards Willow Street my airspeed indicated 80 MPH but I was probably making 45 MPH ground speed (judging by the cars on Long Lane pulling ahead of me).

82 MPH in level flight at 2450 RPM

Speed increases a bit as the CG moves aft with less fuel. Still not bad on 3.6 GPH for an airplane and engine built in 1940!

Looking northeast towards New Holland, PA

This is Amish Country -- miles and miles of well-tended farms. The winter wheat helps provide some color in an otherwise drab winter palette of greys and browns.

Farmland east of Lancaster from 1500'

I practiced a couple of more steep turns -- cranking over about 60 degrees and watching the horizon go by. This is an honest airplane with very predictable manners. Just keep your feet active and you'll have no problem putting it exactly where you want it to go. A chandelle ended the air maneuvers and then some S-turns along Route 272 south of Lancaster. I flew back to Willow Street then tried to maintain a straight line along Long Lane westbound and needed about a 30 degree crab to hold position.

I checked the heat and the air was only marginally warmer than ambient. Oh well. My feet are starting to tell me it's time to head back.

I flew as far west as Millersville, then turned eastbound and zipped along in the strong tailwind. I tried descending but the air was very disturbed closer to the surface. The timer showed 50 minutes elapsed so it was time to return. I fought the headwinds a bit and entered the downwind for 28, extended a bit, then flew a nice steady powered descent to the grass. A smooth touchdown and I rolled up onto the taxiway and back to the hangar.

A nice morning to fly and a very nice end to flying in 2011!!

Afternoon Haze (12/12/11)

Hazy

I left work early yesterday afternoon so I could stop by the hangar. The winds were light so I decided to go for a quick flight. She started right up and I had the airport to myself, except for the Power Line Helicopter crew flying in from somewhere with a lineman sitting on a strut swinging his legs...

I added power, let the tail lift on its own, became airborne around 40 MPH, leveled out until speed reached 60, then established a climb. I remained in the pattern until satisfied the engine was running fine, then headed east over Amish country.

Nearly level with a cell tower

Looking West

Amish country east of Lancaster

I climbed to 2000' to see where the haze layer ended, and I was just above it 1600' above the ground. The sky was brilliantly clear just above. But below me the land was covered in a thin, milky soup. I reached for the carb heat and left it on for a minute.

I tried a chandelle, then some steep turns. Then I slowed way down to 40 MPH with about 1400 RPM. It felt like i was hovering in space. I pulled power to idle and held the nose high and had the tiniest stall break -- these wings act like a parachute.

With the engine warm I decided to head back down and do some low-level flight over the wide open farmland north and south of Route 30 east of Lancaster's tourist traps and shopping plazas. The Amish have held onto this land and kept it in good order. Most of the fields are still green with winter wheat.

I zoomed across the green fields and enjoyed the sensation of speed low flight provides. I turned right and headed west into the sun, climbing to be back at 1100' over Strasburg. I flew over our old house in West Lampeter looking as it did when we built it in 1996, save for the addition of a very nice playset in the back yard and the removal of a few trees.

The clock was ticking and I still had plenty of work to do before my 830 PM international phone call. I pushed the nose over and headed north to join the pattern at Smoketown. It was quiet so I turned continuous base to final with an aggressive slip. I touched down gently on the grass on three points. It felt god so I taxied around for one more lap. The second touchdown was better with less speed and float.

I put te airplane away and pulled off the cowling to clean up the fine spray of oil. My guess is the seals are finally setting into place as there is less today than on previous flights. We'll see.

Lancaster County November Flight

Today (Saturday November 26th, 2011) I was able to take the Chief up for a nice local flight over Lancaster County. It was a beautiful late November morning -- winds were still, few high clouds, good visibility -- the sky beckoned.

I pulled the airplane out, backed it up to a tie-down post, then used the Lycoming O-145 Ops manual recommended cold start technique: four shots of prime, six full rotations of the prop, check chocks and tie down, mags hot, throw prop -- chugga-chugga.. it started!

After a few seconds of cold stumbling she started running smooth and RPM climbed. I pulled it back to 600 RPM, untied the tail, pulled the chocks, climbed in, and taxied to runway 28. The runup showed 25 RPM drop on each mag, 50 RPM drop with carb heat -- great! Roll out to center, apply full power and climb out.

Yellow line shows Takeoff run -- airborne in 700' or so...

Early Morning mists

 Some days the air is smooth as liquid butter, and this was one of those days. I climbed to 1200' (800' AGL or so) and leveled off, with no particular destination in mind. There were a few patches of mist clinging to the valleys, but here above the air was clear.

Lancaster County from 1000'

I flew south towards Willow Street to stay clear of Lancaster airport airspace and approaches and also to avoid congested areas near Lancaster City. Once southwest of Willow Street I headed towards the river. I had the Garmin 496 GPS on board and while my indicated airspeed was 80 MPH, ground speed was 63.5. There was a definite southerly flow aloft but it was dead calm at the surface.

The Susquehanna here is wide and shallow, yet we've had some much rain this fall the water is as high as it normally is in spring. I flew along the northern shore past Washington Boro and along River Road.

