It all STARTS with a DREAM!

[dreamer]

Introduction to a dream… :angel:

I am learning how to fly. :D :D :D I just had my first official flying lesson (logged that is) in a 1955 SUPERCUB! :onfire: I’ve had a few hours (not logged) in some other little taildraggers and wouldn’t know what to do with a nose wheel if it goosed me in the A** :o Hell no!! I’m not CLEAR!!! :o Please don’t get that thing started NOW! :crazyeyes:

When I knew that my first time up in the front seat (not JUST the RIGHT seat) would be in a SUPERCUB :onfire: I started feverously searching for information about this fabulous bird. Before long, I had stumbled into the hallowed corridors of SUPERCUB.ORG 8) and found a veritable treasure-trove of priceless information and shared experiences :Geureka: THEN, I came across the musings of a certain CloudDancer… :Gwhoa: and before long, say about the first paragraph or so… I just KNEW I was getting into trouble. :o :o :o

By the time I went up for my “maiden” flight, I’d read all of the :anon Chronicles and had been flying in my mind in places far more challenging than I was ever likely to encounter on my first “introductory flight” into the land of sunshine :angel: I was so excited upon returning to earth (ink still WET on the first ENTRY into my VIRGINAL logbook) :o :D I sort of skidded :OT% and blurted out on CloudDancer’s thread discussing a whole ‘nuther “first time” :oops: http://www.supercub.org/phpbb2/viewtopic.php?t=12660


Me 'n' my shadow got separated today... For the first time in ages, not stuck onto one part of me or another like confetti after the big parade... Not really all that hard, but just a little tricky, strapping myself into the big thing with wings and barreling down a long straight stretch of flatland faster and faster as UP comes the tail :o and she LEAPS into the air and all of a sudden, she is UP and THERE'S my poor shadow, running along on the ground below trying to follow me still and here I am, flying around with NO shadow touching ANY part of me anywhere :o . Air smooth as glass, river and lakes all sparkly below, far away clouds shaking off colors of the morning sun like water off a dog. Stick and rudder JUST like in dreams and JUST like Wolfgang wrote (well kinda), only this time I am IN the pilot's seat! Whoo-hoo!! With an ace pilot instructing me, in a beautiful 1955 PA-18 SUPERCUB!! Logged my very first "official" hour in the log book this morning :angel:

How 'bout them rites of passage, eh? One moment, all dressed in virginal white, an unwritten page, a story still yet to be told, just ACHING to be touched... One simple entry later... :onfire: Oh Baby! :crazyeyes: I WANT MORE!!

:angel: :angel: :angel:

LuLu

Before I spin completely out of control here, I’m gonna lower my nose and kick some hard rudder and tell you how I got my tail up in the air in the first place. It all starts with a DREAM!

for real,
Songbird in the Land of Sunshine
:angel:

[behindpropellers]

Cloud Dancer under cover?

[WWhunter]

DUH!!!

[dreamer]

Hell nO! Besides, he's a brown paper bag kinda of guy, I'm wearing something pretty with ruby red sequins ALL over it. Sheesh! :roll:



Cloud Dancer under cover?

[dreamer]

It all STARTS with a Dream… :angel:

Some lousy weather in New England, a couple of tornados tearing through Tennessee and I find myself transplanted to an emerald green place of Panthers and Gators and Coyotes OH MY! :o It’s sort of a cross between the land of OZ and the Flying Crown Ranch… 8) It’s a BIRD! :cluck Yep, all kinds of pretty birds… It’s a COW! :Gcloppy: Um, we call 'em "cattle" here... It’s a PLANE! :tup: A whole BUNCH of planes! 8) It’s a FLY-IN NEIGHBORHOOD! 8) There’s RED ONES and YELLOW ONES and SHINY ONES TOO! :o There’s one with a red tail and TWO SPINNING PROPS! :o :o LOOK! There’s a SUPERCUB TOO!! 8) What in the world is a dreamer to do?

I’m camped out in a little place along the banks of a wild and scenic river. It starts to rain one day and keeps on raining for thirty-nine days :Gfish: The levee breaks and I am suddenly living IN the river :Gfish::Gfish: A deck 10 feet off the ground is now just inches above the waterline The fishing is GREAT :Gworm: :Gfish::Gfish: and I don’t have to mow! :tup: The yard-fish keep me awake at night… :Gwhyme: Catch 6 dozen of them with a cast net in less than an hour one afternoon… get real good at filleting… free fish for everyone! :lick: Scrape the mud off of everything I own and reluctantly head for higher ground… Now I am living in HANGAR ONE! :peeper I am right under the glide approach to runway 27 :peeper WhooHooo!! :onfire: (This is very exciting).

One fateful night I have a dream… :Gcalm:

Getting parched here... I'll be back! :drinking:

It's HER again...

[CloudDancer]

Behindpropellors and WWHunter - :howdy
Well for ONCE....I TRULY DON'T resemble that remark!! :x

"Dreamer" is NOT :anon "undercover or "in DRAG"!! :bunny

FIRST off....I WILL admit there are SOME similarities in our writing "styles" :up (and LIFEstyles as well :drinking: :pty: , apparently!!)

HOWsumEVer...have you not NOticed the girl even puts CD to shame when it comes to the use of EMOTICONS!! :yikez: I mean SHEEESH. You'd THINK she just discovered SEX :lick: ....fer crissake!!

I mean her post looks like the wall in the ORD garage where they had the St. Valentine's Day Massacre, :9mm :2gunfire: :snipersmile: except with emoticon "patches" for the bullet holes!! :yeow:

Her WRITING on the other hand IS very....very inSPIRED :tup: :up and I believe she and I MAY share MANY......er....aspirations! :pty: :stupid :nutz:

But guys!! I'm feeling GUILTY AS HELL :cry: over this "I'm from the F.A.A." thing enough as it is. I WANTED to write today but instead came down with a WHOPPING case of food poisioning so bad I can hardly leave my bed or the :toilet . This is the 1st time I've been at my keyboard in about seven hours.

If NOTHING else, you can believe this. :-? Being "CloudDancer" and doing the "Chronicles" is close to almost ALL the "image" 8) and "responsibility" I can handle, esPECially when combined with my "real life" and job. :bang :rock:

There is NO WAy I can take on another "secret identity" as well.

Lynne "Dreamer" is very real. Let's just enjoy her writings and musings too!!

CloudDancer :anon

[skagwaypilot]

Getting parched here... I'll be back!
Hurry back...

I'm wearing something pretty with ruby red sequins ALL over it.
Well... I'm reasonably certain that you don't hang out at our local airport..

[dreamer]

Well, being as I was DREAMING :Gcalm: in the other room (having fallen asleep in a tangle of sectionals, Jeppeson’s, Wolfgang Langewiesche and a 1961 copy of the Private Pilot’s Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge) during the time when :anon posted last NIGHT… This proves beyond a SHADOW of a DOUBT :roll: contrary to the theories abounding :agrue: that this could be like the premise of a Hugo award winning novella :Galien: , CloudDancer and I are NOT the product of each other’s imagination! :crazyeyes:

Need… MORE… COFFEE!! :morning:

Tripping down Penny Lane...

Songbird singing on a cloudy day... :angel:

[Chris L]

x.

[skagwaypilot]

(having fallen asleep in a tangle of sectionals, Jeppeson’s, Wolfgang Langewiesche and a 1961 copy of the Private Pilot’s Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge)
May I suggest some additional reading?

"The Compleat Taildragger Pilot" by Harvey S. Plourde is an excellent source of information for both the novice pilot and for an experienced aviator transitioning from nosewheel to tailwheel airplanes. It was required reading for my tailwheel students.

[CloudDancer]

Okay Everybody!! Once and for ALL! :preach

I KNOW who I AM! :cluck I mean...I know who I WAS!! :Gboggle: AND I know who I am NOT. :Girk:

Jeeeeez! You guys are a bunch of CONSPIRACY theorists!! :Grain:

Do you see all black helicopters flying with no running lights through the night skies TOO!! :Galien:

I SUPPOSE the ONLY way to settle this :Geureka: beFORE it turns into a THING is for "Dreamer" and I to be logged in at the same time so you YAHOOS can see for YOURSELVES that we are 2 seperate and destinked people! :P :elf:

Whaddaya' say Dreamer. Can you make the board at 9 P.M. eastern 2-nite??

It's not that I'm so concerned about being mistaken for you, but I wouldn't want any of my so called "bad habits" :drinking: :pty: :bunny to be accidentally assumed to be a part of your persona as well. :cry: You seem like SUCH a nice lady!

AnnesToy needs some backup from time to time. :2gunfire:

CloudDancer :anon

[dreamer]

May I suggest some additional reading?

"The Compleat Taildragger Pilot" by Harvey S. Plourde is an excellent source of information for both the novice pilot and for an experienced aviator transitioning from nosewheel to tailwheel airplanes. It was required reading for my tailwheel students.

Thanks skagwaypilot, I've just ordered a copy. Now just waiting for the airmail pilot to drop it through the hole in my roof :o

For those who are looking for books, here's a site well WORTH checking out! The $$ you save can go directly into your flying fund :D

AbeBooks: New & Used Books, Textbooks, Rare & Out of Print Books
Offering new, used, rare and out of print books, textbooks, and ephemera. Represents a wide variety of independent booksellers located throughout the world.

www.abebooks.com

I'll be logged on at 2100 GMT-5 hours... Does that sound about right?

[CloudDancer]

2100 is 9 P.M. (local) in MILITARY time. :usa

Nine P.M. east coast time tonight is ACTUALLY 0200Z tomorrow (02/16/2007) in Greenwich. :-?

BUT...since the battery in my NON-aviator (Mickey's BIG hand is on) watch crapped out two days ago :cry: and I haven't replaced it yet....

AND since I don't have a couple of Zebra time clocks staring me in the face like I do in the cockpit 8) .....can we keep this simple please Dreamer? :bang

nine P.M. East Coast time tonight..........I'll C U....ALL here!! :agrue:

Cloud(Back in Time)Dancer :anon

[TDTerry]

Hummmm.... the picture of CD in drag sorta rounds out the only thing missing from SC.Org. Of course, he/she would have to have an outfit that matches the sack and maybe brogans with a dull brown shine?

I think the Lady is real. Figured it would just be a matter of time before the ladies shot us down. LOL Neat thang about them shooting us down, is that mother nature sorta makes us males like it. :o

*Sorry for the term "shoot down". Don't want to cause flashbacks.

** No I never actually met his sister "Pole". Just a rumor and I am sticking to it.

TD

[dreamer]

Sorry Cloudy, I'll try to be Clear.

I've never been very good with time :oops: I'm one of those people that CAN'T wear a watch... I've tried MANY different types of time pieces... big hands, little hands... even with numbers that blink and glow in the DARK :o Invariably, within HOURS or DAYS... they ALL stop running and are hereafter correct only once every twelve hours or so :crazyeyes: (and no silly, this has nothing to do with my FACE! Honey, I've been featured in the SOCIETY pages of a certain semi big city paper!). :wink: Nope, near as I can figure, it has something to do with an electro-magnetic field generated by the rapidly firing synapses of my convoluted brain. :idea: .. Lest you think I am making this up, let me assure you I am not... I have met others in my life that can stop time too :Galien: . I am donating whatever is left of my brain when I die to Science-FICTION! :roll:

But, never FEAR, I will APPEAR at the appointed time and place. This Christmas, I was given a little tiny yellow airplane that has a clock enclosed within a crystal canopy. I've got TIME in a little airplane now!! THIS time keeps on TICKING!! :lick: I've keep it clipped to the belt loop of my jeans where it swings in a gentle arc about my hips. Hmmm... perhaps there is another type of magnetic deviation at work here?? :bunny

9pm EST... I shall be there :angel:

[dreamer]

Oh yeah, so where was I? Um… I musta been dreaming again… Lessee… 8)

The stubby winged experimental aircraft with the great big engine and the weary pilot on his way to work again taxies past the opening of the hangar (gosh the acoustics in here are GREAT! :o ). The sounds of a pre-flight run-up herald the crack of dawn and moments later, the little plane roars over my head signaling to the entire neighborhood that another day HAS begun and it is time to get UP. :morning:

The fan directs the cool morning air over my somnambulate body, the sheets have all been blown off by prop wash, the pillows re-arranged by wake turbulence. I am having a GREAT dream :angel: , I don’t WANT to wake up. I am in an airplane… taxiing down the road winding around the trees across from the hangar… I am peering over the top of the nose, allRIGHT! It’s got a tailwheel! :onfire: I am turning the corner onto the base of the runway, steering with my FEET!! I am IN the PILOT SEAT!!! Oh $%&#! :help What do I do next?? I’ve never DONE this before! Well, I MIGHT be able to get it UP, it’d be great to fly around for awhile… :angel: but what happens when I run out of fuel?? :o What happens if the engine quits?? :crazyeyes: How the heck do I execute one of those beautiful smooth maneuvers where the plane gently floats back to earth like a freaking LEAF?? :Gboggle: I have NO idea how to get this thing DOWN!! :o VERY reluctantly, I pull back the throttle, turn off the mags and shut off the master switch. <sigh>

My tail is dragging. :( I turn my face into the wind generated by the fan… my eyelids feel VERY heavy… I use MORE FLAPS and move my tail into position. Reluctantly, I am UP :Gupsidown: . Oh darn, I really wanted to fly…. Even if it’s only IN MY DREAMS! :onfire:

I gaze over toward the bookshelf. My eyes alight upon a copy of the “Private Pilot’s Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge”… hmmm… :idea: there’s some old copies of the FAA publications “Facts of Flight”, “Realm of Flight” and “Path of Flight”… :idea: There’s the little Golden Science “Guide to Flying” and ALL of those books about the History of Flight, the Brothers Wright and of course, all of those paper airplane books. :idea: :idea: MAYBE, just MAYBE… If I start studying NOW, the NEXT time I have that dream, I WILL be able to fly!! :onfire: It all starts with a DREAM. :angel:

To be continued...

I’ve got to go feed the noble steeds around the corner before it gets DARK around here :o … I’ll be BACK!

Dreaming in TECHNICOLOR!! :angel:

[SJ]

Folks, as the site admin I can tell you that the posts of these two individuals are NOT coming from the same computer.

Good thing we are on the "unlimited emoticon" plan here at supercub.org....

:)

sj

[CloudDancer]

Hiya Steve!! - :howdy

I KNEW I could count on you ol' buddy! :up Thanks fer' squaring THAT away onced and for all!! :cluck

And when it comes to EMOTICON usage....WELL! :x I think I'd HAVE to HUMBLY submit sir that, rather than following the "Cheaper by the DOZEN" philosophy...yours truly....TRULY attempts to use the APPROPRIATE emoticon...at the appropriate point to provide additional emphasis or entertainment value for your reading dollar.

I remain Sir,

Cheerfully Devoted to Them what gave me a new HOME
Supercub.org

The one, the ONLY....

CloudDancer :anon

[MacNab]

...I WANTED to write today but instead came down with a WHOPPING case of food poisioning so bad I can hardly leave my bed or the :toilet . This is the 1st time I've been at my keyboard in about seven hours...

What happened CD? Did you get ahold of some of that bad Peter Pan :elf: Peanut Butter? http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y113/Clan_MacNab/Emoticons/thud.gifhttp://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y113/Clan_MacNab/Emoticons/1097.gifhttp://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y113/Clan_MacNab/Emoticons/puke.gif



http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y113/Clan_MacNab/Emoticons/popcornsmilie.gif

[TDTerry]

:o what kind of body does Dreamer have ??? :roll: Hell, I worry about just getting my tail off the couch much less in the air.






Your old uncle TD

[CloudDancer]

Ahhhhhhhh....HA!! :P

SEE!! Look at the bottom of the page. :o

There we BOTH are sinutenu... :bunny

simonetious..... :anon

at the same DAMN TIME!! :bunny :anon

NOW! Any FURTHER Questions?? :preach

Cloud(nah-ner-nah-ner-NAH-ner :frog: )Dancer :anon

[TDTerry]

<---------- always has more questions!!!!

What kind of a body is a "somnambulate body" ??????

[dreamer]

Fire away! :2gunfire:

dreamy :bunny

[dreamer]

<---------- always has more questions!!!!

What kind of a body is a "somnambulate body" ??????

OK (Sorry, I was practicing in the next room)

Somnambulate: hmmm... interesting link here: http://fayette.k12.in.us/~cbeard/calliope/somnambulate.html

Generally somnambulating people are considered to be sleepwalking. Little typo there, what I should have said is somnambulaR. As in my somnambular body. The dictionary definition of somnambulate is as follows: To walk or perform another act while asleep or in a sleeplike condition. In this case, I was not walking in my sleep, I was FLYING :angel: or more accurately, TAXIING. :o My feet tangled up in the sheets were on the rudders. I groped around, but could not find a stick to wrap my hand around, which probably explains WHY I was only taxiing. :angel:

[BES]

but could not find a stick to wrap my hand around, which probably explains WHY I was only taxiing. :angel:

:o :o

Please don't go there.....this is supposed to be a family site....

:D
bent

[dreamer]

Go Where? :o

[dreamer]

SO!! I start reading… and reading… :-? Some of these books were published before I was born… I start wondering if all this information is up-to-date, especially the Wx stuff (Does anybody still get weather reports via TELEGRAPH??). :Gwhoa:

I am a certifiable weather junky… :Ggeek: There are times when I am listening constantly to the weather radio or keeping the news on in the background just to have a “heads-ups”. You do that after seeing first hand what weather run amok can do to you. :yikez: So, I can EASILY understand why weather is important in aviation. :angel:

I call up one of my buddies in the neighborhood to ask if I am learning stuff that matters anymore… I THINK it matters still… :o Certainly the weather matters and no matter HOW forecast technology has changed, you still gotta LOOK at the sky. :peeper I’d like to be able to plot a course no matter WHAT happens to the GPS and be able to fly by the seat of my pants even if some freak event causes ELECTRONICS to fail. :crazyeyes: He assures me that this stuff will ALWAYS matter and explains that the biggest differences in knowledge requirements between then and now are regarding airspace. 8) He offers me a contemporary Jeppeson’s Private Pilot’s manual to study which he acquired upon retiring from the airlines in order to familiarize himself with the alphabet soup down here below the jet airways he spent most of his life flying around. I am grateful :Gpinkhappy:

So I KEEP on studying. My GOODNESS this is a heavy TOME! :o

By now, I have admitted to myself that I REALLY want to learn to fly and not just IN MY DREAMS. :angel: I’ve ALWAYS wanted to learn to fly. :cluck When I was a kid, the answer I gave to, “So what do YOU want to be when you grow up little girl?” was an automatic reply of, “pilot” :cluck and “writer” :bang and the well meaning souls assured me that I MIGHT be able to be a writer (though that’s really not very practical dear) IF I studied hard and got a GOOD education, but pilot?? “No, no dear, you couldn’t be a pilot… GIRLS aren’t pilots”… :help Well what if I joined the Air-force? “No, no dear, the Air-force won’t let GIRLS fly air-planes” :bad-words: Well maybe they were WRONG! But I couldn’t see any way I was going to be getting my feet off the ground, so I packed up the dream and placed it on the shelf with the other souvenirs. :Gooh:

Coming next… I’m FLYING!!! :angel:

Maybe it's never too late to grrrow... er... go UP!! :o

[dreamer]

Among the souvenirs is a small bronze piece that once belonged to my great-grandfather… On one side, the Spirit of St. Louis flying high over the earth… Stars afore, clouds aft and a mythological depiction of the west wind blowing towards the tail. The words cast below, PER ASPERA AD ASTRA… On the other side, a star enclosed within a circle flanked by wings and these words,

COMMEMORATING FIRST NON-STOP
NEW YORK TO PARIS FLIGHT
BY
COL. CHARLES A. LINDBERGH
MAY 20-21,1927
AERONAUTICAL CHAMBER
OF COMMERCE OF AMERICA

"Through adversity to the stars"… I just looked it up. Well if THAT’S what it takes! I'm REALLY hopeful now! :angel: I should be boldly going where no man has gone before… :o any minute now. :o :o This little souvenir sitting on the shelf along with the remnants of Dr. Stone’s introduction to Latin and Greek class from middle school that's STILL swirling around in my head, :nutz: MUST have been a subconscious influence upon me all these years. I plunge headfirst and headlong into ALL sorts of adversity. I get into the MUSIC business! :yikez: Hell, I’ve been into SOME adversity so deep I nearly drowned in it a time or two. I’ve gotten through so far… I can DEFINITELY see the sky from here. Look out stars! Here I come! :howdy

But FIRST… Exactly how the heck am I going to pull this off?? :crazyeyes: Although I’ve had my share of paying gigs and even a royalty check or two (and some still owed), there’s still a fair amount of work that’s expected to be done for the less than lucrative exchange commodity commonly referred to as “exposure” :yikez: not to mention the investment capital required to keep oneself appropriately clad in
sparkly stage clothes, fishnet stockings and other such necessities. :OT%

I have graduated Magna cum Laude with an advanced degree in “Creative Survival” from an ivy clad university without any walls. :tup: The employment opportunities are interesting, but... There are some years I can barely keep up with my alumni membership dues… :help I've been having a pretty good year but... My broker is still advising a conservative approach to my portfolio :agrue:

Well, I figure if I can put myself through “ground school”, :Ggeek: :bang I might save myself SOME $$ in this crazy pursuit of heavens above… When I sheepishly admit to one of my favorite cranky old pilots that I am trying to learn what it takes, :Gooh: he looks at me incredulously... :Gwhoa: “Why on earth would you want to fly? That’s just CRAZY! :crazyeyes: :nutz: It’ll take every penny you’ve got, break your heart :yeow: and absolutely RUIN your life!” :bang

I am heartened. I already KNOW how to do that!
:angel:

Throwing some more wood on the fire... I'll be BACK!

