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Fox Valley Flying ClubNewsletter, March 2002 |
President's Message
Story submitted by Mick PahnkeJanuary flew 3 times for 3.3 hrs.
February flew 0 times and 0 hrs obviously a cold and snowy winterMarch flew 3 times for 4.8 hrs.
April flew 8 times 16.1 hrs 1.2 at night the cold weather broke 4/8 Grandpa's Farm and did night regency (3 night take-offs and 3 landings solo) Stuck throttle-cable if the outer sheath is damaged replace the cable St. Louis, Missouri for a long weekend 3.7 hrs out and 2.4 hrs back 35-mph tail wind can make those long flights real fun Earl's UL field by the Mississippi River a friendly place to visit
May flew 5 times for 13.1 hrs Figured out a parking brake for safer engine starts Confirmed 5000 rpm (high cruise 80-85 mph) burns 4.5 gal per hour. Flew to Lake Geneva, Ws. and White Cloud, Mi.
June flew 8 times for 15.4 hrs 0.8 hrs at night. Breakfast flights to DeKalb (best), Aurora where I was asked to display my plane (a real hassle), Geneseo (don't get here late or the lines are over an hour), picnic at Cushing great job by FVFC-W (especially deep-fried turkey), overnight campout at Shades State Park in Indiana
July flew 5 times for 11.8 hrs Mt. Morris breakfast always a good one to make, FVFC-E picnic where I gave 8 rides, Oshkosh a great time with my flying buddies but don't fly into those red spots on the weather map especially if you do not have an artificial horizon!
August flew 6 times for 9.5 hrs 0.5 at night Breakfast flight to Grandpa's Farm then to Earl's and Iowa, Lake Lawn, Ws., a new floor in my hanger!
September flew 4 times for 6.5 hrs and 0.2 hrs at night Camp-out at Boswell, In. the 1st annual plane will hold a lot of camping gear but is sluggish. Confirmed what I had been told that my engine could fly for a short time with no damage after loosing coolant. This was while ferrying my plane out of Clow's extended Class B airspace to Cushing after 911. I also learned not to allow passenger's to remove gear from the baggage area.
October flew 4 times and 7.3 hrs Flew into Springfield's Class C airspace with winds gusting to 30 mph. The plane can handle it but the passenger may not. Also found that my plane does not show up on radar at 20 miles and that my controlled airspace skills are very much lacking. Preparation is key to future landings at complex airports.
November flew 5 times for 8 hours Flew to some great new airports. Danville where they rebuild P-51 Mustangs. Poplar Grove is a very busy small airport with a huge variety of interesting planes and people. Brodhead Ws. is another fun airport with interesting people, antiques planes and $6.00 dinner feasts.
December flew 4 times for 6.0 hrs Lots of high wind flying (47 mph and 50 mph) allowing me to fly backwards for the first time. So I flew 55 times for 101.8 hours with only 2.7 of it at night. I flew in 5 states and in Class C, D and E airspace. Learned that the plane and pilot are capable of flying in high winds and drenching downpours. April was my highest flight time and so make sure that your plane is ready to fly early in the year because it may be the best time. Finally, no matter how much you have flown there are many new places to go new things to learn and lots of fun to be had.
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