Washington Boro on the north bank of the Susquehanna River (looking northwest in this picture)

I did a low pass over McGuinness field (8N7), just on the western edge of Columbia. I'll call them and confirm it's OK to land but the low pass revealed a nice wide runway with a carrier deck departure view off the far end of 26 about 100' above the river.

Columbia, Pennsylvania (McGuinness Field is just under the left strut)

I headed north and a bit west over the small ridge that runs parallel to Route 30. I flew over Mount Joy, did a couple of orbits, then headed for a small field just east of our place. I've never seen an airplane there and it's not on the charts but would work for me as long as the air wasn't too warm.


I was running low on time so flew back towards Millersville, then over West Lampeter before joining the pattern at Smoketown. The landing on the turf was passable but I taxied back and took of for one more pattern to make  proper landing. The second landing was better, and shorter.

Landing on Grass (Yellow line shows touchdown target and stopping point - 560' total)

 

The Lampeter-Strasburg School Campus

It was a great day to fly, and I am glad I was able to got up for an hour and 15 minutes before the day's errands.

L-S and Village Road, West Lampeter, PA

West Lampeter Fairgrounds

Farmland south of Lancaster

Millersville, Pennsylvania

Willow Valley Resort

The Crest at Elm Tree Apartments (where we live)

Shopping plaza in Mount Joy just south of our apartment

Mount Joy, PA (Looking north)

Lancaster City

Wash and Dry

This afternoon Janet and I went out to the airport and I gave the bird its first wash since Oct 2010. Rick and Curt came by to clean up the 150. They agreed that the best way to dry off the Chief is to fly it, so I preflighted, propped, and rolled down the taxiway.

I took off, kept the pattern super tight, did a low pass at 90 MPH 15' off the deck, and zoomed climbed back to pattern altitude.

N24286 climbing off runway 27 atS37 (Rick Miller photo)

Then a slipping, descending 180 from downwind, skimmed 30' over the the road at the end of the runway, slowed to 45, held it off, and gently rolled it onto the grass.
All for maybe a gallon of gas. This is one fun airplane!

Flying East!

Yesterday I delivered the 205 to Scranton/ Wilkes-Barre for the new owner to conduct a pre-buy inspection. I'm sure everything will be fine so that was likely my last flight in N8104Z.

N8104Z, 1964 Cessna 205 (IO-470) Ready to leave KVVS

I can't say I will miss this hangar -- the doors are insanely hard to open and close!

A little fuzzy -- it was about 20 degrees out, Janet was cold, and I was running late!

The confluence of the Susquehanna (North and West Branches)

Nice tailwind!

We stayed here Wednesday night!

He had to shuttle me back west, though, so I landed at KWAY and bid the bird farewell.

On the ramp at KWAY

Leaving KWAY (this is 1000' down the runway)

Nice climb (200' up halfway down the runway)

Then I headed over to John Strope's hangar where my airplane -- N24286 --  was sitting, looking nearly ready for flight.

Waiting to Fly

Original Panel and Gauges

 But first I had to put all the inspection plates, floorboards, and wing root fairings back in place. Re-assembling the whip antenna took the longest -- it takes three hands and you have to reach over the wing, so its not the easiest job. We also finished hooking up the air hoses and reset the cowling (it consists of four flexible aluminum pieces that have the be coaxed into position).

After two hours we pushed it out and started it up. It took a few throws but she finally came to life, running smooth and strong (relatively speaking, of course!) I took her around the pattern twice and all was in order. I went round on the first landing as I was a bit fast. I shouldn't have worried, though, as on the next landing I learned how soft the ground was! It was still fairly moist from rains earlier in the week.

We put her into a temporary hangar, hooked up the Deuce engine heater Bill had given me, and drove up to Washington, PA where Janet nd I spent the night at the local Hampton Inn.

We rose early this AM and headed back south on I-79 to Waynesburg. By the time I pulled the airplane out and had her loaded up and ready to fly it was 0750. I used my proven starting technique: 4 shots prime, rotate the prop 6 times (to evenly distribute fuel in all cylinders), mags hot, throw prop. On the second throw she started up. The cold-running chugga-chugga was replaced by an even putt-putt-putt. John said some of the valves were way out of adjustment. They'll all set to factory specs now.

I closed the hangar doors, untied and un-chocked, and climbed aboard. It was not quite as cold this morning as it had been yesterday -- clear evidence winds wee from the south. The high pressure that dominated our area was about to move east.

I checked flight controls while taxing to runway 27. The radio seemed to work but it was quiet. Runup had the normal 25 RPM drop on each mag and slight drop with carb heat. I checked the trim, announced that I was taking off to whoever might be listing, added throttle, and felt the airplane start rolling.

The tail came up and soon the earth was dropping away. I saw Janet watching from the car so I gave a little wing waggle. RPM indicated about 2300 -- as expected on takeoff. I flew past I-79, then began the left turn for downwind -- so far so good. A quick check in level flight indicated 2550 RPM and 85 MPH. Good, let's go.