[dreamer]

Yes, this IS a crazy dream. :nutz: I am a bit of an outsider here, even though I’ve been living here now longer than a good number of my neighbors. I am perhaps, the only person in here that doesn’t own the property I am living on. Some good people are letting me live in guest quarters that had been built into one end of an old hangar. I moved in here after the first place I was caretaking for a friend was sold. I inherited a brand new Craftsman garden tractor, :wink: a good pressure washer and some other tools from my friend. I had taken care of his property along the river during and after the flood and had cleared enough of the overgrown areas (by hand mostly) to show potential buyers what a beautiful place it really was. I’d have bought it in a heartbeat if I could have figured out HOW! The new owners are very happy. :howdy

The hangar I’m in now was quite run-down, :yikez: but it’s got beautiful bones. :bunny There are high ceilings and tall windows full of sky... :cluck there’s a beautiful view straight down runway 27… 8) It’s an INFINITE view of the western sky. The sunsets are FABULOUS! :D I begin a restoration process and start getting the place fixed up, only somewhat hampered by a rotator cuff torn in the move. I take over all the mowing (with my brand new mower!) :Gcloppy: and start cleaning up the overgrown areas. It’s a gorgeous piece of property. I just LOVE it! :angel:

Some people can’t understand why I’d do all this work on a place that’s not my own. It’s very simple really. It’s JUST SO BEAUTIFUL here! :Gpinkhappy: I LOVE this place with the beautiful old oaks draped in Spanish moss... :love: I LOVE the wild and beautiful river I can walk to... I am amazed at the sight of endangered birds so unthreatened, I can practically reach out my arm and touch fingertip to wingtip… I watch an eagle drop down from a mile overhead and steal a huge bass from an osprey. I walk outside my door and see a very rare and seldom seen Florida panther… Standing stock still, we gaze into each other’s eyes for one infinite moment before the huge cat looks away and silently leaps into the woods. The night sky is swimming in stars and I am accompanied by a symphony of a thousand voices of nightingales and owls, ten thousand happy frogs and lovesick gators calling across a distant swamp. :love: There’s no sound of traffic other than the occasional airplane taking off or flying around the pattern fixing to return to earth.

If these wonderful people weren’t LETTING me live on their property, I might have to move back into the CITY :o and have to live in some run-down crowded place it takes me three jobs to PAY for. :yikez: I’ll work my ass off and be glad for every MINUTE they LET me stay here. I feel like the luckiest person on the PLANET! :angel:

I continue studying my flying books and take every opportunity to learn everything I can. I figure if I keep studying and saving my $$, then maybe someday I’ll be able to find an instructor and find out for myself what its REALLY like to learn to fly. I’ve been up a number of times in several of the small planes in the neighborhood (and one helicopter too!). During the fly-ins, there’s usually some opportunity to catch a ride. :cluck

I take care of horses for some nice folks down the road while they head out on various adventures. One day while I’m out mowing, they’re flying in alongside of the field I’m working in and offer me a ride in their sweet little SUPERCUB!! :onfire: Naturally, I jump RIGHT in! I want to fly SO bad. There’s something inside me that just ACHES for the sky. My goal is to pass the knowledge test, then, MAYBE, I’ll be able to take the next step. :whis:

I don’t know how I’m going to do it, only that I am. At least IN MY DREAMS I’ll be flying for SURE and won’t have to worry about getting LOST! :o

I find an old kite and hold it up into the wind. :Gooh: I let it go and hold onto the string and study how it behaves as the string slides through my fingers. I sit on the fence by the runway for hours at a time, head tilted back, eyes cast UP. I watch birds. I listen to the sounds of various planes flying the pattern and memorize the sounds of engines throttling back as they begin their graceful glide back to earth.

I watch as a small homebuilt light sport aircraft nears completion and watch as the pilot take it out of the hangar for the very first time to steer an un-familiar tail-wheel :crazyeyes: down the runway when no others are around. His head pokes over the top of an open cockpit, his brow is furrowed in concentration. I watch his level of skill on the ground quickly improve as he practices for his tail-wheel endorsement. :up

I watch hundreds of take-off rolls and an equal number of gravity defying moments, I hold my breath each time until there is nothing but blue sky behind each set of wings growing smaller in the distance. Each graceful bird disappears from view and eventually returns home. The annual touch landing contest and picnic approaches. In the days leading up to the big day, every pilot in the neighborhood with time to spend conducts a series of touch and goes. I help set up tables and wash off chairs.

Coming UP next... The Annual Fly-in, Spot Landing and Flour bombing contest!! (and how I finally get to FLY an airplane for the very first time!!) :onfire:

[dreamer]

A Consolidated Vultee Valiant BT-13 ROARS straight toward me and tips a wing over my head as I step outside the hangar on the morning of the fly-in. Who needs coffee? I’m awake NOW! :crazyeyes:

There’s a collection of aircraft flying in the pattern and others gathering on the field. A spot landing contest takes place at the other end of the runway. Another pilot briefing and the flour bombing begins. I listen to a conversation about using doors in place of ailerons to bank a plane around a turn. :o There’s a bit of organized chaos as all the fair representatives of Aeronca, Beechcraft, Cessna, Piper, and miscellaneous other manufacturers are lined up around the field. 8)

Fires are burning under the trees and the sweet smoky smell of barbecuing meat drifts through the air. :lick: The tables in the clubhouse are sway-backed with the weight of covered hot dishes, assorted cold salads and a multitude of family secret recipes. The coolers are chock full of icy cold beverages and the men have once again, expertly tapped the keg. :cheers There’ll not be much more flying today.

I wander away from the conversations and walk among the airplanes, looking through the windows at the unfamiliar array of instruments and the strange looking knobs and controls. :o Every time I’d previously been in one of these things, my eyes had been riveted outside rather than in. Silently, I’d be drinking in a view too big for words, getting me an eyeful to dream upon long after returning to earth. These are strange looking birds when they’re perched on the ground. I wander back to the crowd and look for an interesting place to pull up a chair. :drinking:

This is a wonderful group of people. They are warm, intelligent and funny. These are folks who have been friends and neighbors for many years. The couples have remained happily together for decades. I think there must be something in the water. There are a lot of shared memories. I love listening to the pilots talk “shop”. :agrue:

A few people have flown in to check out a house and hangar across the street that’s up for sale. A lone pilot in a Cessna 140 shows concern about the rising cumulous clouds building up under the afternoon sun, concerned about a bumpy ride home. I offer the use of my guest room if he’d like to remain over-night. He accepts, much preferring the smooth sailing of the early morning and offers a flight at dawn in return. :D

The fires burn down to ashes, the leftovers are packed up, the chairs are all stacked up and a dedicated few make sure the keg is thoroughly empty as per the sacred neighborhood covenant. :cheers I take my new friend for a ride in the golf cart down to the river to watch the fish chase the gators :Gfish: and make it back to the hangar just before the skeeters come out. :Gwhoa: The pilot has a good time climbing up the shelves in my library finding a vintage collection of science fiction titles that he’d never run across before. :Ggeek:

Come morning, a thick blanket of fog has completely hidden the runway and obscured the remaining aircraft parked on the field overnight. :peeper I can barely see the huge war-bird parked less than a hundred feet from my door. :Gboggle: I cook up some fresh eggs (having been personally acquainted with the chickens that laid ‘em) :cluck and we wait for the fog to burn off. :peeper The pilot calls flight briefing for a weather report and checks the batteries in his GPS. As visibility improves, he walks outside to conduct other preflight checks.

It’s a beautiful little airplane that he’s flying. It’s a gorgeous 1946 rag-wing Cessna-140 :Gooh: with a custom paint job that he’d spent two full years of his life recovering and restoring to airworthiness. 8) Soon, we can see the end of the runway again and the sky is clear and blue for miles and miles. 8)

We climb into the little plane and line up on the end of the runway after getting settled in and conducting a final pre-flight check. The trees at the end of the runway grow rapidly before my eyes :yikez: until suddenly we are UP and the trees start getting smaller again as we leave them behind and well underneath us. :Gooh: I feel a peculiar combination of blissful calm and excitement. I just LOVE it up here! :angel:

A voice in the headphones brings me back inside the cockpit. “OK, see those pedals down on the floor? Put your feet on those (they’re called rudders). Put your hands on this thing here… we call that a yoke”. I re-arrange myself and feel the motion of the little plane through my hands and feet. The voice in the headphones returns, “You’re flying the plane now”. :yikez:

I’m flying the plane? Really??? Oh WOW! I can’t believe it! :angel: Sure enough, the pilot is grinning at me, hands and feet completely off the controls! :o The voice in the headphones tells me how to make a few basic maneuvers and I follow a heading toward a nearby small public airport. I turn in a wide circle outside of the pattern before heading back to the neighborhood and begin descending to pattern altitude before turning the controls back over to the pilot in command. I have flown a little over 30 nautical miles! :angel: :angel: :angel:

Back on the ground again, I can scarcely contain myself. I turn cartwheels across the field and can’t stop grinning. I get excited all over again, every time I realize what I have just done. I spend the rest of the day looking up to the sky for a glimpse of my heart which is still soaring around up there somewhere. :angel:

The pilot heads home with a handful of my books and a promise to bring them back along with another chance to fly someday. 8)

Gravity (which I am convinced is a fluctuating force on this planet) barely keeps my feet on the ground for the rest of the day.

:angel: :angel: :angel:

*****************************

Coming next: Broken wings upon the ground, and an answer to the age old question; “100LL - An effective herbicide?”

[dreamer]

Feets back on the ground again... Only just a leetle bit wobbly :o Just got back down from HOUR TWO in the log book :onfire: Up in a '46 Aeronca CHAMP with a pilot (and CFI) with over 45,000 HOURS! :o He taught me how to do a Dutch Roll and took me up and over in a LOOP :crazyeyes: All kinds of crazy sideways turns, some slow mushy flight and my very first STALL :o , SPIN :crazyeyes: and recovery :D No flaps on this bird, so also experienced SKIDDING to lose some altitude and finished it all off with a nice smooth landing. 8)

WHOO-HOO!! :onfire:

[dreamer]

The day before the fly-in, I had finally gotten a computer hooked up to the internet again. I lost the computer that survived the flood to a lightning strike that was contained within a hurricane feeder band. I was given another computer by a friend with a spare, but hadn’t bothered to hook it up to the Internet for quite awhile. Frankly, I didn’t have time for it. It was a full time job keeping the other property continually ready to be shown during the height of the real estate boom and the grass short enough for all the folks that showed up in less than sensible shoes to walk the acreage down to the river.

We’re too far out of town to have many options other than dial-up. I could run laps around the property waiting for pages to load. The only option for high-speed Internet cost more than I wanted to pay, but I finally decided to go for it after getting somewhat settled into the hangar, reasoning that there would be so much more I could do with the TIME! (Sure, you can build that thing with hand tools, but power tools… oh YEAH!) Well, NOW I’ve discovered a whole ‘nuther flight training tool… There’s a TON of information on-line! Within days, I’ve signed up for a six month trial membership to AOPA and have earned my “Pinch Hitter” certificate. I take a bunch of safety quizzes trying to win a chance for a free radio (STILL trying!). I read my books, conduct research on-line and continue watching the activities around the airport, trying to learn whatever I can and hope that my new friend with the C-140 is a fast reader so he’ll come back and let me fly his plane again.

A few days after the fly-in, I hear the guy across the way trying to hand-prop the engine of the little homebuilt sport plane that had been displayed at the fly-in, but not flown (still awaiting final inspection and other red tape). After several attempts, the prop is spinning and the pilot heads down the runway for some high speed taxi practice. He’s gotten pretty good on the ground by now, nary a wobble as he heads down the runway at a tails-up level attitude. Down toward the end of the runway, something happens… A sudden gust perhaps? A momentary loss of control?? I’m STILL trying to figure out what happened.

All of a sudden, he’s veered OFF to the right and is in the air jumping over a fence and quickly gaining altitude and climbing OVER some trees. He’s FLYING!! OH my God. I don’t think this was a PLANNED flight! He circles around at a fairly low altitude for a couple of turns and then he gets into the pattern. I’m sitting on the gate outside my back door watching the whole thing. The plane is out of sight behind the tree line to the East of the runway. I hear the engine approach and suddenly, the plane is visible again just barely over the tops of the trees lined up for final approach. This does NOT look good. He’s coming in TOO low, mere INCHES off the top of the hangar. The cats lolling around jump up and RUN out of the way and I jump OFF the fence I’m sitting on with a “Holy $%#&! ______ !” He MISSES the top of the hangar and not being perfectly lined up with the base of the runway, applies a little MORE POWER and executes a perfectly executed GO-AROUND!!

Okay, I’m shaking now (and the cats are no-where to be seen). I watch as he circles the pattern again and STAND over next to the gate to watch him come in over the trees. Ah yes… THERE he is again. MUCH better lined up with the end of the runway this time... But OH NO! He’s sinking like a STONE!!! The wings are tearing through the trees! I leap off to the side as his landing gear catches in the gate I was just leaning on. The gate SWINGS around with the plane on it and what’s left of the other wing is caught in the other gate. There is a sudden deafening silence and a STRONG odor of aviation fuel. I run over to the plane… Staring into his eyes over the top of the open cockpit, I ask, “Are you ALRIGHT?!?” He nods and answers simply, “I think so”. I give him a hand and assist him out of the wreckage. He walks with me away from what's left of the plane and the growing puddle of fuel in the weeds. The steel gate is destroyed, but it probably just saved his life. There’s a fairly deep culvert just beyond he likely would have gone nose first into, flipping the plane over onto it’s open cockpit if the gate had not caught him first, both absorbing the shock of impact and keeping him upright.

A few months previously, I’d observed an interesting phenomenon on the runway. It had been a hot summer day and heat waves were rising from the asphalt. An afternoon rain storm blew in from the West. The sun was still shining behind me as the storm approached and rain started falling on the other end of the runway. Steam rose off the hot surface and was stirred up by the wind accompanying the storm.

The human eye has a tendency to connect the dots. It’s a survival mechanism of the species… keeping eyes open for predators blending into the dark shadows...

As the wind stirred up all this steam rising off the runway with the sun still shining, I suddenly saw ANGELS! A whole legion of angels dancing on the runway… Wings swept back, swirling all around, faces tilted back into the light ANGELS! I watched spellbound until the rain finally cooled off the hot tarmac and the angels disappeared from the visible realm. I still think about all those angels on the runway. Today I am convinced it was not an illusion. There ARE angels on the runway.

If you look at the avatar on the left side of the page, you’ll see the post at the end of the fence line that used to support the second half of that gate. There’s a spot on the ground to the left where the weeds no longer grow. 100LL is indeed a very effective herbicide but I would not recommend the application process. I’m STILL picking up little bitty pieces of hand-stitched wings.

No emoticons today... I'm ready for an adult beverage NOW. I'll be BACK... Later!!

[dreamer]

Flew cross country in the SUPERCUB this morning! :angel: Taxiing through the trees and down the runway is getting much easier. There was a moderate cross wind component on the departure runway and winds aloft to familiarize me with crab angles during ground reference work. Got to aviate, navigate and communicate and we landed on a grass runway about 24 NM away from home. I think I handled a good portion of the take-off from the grass after we'd wandered around the FBO for a few minutes. (didn't feel TOO much imput on the controls from the back seat). :D Got back home! :D An absolutely gorgeous day. Flew around with open windows :wink:

Books arrived in the today's mail. My very own copy of "Stick and Rudder" so I can return the copy of the one I've been borrowing and "The Compleat Taildragger Pilot"... Both books (used and reasonably priced) are in absolutely pristine condition.

Gonna go read some. MIGHT fly tomorrow if it's not too windy 8)

[dreamer]

Another day of firsts today. Taxied a '61 Piper Cherokee around the corner to put into another hangar... up and down the runway for practice, but not flown. My first time with a LOW wing :-? , a HAND brake :o and a wheel on the NOSE instead of on the tail where it natcherly belongs :crazyeyes: It was really strange... Plus, there was a YOKE in front of me instead of a stick! Looks like the Supercub (and the Champ) is gonna have me ruint for life :D

I will tell you though, I did feel like Penny at the Flying Crown for a minute whilst climbing on that wing to get inside.
Good thing I was wearing my cowboy hat! :angel:

[skagwaypilot]

Plus, there was a YOKE in front of me instead of a stick! Looks like the Supercub (and the Champ) is gonna have me ruint for life

It is true that Cubs and Champs are more fun... and in many applications, more useful (my personal ride is an L-21B), but when the winds in Alaska get to 40 kts. plus, the Cubs, Champs, and most Cessna high wings remain tied down while the durable old Cherokees are still at work. I've learned to respect these old designs... there's a reason that they are still around after many years. Most airplanes, high wing or low wing, have valuable lessons just waiting to be taught to an observant student.

[dreamer]

Thanks for your reply skagwaypilot 8) Also many thanks for your recommendation of The Compleat Taildragger Pilot... very well written and highly informative! On my second read now. I'm a long way from flying anything other than a kite on those windy days... :wink:

Ironically, the '61 Cherokee is the most modern aircraft I've ever handled! The owner says it's like flying a magic carpet... handles easily and is nearly impossible to stall. I found an interesting article about William Thomas Piper published in Time magazine in the same year (the year the Cherokee debuted at a brand new Vero Beach, FL facility) http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,828739,00.html

The Supercub I'm learning in is a 1955 90hp SC, the Champ is a 1946 (7AC), The C-140 was built in 1946 (does have a yoke) and I've also flown a very rare 1946 Commonwealth Sky Ranger. All tail-draggers... I find the Supercub (Scott tail-wheel) the easiest to taxi. The C-140 was the first... that first time taxiing was REALLY interesting :roll: ... dunno what kind of tail-wheel it has, but I suspect it's not a Scott... nope, just found out it is, just handles differently for some reason, or mebbe it's just me! Learning! The nose-wheel felt strange to me... :o I know it's supposed to be simpler, but the SC just seems easier and natural even with a more complicated route through trees. Go figure... Do you think I'll need a special endorsement in my log-book to transition TO nose-wheel?

[skagwaypilot]

Just remember... each airplane can teach you many things... they can teach you far more than that what is contained in your instructor's syllabus. You are getting a very good start - your experiences include a broad cross-section of aircraft.
Your writings tell me that you have excellent powers of observation. Put those skills to work. Think about the characteristics of each aircraft.
For example, the 90 hp SC wants to fly and will do so quickly if lightly loaded. That's great for getting into the air... but the C-140 will teach you a lot about the skills needed to guide a taildragger down the runway until it is ready to lift off.
By flying different types of aircraft, you'll find that there are additional lessons to be learned which are embedded within your lessons.

Do you think I'll need a special endorsement in my log-book to transition TO nose-wheel?
I'd request that endorsement from your instructor - I'd be very proud of it! In fact, I'd point it out to the examiner when I took my Private Pilot Check Ride!

[dreamer]

Witnessing (and very nearly tangled up in) a CRASH :yikez: within days of my first time at the controls has kept me VERY interested in learning how to be a GOOD pilot! Fortunately, I am in an excellent place to learn. 8) My literary friend with the C-140 returns to the fly-in library at Hangar One and takes me flying again. He is not a CFI, so I can’t log the hours and there are certain maneuvers he can’t let me do in his plane, but the experience is invaluable.

He encourages me in other invaluable ways too. First, he shows me that I don’t have to be some sort of millionaire in order to fly… Yes, it does take money (How much? ALL of it apparently), but it’s doable if you are willing. He gave up pretty much everything in his life that wasn’t absolutely necessary in order to be able to fly. Every time he made a choice to NOT spend cash on something that wasn’t absolutely necessary, he put the money into a special account earmarked for flying… Every time he didn’t make an impulse purchase, didn’t go out to eat, didn’t go to the bar, etc… the money went into the flying fund. I see what this kind of personal discipline can accomplish. I see it flying and I see it tied down right outside the window. I climb inside it and put my hand and feet on the controls and learn to fly straight and level heading on-course. :D

Hmmm… luckily I don’t have the shopping gene, but hey! I can give up smoking! Thirty years of non-filter Camels and American Spirits… I quit! That’ll buy a LOT of aviation fuel! Four months, ten days and counting 8) Motivation, what a concept! Opportunities come my way… now I’m thinking how much flying time they can bring instead of cash I don’t necessarily care much about... but another hour in the air? Oooh whee! Now we’re talking :wink: I contacted an aviation magazine with an idea for a story. Much to my surprise, the editor calls me up and I am assigned the story. My first published article in a national publication! Cover AND full page centerfold (ooh la la!). My first PAID writing assignment! The money goes directly into MY flying fund… earmarked for my first official flying lesson (or two) and my very own log book.

It is suggested to me that it’s better to have enough money available to be able to go from introductory to check ride as quickly as possible as this will be more economical than a more haphazard approach spread out over a longer period of years or more. I probably have enough in savings to earn my private pilot certificate if I work my ass off, but don’t want to be broke when I’m done or else it will have been a pointless endeavor (got the license, can’t afford to use it!) so I TRY to be patient and keep studying in the meantime. :bang

I’m NOT all that patient. :onfire: The more I fly, the more I want to fly some more. :onfire: There are a number of CFI’s around, but I don’t have a plane… :bad-words: I DO have an old Subaru engine and some wood and a bunch of fabric, a handful of assorted wheels and a few cans of old airplane dope but no A&P certificate either, so scratch THAT idea… :nutz:

One of my neighbors offers to take me up in his Champ someday… sez “I’m a CFI, go get you a log book and I’ll endorse it for you”. Whoo-eee!! I order one on-line immediately and it arrives before all the holiday rush 8) The pilot is a pretty busy guy… our local FAA examiner in fact… then it’s the holidaze upon us again! The little Champ stays in the hangar, the pilot too busy for flying. :cry:

SO it’s a while for me staring at the blank pages trying to be patient… NOT smoking… saving up the nickels and dimes… all the while studying the books, trying to learn the sky and dreaming while I can. :sleeping:

There’s another instructor in the neighborhood… :Gwhoa: one I’d love to learn from as well… Excellent piloting skills, a good temperament for teaching… MAYBE with a little more time for a student… I respect the hell out of him, he’s SERIOUS… but I’m afraid to ask… plus there’s that matter of not having my own plane… that issue of insurance… How the heck can I do this? There are no planes for “rent” here. Obviously, finding something to solo in is going to be an issue, but PERHAPS it might be possible to get in some of those duel hours or maybe just an introductory flight? :-? The blank white pages of my empty log book mock me until finally I get up the nerve. I’ve been working for this man and his wife, taking care of their horses and keeping an eye on the place whenever they are called out of town for awhile. Next time they want to pay me, I ask if they’d be willing to swap for some time in the SUPERCUB! :Gooh: To my everlasting surprise, gratitude and utter total unmitigated happiness, they say “Sure!” :onfire: and here I am now with about ten hours total time (all in tail-draggers), three hours of which are logged and getting ready for my next lesson on the morning after tomorrow :D :D :D

Life is VERY good.

:angel:

Dreaming is SWEET!

[dreamer]

1.8 more hours logged today... CC procedures, s-turns, turns around a point (found a nice little sink-hole to circle)... Flew into a rather busy GA airport, filled up both wings with 100LL and went shopping at the FBO for a new sectional, E6-B flight computer and practical test standards book. Since all of that was about the going rate for a hamburger, had some vending machine crackers for lunch instead :wink: On the return trip, did some power on and power off stalls and recoveries :D Looks like I might be doing some additional training in the Cherokee 140 so maybe I will be getting that nosewheel endorsement after all. Looking for a TD to rent to solo in at some point (pretty tough to find). Does anyone have any ideas? What about Flying Clubs? Any of these have TD's? Can you join as a student pilot?? How do I find a list of clubs in my area? (not much luck searching on-line) How much of a plane do I have to own in order to be able to insure myself if I go fractional? I've probably got enough set aside for a prop and some landing gear... maybe even some wing tips :wink: As much as I'd really like to continue all my training in a tail-dragger, the insurance issue :bad-words: really IS a bear. I hear that rates climbed up quite sharply after 9/11. Just full of questions today! :roll:

[andersenroger]

dreamer, From an efficiency standpoint having enough money to go directly to the check ride is probably correct. My life didn't work out that way. I went from $ to $ and hour to hour. I purchased a Cessno 140 and paid cash. I took my chances and purchased liability only. No regrets. It has worked out fine.

It took me nearly two years to get my private ticket. Which is longer than it could have taken, but it has it's benefits too. Your experience is over a longer period of time, weather, seasons, etc. I believe I have five instructor endorsements to private ticket. I learned something different from each one of them. Conversely I knew a guy that learned to fly in thirty days in Southern California off of mostly one airport, from mostly one instructor, in mostly one airplane. Moved to another state, bought a different airplane and wrecked it. He didn't know about soft, off airport, wind, uneven terrain, etc. He purchased another airplane, full insturments, concrete runways, etc, etc. He got into some other, not unusual for this country, conditions and wrecked another one. It ended his flying career. The point is, his breadth of experience wasn't adequate. My advice is to save your nickels and dimes, sleep well, and enjoy the ride.

[skagwaypilot]

I knew a guy that learned to fly in thirty days in Southern California.....
I'm working with a young pilot who has a Private Pilot certificate. His goal is a tailwheel endorsement but I'm spending most of my (his) time teaching him things he should have learned before he went for his Private Pilot check ride. He performs most of the basic activities in an acceptable manner. However, his previous instructor avoided controlled airspace. Accordingly, my student does not know how to talk on the radio.

The point is, his breadth of experience wasn't adequate. My advice is to save your nickels and dimes, sleep well, and enjoy the ride.
Good advice from andersenroger..

[dreamer]

As much as I thought I was moving here for other reasons, it seems that realizing a lifelong dream was in fact at least one of the true purposes of my coming here (so far at least). I am surrounded by experienced pilots with a wide range of experiences and have not one but two of the best instructors one could ever hope for teaching me right now. All I have to do is shut up and listen, watch and seek out the lesson in every opportunity that is presented and work my ass off. It's one of the hardest things I've ever done! I felt some discouragement my last time up. I know that's to be expected at times and I'm TRYING not to be too hard on myself. I felt sloppy at the controls and was having trouble getting the aircraft trimmed properly to maintain a steady altitude. I have an opportunity to go up this afternoon in one of these... http://www.cradleofaviation.org/exhibits/jet/skyranger/index.html You should see the all original instrument panel on this! It's gorgeous! I won't be able to log any time, but will be able to gain some experience and PRACTICE! It's a beautiful day for flying :D

andersenroger and skagwaypilot, your points are well taken about the importance of breadth of experience. I realize there's certain things I will learn here in Florida and other things I'll have to learn if I travel elsewhere. Every plane is different too. I don't want to RUSH through the process (though I doubt my instructors would let me do that) neither do I want to be months or years between lessons and have to keep re-learning fundamentals everytime I go up (though I do believe one could spend a lifetime perfecting those very same fundamentals). My primary instructor is working with one person who'd obtained a private pilot certificate, but somehow had not learned some real fundamentals of pilotage and got LOST twenty minutes from home on a clear day!

Better keep studying! :wink:

:angel:

[dreamer]

Had a great time up the Sky Ranger today. Another hour at the controls (not logged) but great practice on the stick and working on getting that trim set right in changing conditions. I found my way to an airport 24NM away in skies a little bit bumpy and with a fair amount of wind. The ground reference work has been paying off. Flew a halfway decent pattern through three landings (two on grass). Maule tailwheel vs. Scott... hmmm... feels different. :-? Pretty tough seeing over the cowling in this particular plane while taxiing as opposed to the SC... Some differences in TO technique... hmmm...

Well! Next time I dream that I'm flying, I'll have to figure out what plane I'm in too!

:angel:

[cubscout]

Of course, andersonroger had the HUGE advantage of flying in N'braska, which gives one almost every variation of flying imaginable, except for hills, valleys, and mountains. :-? NO, really.

I fly over Curtis pretty regularly, guess it's time for a "precautionary" landing to see what's going on there.

Best wishes to all on their flying.

Thanks. cubscout (Adm., N'braska Coastguard, retarded)

[dreamer]

The neighborhood had a fly-out today. :D A bunch of pilots and a couple of non-flying folks who had never been in a small airplane before flew out to a nearby small GA airport for lunch. Strong crosswinds on the runway (20-25 knot gusts) kept a couple of the little vintage tail-draggers grounded, but there were plenty of other planes flying. An aircam that was planning on attending could have handled the wind, but it was just a leettle bit too cold to be flying in such a wide open plane! I had the opportunity to sit right seat in two different cockpits with some really skillful high time pilots... I was in an early seventies Twin Comanche on the way over and a late seventies Cardinal 177RG on the return trip (the most modern AC I've been in yet) ... Got to drive the Cardinal for a little ways, but declined an offer to land it! (yes, I certainly DO have my limits!) :o It was my first time watching the operation of constant speed propellers and retractable landing gear. Looking forward to my next lesson :D

[dreamer]

That's me in the front seat taxiing past my yard (off the left wing) down on the ground (clear of the active!). The picture was taken by the real estate agent listing the house and hangar across the street and is up on the MLS now. This is the same location I was in the dream except facing toward the runway rather than away. :wink: I'm REALLY looking forward to my next lesson!!! Not such a little taildragger this next time... I'm going up in a Warbird! Whoo Hoo! boyoboyoboyoboy!! Well it IS a basic trainer, right? :D

:onfire:

http://www.supercub.org/photopost/data/500/Cub_Driving.jpg

:angel:

[Widebody]

http://www.supercub.org/photopost/data/500/Cub_Driving.jpg
http://www.supercub.org/photopost/data/500/Cub_Driving.jpg

[dreamer]

Awhile ago the soles came off the old moccasins I was using for flying shoes, so I searched around and found a really cool pair of Apache style moccasins on-line and ordered me a pair... http://www.mukluks.com/apache.shtml They've got smooth edged ribbed crepe soles that won't get stuck in heel brakes and won't slide off the rudders. Boy are they comfortable! Just like wearing clouds! Today I got to wear my new flying shoes for the very first time... :)

I logged 1.6 hours today in a 1942 Consolidated Vultee BT-13A!! (6.2 hours in the log book now) Now THERE'S some "basic" training! :onfire: Boy was THAT fun! An incredibly responsive machine... Just the slightest, gentlest control pressure had immediate effect. The morning air was smooth as glass at 2000 feet. I turned a perfect circle about a point without any change in altitude (hmmm... I might just be getting this stuff!). :D

Attended a meeting of the local warbird squadron, ate a hundred dollar hot dog and headed for home. It was much bumpier in the afternoon sun... "WHOA Nellie!!" :crazyeyes: I took us straight to the airport without being able to actually see it beneath the wings and told the guy in front "I think it's under us now". :wink:

What a great plane! There's less than thirty of them still flying. I'm so glad I had a chance to fly this one.

:angel:

[dreamer]

OK, so it's not a supercub... :OT% That's my instructor on the left :D

http://www.supercub.org/photopost/data//514/medium/BT-13A_Stearman.jpg

[dreamer]

My first time at Sun 'n Fun... Boy was THAT fun! I close my eyes, I STILL see AIRPLANES! :o Logged more time in the BT, flew in a twin Beech-18 in formation (BT several feet off the wing) to a flyout with a bunch of warbirds at Leeward airpark... did several low passes over a six thousand foot grass runway (whoo hoo!!!) :onfire: Spent about an hour in a flight simulator... no SC, flew a J3 cub for a few minutes then switched to an Extra 300 and did snap rolls and lots of LOOPS :crazyeyes: Saw all sorts of beautiful airplanes, talked to all sorts of interesting people and heard ALL kinds of stories. Slept underneath a big old tree for an entire week. One morning, Santa Claus left a brand new lightspeed ANR headset in my cute little house with the zipper door :D :D :D Covered a control surface with polyfiber, made a cool little aluminum hubcap with a hammer and an English wheel <kewl> It's the 8 days a week 25 hour a day nothing but aviation channel! I really DO love the smell of av-gas in the morning :angel: Flew home in the BT, helped give it a nice bath and dragged my tired tail back to the hangar. Just when I was really starting to miss the sounds of all the engines, I got a call to go flying in a Beech Bonanza "Debonair" (the one with the square tail) and got to fly THAT for awhile and then helped change out the oil in it. I've been asked to help detail a C-172 XP belonging to another CFI in exchange for more lessons and log-able hours and have been offered some lessons in a CITABRIA! I bought some raffle tickets for an Aviat Huskie with a full set bush wheels. Of course, I can't wait to get back in the SUPERCUB again :angel: Really enjoyed meeting all the supercubbers hanging out by the crimsom cub :D Life is GREAT! :angel:

[moneyburner]

You're hawgin' ALL the fun!

:D

[dreamer]

Oh yeah. ALL the fun.

Today I learned that the guy with the blue hat actually DOES walk over and say, "I'm from the FAA and I'm here to help" at which point everyone who's been hanging around waiting for him to show up bursts into laughter.

Heard a few missed approaches overhead a while ago and then a loud bang and a funny crumpling sound and ran outside to see a 172 with it's tail in the air and one wing on the ground across the field. I jumped the fence and ran over, crawled under and found the pilot dangling half out of the plane struggling to free himself. I cradled him in my arms to support him, got the seatbelt unhooked and untangled his legs from the doorway and the seat. When I finally got him extricated (carefully) while the fuel dripped down behind me, he reached up with both hands and grabbed my face and kissed me! So I gave him a big hug and carefully set him down and helped him to his feet. And yes ladies and gents, the pilot walked away from the airplane! So I guess that was a good landing.

Oh my.

Lynne

[dreamer]

Well I now own a piece of an airplane... Just a small piece, but it works... I acquired a Cessna "aerotherm", the OAT instrument that is mounted inside the cabin at the wingroot. I am using it right now to measure the inside air temperature of the hangar (Hah! would you look at that! It's a standard day!) The wreckage of the 172 was dismantled and hauled down the runway on a flatbed truck. I watched the whole process and made the final call on a handheld radio as she made her very last roll down an airstrip. I thought about purchasing the plane as a "project" if all it needed was a new set of wings, but it had a lot more problems including a split in the rear carry-through spar from the accident and an illegal tail modification. Oh well... It's a collection of parts.

I am begging a retired A&P a couple of hangars over with an impressive collection of parts and projects to take me on as an "apprentice" in exchange for knowledge and flight time (I'll pay fuel and insurance). He's got more projects than he can work on and both he and his wife are facing health issues. I think I could do a lot to help him out and I know I'd learn a lot from him. There's a little Champ with wind damage I'm feeling like a lovesick teenager over... :love: <sigh>

I dropped a big ole Grummon canoe on my foot :yeow: a few days after the accident and haven't flown since. I am going stir crazy! :crazyeyes: The foot has healed up sufficiently to where I could fly now, but my instructor is out of town for an extended period captaining a boat somewhere near the Dry Tortugas while the tarpon are running :Gfish: I am seriously thinking about packing up my tent and camping out in Indiantown for a few days to fly with Tom Bent in a Decathlon... I like the idea of working on takeoffs and landings on a 6,300 foot grass runway :angel:

Collecting feathers hoping someday to have enough for wings,

Soaring in my dreams,

Lynne

[12Geezer2]

Sounds like you are having a great time. Sort of brings back lots of memories. First solo was in a 150 H.P. supercub(still my all time favorite) that's More than 30 years ago. Now have flown 60 different aircraft and the adventures continue. Most recent was a 1957 C 172 from Wi. to Nevada for a friend. Keep dreamin and living the dreams. My only regret is most of my dreamin was on a small scale. ----Growing old is manditory-Growing up is optional !!!!! :lol:

[dreamer]

Whoo Hoo! :onfire:

I have an appointment early next Wednesday morning (Wx permitting) in Indiantown for some instruction with Tom Bent in a Decathlon!!

I can't wait!! (hopping up and down and spinning 'round in anticipation)

Hope I can get up in the air with someone around here and get in a little stick and rudder practice before going over there... I'd hate to be flying like I've never flown before :wink:

:angel:

Thanks for the encouragement 12Geezer2!

[CloudDancer]

Hiya Dreamer - :howdy

That's gonna' be some story-inspiring "learnin' to fly" logbook you're filling up there girl !

You are getting some time in some FUN and way cool airplanes.

The Decathalon will do a bit snappier on the rolls and spins than the Champ. ENJOY!! 8)

Me....JEALOUS!! :evil:

CloudDancer :anon

[dreamer]

Thanks Cloudy :D Sounds like you've been hanging around the wrong kind of airports lately! :lol:

Passed my physical yesterday! The FAA now has a record of the location of my tattoos :o

I am SO looking forward to these next lessons. Due to insurance issues, I have never actually landed an airplane nor have I done a full takeoff on my own.

I am living and working on a private airport being taught to fly by an assortment of pilots in their own personal aircraft rather than going to an actual flight school. Someone will have to add me (and my instructor) to their insurance (I will pay all costs) and be willing to let me fly an airplane (I'll help with maintainance and trade work) in order for me to eventually solo. I really don't want to start renting tri-gear AC from the nearest school at this point. I'd much rather put the $$ into fixing up and insuring the little Champ next door for example. My instructor cannot add me to his insurance because as a CFI, his insurance premiums would skyrocket.

I have been learning as much as I can on the ground (with my books and such) and in the air with another PIC. I REALLY want to do ALL my primary training (and solo) in a taildragger. I think I could make a transition to nosewheel later if I absolutely had to... I suppose that would be a worthy endorsement to go for at some point! :wink: I couldn't think of a better place to learn takeoffs and landings than a 6,300 foot grass strip with an experienced taildragger pilot. We'll probably get in some unusual attitude training and aerobatic manuevers in-between touch and goes :-)

Might be a good day to go outside with a cape on and see what happens... It's really WINDY out there! :crazyeyes:

Wheee! :angel:

[dreamer]

Looks like a good day for flying! :angel:

http://www.supercub.org/photopost/data//500/medium/Smile.jpg

[dreamer]

What an incredible experience! A couple more hours in the log book spread out over five flights in two days. Lots of touch and goes in brisk gusty crosswinds that were challenging but not overwhelming. I can take off! I can land! Wheee! I can grin like a fool during aileron rolls and loops. I LIKE flying up-side down! :angel:

Tom Bent is an amazing instructor. I'm probably the greenest student he's worked with in a long time. Those were my very first TO's and landings... I've followed along on the controls previously, but never gone further. Tom teaches tail wheel transitions, spin training and advanced aerobatics. He's got an older Decathlon and a Pitts S-2A. He put me in the Decathlon for these first lessons. He was trained as a fighter pilot in WWII. Started out in J3s, transitioned to Stearmans, then P-40s and the 5-51. Luckily for him, the war ended at the "tail" end of his training. During the Korean War, he was an instructor in the Air Force training pilots in the T-6. He's flown all sorts of jets and spent many years as a field engineer for Pratt and Whitney. That's just the briefest synopsis of his experiences. How lucky am I to have flown with him. I can't wait to do it again!! :onfire:

Indiantown is a magical place. Not much in the way of "extras", but who cares! It's a 6,300 x 300 foot grass runway! It's a "private public use" airport that recieves no public funding of any sort. The landing fee (waived with fuel purchase) and other patronage is all that supports the cost of keeping the grass mowed and other maintainace costs. I spent two nights in a tent on the field next to the funky FBO (bring your own water... it's an agricultural well not suitable for drinking). What fun! I met all sorts of interesting characters and can't wait to go back again... I'll be back by the end of next month if I'm lucky :D

Thank goodness it is finally raining! We lost the horizon in the smoke during the final flight. It was a very smoky trip back across the state in the old Mercedez that I drive. The drought had Lake Okechobee down so low the bed of the lake was not only exposed, but on FIRE! Lake Okechobee is one of the largest natural lakes in the country fed by rain and water that has travelled from the Appalachian Mountains by way of rivers and streams and the underground rivers of the Florida aquifer. Water from the lake feeds the Everglades, which is nothing more than a very wide and shallow river headed to the Gulf of Mexico. Let it rain... we sure do need it. Soon it'll be VFR again!