New Salem, Fayette County, Pennsylvania

I set up an on-course heading of 100 degrees to correct for the southerly winds and maintained a steady climb at 65 MPH. Soon Fayette county was underneath. I spotted our house in New Salem just under the left wing. Soon Uniontown was ahead and I knew that the wind correction angle was too much. I headed towards the gap in the ridge near Connellsville and leveled off at 4000'. The engine was running steady and airspeed was indicating 82-84 MPH in level flight with 2450 RPM.

It's been 20 minutes, 57 seconds since startup. I took off 15 minutes ago and am still climbing to clear the ridges east of Connellsville.

Connellsville Airport (KVVS) from 2100' AGL. Route 119 is just to the east

The Youghiogheny River runs through this gap in Laurel Ridge

The miles were ticking by and I was ahead of schedule. The winds were more westerly than forecast which predicted a southerly flow so I had to keep adjusting back to a 090 heading. Soon Somerset came in view. I listened to the AWOS and winds were 240 at 5, so I planned on landing on the pavement for the first time in many months.

I descended at a steady 90 MPH and entered the pattern at 3300'. I turned base to final and clearly the winds were significant up here. I added power to reach the field, and gently touched down on runway 25 and had to taxi a while to the fuel pump The lineman helped me out but there was more fuel in the tank than I realized and so it only took 4.15 gallons, with 1.5 flowing over the cowling. Oh well.

Ready to prop at Somerset County Airport. The aluminum tape below to prop helps reduce the cooling blast on the oil pan, allowing the engine to run warmer and produce more heat for the cabin!

The lineman said he couldn't give me a prop, so I pulled it over to the fence, tied the tail to a fence post, chocked the wheels, and primed it once. A quick flip and she was rumbling strong, but the throttle was a bit more advanced than I planned and I had to quickly reach in and throttle back -- she was ready to go!

Winds were 240 @ 10 now and after the long taxi down and a quick runup we were quickly airborne. I turned east not far past the airport edge and continued climbing. There were a couple of more high ridges to the east, the first with dozens of tall windmills. A steady climb at 70 MPH had me at 4500 feet in smooth air enjoying a significant tailwind. I turned on the Garmin 496 on the shelf behind me and it soon indicated a groundspeed of 100.1 knots!

But I didn't need the GPS today -- the air was spectacularly clear, with just a hint of haze.

The Flight 93 Memorial site, just east of Somerset.

Miles of valleys and ridges

Shawnee State park (Just west of Bedford, PA)

The mighty Lycoming O-145-b2, built in 1940, pumping out 65 horses (or so) at 2500 RPM....

Bedford, PA and the Pennsylvania Turnpike

Bedford Airport (KHMZ)

Forested Ridges east of Bedford, PA

2450 RPM, 83 MPH at 4200' MSL 29 minutes after startup at Somerset

The Sideling Hill Service area on the Pennsylvania Turnpike (I've stopped here far too many times...)

The easternmost tunnels on the Pennsylvania Turnpike

The last ridge, Blue Mountain

The Pennsylvania turnpike heading northeast towards Harrisburg. My route was directly east over York, PA

I maintained my heading and intercepted the turnpike a bit south of the planned point, so I followed it north and then turned to 110 degrees for a straight line home. I was going to descend to 2500' but the tailwinds were up here, so I stayed at 3500' until the Susquehanna river, just east of Three Mile island.

I could see Lancaster city in the distance and pointed the nose down a bit, maintaining a steady 90 MPH. That ended when I reached 2000' -- it was very rough, and I was working full time to keep the wings level. The winds were from 210 or so up here and rolling up over the hills along the north. I climbed back up to 3000 where it was still relatively smooth.

I switched to Smoketown CTAF and heard a few folks in the pattern. I lined up with Route 30 which runs east north of Lancaster and spotted the runway about 12 miles away.

I reduced power to 2000 RPM and trimmed nose down to establish a steady descent to pattern altitude. The air was unstable, but not as rough as near the river. I kept it in tight, did a slipping left hand turn and rolled out lined up for 28. I offset to the left a bit once I had the field made and aimed for a spot just past the ditch on the eastern edge of the field.I was a bit fast on final but getting tossed around pretty good until I levelled off about 5' above the grass. A smooth touchdown followed by a steady deceleration and meant I was home. Whew.

Red line is landing distance on the grass at S37 (500 feet)

I passed a couple of guys who watched me roll by the fuel pump, crossed the runway and taxied over to the new hangar and shut her down.

Centerville and Route 30 near Lancaster

City of Lancaster, Pennsylvania

Ready to be put away

See ya next time!

Smoketown Airport (S37), East Lampeter, PA

2.3 hours, 185 nautical miles traveled, 7 gallons of fuel (not bad!). The battery powering the handheld worked fine (I did a radio check 10 miles out from Smoketown and was Loud and Clear). I had the Garmin 496 on after I left Somerset and checked it to confirm position and groundspeed every 15 minutes or so and it used about 10% of its charge. I had a solar trickle charger on board but didn't need it.

This was my longest flight in the Chief and while I'm gad I did it, I'm not anxious to fly that far in this old bird again. It's cramped, noisy, and gets tossed around with the slightest turbulence. And it's a bit worrisome to fly over miles of desolate forest tracts with a single engine that has failed in flight once before.