:angel:

Lynne

[dreamer]

Finally went FLYING again today... I went up last week in a 172 to watch for traffic while a friend practiced instrument approaches at a nearby TOWERED airport :o and that was quite interesting :-? but today was REALLY cool 8) Went up in a wide open AIRCAM (oooh! multi-engine!) Flew lower than I'm used to (500ft over an uninhabited area), then HIGHER than I'm used to (4000ft+)... That adiabatic cooling rate is quite nice on a steamy afternoon in the tropical sun :D Practiced basic manuevers and trim setting and airspeed watching etc... (pilot is a CFI), then practiced Dutch rolls and eventually got the nose locked on a spot on the horizon. (oooh... coordinated stick and rudder!). Flew around in circles and such and maintained a sense of direction (that homing instinct WORKS!) What FUN to be flying on such a beautiful day! What a cool little airplane!! Pilot demonstrated a perfect wheel landing and did one more turn about the patch (took off with 1/2 power just for fun) and ended with a perfect 3 point landing. Boy it sure feels good to go FLYING! I'm still flying touch and goes at X-58 in my dreams and hope to be back in Indiantown at the end of the month. I want to learn spin training too <g>. A friend gave me an old Chicago sectional to study (whoa! the world world ISN'T flat!) :crazyeyes: Hmmm... look at that... there's New Holstein... Isn't that the place where they paint the Supercubs to match the cows??? :o

Still dreaming...
:angel:

[dreamer]

My instructor is STILL out of town and I've done about all the "ground schooling" I can handle for now. Even though I am living in what is probably the flattest, lowest elevation sectionals in the country :roll: I just took an on-line MOUNTAIN flying safety course and got another credit for the FAA wings program. What can I say, I need an airplane! :lol: My "room-mate" in the hangar moved out last week... "Sweet Lorraine", a Ryan PT-22 project, has now gone on to Indiantown to hang out with all the other cool little taildraggers over there. My birthday is coming up at the end of this week and I could think of nothing I'd rather be doing, so.....
I scheduled three more days of flying lessons with Tom Bent at X-58! :onfire: Packing up now... can't wait!

:angel:

http://www.supercub.org/photopost/data//500/medium/Ryan_PT-22_040.jpg

[dreamer]

Boy was THAT fun! :onfire:

Tom sez I've got good feet :D My directional control is good, pattern work decent, etc. and I am very close to being able to SOLO! Still having a leetle bit of trouble judging when to begin to flare. Some landings were actually good, others... well... not so. You'd think after sleeping on the ground for three nights in a row I'd have a pretty good idea of where it is :roll: Hmmm... any pointers most definitely welcome! Might have to come up with a better method of adjusting the seat in order to reach the rudders... when the seat is full forward, it takes two hands to pull the stick all the way back 'cuz it's hitting the front of the seat... perhaps a thicker cushion behind my back so the seat doesn't have to come forward as much. I'd guess that rudder extenders and toe-brakes don't mix. I may also be focusing in the wrong place... I have been looking at the end of the runway (over a mile away in this case) in order to stay on centerline, but probably need to focus on other points as well when getting closer to the ground?? On my birthday, flew to a nearby municipal airport with hard surfaced runways and did a bunch of T&G's there too... Did OK, but DO like grass better :D On the way back to Indiantown, had some FUN! Tom started teaching me some easy aerobatic moves. Did aileron rolls, wing-overs and lazy eights! I am in trouble now :o I LIKE flying up-side down... A LOT!! :D

I came back from the trip with something I hadn't planned on, but will be coming in handy. I've got a JOB :o All proceeds to be applied directly to flight training, AV gas and airplane parts :D (saving up for a whole bird). I've been hired at a pretty decent hourly rate to polish up the PT-22 :crazyeyes: As you can see from the piece of cowling with the nose art on it, it's gonna take a while to get that puppy all sweet and shiny again. Coming soon to an airshow near you :wink:

Flying around the yard on a little red tractor now...

:angel:

Lynne

[dreamer]

P.S. I don't recall giving you rights to use my likeness for Sweet Lorraine. :D :D :D

Wow! That is a remarkable resemblance :o However, she's looked like that as long as I've known her... a timeless beauty y'know... I'd have assumed you already knew about it. I guess you made quite an impression on the artist at some airshow or another :wink: Do you want me to find out who did it? :-? Let me know and I'll get right on it.

Lynne

[dreamer]

:o I can't believe that not ONE of you guys had any helpful advice about judging the moment of flare in the landing :-?

I know, I know... As soon as you saw "Lorraine", all your better judgement blew right out the window :roll:

:angel:

[musket]

Well, Dreamer, in my limited experience, if I bounced the a/c, I flared too soon; if the a/c 'skipped', I didn't flare soon enough -- you want'a be sort'a in the middle. :D

[Brian Fox]

Hello Dreamer

Chances are that all you need is some more landings and eventually it will all fall into place. Don't fixate on the flare though or everything else may well go out the window. Just keep at it and soon you won't even be thinking about it as it will "feel" right.

Good luck!

Brian

[dreamer]

Back in the saddle again... Just did 2 1/2 hours in the SUPERCUB again!! Yippeee!! :D And... a whole buncha landings on pavement! :o

I do like grass. I really do. But it was fun climbing out over the clear blue ocean at the end of a different runway and it was a beautiful day to fly with doors and windows OPEN :-) I landed for the first time at home... (see view at left) 8)

The flare is improving with practice (thanks Brian and all) :wink:

It took me a little while to adjust to the lower landing speed of the Supercub. The Decathlon comes in on final at 80 and climbs out about the same. Different trim wheel adjustments too. However, they are BOTH pretty red and white airplanes :wink:

A large controlled burn was taking place at the State park on the way home... lots of buzzards flying around the smoke :o Luckily none too close! I guess they like a good Summer cookout too :crazyeyes:

Y'all have a good time in New Holstein 8)

Lynne :angel:

[dreamer]

Did a few turns around the pattern in the SUPERCUB today to practice some landings with my instructor here at ___ (see left). I'm glad I've been able to get back into the SUPERCUB lately :D I was starting to get worried that with all these other airplanes I've been flying that y'all were gonna wanna kick me out of SUPERCUB.ORG :o

I was having some difficulty concentrating on what I was s'posed to be concentrating on (round out, flare, et al) due to a small herd of deer hanging out next to the runway that was making me very nervous. One doe with two fawns was lying down peacefully along a fence by the runway just watching me go back and forth :crazyeyes: Yikes! :o

My instructor is heading out of town again. When there is more time available (there wasn't today), we'll head somewhere else to practice. Beside the deer issue, it's a relatively short and narrow runway with obstacles (trees) at both ends here necessitating a somewhat steep approach with a lot happening quickly. I need more practice!

Packing for another trip to Indiantown... I have one lesson scheduled with Tom Bent in the Decathlon on Wednesday on a nice looong grass strip (several T&G's possible on every pass). I'll be spending another day and a half polishing the fuselage of the Ryan while I am there and bringing back the rest of the cowling pieces to work on here (I've made a supporting "saddle" for the curvy pieces out of an old windsock frame and a folded up quilt). Good thing I've got plenty to keep me well occupied! Both of my instructors will be away in August :cry:

Hopefully they'll be some opportunity to fly :wink:

If I practice T&G's in my dreams, will I be up and down all night?

:angel:

[dreamer]

Goin' Flying! :angel:
http://www.supercub.org/photopost/data//500/medium/Decathlon_OTG_with_Tom.jpg

[dreamer]

Well THAT was FUN :-) Did some more T&Gs on 6,300 feet of freshly mown grass and flew right up to the edge of an incoming storm system and practiced steep turns :o

The landings are getting easier :D Got an "atta girl" and a pat on the back from the back seat this time :tup: :angel:

I can see my reflection now in the right forward section of the Ryan fuselage (hmmm... need strong soap and LOTS of hot water on ME!). I can barely move :x

More hours in the last seven days than I've ever flown in a week. Lots of hours in July! All landings in TW aircraft. (The idea of landing in something withOUT a tailwheel makes me nervous!) :crazyeyes:

Hey Cloudy! Met a guy who lives part of the year in Alaska (AK plate on a pick-up truck and a cool yellow Piper Cub in a hangar here)... On his way back to Anchorage this week for flapjacks at Gwennie's :lick: I told him to be on the lookout for the guy in a brown paper sack and an Aaaah LOW hah summer weight anorak with polar bear ruff. Yeah, I know, you and every other pilot in town trying to keep a LOW :wink: profile.

Sweet dreams! :angel:

[dreamer]

Well, everybody's done left town and left ME in charge. :o I'm mowing ocean's of grass and caring for a whole herd of horses. Luckily there's a nice cool swimming pool that needs tending too. :D My instructor here is out of town for the entire month and Tom in Indiantown was headed North for a few weeks. Late last week, Tom sent me an e-mail informing me that the trip was delayed in favor of nicer Wx come Fall. So I finished mowing ALL the grass and made arrangements for the horses to be fed for a few days (only a small herd that week) and jumped in the car and drove three hours East to fly for a few more days :angel: On the first day, Tom taught me how to do wheel landings and I greased them all in! Finally got a handle on how to slip the airplane too. 8) On the second day, the wind shifted and we were using a runway I'd never used before. I was exhausted from polishing the Ryan (O my shoulders!) and sleeping on the hangar floor... :x All the ground references in the pattern were different from what I was used to and I couldn't make a consistant approach to save my life (with predictable results). I flew like I'd never flown before! :crazyeyes: On day three, still using the "other" runway with the addition of a nice crosswind, I had a good day! Go figure! At the end, Tom told me that if I owned the airplane, he'd have soloed me already :D Seeing as I don't :-? I'm almost but not quite ready! (Gotta get a leetle more consistancy happening on them three-pointers) :roll: On the other hand, he informed me that I've been flying the airplane by myself for awhile now and it's been a long time since he's had to come in to "save" me. :angel:

Now it looks like I might NOT be able to get away for 3-4 weeks :cry: Sure hope I'm not grounded THAT long!! Toes and fingers crossed :angel: :angel: :angel:

Lynne (flying around on the tractor again)

[dreamer]

Starting to get pretty depressed around here :cry: and not liking being stranded OTG ONE BIT! :x Suddenly a bad switch in an RV getting prepped to go on a month long trip (leaving yours truly in charge of a demanding string of horses) results in a small fire (Luckily caught quickly!) and I have a sudden unexpected opportunity to leave town for a few days! I'm GOING to Indiantown t'morrow!
Will FLY Tuesday and Wednesday! :angel:

Dunno if Tom CAN actually let me solo in his airplane <sigh>, but the FAR's say I need more duel time anyways and there's LOTS more I can learn from him regardless of whether I'm able to actually solo or not (insurance is the major factor and "renters" doesn't seem to cover enough). I DO want to take spin training, recovery, unusual attitude, etc. just to be able to handle whatever could happen up there. Sure beats living in fear of what might! I see people who OWN airplanes afraid of ever flying them! :roll:

Looks like I'll have to BUY myself a taildragger in order to be able to solo... :-? I've got enough in the bank for a set of wings OR mebbe an engine OR some avionics and a prop OR some landing gear and tires OR some fabric and paint, but I don't yet have enough for the whole darn thing at once and don't know if I have the patience or the lifespan left for the many YEARS it could take to save up enough $$ for ANYthing all by myself... :roll:
So... I'm looking into the possibility of starting up a taildragger flying club around a Champ or a J-3 or some similar classic trainer... :angel: A sweet little airplane, mebbe LSA, that some experienced TW CFI's interested in co-owning could use for instruction as well those who want to be learning (or transitioning) as well as those that just want to have some FUN flying (etc.)! So far, there's been a positive interest among the people 'round here I've talked to. I've talked to some insurance agents already too. I think it's do-able! Looks like I'll be drawing up a tentative proposal of some possibilities and organising a meeting of interested people when I get back. Any and all advice welcome. Wish me luck!

Tieing on my flying shoes again :D
:angel:

[skagwaypilot]

flew right up to the edge of an incoming storm system


Here's something to consider regarding storms... there can be an outflow from a storm as much as 10 miles or more from a thunderstorm.
For example, you are a 'safe' distance flying away from a thunderstorm and on short final for a landing. You are watching the wind sock and it is pointing toward you as you approach the threshold. Just as you begin your flare, the wind suddenly shifts 180 degrees and you suddenly have a brisk quartering tailwind. You are suddenly a candidate for the 'Ground Loop Survey'.
How do I know about things like this???... personal experience. I was able to go around so no ground loop that time.

[dreamer]

flew right up to the edge of an incoming storm system

Well I don't know how close we actually were. I trusted that my very experienced instructor would not bring us TOO close to that imposing edge. I'm really glad to be learning in challenging environments under adult supervision. I'd certainly like to be able to handle a sudden change in the flight environment if it were to occur enroute when I'm on my own someday. :o I was mesmorized at how powerfully beautiful the clouds were (a whole line of storms to the East lit up by the afternoon sun), yet cognizant of the dangers contained within. I'm glad to be learning on such a long grass runway with such an experienced pilot. I have no qualms about going around should the situation demand such a response. But here's a question... How do you learn to judge the distance of clouds?? How do you KNOW that you're a safe distance away? How can you tell that you're more than 500 feet below, 1000 feet above and 2000 feet away from a cloud? I've tried to steer away from clouds that were in fact MILES away (better safe than sorry I think), but this really has had me wondering... How do you measure??

Got back late tonight, weary and still covered with aluminum dust. Look at the cover of this week's "Trade-A-Plane" to see the exact same model of the Ryan PT-22 that I am polishing. 8)

Flew two days with Tom Bent in the Decathlon. On Tuesday, climbed up through scattered clouds higher than I've even been in a little plane. Didn't hit ANY clouds! :wink: When we were up OH about a mile... pulled the power, brought the stick back and kicked HARD left rudder at the moment of the stall :o Whoo hoo!! :crazyeyes: SO... kicked some opposite rudder, did some fancy stick work and then pulled up OUT of the dive. SPIN TRAINING!! :onfire: (I DID ask for it! :D ) Went one way, then the other and when we were done, I made one of the nicest 3 point landings I think I ever made :wink: followed by yet a few more touch and goes... did I mention the CROSSWIND? :D Eventually called it a day cuz we needed more FUEL... Unfortunately, the fuel pump was broken... :o Luckily, there was an additional five minutes of fuel in the inverted tank and Tom only had a twelve minute flight home, so we figured he could do his TO and landing right side up and flip flop the rest of the way home if needed. Needless to say, he made it back with fuel to spare. :wink:

TODAY! We did unusual attitude recovery :o By sheer chance, I'd recently read up on Howard Stark and the Stark 1,2,3 system... (Stop the turn, level the wings and fix the airspeed). Ta Da! :D Tom pronounced my response to every unusual attitude he put us into as "perfect" :D THEN we did some more ROLLS!! :angel: Later OTG (after a few MORE crosswind landings), Tom suggested I might want to think about aerobatic flying :D Uhm... YEP! I'm thinking about it for SURE!! :angel: :angel: :angel:


Now I lay me down to DREAM! :onfire:

[dreamer]

Took the FAA written exam today... :o

Got a 97! :angel: Missed ONE question :bad-words: One of those dang radio navigation questions... ADF related I think... The ONE topic I was REALLY having trouble with (never flown in an airplane that had any of that stuff IN it!). Naturally, I drew all of THOSE questions out of the hat. :roll:
BOY am I glad THAT's out of the way. :drinking:

Went flying on Sunday after studying REALLY hard all week. Got a good lesson about what happens to your brain when it's really tired. I was very glad there was an experienced pilot in the back seat. My brain just wasn't working very well.

It was a neighborhood fly-out to a nearby airport for Sunday brunch. Stearman, BT-13, Supercub, a couple of token 172s... I was in the front seat of the air cam (the flying whiffle ball!). It's a really strange airplane... WAY different from the SC and Decathlon I'm used to. Challenging but fun... wide open cockpit, sitting at the very front of the airplane, nose down attitude in cruise flight, aft CG, twin engines mounted behind the wing located behind as well. What a view!

On the way back, I key the mike to make the 10 mile location report and my brain stops working immediately after I identify the aircraft... um... I know I'm supposed to say something about what I am doing, but have drawn a complete blank (10 miles SW... ) so after a brief moment of silence :oops: I announce "Coming Home!" then key off the mike and laugh my ass off, startling a bald eagle that has just appeared forty feet off my left wing.

My instructor's wife (flying the Supercub) comes in on the radio... "WHERE are you???" Naturally, EVERYbody has heard my brilliant call. :oops:

The Supercub lands first. From the air I see the Stearman and the BT-13 flying in close formation. I watch them do a low pass over the runway. The Stearman lands and clears the active. We do a touch and go with a BT-13 escort over the grass on the side. The BT comes around again and lands, then I try to master coming in under power (all my practice to date has been power off). I reject several approaches that are just TOO high (that airplane just wants to CLIMB!) My instructor on the ground offers to shoot me down. :crazyeyes: Finally manage to get it down. :wink:

On Monday, got up in the SUPERCUB!! and flew an equal number of approaches and landings 8) You would of thought I'd been doing this awhile. :angel: That first landing was PERFECT! Sweet :D

And today, I took the test. Didn't realize when I set this up for the first available date, what date it actually was. I wore a flight jacket with warbird patches and an American flag on 9/11/07. The airport we had breakfast at on Sunday is the one where the terrorists took their flight training. The building that housed that school has been torn down.

(goes silent now)

Lynne

[dreamer]

I left a message on the answering machine of my flight instructor here (<~~~ see home runway to the left), hoping that he might have time to take me up in the Supercub before my next trip to Indiantown this coming week. I was puttering around the hangar, waiting for a reply, when the DOG announced that company was coming. :o

I turn around towards the door to see a smiling face that I fondly remembered from Sun 'n Fun. :D It was the CFI that taught my instructor and his wife how to fly tailwheel airplanes and checked him out in the war-bird later. Driving through the area and needing to fly a "real airplane", he'd come by to visit and to take the BT13 out for a spin.

There was an extra seat available under the canopy :wink: Fast forward to OH about the blink of an eye, I'm all strapped in and we're off! I'm one happy passenger looking straight down for wildlife on the ground flying sideways through some slick steep turns and next thing I know, it's feet on the rudders and hands on the stick. :o :angel:

I do some Dutch Rolls and 180 degree turns to get used to the airplane again and guide us southwest toward the coast. At VNC, we taxiied the big warbird off into the grass for a minute and switch seats... I'm in the FRONT SEAT now right behind that big beautiful R985 all strapped in under an open canopy and OFF we go again! :onfire:

Round and round the pattern... out over the shining blue Gulf of Mexico turning right base to final on one three, practicing WHEELIES! :onfire: Whatta SWEET airplane! :angel: Boy do I like flying lessons! :D

All the neighbors are home again :howdy and the grass is sufficiently short, so I'm getting ready to go EAST again to polish the Ryan and fly with TOM! I'll be baaack :D

Wheeee! :angel: :angel: :angel:

[dreamer]

:cry: :cry: :cry:

The Decathlon lives at a strip that is only 20 feet MSL and got hit by EVERY passing "scattered" shower and storm out there the entire time I was over at Indiantown (where it didn't hardly rain at all). THAT strip became un-useable, Tom was unable to fly out and I didn't get to FLY with him at all. :( I did get a ride in a C-120 :D with one of Tom's former students (he has WONDERFUL landing technique!). We flew over Tom's neighborhood and saw that it was pretty much surrounded by water :o I wonder what you could do with a Pitts on floats?

While hoping to fly, I continued working on the Ryan. It's getting VERY shiny ALL over now :wink: The torque on that polisher is something else though :bad-words: Oh my poor shoulder! :x Three nights sleeping on the hangar floor was enough for me. I headed home, brightened up by an offer to fly in a WACO the next time out! :angel:

After I got home, I sent a thank you note to the nice feller in the 120 who let me fly his airplane (at altitude). He responded that "shapely mini-skirted blonde tattooed hippy chick pilots" were always welcome in any plane of his :o So THAT'S what they think of me over there. I always wondered. :roll: I informed the rest of the tribe. The pilot is very happy now :wink:

Toes and fingers crossed that I'll be able to schedule more time in the SUPERCUB soon!

:angel:

[CloudDancer]

HOOOOOOOIII - ooh!! :Gsillywink:

Did somebody say SHAPEly MINI-skirted tattooed BLONDE HIPPY CHICKS? :P

Gro-o-o-vy. PsycoDELic man. "Take to the sky ....on a NATURAL (airplane) high...." Ri-i-i-ght on. Power to the people man! :bad-words: Don't trust NOBODY over thir.....fou...... :cry: don't trust NOBODY over EIGHTy man! :wink:

Well dreamer....looks like your getting purty experienced there girl. 8) Ain't it just more fun every time you do it??!! (Defy gravity, I mean :Gupsidown: )

You got the hard part done, the written. :up Glad you missed one question though, 'cause I've always resented all those people wavin' their 100%'s in my face. :Girk: (Naturally 'cause I'VE never gotten one.)

Looks like you've got a nice little strip there. :bunny Keep up your narratives as you continue toward the Private Pilot certificate. You are giving us all some great reading and stirring fond memories.

CloudDancer :anon

P.S. Do "hippy chicks" still believe in FREE LOVE man? :kiss:

[musket]

From Dreamer:
take the BT13 out for a spin.

..., I'm all strapped in and we're off! I'm one happy passenger ... flying sideways through some slick steep turns and next thing I know, it's feet on the rudders and hands on the stick.

I do some Dutch Rolls and 180 degree turns to get used to the airplane again and guide us southwest toward the coast. At VNC, we taxiied the big warbird off into the grass for a minute and switch seats... I'm in the FRONT SEAT now right behind that big beautiful R985 all strapped in under an open canopy and OFF we go again!

Whatta SWEET airplane!

Did you know, back in the last century, during that great unpleasantness known as World War II, that BT-13s were frequently referred to as "Vultee VIBRATORS" ?

[dreamer]

Did you know, back in the last century, during that great unpleasantness known as World War II, that BT-13s were frequently referred to as "Vultee VIBRATORS" ?

Oh yes. Quite a smooth airplane to FLY actually. The nickname came from the tendency to rattle the windows of buildings along the runway as it climbed out and over them. The tips of that big prop goes supersonic.

Vroom! :onfire:

[dreamer]

Today is the anniversary of the very first time (easy there CloudDancer), as I was saying... the very first time I EVER (CloudDancer! Back in the sack, NOW!) The very first time I ever FLEW AN AIRPLANE!! :angel: :angel: :angel:

In this last year, I have been in thirteen different airplanes (LUCKY me!!) and at the controls of eleven of them (didn't fly the Beech 18 or the Twin Comanche :roll: ). The planes I have flown have ranged in power from the 65hp Champ to the 450hp R-985 in the BT13 :onfire: One of them had TWO engines (the Air Cam). :o All but three had the little wheel in the back (I didn't even TRY to land those strange nose-dragging airplanes).

I have been up-side down and spun around and rolled over and over again. What FUN I have had!! :D I've been UP and down and UP and down many many times with winds to the left of me and winds to the right and every now and then, a nice little breeze straight down the runway!

What I haven't done YET is been on an un-MANned flight! :wink: I have yet to fly the airplane all by myself :-? I have been learning to fly in my instructors' own personal airplanes. Some of these airplanes are family "aer"looms, some are rare birds, others would just not be appropriate for a first time solo. I can GET renters/non-owner insurance with hull coverage to any amount, but still have to find an airplane around me that doesn't fall into one of the afore-mentioned catagories.

I have never been to a formal "flight school" except to go take the written exam. So far, I have worked for "time" and everything else I have earned has gone for still MORE time. I hope to qualify for scholarships to continue training well beyond PPL. I am eligible for one scholarship that will help me finish my private license ONCE I have already soloed.

In search of an appropriate airplane to solo in, (I just want the little wheel in the BACK daggummit!), I have searched HIGH and LOW...
Do you know that there are only a handful of schools left in the entire country that can solo a student in tailwheel (due to INsurance issues :bad-words: )? That's just crazy! :nutz: Some of the best pilots I KNOW learned to fly in Cubs and Champs! I am on a mission now, LOOK out! :howdy I am WILLING, but am hoping to avoid having to travel THOUSANDS of miles to achieve this. (did I mention I am STUBBORN!) :frog:

Yesterday I wrote a letter to Budd Davisson (http://www.airbum.com) to see if he could refer me to anybody in the SouthEast (preferably in FLORida) teaching in taildraggers (and willing to solo a primary student). Budd wrote a great article in AOPA's Flight Training magazine (October '07) about "The Perfect Training Airplane". I agree with what he says about learning to fly in a taildragger vs. the (now) more traditional tricycle gear airplane. There are some obvious advantages to trikes, but I CHOOSE to go with the more challenging route and hopefully be a better (re:SAFER) pilot for it. Budd quickly replied with a referral to an unlimited AKRO pilot friend of his in Northern Florida. Well yes, it certainly WOULD be fun to do this in a PITTS or an EXTRA :angel:, but that would take a little more time :roll: and probably a lttle more hull coverage than would be required for a Cub or a Champ. :wink: Fortunately, there's one of each up there :D I'm waiting for an answer now. Toes and fingers crossed. I'm ready for a ROAD trip!

:angel:

[CloudDancer]

Grrrrr......Grrrrrrr......RUFF! RUFFRUFF!! (pantpant) :lick:

:anon

[bobnall]

Well, I KNOW you jus didn't want to travel x-ctry but you might want to check this out. It's where I'm hangered and the J-5A is a really nice airplane to get your PPL in.

www.twinoaksairpark.com.

All the best.

Bob

[dreamer]

That looks like a great place you're living at Bob. Nice cub too. There's something about a little yellow airplane that just makes my heart go pitter patter. :love: Do you think that might have anything to do with flying up-side-down in an old Champ? :Gupsidown:

I might just have to consider a looong cross country trip. Hey CloudDancer, does that Airbus do STOL? We've got 2600 feet here... Fall seems to be on the way finally, density altitude would be less of a factor. Mebbe I should just go to ALASKA! Cloudy, could you throw out a looong rope next time you're headed that way? :o :wink:

Finally heard back from Budd's friend here in FLORida... No go solo on the Cub/Citabria they're teaching TW transitions in at THAT school. :roll: (Oh well!) But... he told me NOT to get discouraged. I AM doing the right thing here and will be light-years ahead of all the other fledglings learning how to fly AND he invited me to come on over and he'll take me up in the PITTS!!

Whoo Hoo!!:onfire: Doing aerobatics in the hangar now :angel:

Just as soon as everybody's back in town again... I'll be heading out. 8)

Waiting now for a guy in a Supercub.org hat to show up in a cute little red and white airplane (SUPERCUB!!). Gonna give it a BATH and take it up to AIR-DRY it thoroughly.
:angel: :angel: :angel:

[dreamer]

I'm having ALL these dreams about flying these days. Dunno where I'm getting all of these ideas :roll: but IN MY DREAMS, I'm flying into some pretty wild places... flying knife edge to get through narrow tree-lined passes, leveling out on final and landing on gravels bars on rivers and such. OH this is FUN! :wink:

Went up in the CHAMP again today with Mister ______! :angel: :angel: :angel: This particular CFI/examiner pilot has been flying professionally pretty much ALL of his life. He wears the airplane like a second skin. I'm not ready for a check ride YET, just going for a ride now 8) ... I hear he's pretty tough on a check ride (glad to hear that!) and especially critical about landing technique :crazyeyes:

Took off and flew around and did a bunch of airwork and then... :o It's TIME to go home... I have never landed this airplane before... :o Power off abeam touchdown point, turn onto base and final (NO radio, no radio calls!)... slip to lose some altitude... the runway is made... and TA DA!! FINALLY! An absolutely perfect three point landing! Nary a skitter, skip or bounce... ON the ground (all done flying) ON centerline... WHEW! :D

The wheel landings have seemed easier to me so far, but I KNOW it's important to get those three pointers down. I am giddy with relief! I can't wait to do it again! (correctly i hope!)

:drinking:
(the next round's on me!)

[dreamer]

:morning: OK, The trunk is full of firewood and camping gear and I'm going up to Anastasia State Park in St. Augustine to camp out along a pristine stretch of ocean. :Gooh: It's first time the tent has been off airport. :lol: Then I'm gonna lie on my back on the beach and study the sky REAL good! Might even see a shuttle launch apparently?
The next morning, I'll be flying a PITTS!! :onfire:
Afterwards I'll drive back down the coast and go flying with Tom in HIS Pitts! :onfire: and if we're not all wrung out after that, maybe another lesson in the Decathlon :D I'll be back home <----~ over the weekend hoping for another chance to go up in the Champ (please don't kick me out of SC.org Steve... I'm TRYING to get back in a Supercub too!) 8)

Y'all have a great week! :howdy

:angel:

[dreamer]

I surely DO like leetle red airplanes! :onfire: First time wearing a parachute, first time in any sort of bi-plane... first time out of a towered airport :roll: All strapped into a Pitts S2-B with a first-rate precision aerobatic test pilot... 8) Taxiing (wide s-turns in order to see forward over the cowling) was easier than expected... Held short on the taxiway until cleared for take-off, then FULL throttle and up, UP and away! :o On the way out to the practice area got used to some very responsive controls with a series of Dutch rolls then a short stall series. Did some lazy eights and slow rolls <whee> then straight UP, OVER and straight back DOWN in a HUMPTY-BUMP! :onfire: Manuevered back toward the airport on a nice unstraight and un-level course and did a steep power-off glide onto the runway for a half-way decent landing! :angel:
http://www.supercub.org/photopost/data//500/medium/DSC_0068.jpg
While I was there, I checked out a bunch of really cool Extras on the ground in various stages of assembly. Saw some beautiful show airplanes in and out of hangars. Met some very interesting people. Filled up one more page in my log book! :D

Got back in the car and drove South again. Checked out the S2-A I'd be flying the next day and got a ride in a nicely restored 1949 PA-11 flying low and slow to look for deers on the ground. Rolled myself into the hangar at X58 and waited for morning. Boy is it LOUD in there when it rains! :crazyeyes: I didn't do much sleeping! The weather took a turn for the worse... Grey skies and scattered showers in the morning, some ceilings high in smooth skies, some patches of IFR and scattered embedded T-storms... The whole system was forecast to be stationary for days :( Not a good idea to go flying :cry: So I drove back west and arrived back home in the pouring rain. :x

Waiting for blue skies again 8)

[CloudDancer]

Girl you are havin' WA-A-A-AY too much fun :P :Gupsidown: for any one person! Are you still writing??

I R B VERY jealous........
:Gurgh:
CD :howdy

[dreamer]

Girl you are havin' WA-A-A-AY too much fun :P :Gupsidown: for any one person! Are you still writing??

Whaddaya mean "too much fun?" :-? What IS this thing of which you speak? :crazyeyes:

Yep... still writing. Working on a couple of assignments now. Too early to be letting the :cat: out of the sack :wink: All will eventually be revealed...

:angel:

[6 short]

Dreamer wrote


Too early to be letting the (cat) out of the sack

...and all along I thought the cat in the sack was CD!

Pat

[dreamer]

The plot thickens... :o

[dreamer]

Just got back from five days in Sebring watching aerobatic practice sessions for the contest taking place this weekend. Boy did I have FUN!! I didn't want to leave, but had to come home and mow the grass. :( Our annual neighborhood spot landing and BBQ takes place this weekend.

I had SO much fun in Sebring! I can still smell the AVgas... I really DO love that smell. :love: I can still hear the sound of airplanes flying around the aerobatic box. I can still close my eyes and see the graceful figures in the air. It was an interesting juxtoposition of sights and sounds... the airplanes overhead, the sound of squealing tires from the nearby racetrack.

I took a ride in a R22 helicopter with one of Tom's former students (there were lots of his former students there).
On day two, I logged some duel time in an EXTRA-300!!! :onfire:
Just like riding a WILD mustang at a full gallop up the side of a mountain. I once rode a half broke wild Indian horse bareback with nothing but a piece of rope tied up into a makeshift hackamore at a full bucking gallop across the countryside. The horse's name was "Trouble". Trouble didn't throw me but he tried. It was kind of like that. :crazyeyes: I love the way those airplanes start up clawing at the ground, raring to get up in the air. Very fast! :o Quite the rate of climb! :o Straight and level was a challenge :roll: the airplane doesn't seem to like that particular attitude very much! Aileron rolls are fast. Did my first LOOP :D and rode along on a straight up vertical climb hanging on the prop into a tailslide, then some torque rolls down and pull ups and spins, etc... :angel: Whew! A leetle bit too much airplane for me now :roll: ... but I can't wait to try it again some day! I found the PITTS much easier to handle 8) Yesterday I did a little more than an hour in another Decathlon. Did some more spin training, upset recovery, accelerated stalls, departure stalls, base to final stalls and chandelles. Good instructor. Now I'm back home for awhile, hoping I'll be back up in the air SOON!

Gone to mow...

This is the "Wild Ride"

:bad-words: I don't know WHY this picture won't stick!! Steve! Why won't it work!! (o well) :-?

[Widebody]

Here ya go dreamer.

http://www.supercub.org/photopost/data//500/medium/Wild_Ride.jpg

Where you want your picture, click Img - then paste it - click Img again - then click URL twice.
Hope this helps. By the way, you sure have a lot of FUN!! :D

Brad

[dreamer]

What a busy week! Mowed like crazy getting the place ready for the annual spot landing and cook-out. I had some tee-shirts made up for the neighborhood (sectional containing the airport with info printed below and a little red bi-plane flying over, etc... ) It was very successful. Everyone wanted one and I'm having to order more. I'm realizing now, I should have printed the whole thing up-side-down so it would be easier to glance down and get one's bearings... :wink: Anyways, it was a wonderful day. I rode along in the Air Cam for the spot landing and volunteered to be bombadier in the STEARMAN :onfire: for the flour bombing contest. We flew in tight formation over the airport with the BT-13 and a hot looking little Fokker from the Netherlands. Yee Haw! Got another ride in a V-tail Bonanza later in the day.

The next morning, I got a phone call from a CFI friend I have flown with once before. "Come to Miami", he said, "I think I might be able to solo you in a borrowed Aeronca Champ." I spent the day in a feverish whirl, making arrangements and training someone to take care of all the horses I'm tending to, bringing my dog over to a friend's house, purchasing renter's/non-owner's insurance with ample hull coverage, tossing the flight gear into the car again...

I got on the road late in the day and drove for over five hours, making one bad turn into scary-town at night :crazyeyes: before finally finding my way to my friend's house. Set an alarm for dawn's earliest light and tried in vain to sleep... uh oh... :o The alarm went off minutes later and we drove to the airport. :morning: A squawk in one of the brakes was discovered and dealt with during the pre-flight. The wind started to pick up during the delay. We flew around Miami's busy airspace low and slow over the beaches of Miami and around the tip of Florida (my first cross country!) to a little private grass runway near the edge of the Everglades. What a beautiful flight! Did a bunch of touch and goes on the grass in a developing crosswind, then headed to another municipal airport that had a runway oriented with the wind.

The majority of the landings I have done were "dead stick". Power off abeam the numbers, control airspeed with pitch and altitude with slip or throttle, etc. Of course, any time I am in another airplane, I listen to what the voice in my head(set) tells me about how to fly that particular bird... The last time I'd flown a Champ, I did a perfect power off landing. This time (in a different Champ), I was told to control sight-picture with pitch and airspeed with throttle, something I have had very little practice doing... Oh :bad-words: My utter physical and mental exhaustion didn't help matters at all. I did not solo that day. O well :(

Well, at least now, I am carrying my own liability and hull coverage. 8) Gonna try it again in a Citabria next month. Hoping to find some way up into the blue in the meantime. I know I am suffering for lack of consistency and too much time between flights. It's not for lack of trying! I've driven thousands of miles to fly for a mere few hours in the logbook. As you might have guessed, I'll fly just about anything I can get myself into. Someday I'll shall have to fly TO all these places I have flown from! :angel:

[dreamer]

Well... Last week, decided to drive over to a nearby grass strip rumoured to be closing :( to see what might be going on :o Happily :D with nought but the vagaries of the real estate market to thank, the airport will not be closing any time right soon. While looking over the runway, a truck drove up alongside... "Say, fella, D'ya know what's going on around here?"... "Yep" (etc... ) Know of any tailwheel airplanes that might be for sale?" ..."Yep". (etc.) Know of anyone doing primary instruction in taildraggers around here??"... "Yep, that would be me." And your name is??... "I am **** ******, ATP, CFI, CFII, A&P, primary and advanced instruction, (etc...) "Will you solo a PRIMARY student in a tailwheel aeroplane??"... "Yep! Been teaching folks how to fly in Champs for fifty years now, why the heck not?"

So....... TODAY.... I got in a 1946 7AC 65hp Aeronca Champ and flew it ALL BY MYSELF!!! :angel: :angel: :angel:

Wheeeeeeeee!!! :drinking:

[Longwinglover]

Congratulations on your solo!!!

I've enjoyed reading of your exploits. Please keep writing! :wink:

John Scott

[Widebody]

That a girl. I was hoping it would work out.
Has the :D wore off yet. I bet not.
Congratulations!!!!:cheers

Brad

[dreamer]

http://www.supercub.org/photopost/data//500/medium/SOLO_005.jpg

[behindpropellers]

Congrats!

You will never forget!

Tim

[JP]

Dang, that is some righteous! :P

[andersenroger]

Congratulations Christina!

It is a relief to hear that there is a seasoned tail dragger CFI out there that let you solo out in a tail dragger

[dreamer]

Oh! Did Christina solo today too? :o

Congrats to her too 8)

Lynne :angel:

[skagwaypilot]

So....... TODAY.... I got in a 1946 7AC 65hp Aeronca Champ and flew it ALL BY MYSELF!!!
My most sincere congratulations.. :up
OK... when you mentally come down to earth, please describe the event in your inimitable style - don't spare any details (or Emoticons :P )

[Brian Fox]

OK... when you mentally come down to earth, please describe the event in your inimitable style - don't spare any details (or Emoticons )




Don't wait until you come back down to earth to share the details :D

Congratulations!!

Brian

[7853H]

What a great little plane to solo in. Felt really different when the big-ol instructor got out. Those mean 65 horses really act up when your alone in the cabin :D Good job and wear your tail-less shirt proudly.

[Anne]

Hey Lynne! Congratulations on your solo - it was a long time coming! Now I won't be able to keep up with you when I get down there in January.

Anne.

[Gary Reeves]

Lynne, Anne, (and anyone cubless while in South Florida,


Sunquest Aviation at North County (F45) now has a SuperCub Special N156T.

I think it is 105HP, toe brakes.

It is listed on the rentals list so I assume you can both rent or get instruction in it.

http://www.sunquestaviation.com/rentals/

Good going "Dreamer", next time I see Tom I'll tell him the news.

GR

[dreamer]

Well alrighty then... The mangers have all been filled again. I wait for the nearest star to shine brightly on Christmas morn (and LO it shall appear in the East!) and will go fill them again. The rising full moon is dangling in the branches of a huge live oak outside my window that's all festooned with Spanish moss and the windsocks are hung by the runway with care. All is calm and all is bright! I am tucked in the hangar watching the runway for a flying sleigh pulled by eight tiny reindeers. Oooh! I see red and green lights in the sky! :x-mas:

OK... you asked for details :o

It was a clear blue day with a soft breeze blowing out of the West. I couldn't believe there was not an airplane in the sky!! My Honey and I decided to drive out to a nearby grass strip airport to see if there'd be anything going on over there. We drove slowly past the open air hangars looking at all the airplanes tied down. The little taildraggers looked up to the sky, incredulous that no-one was there to loosen the knots. The lone person in a pickup truck that stopped by to say hello was waiting for a student to appear for his flying lesson. When he didn't appear, The instructor said, "You want to fly today?" Ooooh Boy! Of COURSE I had my flying shoes on! :angel: So we conducted a thorough preflight, pulled the prop, taxiied down the grass and OFF the ground we leapt. Now it had been nearly three months since I'd done any serious practice landings. The last page in my log book had eight different airplanes in it! (1 Supercub, 1 Champ, 1 multi-engine Air Cam, 1 BT-13, 2 different Decathlons, 1 Pitts S2B and an Extra-300!) :crazyeyes: Just wanting to get some stick time in anything that had the little wheel in the proper place while seeking one I could solo in, I'd taken every opportunity presented and gone through some training not ordinarily included in the primary flight training syllabus. Why not I figured? Spin training sounds like a good idea to me, as does upset recovery, unusual attitude training and I'd learned that flying up-side-down is just plain FUN! :angel: Now none of this was done at TPA... :roll: Tom had taught me how to do a dead stick landing... pull the power abeam the landing point, turn base and final at the appropriate rate of speed and slip on down if needed to hit the spot (low wing into the wind). We flew around for awhile to get me used to the airplane and then did some landings... passable but not pretty... it had been too long since I'd been able to do very many landings in any one particular airplane. A couple of times the instructor pulled the power at unexpected times. After the hour was up, we talked. He was pleased with my coordination in the turns, but wanted me to work on something he called a "standard rate turn" before setting me loose. Gee Whiz! :roll: I'd figured that since I only had 65 little ponies to work with, I'd better fly a tight pattern! OK... 15 degree banked turns... gradual reductions in power to set up a stabilized approach. OH! :wink: Interesting approach! Went back on the next available date and practiced some more. FINALLY! He got out of the airplane and sent me off on my own... "Give me three". WHOO HOO!!! :onfire: Boy this thing climbs GREAT! Uh oh... don't want to pick up an escort... stay under the radar from McDill AFB! Up around and down... ooops... not done flying! Hold the stick BACK! Now it's down. :D Taxi back... Gosh this airplane feels a whole lot lighter now... turn 360 at the base of the runway again and check for traffic... now straighten out the tail wheel... check stuff... OK! FULL power again! Wheeee!!! All around the pattern and one perfect landing... ONE more time! Crab into the increasing crosswind on take-off... climb to 500 feet, turn cross wind, still climbing, turn down wind (make all the appropriate radio calls), level off at 800 feet... pull the carb heat prior to reducing power, adjust trim, reduce power again, tweak trim, turn base, wing into the crosswind...ooops... flared a leeetle bit high! KEEP the stick back... NOW she's all done flying! Taxi back, clear the active RWY, taxi back to hangar and deplane. Uh oh... Why is that grinning man walking toward me with scissors?? :o Well at least he used pinking shears! :lol:

Did another solo flight a few days later and am now planning a dual cross-country and am looking to check off the remaining items required for the practical test standards in the next few weeks. I'll be able to do my check ride in the Champ!

Dreams DO come true!!

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night! :angel: :angel: :angel:

Lynne

[pushhard]

The story is true :D I was a not entirely disinterested witness. :P And having myself soloed in a 7AC while dreamer was in diapers - there's a vision - and having since spent a couple thousand hours in Pitts and Extras and such and another thousand or so each flying mail in Beech 18s and blowing stuff (mostly coconuts) up in A1s, I wanted to see if it was true that the extra Y chromosome prohibits chicks from flying tail wheel stuff. It ain't true. :o This chick can fly. And looks good doing it. She can even think while flying. That is simply extraordinary for a blond.
Once she learned that you don't have to do 70 degree banked turns in the pattern, although it really looks cool, I knew the shirt was going under the knife, or scissors, soon. :onfire: It's going to be simple transition into the J-3 at K-62. And she can sew. Which is going to come in handy when the 2 Fairchild 24's we're rebuilding need rib-stitching. :lol: If anyone knows of a decent clipped J=3 or Swick T project for sale, please let one of us know. Her hanger looks so unwanted with nothing but a Suburu project in it. :help Wait a minute, a pretty tailwheel flying articulate female with a hanger and I'm posting lame messages from afar. :bang I should hitch a ride back south, now.:But first a little of the homemade ethanol :drinking: :up

[dreamer]

Hmmm... look who's flown out of the box! :o Well, it IS Christmas! :lol: :x-mas:

Thanks for loaning me your shirt pushhard... uhm :oops: ... I owe you one :wink:

:angel: :angel: :angel:
http://www.supercub.org/photopost/data//500/medium/Blue_Shirt.jpg

[pushhard]

What's with the hanger? The one the shirt's on, not the one you live in. :roll:
My shirts don't live on hangers. They are always wadded up in overnight bags waiting for the next call out. :crazyeyes: And unless I'm mistaken, don't you owe me two?? :bunny Another blue one? Anyway, now that you have a whole 2 hours of multi instruction, you're almost ready for the right seat in the GII. :onfire: The airlines are using less experienced FOs :elf: I though you were going to fly the shirttail on the flagpole under theConchRepublic flag
See Cloud Dancer:anon,I have too been there. I think I'll go out and pick the lock on the Lear (Wait - I don't have to. Any Samsonite key works on Learjet locks), point it South, and slap it on the a**. OK, 308 knots down the runway at 15 feet. That'll wake the neighbors :Gwhoa: Then go to Ft. Pierce trying to slow down. I'll use 129.525 in the pattern. "Hello, Rangoon." :Glaf: Then we can dash to the Post Office to mail the NTSB Report. :flag and spend the rest of the day pacifying the neighbors :cheers Or we can have you practice the Primary sequece :D It rolls great
(with the tips empty. It rolls great with full, too, it just doesn't want to stop :roll: Throw the gear out at the top of the loop for speed control. At the top of the Hammerhead pull the left thrust lever to idle and go to flaps full in the pivot. The turns will be just like the ones you like to do from base to final in the Champ. Roll to knife-edge and pull like crazy. Now we'll see who flies out of the box. :roll: And if anyone asks, you're the PIC. :yeow: :yeow:

[dreamer]

www.mysuncoast.com

*small plane crashes in Myakka River State Park
*infra-red footage of wreckage
last few days of local news

dual CC done... 100 mile NIGHT CC leg done... emergency NON simulated engine failure emergency landing in pitch dark alligator infested swamp... done

On final... the only tree in one hundred acres of gloom pops up in the landing light (massive old oak). Randy (pushhard) executes a quarter snap roll to knife edge to avoid the tree successfully before leveling out the wings and flaring to land. (Who knew you could do THAT in a C-150?) The nose wheel (bad words) hit a big alligator?? some deadfall buried under the sawgrass?? the edge of the marsh transitioning into the sawgrass?? (the manuever cost us some altitude and caused us to land shorter than we otherwise would have). The nosewheel gear bent and caused the airplane to do an uncommanded outside loop to the inverted position... Fortunately, we were slowed up pretty good at that point. Thank God for Randy's unlimited aerobatic training and experience. There's a profile on him in this months Sport Aerobatics magazine... Surprisingly, there was not a whole lot of damage to the aircraft. It appears to be repairable. The day before I had done my first tricycle gear landing in a Grummon Tiger. This was my first "spam can" experience. I KNEW there was a reason I wanted to be in a taildragger!

What happened... Circled the airport at 3000 feet and was unable to turn the lights on. It appeared that someone else on the ground was keying a mike at the same time and turning them off or preventing them from coming on at all. :bad-words: (an investigation is on-going... I am FURIOUS!) We never saw the runway lights. We had more than an hour of fuel and had plenty of options at that point... until the engine quit. It gradually rolled back in power and quit completely (we suspect a fuel contamination issue...) Carb heat didn't fix it, nor did anything else work. We checked EVERYthing! Set up best glide and still tried to fix the problem. Luckily I know the area very well (It was PITCH black with nought but the thinnest sliver of moon). Got away from the populated places with houses and fences and power lines and TREES and headed to the south side of the lake at the park to the big sawgrass flats (Glad I am familiar with the area). I turned the airplane over to Randy somewhere in that sequence. I didn't even scream. Randy figured that close to the lake there were less likely to be trees. Thank God for the drought... usually there's 2-4 feet of water in the flats this time of year and reputedly more alligators per square mile than ANY place on earth! It was dry and very cushy. Too far for the alligators to come from the drought receded edge of the lake. I didn't even get my nice Apache moccasin flying shoes wet. It was one HELL of an ATV ride out of there.

Went back yesterday to see the location in he daytime... Almost wished we hadn't... Most of the area is heavily forested (think the haunted forest in the Wizard of Oz) It appears that we also flew under some power-lines just before going knife-edge to miss the tree. Missed a big mud-hole by 20 feet... The nosegear is severely bent... Two engine mounts on the firewall are broken and the vertical stabilizer and rudder is bent. The wings are fine! Didn't even break any windows or instruments! It's a MAJOR alligator nesting ground. Thank God for the drought! There were probably 500 alligators in the immediate vicinity including some real monsters 15-20 feet long. Randy had given me a cell phone to use for emergencies 'cause he didn't like me driving around without one (driving across remote areas of the state for any chance to continue flight training and such). Unbelievably it worked... His had fallen out of his pocket onto the flap hinge and was covered by weeds... we couldn't find it right away. I'd also borrowed a Vector Products "Power on Board" light bar from a friend at Indiantown because my mag light was missing from my flight bag. We were located a whole lot sooner with that than we would have been with a little mag light. Lost the re-charger in the weeds. I wrote to the company for a replacement unit!

We set a new record for a short field landing in a C-150 (21 feet). Randy's got a small gash on his nose and some shiners and I've got a small bruise on my hand. I didn't do it... I swear!! Feeling a little stiff and sore, a little emotional at times and absolutely furious that some utter idiot fool or sociopath was playing games with a hand-held radio. The runway light-box reciever is being replaced with one that can NOT be used to turn off the lights.

Alrighty then! Just need two more hours of night training (glad the hundred mile leg is done!), some instrument training, practical test prep and some solo CC and additional time. I WILL be contiuing aerobatic training.

Y'all be careful out there, ya hear?

Lynne (and Randy)

[Longwinglover]

I'd like to say something really cool and snarky. The words just don't come to mind. Thank Goodness you're OK! Good write-up.

Get back to flying soon. You deserve it!

John Scott

P.S. Sometimes we are afraid of things because we've never tried them. Next time you have an emergency it will be a non-issue!

[Widebody]

Lynne & Randy,
Glad the outcome was a good one.

Lynne,
The experience you continue to achieve along your flight training
is incredible, although no one wants an experience such as this, it will prove to be a valuable one in your flying career that's ahead of you.

You Both Take Care,
Brad

[pushhard]

Although Lynne is delightfully articulate, the whole thing can really be described in one word, "OUCH!!!"
And to quote W. C. Fields, "If it weren't for the honor of it, I'd just as soon not."
And always remember, fly the airplane through the crash, not just to the scene of it. Even through an outside half loop of indescribably small radius performed with only part of the airplane above sea (or gator) level.

Randy

[dreamer]

The FAA investigation team has left the hangar. Glad I've already had some experience with this sort of thing. :roll: As they left, I asked why they hadn't told us they were here to help. Their reply, "Oh we're not from that division, we're from the We're not Happy 'till You're not Happy division. They're on their way over to the State Park now to investigate the accident scene. Their FAA issue black brogans are going to be muddy! :o

:angel:
Lynne (and Randy)

[mvivion]

I hope you didn't tell them about the alligators.... :lol:

Congrats on working through a serious emergency, and handling it well.

Hopefully, you'll be able to determine the source of the engine problem as well.

MTV

[dreamer]

I hope you didn't tell them about the alligators.... :lol:


Uhm... Would that be considered cannibalism?? :o I'm sure there's some sort of reg against that! :crazyeyes: or at least they might extend a professional courtesy. :roll:

[dreamer]

OK... I think the feds are all gone now. It's probably safe to talk again :roll: I've logged 30 more hours since the accident. Can you believe the NTSB didn't even want a report?? Both SOB's walking and talking, no bent wings, fuselage or broken windows after gently flopping over with an uncommanded half outside loop... The nosegear was wrecked upon touchdown, but I think that's probably made out of popsicle sticks... Well, that alligator hide IS pretty tough! :o NTSB and FAA is understaffed and up to their eyeballs in red tape. The day after our little mishap, a 172 flying an approach over water came in too low and tried to extend a glide resulting in a spin/stall and nose first collision with Tampa Bay. All three people on board were killed. The FAA was on their way to investigate that crash after talking to us. I'm sure there was going to be a lot of paperwork involved with that one. I guess they didn't want to deal with any more.

The following week, I got back into an airplane. My instructor neighbor (Supercub) and his beautiful wife JOY! gave Randy and I a ride in their Aztec down to Naples where we hitched a ride on a Lear back to Lexington. I wasn't nervous... I could SEE the ground and all the wonderful flat fields everywhere we could have landed in if we could have SEEN them. I was more nervous driving my car the following day. The steering wheel reminded me of that yoke. I much prefer STICK and rudder! The Lear was fun... climbs WAY faster than the Champ... probably performs on a par with the Crimson Cub :wink:

Lexington was fun. I saw SNOW again :angel: and got to wear my city clothes 8) Went up to Northern Kentucky to Randy's home airport and got a little more stick time in a Christen Eagle. :D Started learning the IAC primary sequence (45 up, full turn spin, recover pointing straight down :o half cuban, loop, competition 180 turn and slow roll), then experienced some more advanced maneuvers with the instructor that was with me. What FUN!! :angel:

Drove back home to Florida and visited Charles Aaron and the Crimson Cub in North Georgia. I'll be writing a story on him for a yet to be named Aviation Publication (hey Cloudy, have you got a spare sack I could borrow?) Saw some meticulous restoration work in progess. I am impressed.

Upon arriving back home, I got back in the Champ and practiced some more ground reference maneuvers. I was at the point where I needed to be in an airplane with a few more instruments installed to complete my training. I hooked up with a recommended instructor down in Venice and rented a beat-up trainer (C-152) from the big flight school. It was really expensive ($100/hour!) and the plane was covered with smoking rivets, had bald tires and looked like it had been ground-looped! Yikes! I also found out that the flight school does not want to even work with locals... All the money is in training foreign students apparently :roll: Sheeesh!

Thumbing through Flying magazine, I saw a small ad for accelerated flight training at a place called "Tailwheels Etc." in Winter Haven Florida :D THAT caught my eye! I'm just needing to go to "finishing school" at this point :lol: I contacted them and liked what I heard. Randy and I drove up to check out the place in person and liked what we saw.

A week later, we drove up and camped out in a hotel and I flew every single day (well, took one day off for Wx and wind :cry: ) Unfortunately, the day we arrived, one of the runways was closed for repairs and it was very windy all week. There were challenging crosswinds every single day and my first nosewheel solo was delayed. But I kept flying and finished up all my other requirements in the meantime.

I like flying on instruments! Ended up with more time than required. Did some more spins too :D On my first night flight since the accident, we set off for a long cross country. It was my first unMANned flight (other than solo). There was a pretty green-eyed GIRL in the instructor seat! At the first check point over Fantasy of Flight, we heard a THUMP and looked at each other wide-eyed... "Did you hear (feel) that?"
"Yep"
"I'm not real comfortable with that, I think we should turn back"
"OK, sounds good to me!!"
The oil pressure and temperature showed no change, but something DID smell funny... The instructor wondered if she was over-reacting to the situation, but I assured her that it was probably a good idea to return to base just to be sure. (Hear a thump, return to the dump) She gets out of the airplane first. In the darkness I hear "Uh Oh... I see feathers", followed by "Ew... GROSS!" as she gets around to the front of the airplane. There lodged in the right cowling opening was a large night hawk, one wing dangling down. Aw... poor bird :cry: Good thing we turned back! What we probably smelled was exhaust from the blocked airflow. If we'd continued, two cylinders would probably have over-heated (or feathers might have caught on fire) and I would have experienced yet ANOTHER engine failure at night!! :yikez: Amazingly ther was no damage done to the engine or airplane. The bird was removed, including one talon back by the firewall and a few miscellaneous feathers, and the plane was flying again the following morning.

I was NOT looking forward to the following evening. Luckily it went off without a hitch. I found ALL my check points and BOTH airports in the dark. A strong head wind on the return trip reduced our ground speed to nearly nothing. It seemed to take forever. The following night I completed the remaining night landings required and finished the night operations training in excess of the minimums. Whew!

The following day I flew with "Scooter" again. Scooter is one year older than my son but has been flying since he was a real kid. He soloed in a glider and has a ton of tailwheel time. He's a real natural pilot. He teaches full time at the sea-plane base and part-time at Tailwheels Etc. He's headed up to Homer, Alaska for the Summer to do some charter work for some operation up there. If any of you guys and gals up there run into him, please tell him I said hello! :howdy We went up to do some more touch and goes in the pattern. Scooter is looking out the window and fiddling around and all of a sudden it's "Ooops! My door just popped open. Calmly I asked him if he was able to close it... "I can't! What'll we DO??" I assured him that everything would be ok and we could deal with it on the ground... "I have to fly the airplane right now" I said as we turned downwind to base. As we are climbing out for the next lap around the pattern, I hear "OH NO! A mean old bug has flown into your pitot tube" and he covers up the airspeed indicator. I grin... suddenly I am back in the Decathlon with Tom, who kept me focused outside of the airplane watching the wings and the nose and glancing periodically at the airspeed... "Fly the airplane, NOT the instruments" was something Tom instilled in me from the beginning.
"Aw shucks", I say, "Well good thing there's no bugs in the static port"
Scooter says "Uh Oh" and covers up the altimeter and rate of climb indicator.
"Hmmm", I reply while continuing the touch and goes (and occasional engine failures), "It's a good thing my vacuum pump still works!"
"You're not going to believe this", he says, "Your vacuum pump just failed too". Then he covers up the rest of the instruments.
I roll my eyes while looking at the runway to my left on downwind and exclaim, "Well GEE! At least I still have a magnetic compass to keep my bearings!"
One more piece of paper comes out :lol:
We shot a few more landings and finally came to a complete stop back on the ramp. :crazyeyes: Every instructor in the school had to come out to see the instrument panel. It was completely covered up. The crack maintenance department fixed all the avionics in record time.

Randy has to return to Kentucky to take care of business. A friend volunteers to continue watching my dog so I can stay and get finished up.

Finally the winds died down and I was able to do my first nosewheel solo in 5307Q. Getting ready for my first solo crosscountry, I am given a crash course in GPS operations for an emergency back-up. The owner of the flight school gives me his watch to hang on the yoke for dead reckoning purposes. (I can't wear a watch... they all stop if I do due to some weird electro magnetic force) During climb-out upon departure, both the GPS and the watch suddenly go haywire. It was also quite hazy in the afternoon heat of the day. I contacted Miami approach and requested flight following to make sure I stayed on course. While talking to the controller, my PTT button suddenly went BOING! and disappeared somewhere between the seat and the door. I stare at the hole in the yoke in disbelief. Hmmm... I dunno if this would work in case there's an electrical contact involved, but MAYbe, if I can find something to stick in there, I might be able to make it work again (Miami approach is trying to contact me while all this is happening... ) I eyeball the pen I've got with my flight plan... Hmmmm... quickly I dismantle the pen and find a little piece inside that was a perfect fit. I stick it in the hole and press down. "Miami approach, this is 07 Quebec, can you hear me now??" IT WORKED!! I flew to my destination and returned to base in time to view a glorious sunset.

The next day I fly the loong solo cross country and do my three TO's and landings (solo) at a towered airport nearby. I HAVE to get back home. I fly back to my home airport with my instructor and taxi up my cozy little hangar. I only need ONE more hour of solo time.

Next week is the first Spring IAC contest at Keystone. Randy is the chief judge. I'm going with him and get to be an assistant :D After the contest, we'll stop in Winter Haven and I'll get FINISHED UP!! Wheeee!!!! :angel: :angel: :angel:

I can hardly wait to see what's next :roll: I think I'll end up with the average number of hours it take to get a PPL these days, but I suspect I've had more than the average number of experiences in my training :crazyeyes: I'm going to have to go through my log book again and count how many airplanes, types, airports (and off), sectionals and different instructors it's been to date.

Might go fly to an island tomorrow with one of my CFI neighbors! (multi-engine air-cam) Hope the Wx holds out!

Lynne :angel:

[Brian Fox]

Hello Lynne

Glad to hear that things are going good. Sounds like you have had lots of excitement along the way too :o

Good luck on the checkride when you take it!!

Brian

[Longwinglover]

Lynne,

I always enjoy your posts - and your enthusiasm! You will be more prepared than most when you finally get your ticket. :D

I think also you may consider changing from "Dreamer" to "Wing and a Prayer"! :lol:

John Scott

[dreamer]

Back in the hangar again... taking a break from mowing weeds. Randy has gone to the store to pick up some fresh (nine year old) Kentucky bourbon :lick:

Flying the Air Cam to a little island on the Gulf of Mexico was FUN!! Put some more short field landings in the log book :wink: The following day I got up in the old C-150 (square tail/manual flaps) that I might be borrowing for the check ride. Mickey's big hand on the altimeter stopped working and a new radio installation was very noisy with any increase in RPM's... hmmm... look into alternatives...

Had a BLAST up at Keystone Heights at the Spring Aerobatic contest. Took the dog with us and was pleased with how well he did. The last half of the contest got rained (and thundered and lightninged) out. Oh well... didn't get to fly up-side down :cry:

On the way back home, we stopped in Winter Haven, FL at Tailwheels, Etc and I GOT FINISHED!! All that's left now is the check ride :o

What an experience it's been... In my log book now... 18 different airplanes (13 with tailwheels) and 12 different types. 17 different CFI's! The majority of the time has been with a smaller handful thankfully. It got a little confusing at times, but I learned something different and valuable from each one. I have flown off of three different sectionals and landed in twenty different places (19 airports and one alligator infested swamp at night). Whew! :crazyeyes:

Next up... Schedule a check ride, hopefully early next week! :D

:help :yikez: :Gscared: :Gurgh:

Sure hope I'm ready!! :angel:

[dreamer]

I have a private pilot's license! :o

Wheeeeeeee! :D

:angel: :angel: :angel:

[arecit]

I have a private pilot's license! :o

Wheeeeeeee! :D

:angel: :angel: :angel:
May I be the first to say 'Congrats', you surely worked hard for this moment.

Safe skies and have fun.

[Grant]

I remember that day.... when we landed and shut down my examiner asked me if I felt comfortable enough to take my mother flying, I said yes and he said "congratulations, you're a private pilot"

good on ya' !

[Brian Fox]

Way to go Lynne!! :angel: :angel:

Brian

[dreamer]

:morning:

Thanks :D

I guess it really wasn't all a dream! It must be real. I have an honest to goodness pilot induced hangover :x

Going for a long drive now (I need an AIRplane!). We're driving up to Kentucky for a couple of days, then back in the car and to Lumberton, North Carolina where the local IAC chapter is hosting their first ever aerobatic contest. Anybody here from around there? Come on over and say hi :howdy Randy and I will be out on the judging line. The Practice day is Thursday, contest Friday and Saturday (April 24-26). The following week we'll be in Sebring for the Spring contest there. There'll be ALL kinds of cool airplanes 8)

Now I just need someone to sign off the endorsement for tailwheel operations. I still have more time in taildraggers than anything else (and hope to keep it that way) :wink:

[Charlie Aileron]

Way to go! Congratulations! Now that you have the ticket you need an airplane!

[Widebody]

Congrats Lynne!!! Enjoy your freedom!!!
Fly Safe,
Brad

[Clyde and Susan]

:morning:

Now I just need someone to sign off the endorsement for tailwheel operations. I still have more time in taildraggers than anything else (and hope to keep it that way) :wink:

Hi Lynne,
Congratulations on your new PPL ticket. If you were ever signed off to solo in a conventional gear airplane while you were a student pilot, I think that's all you need. ...Clyde

[Anne]

Congratulations Lynne! If you're anything like me, you won't come back to earth (mentally) for a very, very long time! Way to go, girl!

Anne.

[dreamer]

Thank you so much Nancie, Grant, Brian, Charles, Brad, Clyde, Anne and everyone else here that has offered kind words and encouragement. I also want to thank everyone here that I have learned so much from by reading your posts and "hangar-flying". A special thanks to whathisname hisself :anon for making me laugh and to remember NO MATTER WHAT to just fly the airplane. It's still sinking in... I'M A PILOT NOW!!! :o

Yes Charles, you are RIGHT! I need an AIRplane. It would be SO nice to get used to ONE airplane for awhile and start polishing up these skills. Uhm... anyone know of any cool projects out there?? :crazyeyes: Mebbe some old J-3 with bent wing-tips (I'll just saw 'em off)

Well... I got back UP in an airplane today... The first time since the check ride (more on that later). Yet ANOTHER type... but it DID have a tailwheel (and a STICK!) 8) I got behind a Lycoming IO-540 (350hp and 1200lbs) in a BRAND NEW MX-2!! :onfire: Whoo-hoooo!! Niiiice :D Controls VERY responsive and light. I did some basic aerobatic manuevers (loops and rolls and such) and rode along on some more advanced stuff. Wheeee! Unfortunately that's WAY out of my price range :roll:

Re: the tailwheel endorsement... according to FAR 61.93, an endorsement is required unless someone has acted as PIC in a TW airplane prior to April 15, 1991. I dunno... I SOLOED in a 7AC Champ and have .9 hours PIC, but that doesn't mean anything??? Oh well... I STILL have more hours in TW than nosewheel. But I LIKE an airplane with a stick and rudder!! Oh well... guess I'll have to stick with F-4's or F-16's.... well mebbe a F-86 saber jet (ooops... guess I'll need the high performance endorsement!)

:angel:

[dreamer]

Perhaps a little bit :OT% :-? , but there IS a Supercub connection... sortof... the guy in the back seat is named STEVE JOHNSON! This one is from Nashville, TN. On his 20th wedding anniversary, he brought his wife the obligatory pretty card and nice bouquet of flowers and she handed him a gift certificate to have this airplane custom built for him (she has since recieved many other marriage proposals just in case things don't work out.) Sorry guys, as he says... she's a keeper! :luv2: That's me in the front seat. I MIGHT be the only woman in the world that has ever flown this airplane type to date (there's only seven of them flying right now). http://www.mxaircraft.com/index.php I'm awaiting confirmation. I'm sure interested in knowing for certain... I did some "basic" aerobatic manuevers and then rode along for some very cool manuevers and an inverted high speed low pass over the runway and rolling push-up (in waivered airspace). The pilot placed TOP in the entire competion (his first contest in this airplane!)
I really do want to get a Supercub someday. :love: It will always be one of my favorite airplanes. In the meantime though... I got up in an Extra 200 in Sebring and practiced the primary sequence (45 up line, full turn spin, recovery vertical DOWN line :o , Half Cuban, loop, 180 competion turn and slow roll). My first time doing the whole thing and my very first half Cuban. I am now eligible for a "smooth" patch 8) I was told that I probably would have placed in the top three in the catagory if I had been actually competing. I hope to compete in Atlanta in a couple of weeks in a Giles-202. Thankfully, there will be time to practice a little bit first :roll:

Wheeee! :angel:

http://www.supercub.org/photopost/data/500/First_MX-2_Ride.jpg

[dreamer]

Yahoo! :onfire:
I am an OHfictial, er Ofishal, uh... a REAL tail dragger pilot chick now. :D

There is a brand new endorsement in my log-book. :angel: We went up to a sweet little airport in Falmouth, Kentucky. OMG, there's HILLS and HOLLERS down there! (I'd forgotten the earth isn't all flat) and I got into a trusty ole Decathlon with CFI Ashley Messenger (does TW and aerobatic training). Now I haven't flown one of these birds since last Summer with Tom in Indiantown and haven't had any TW landings at all since last Winter in the Champ... It sure felt GOOD! That runway was SO smooth, I thought I botched the first landing. I felt a slight bump as the wheels touched down and it was SO smooth I thought I was floating for a minute! Nope! We were ON the ground. :D I sure do like a REAL airplane with STICKS in it and made of WOOD and FABRIC! The wheel landings were a little more adventurous :roll: I'd been taught a slight tail down approach on grass (with Tom) followed by a little forward pressure and had no problem with those. The BT-13 is a breeze to wheel-land (and it sure is FUN sitting behind that R-985 with the canopy open). The springy gear of the Decathlon and a flatter approach on pavement was a little bit trickier for sure. We smashed a bunch of bugs, narrowly avoided a wild turkey running across the runway (oh darn, that would have made a nice dinner) and finally taxiied back to the hangar and lay down some ink on the page. Yippee! I wiped off ALL the dead bugs and kissed that cute little airplane right on the nose (tilted up fetchingly just like a REAL airplane!). To all the gang at Gene Snyder Airport, THANK YOU!!

Lynne

Wheeee! :angel:

[Brian Fox]

Hi Lynne

Congratulations on the new endorsement! :D

Brian

[12Geezer2]

You've had some interesting experiences in the past 15 months. Good for You !!!!!Congratulations on the endorsement. :D

[dreamer]

Just outside the Atlanta Speedway at Tara Field for the Southeast Aerobatic Championships. I was able to practice for about thirty minutes in type :roll: ... in a Giles 202 that was originally built and flown by Gary Ward. It was a very fast sequence of events :crazyeyes: Nice airplane though... VERY light on the controls :wink:

I got "volunteered" to play and sing at the contest supper the night before I had to fly and did NOT get enough sleep before the briefing in the morning (oh well!) :morning:
I then flew first in the primary sequence order of flight. After two flights, I'd finished second overall :o A decision was made to fly two more flights later in the day and I didn't finish in the top three, but I did end up with TWO 3rd place medals! :o :onfire:

Boy am I tired now :sleeping:

Flying in my dreams! :angel:

[dreamer]

Well since we smashed so many bugs yesterday, I volunteered to wash 'em all off and polish the airplane today. (Boy I LOVE these new microfiber cloths!) No sooner all done and sitting back inside the RV when I witnessed some A$$-*** in a big black SUV drive up onto the ramp and let out a little Yorkshire Terrier. Too lazy to walk the dog over to the grass I guess... probably didn't want to get out of the AC or quit yakking on his cell phone. The dog ran over to the airplane, squatted down by the wheel pants and did his business. The jerk didn't even blink, just let the dog back in the car and drove off. I hope he'll step in some when he gets home. Some people! :roll:
:bad-words:

[dreamer]

Just back from Oh Hi OH! Boy does it feel good not to be DRIVING for a day or so... Headed back South t'morrow tho... The grass should be getting tall again :roll: I competed in the Ohio Aerobatic Open Contest in Marysville in a Pitts S2B loaned at the briefing... No practice slot... Strap in and dive into the box learning the plane on climb-out only :crazyeyes: 260hp :onfire: Third time ever in a bi-plane... Way different than the mono-planes I've been flying the sequence in, but FUN! :D Competed against a 10 time National champion in a Cassuitt and a member of the US aerobatic team in an Edge 540 flying for a patch and a young man with his own Bucker Jungmeister. I got a third place trophy (only because the pilot flying for the patch wasn't eligible to place). Everytime I do this, I learn a little bit more. Someday I'll be able to "compete" with someone other than myself :wink: . I'm still in the "sensory overload" stage right now, but am learning where to look and increasing the precision of my placement in the box. Now if I could only PRACTICE some more! :lol: Having more than 15 hours PIC might help :roll: . I think I've flown close to 40 different airplanes and about two dozen types so far. I've washed the bugs off of many of them to do this :lol:

The day after the contest was over, we drove over to Waynesville, OH to Red Stewart Aerodrome. A NICE grass strip, family run operation with several taildraggers for rent... A Champ, a J-3 CUB :love: and a beautiful stock Stearman. I booked an hour in the Cub, hoping there might be more time available, but unfortunately, the Champ had gone flying without a pilot during a windstorm the day before and was getting a wing-tip repaired, so no more time was available in the Cub. Boy was THAT fun though :angel: :angel: :angel: I'd never been in a J-3 before... Supercubs only. First time ever flying from the back seat. The visiblity's not so bad until the big guy gets in the front seat :roll: It felt GREAT to be putt-putting through the sky again! Nothin' like a CUB, eh? :luv2: Stalls were as gentle as a lamb. It was a little trickier judging the flare from the back seat, complicated by landing on a gentle up-slope on the runway.

Upon returning to Marysville, I saw HAIL for the first time in eons... only pea-sized and over as soon as it started. I walked over to the FBO after it cleared up and struck up a conversation with some folks hanging around there. Next thing I know, I've been offered a chance to fly yet another type of airplane. A Nanchang CJ 6A :onfire: Yee-HAW! Chinese military trainer... intrument and placard markings written in Chinese characters :o Luckily, english translations were in place as well, but AS, altimeter, etc., were marked in METRIC :o The prop spins in the opposite direction. It was weird haing to use LEFT rudder to over-come P-factor on climb-out. Complex gear, gull wings with lots of camber. Strange spinning characteristics, requires lots of imput to keep the nose in one place during a roll. LOTS of back pressure during steep turns (heavy airplane!) It was fun. The wind picked up again, we landed.

Every contest has a special award given for the deed of infamy... In Sebring it's the Bozo award, in North Carolina it's the Goober Award. In Ohio, it's the "Fickle Finger" award... This year the Fickle Finger was won by the safety chief for a navy test pilot school for running out of fuel on final in a C-150 and landing in a bean field within sight of the runway. Gas caps were loose and an extra hour of fuel siphoned out of the tanks on the short flight. He was fortunate to have had a good outcome and certainly rather embarrassed by the incident, however, the acceptance speech he gave at the banquet was great. No matter how good you are and how much experience you have, never lose sight of the details... The devil IS in the details. :crazyeyes:

Home sweet hangar in two more days... Gotta find an AIRplane to put in there!
:angel:

[dreamer]

Whoooeee!

Went to the mailbox today and after two months and two weeks, there was an envelope in there from the FAA... :o
:angel: I have a (brandnewain'titcoolandit's laminated) PILOT"S LICENSE!! :D It shore is purty!

I also received an envelope from the Florida Dept. of Transportation with my brand new RE-newed driver's license (it's ma BIRTHday t'morrow) Very fitting considerin' I've gotta carry them both with me now.... 8)

AND the bank statement for my savings account arrived... :o Oh well, At least I've got item #1 :D

:angel: :angel: :angel:

[12Geezer2]

Happy Birthday----Fly Safe :D

[dreamer]

Yahoo! Finally got in an airplane again. We drove up to Salem. IL for the IAC contest there and I got to practice 8) and compete in a Christen Eagle named "Sugar" (yes, definitely a sweet airplane! "Sugar" won three trophies with three different pilots this weekend) The practice session paid off :roll: I did a lovely falling leaf maneuver after forgetting to put the power back in prior to the half-Cuban after the spin the first time up :roll: BUT... After an hour in the airplane, I got my highest score ever (82.79%) in the first flight for the contest. Of course, I was competing against Giles Henderson who is a ten time National Champion and airshow pilot with about 100 times my experience competing in a BEE-YOO-tiful clipped wing CUB :love: Aw shucks, I'm not competing against anyone but myself yet, just trying to get better! BUT... I ended up with a second place trophy! :D Betty Stewart was there (2X World Champion and retired airshow pilot). What a neat person! She told me that the only way to compete with Giles is to move up to another category. I accepted the award to choruses of "Move UP!" and "Get an AIRplane!" :o

I am regularly scouting SC classifieds, Barnstormer, etc. in search of a J3 (All Cubs are Super, right? :wink: ) or something similar (old T-Craft?) that could be converted into a two-place aerobatic mount, but as you know, not every plane in need of a home makes the ads. If anybody out there EVER hears of a dusty old airplane sitting in a dark hangar somewhere in need of a good home, PLEASE let me know! A project with good bones is good, I'd plan on doing a complete restoration anyways. (reminder to self, must buy another lottery ticket)

Thanks!
Lynne

:angel:

[dreamer]

OK...

Somebody's trying to GIVE me an "aeroplane" now :o .

It's a "Challenger II" not exactly an ultra-lite (close to 400 lbs), LONG wings (31.5 span) and it's got a PARACHUTE! :crazyeyes: (mebbe that's a GOOD thing) AND darn it all, it's got a NOSE wheel :roll: BUT, apparently it can also be flown as a glider after climbing up to thermals under power and it's got good STOL capabilities... Hmmmm... Seems to be good on floats and skis (tho I'm not thinking about that now). Reputedly a real stick and RUDDER kinda thing. Shore glad I know's what FEETS are fore :wink:

Yep, it's a project. :x Needs re-cover and overhaul (one of dem dere Rrrrrotax engines)... Guessing that it might be completely overhauled and airworthy under 5K, seems to be worth more than that if that's been done... Figure it might be a good way to gain experience towards an A&P and IF it's been comPLETEly checked out, ETC!!!, an inexpensive way to build the cross-country time necessary to go for that instrument rating and good experience for that GLIDER rating I want to get too :D

I can have it for FREE! :o

I THINK I can sell it for more than it costs me in parts to make it work. (I figure the labor is worth some of that invaluable EXPERIENCE :crazyeyes: ) I DO hope to be trading UP at some point! :roll:

Still trying to locate the boxes containing the paperwork... (It's gotta be around here SOMEwhere!) Got a sketchy history already and have been researching the rest. Originally built and flown, then damaged in a bad landing :x . The damage to the NOSEgear was repaired, but the fabric removed in the process was NOT repaired before the owner moved to another state and decided not to take it with him. He donated it to a wildlife preservation organization with hopes it could be utilized in Belize spotting manatee migrations, but that wasn't feasible logistically. It's been floating around here ever since. It was even stored in MY hangar for awhile.

I wouldn't DREAM of flying it without going over EVERYthing with a fine tooth comb and plenty of adult supervision.

SO!!! Whaddaya think???

(I needs WINGS!!)

:angel:

[Josh]

Yahoo! Finally got in an airplane again. We drove up to Salem. IL for the IAC contest there and I got to practice 8) and compete in a Christen Eagle named "Sugar" (yes, definitely a sweet airplane! "Sugar" won three trophies with three different pilots this weekend) The practice session paid off :roll: I did a lovely falling leaf maneuver after forgetting to put the power back in prior to the half-Cuban after the spin the first time up :roll: BUT... After an hour in the airplane, I got my highest score ever (82.79%) in the first flight for the contest. Thanks!
Lynne

:angel:

Hey man congrats!!!!. Have fun. wish I was................ :D

[dreamer]

Thanks Josh :D

We'll have to buzz down to Key West someday to see your operation. Sounds like LOTS of fun! 8)

I've had about all the fun I can handle mowing the grass around here (all 12 acres are DONE for another minute or so). It's just too scary sitting here watching it grow before my very eyes :yikez:, so we're gonna head back up to Kentucky for a short visit. Wish we could stay longer, but I've gotta get back here to mow AGAIN! :help

HOPEfully I'll be flying this coming weekend. There's a whole FLOCK of Eagles up in Northern Kentucky along with the Decathlon I got my TW endorsement in and a beeYOOtiful J3 CUB I've not yet flown :love: Gotta make sure I've got my bug-removal kit with me :D

Gosh, I wonder how many miles I've driven in order to go FLYing?? :crazyeyes: I'm sure it's just NUTS! :wink:

Sooooo... I know you guys and gals all have REAL airplanes, but is there anyone around here that's had any experience with the Challenger II??:nutz:

Pondering and packing...

Lynne

[dreamer]

An Angel Spreads Her Wings...

Today I heard the news. An angel spreads her wings and flies away. I did not know her well, but she walked right up to me and whispered YES, indeed, I really really ~could~ fly (if I truly wanted to). That time happened to me when that was all I ever wanted and finally knew. Radiantly beautiful with the warmest sparkling smile, I watched her climb into her aeroplane, put on her wings and FLY. OH! How she could FLY! I love to watch her dance and tumble through the sky. Upon the ground again, that smile I will remember...ever more.

Thank you dear angel. I love to watch you fly. I will be watching for you.

http://www.airrace.org/PressRelease-F1-06sept2008.pdf

[dreamer]

:morning:
Well, Erica told me last Fall when I showed up at the Sebring IAC Contest as a student pilot wanting to fly acro someday... "Stick with it. Keep training, get your private and FLY every chance you get. You ~could~ be competing next year!" So I did. Got my private, flew the MX-2 right after passing my check ride (it's been confirmed, I AM the only woman pilot in the world that has flown it!) and started going to every contest possible, washing airplanes and flying with safety pilots learning how to fly the primary sequence. Right now, I am sitting in an RV on the ramp at Sherman Denison, TX watching all the pretty airplanes get ready for their long trips home. Out my window, the pretty Giles-202 from North Carolina that I flew all week (SECOND time in type!). The awards banquet was last night. I have a big shiny trophy sitting on the table in front of me. Engraved upon it... "United States National Aerobatic Championships - 1st Place Primary" :o I am a National Champion! :crazyeyes: Who'da thunk it? I've STILL got less than 100 hours total time! GOTTA get an airplane. If the economy doesn't go into total freefall, I will probably be coming into enough $$ to get into a small clipped wing Taylorcraft sometime this winter. Looking hard for one now. A fine looking tricked out Supercub is definitely still on the wish list , but I suspect it may take a little longer to get into one of those. SO glad I started my primary training in a SUPERcub!

:angel: :angel: :angel:

Lynne

[Brian Fox]

Way to go Lynne!! Congrats :D

[dreamer]

Thanks Brian :D

Holed up in Southern, LA t'night in a hotel pretty much wrecked by FEMA refugees (the staff is frazzled to say the least). Hope to be hitting North Florida t'morrow. MUCH longer drive than anticipated for today. Louisiana has some looong and lonely roads and few places for a weary traveler to stop and rest! Home to mow, then back on the road again to the Rebel Regional contest in Union City, TN to defend my new title :roll:

How's your cub? Got the new engine installed yet? Come on by sometime, I'd be happy to help you change the oil and git the smashed bugs off the leading edges. :wink:

Lynne

[dreamer]

Just back from the Rebel Regional in IAC contest in Union City, TN. There was a larger than usual pool of primary contestants (all with airplanes and lotsa time flyin' between 'em), but... I did alright! Bit by bit, the pieces of the puzzle ARE coming together :wink:. I came home with a third place score in one flight AND a gift certificate for a brand new custom Hooker Harness! Now just gotta find the airplane to wrap around it :D Looking hard at a couple of good possibilities.... No Supercub, but... a clipped T-Craft IS a kissing cousin to the clipped wing CUB :kiss: I figure they'll keep me honest and teach me a LOT. Them plastic fantastic aeroplanes are cool, but almost TOO easy to flip around at will. Eh, it doesn't really matter, the airplane will do whatever it's told... what we are working on here is the ability to communicate, eh? :roll:

I am SO close to a hundred hours now. I figure if I can get a couple of more hours between now and Sebring, I might just be able to spend the 100th hour UP-SIDE-DOWN! :onfire: I wonder if SPOT can figure this out?

I've been promised some more time in the SUPER-CUB!! :D :D :D

It remains to be seen what else I might be able to get myself into 'tween now and then.

Probably gonna retire this thread when 100 hours are up.

Thanks y'all for being here :angel: It's been quite DREAM come TRUE! :angel: :angel: :angel:

Lynne

[Clyde and Susan]

Hi Lynne,

We hope you keep this thread going. ...Clyde and Susan

[dreamer]

Thanks Clyde and Susan :D

I really figured I'd be starting to bore y'all with a blow by blow description of every hour ~I~ fly beyond this point.

I am thrilled that this entire venture did indeed START with a DREAM :D and a lil ole SuperCUB! and who'da thunk it? :o

Although I may seldom comment, I do read all of the threads here at Supercub.org and have learned SO much from the collective experiences and wisdom (etal) that I have found here. I am curiouser and curiouser here as a result :wink:

Hereby starts another thread... http://www.supercub.org/phpbb2/viewtopic.php?p=190877#190877
:angel: :angel: :angel:

[dreamer]

:onfire: WA-HOOO!!!! I just went FLYING in a SUPERCUB with GREAT BIG WHEELS!:o (THANKS Brian! :wink: ) YAY! I am TW current again AND I filled up anOTHER page in the logbook, most appropriately, with the last entry a SUPERCUB! (with great BIG tires :o)

Brian flew over here early this afternoon, after extricating the Cub from the shadow of a great big fancy G5 (the cub is way cooler) and landed right here...

<<<---------------------------- (see avatar) in a "make you sit up and take notice" brisk direct crosswind. After a nice "squeak squeak" good landing 8), he taxiied up to the field. A few short minutes later... we were OFF and FLYING!! :angel:

Our destination was a private grass strip nearby (called first) that neither of us had ever been to before. Luckily, the cross wind here was straight down the runway there :wink:. This little private strip is one of the best kept secrets around here that one of my neighbors was kind enough to tell me about. 3,400 X 80 nice SMOOTH grass, totally deserted, NO traffic whatsoever other than a few :bad-words: BUZZARDS (not an issue).

Boy I sure do like landing on turf. BOY those great big tires ARE fun!

Thanks again Brian :D It was a beautiful day to fly. Thanks for rescuing me from gravity :D .

I hope to be taking you for a ride in MY plane soon (uh, you might have to wrassle with :anon ). Sorry guys, it looks like a TWO seater, we'll just have to take TURNS :roll: flying the AIRPLANE! WHEEEE!


:angel: :angel: :angel:

[Brian Fox]

Hi Lynne!

Glad you had a good time. I do have to admit though that I am one of the many who suffer from BIHT (Bushwheel-induced Hypotestosteronism) .......................... my tires are only the Goodyear 26" ............ :oops: for now anyway!

Brian

[dreamer]

Yeee-HAW!! :onfire:

Just back from the Fall Aerobatic Championships at Sebring. There was an unusually large group of Primary competitors (9) including many with nice little airplanes, LOTS of experience (Commercial pilots) and a group of aeronautical degree students from the Embry-Riddle Aerobatic Club. I flew an Aviat Pitts S2-B while waiting for a Giles 202 to arrive, then flew another Giles before the one arrived that I was flying to compete. I flew a total of 4 practice flights including one flight with my safety pilot where he flew two of his intermediate sequences (+9 G's!) (whew!). He won the Intermediate category. :D

Primary flew on Saturday. I placed third in the first flight for a medal, outscoring all the Embry-Riddle boys AND their instructor! On the second flight, I came in fourth (the Instructor rallied to 3rd place). Just discovered that I have probably also placed (second?) in two annual regional championships as well... South-East AND Mid-America :o

The day after the contest, I had an opportunity to fly two more types of aircraft (almost 30 types total now!). First, a big STRONG Russian airplane (Da!)... The SUKHOI SU-29. WOWIE!!! :onfire: If you could stand this airplane on it's tail somehow, it's got enough power to take off from the ground in a vertical position! I flew with Sergie Boriak, several time World and European Aerobatic Champion and one of the most sought after Aerobatic coaches in the world. Strapping on THAT airplane is a life-altering experience. BIG 9 cylinder engine ROARS like big Russian bear. I ratcheted down the straps as tight as I possibly could and held onto the stick with TWO hands. Sergie put the plane through some of it's paces, then let me fly a few maneuvers. WOW! The seat reclines and your feet are strapped onto the rudders. It's possible to pull a lot of G's without even feeling them. I sure do feel it today though :yeow: I've got bruises on ALL of my attach points AND my butt. Good thing my Honey's here to make me feel better! :kiss:

As soon as we got down, I hopped into another airplane, a Cap-10-B. (think "French Connection"). Certainly not as powerful as the Sukhoi, but well balanced and very capable. Graceful is the word that comes to mind.

I've now got 99.2 hours TT (Soooo close!). I may be able to accompany one of my neighbors for a short flight in a gorgeous 1941 Stearman with an R-985 engine and fly that around the patch a bit, and then get up with another neighbor in a Dutch Military trainer Fokker (S-11 Instructor) to hit hour one-hundred UP-SIDE-DOWN!! :onfire:

I'm waiting for UPS to deliver my own parachute :D

THEN... I'm HOPING that this beautiful little Clipped-wing Taylorcraft that we've found up in Ohio works out and I'll have an AIRPLANE that I can fly OVER and OVER again. :D (Well at least it's RELATED to a Supercub) :wink:

:angel: :angel: :angel:

http://www.supercub.org/photopost/data//500/medium/Nationals_018.jpg

[Widebody]

Congratulations Lynne!!
You've had some great times in that short 100hrs.

I'm sure you've got lots of help with the T Craft,
but if you plan on Aerobatics with it, I'd sure call
Warren Pietsch for a little more insight. He's a great guy
and I'm sure would be glad to visit with you. 701-852-4092

Stay Safe,
Brad

[dreamer]

Thanks Brad,

I looked up Warren's web-site. It turns out that I have seen his routine (Sun 'n Fun the year before last). He's got a 14 foot wingspan on that T-craft. I'll BET he knows something about flying a clipped wing! The one I'm looking at is 11 feet :o Hmmm.... Thanks for the phone number. I believe I will give him a call :D The airplane has a Continental 0-200 engine, inverted systems, aerodynamically boosted tail with extra flying wires and currently weighs just a little over 800 lbs. It's a single seater now, but I'd want to put a bench seat back in there to revert it to dual. (and do everything possible to keep it LIGHT). We'd have to add another set of rudder pedals and a "Y" stick. I'd like to get plenty of dual time in it before doing much more than building cross country time. I've not flown up-side down by myself yet. Solo acro is flown in the center of the seat with feet on the outside rudders. I hope to get at least a year or two of flying time before re-covering. I know you guys will have LOTS of tips about keeping it light :D I sure do hope it works out.

:angel:

[dreamer]

Oh Boy! :angel: Just when I couldn't stand the suspense anymore (and just itching to get into an airplane), I remembered that there was a famous airshow pilot (the "Flying Farmer"very recently retired from Rhinebeck Aerodrome) that spent the Winters down in Venice (about 22 miles SW of where I am), so... I looked him up http://segallad.tripod.com/AerobaticInstructions/index.html and made arrangements to go flying with him this morning and spent my...
100th hour in the air... UP-SIDE-DOWN!! :onfire:

Wheeee! Practiced rolls and loops and Cuban 8's and learned how to do an Immelman and a Hammerhead out over the Gulf of Mexico. It was a wonderful day to fly :D

:angel:

Oh... and when I got home, there was a lovely postcard in the mailbox from SUPERCUB.ORG! Thanks Steve :wink:

[dreamer]

OK... Toes and fingers crossed here.

Awaiting the completion of a wing strut AD and the results of a full condition inspection (Experimental Exhibition Category)... Toes tapping, pacing back and forth...:bang Hoping to find out soon whether in fact I will at looong last have an airplane of my own to fly! I am SO looking forward to learning the flight and ground handling characteristics of just ONE airplane. Although it has certainly been a great deal of fun flying the nearly 30 different types that I have flown to date, it will be a novel experience getting used to just one. :wink:

We've done the title search and pored over the FAA records. The airplane has a good history, has been well-cared for and has always been hangared. She shore is purty too! 8) Hopefully more details (and pictures) will be forthcoming soon. Acksurely, y'all have already seen a picture of the cockpit array and placards. :wink: Wish me luck please!

Lynne :angel:

[Cub junkie]

How would the wing strut AD effect an experimental category aircraft other than personal piece of mind for safety? Congratulations on getting your own ship.

[dreamer]

The airplane was originally registered in the standard category before modifications were made for aerobatic flight. The AD applies to original certificated parts. There was a bunch of confusion regarding this issue. The owner had been told previously that the AD didn't apply or did apply depending on which FSDO, A&P or IA he queried. :roll: We asked one of the most knowledgeable persons regarding the type in the country and finally got a straight answer. Piece of mind and safety was most definitely a factor in opting to comply.

I hope to spend a LOT of time in this airplane and eventually rack up enough cross-country time to go for an instrument rating before a BFR is due. (if not, I'll go for a glider or float-plane rating).

I really hope that this particular ship will be the one for me. I'll post as soon as I know for sure. :D

:angel:

[dreamer]

Have we got any S-cubbers near Youngston, OH? That's where the airplane is (Braceville actually) while the A&P's scratch their heads and whatevers trying to figure out what they should do re: the inspection and (applicable or not) AD. This airplane has been highly modified from original condition. The wing strutts are very much beefed up. OK, the holidaze have probably contributed to the delay, but I really do want to get the airplane in a place where I can make a few other mods and start FLYING it!!! NOW!!! Argh! :crazyeyes:

Alright... I was trying to wait for these issues to be resolved before making the announcement, but I suppose it's time to tell you now about my resolution for the new year to finally change my name... for the first time ever... :o Yep, you guessed it right...
I"M GETTING MARRIED! :onfire:

The lucky man is Randy Reinhardt, man and pilot Extra-ordinAIRE. :wink: I will be the lucky girl. :angel:

I am making myself a dress with special slits to accommodate the wearing of my own parachute from a WWII German fighter pilot's emergency reserve silk parachute that I presume was shot down in '45 by one of our guys. Except for the smudges from it's one assumed use, it's in absolutely beautiful condition. I'll just gather the spill hole about my waist and attach it to a bodice made from other parts of the chute. I'll make Randy a matching silk aviator scarf from the same silk to wear. We'll be doing the deed at the Sebring, FL Aerobatic Championships this Spring. IN an aeroplane of course :angel: with someone conducting the ceremony via radio whilst we fly together in the aerobatic box. "I DO" will be announced over the radio and verified by a rocking of the wings and a slow roll. The first "dance" will be an aerobatic ballet, then we will fly off into the sunset together briefly before returning to land for a BIG party on the ramp.

I am SO looking forward to spending the rest of my life with this man. :D

Y'all are of course invited :D First week in May... details will be forthcoming :angel:

signed,

The future Mrs. Reinhardt :angel:

[aktango58]

Florida????

First week of May, would Valdez be a better option???? We like fun stuff up here too! :lol:

My best to you and the future Mr. Dreamer!!!!!!!!!

Go for life, you only get one chance!

Advise: when wrong, admit it, when right-Shut up! :drinking: :drinking:

[pushhard]

Valdez, huh? I just checked. It's 3 deg F there and 61 in Sarasota. By May VDZ might reach 45 for a high. The T-Craft has no heat or skis. As the future Mr. Dreamer (I prefer "Mr. The Dream"), think I'll stick with Florida. Besides, I don't remember reading about any ship called the Exxon Sebring. Also, it's 3711nm from SRQ to VDZ. Not sure we could get there by May. But mainly, I still haven't thawed out from ferrying F-4s from Elmendorf to Ton Son Nhat and there is no refueling probe on a BC12D.

[Widebody]

Hey Randy... You ever heard the expression "Dead Man Walking" :D

Just Kidding, Congratulations!! To both you and Lynne.

Brad

[dreamer]

LOL! :lol: Thanks Brad :D We're settling into the hangar again after one of them there trips where the road just seems to get longer every time you drive down it (I-75 thru GA is just BRUTAL!). My poor little lap-top computer is barely limping along. I don't dare shut it down again now before finding a 'nuther <egads> Randy's not walking much seeing as he's now recovering from a BIG broken bone (hip), but he's very much alive :wink: and getting better every day. Thanks for the suggestion AKtango... That's sure a long way to go (I hope to see AK myself someday), but if you are ready for a whole different experience, come check out the Southernmost state! Still waiting for some A&P in Ohio to figure out what to do with the T-craft <sigh> Who'da thunk it would be so COMPLICATED to buy an aeroplane? :crazyeyes: :bad-words: :crazyeyes:

Hope someone out there in Supercubland is having fun FLYING!!! :angel: :angel: :angel: I am there in ALL my DREAMS!

[dreamer]

YAY!! At looong last, after many delays, much confusion and lots of horrible weather in Northern Ohio, the pre-buy conditional inspection for the airplane we have been trying to purchase was done. YAY! It passed all tests with "flying" colors. Now to figure out how to get it out of the cold-soaked snowy North :angel: (will start another thread for suggestions :roll:)

Ain't she purty? :love:

http://www.supercub.org/photopost/data/500/airplanes_sich_263.JPG

[Cub junkie]

Looks like a fun toy. I haven't seen a Cessna 150 cowl on a T craft in a while.

[behindpropellers]

I think I could get in that and head south :lol:

[Zing]

I could get that airplane to Florida for you ... as could many others who hang around here. It would be a great adventure.

[dreamer]

There's more details about the airplane in the "What kind of Trailer?" thread. Getting it ferried here (flown) would be great. I've contemplated doing it myself, but I just don't have the experience right now, let alone time in type. The logistics of driving up there (Randy with a healing broken hip), getting it to where we could change the seating arrangement etcetera (to get me checked out in it safely) and then embarking on the loong trip home (longer so as not to be flying across the mountains) would be challenging to say the least. We'd have to take turns driving and flying hopping from airport to airport along the way (we need the car). If anyone is up for a simpler one-way flight (pun intended), let me know. I've got accommodations here and can get you back home. PM me if you are serious.

Thanks! :angel:

[dreamer]

It's HERE!!!!

:onfire: :onfire: :onfire: :onfire: :onfire:

Spent the last few hours rubbing off dead bugs (Golly, the very first time I washed an aeroplane that ~I~ own!) :wink: She's even purtier in person. I can't WAIT to start flying her! But first.... squawks to address... seating and controls to convert back to dual, etcetera, etcetera :roll:

But BOY! What a wonderful view out the slider into the hangar to see an AEROPLANE!!!

celebrating :drinking:

WHOOO HOOOO!!!

I can't stop grinning :angel: :angel: :angel:

[12Geezer2]

Glad you got her home !!!I was even looking at BUS tickets :( :-? :D

[ag-pilot]

Glad you got her home !!!I was even looking at BUS tickets :( :-? :D

Dan Dan Dan,,,,,,,,,,,I thought you were finishing a Harley,,,Me thinks ya want to buy some more Florida AV-Gas :D
Dave

[12Geezer2]

Ha ! You are right Dave; Even a nice old Harley should NOT interfere with a nice cross country in a tail dragger or the possibility of purchasing fuel in Florida---but Homestead may have been a bit out of the way for this one. :-? :lol: 8)

[dreamer]

What a whirlwind! Perhaps though, "roller-coaster" would be a more apt description of the last few days. Now that things have calmed down somewhat, I'll attempt to collect a few thoughts.

First... Denny Schwandt is a GREAT guy and a superior pilot. I would recommend him highly to anyone in search of a ferry pilot. He had a few issues with the airplane along the way, but handled them in a totally professional manner and got the airplane here safely. I was glad of his test pilot experiences and impressed by his knowledge of airplanes.

Denny started the trip in an arctic survival flight suit and finished it in shorts. We had a great time visiting with him. He taught us a lot about the airplane and gave us some great ideas about how to fix it up. On the last day of his stay, he showed me how to change the oil and install a new air cleaner. I intend to start working toward an A&P license under lots of adult supervision from Randy and my neighbors (A&P's, IA's). It's like Christmas everyday here now as packages of parts and new tools arrive. :D

The airplane is just BEE-YOO-TI-FULL!! :onfire: It's even nicer than we'd hoped. I'm going over it all very carefully and will be replacing some parts, hardware and fittings. I'm adding a few new systems and and installing a new dual seat and flight controls. I love working on it (much more fun than working on my car :roll: ). I love the way it smells! Aaaah!

I witnessed my first ground loop two days ago. :( The Supercub that I started my flight trainiing in was coming in and I was at the end of the runway watching. The windsocks started switching around madly as the plane descended to the field. It looked rough. I held my breath as the pilot struggled with the wind. On touchdown the wind did another crazy switch and there was a sudden 15mph gust nearly direct across. The cub veered to the edge, I saw one wingtip hit the runway and it looped backwards to the fence. Luckily, the fence on the property was constructed of lines of soft cord rather than wire and boards. Damage to the airplane was minimal. I raced down the runway in bare feet and helped push the airplane back over the fenceline toward the runway. We attempted to repair the fence and I secured the horses in another pasture so they wouldn't escape onto the runway. The cub taxiied back home.

Yesterday, after we dropped Denny off at the airport, we returned home and learned that a friend of ours and a passenger was killed just North of here in his MX-2. :cry: He lived to fly and had a wonderful enthusiasm for life. He will be missed. I feel so bad for his parents. They are wonderful people.

I'm headed out to the hangar.

Please be careful out there y'all.

Lynne :angel:

[high country air]

I wish June would get here so we could all go to Johnson creek (the emerald city I would like to see oz.

[dreamer]

I wish June would get here so we could all go to Johnson creek (the emerald city I would like to see oz.

Click your heels together three times and repeat after me... "There's no place like home... " Johnson Creek is the mother country for all Supercubs, is that right? :wink:

The new ignition harness came in the mail today :o

(now where did I put dem wrenches?)

:angel:

[dreamer]

Trying to sell the Challenger II collection of parts in the hangar to raise some $$ for the runway improvement fund (to the relief of those homeowners who don't actually USE the runway). We're saving up for a set of wind socks that all blow in the same direction at the same time :roll: The wind was twitchy today... a bit of a circus as everybody was trying to figure out which runway to use with three socks blowing three different directions over 180 degrees apart :crazyeyes: Anyways, somebody coming to look at the CH II arrived in in a Wag Aero Cub with an IO-360 engine and nice BIG tires 8) I have never seen an aeroplane climb out so well from this strip. The strip is 2,500 feet... I swear he was at a thousand feet before crossing the halfway mark on the runway! :onfire:

I've been working on the airplane all the live long day :wink: What Fun!!!

I think I've found a good spot to mount the ELT near the seat... now to decide where to put the antenna. I think I'd like to put in INSIDE the tail section just aft of CG. Shouldn't be a problem with tube and fabric... attach ELT bracket to a piece of aluminum to attach around a section of the frame and then a ground plane of aluminum foil? (or the reflective paint stuff?) I want to avoid any additional parasite drag that would be incurred with an external mount and have experienced first hand what happens to the ELT when an airplane is inverted in an alligator infested swamp and the antenna snaps off (the ELT stops working) Underneath, I'd worry about getting it ripped off in long grass <g>. Thankfully, I've got SPOT as a back-up now. Sooo... Whaddaya think? Eventually will have a comm radio antenna mounted in the more traditional location. Will this work?

Thanks!

Lynne :angel: