Friday, June 21, 2013

Hour 62

Yeah, I know I already posted hour 64, but I just got some pics from hour 62 and thought it was worth a brief mention.

The plan for hour 62 was a short flight with Tina and Emilio.  The forecast was clear, but we kind of wanted to keep it close because it was their first flight and because taking all four of us in the 172 meant that we had to take off with only half tanks for weight.

The weather was good all weekend, was forecasted to remain good, and seemed good when we got to the airport.

Based on the way I phrased that, you know what comes next: the clouds rolled in as we fueled.  The field was still clear though, so we resolved to get airborne and take a look - at least we'd be able to fly the pattern.  Tina and Emilio had been winded out the last time, so we wanted to at least get something in.
Pre-flight prep


We did indeed get airborne.  Tina took a bunch of (heavily-edited, by the looks of it) photos and you can see the marine layer pretty clearly as it looms along the coast.





To make matters worse, I had problems with my com as I climbed out.  Once I leveled off and turned downwind, I decided to call the flight due to 1) weather and 2) the radio.  I dialed in tower on the alternate radio and the controller was upset with me because he'd been trying to reach me for over a minute and didn't know what I was up to.

I explained the situation and requested clearance to land, which he immediately granted.  We had flown the pattern once, climbing to 1000 feet AGL and then coming in for a smooth landing on 25.  I paid for 0.2 hours of flight time, though most of it was actually taxiing and preflight.

The thing is - even 0.2 hours is a lot.  It's more than the Wright Brothers had on their first flight, and more than everyone before them ever had combined.  It's enough time to see our beautiful town from the air, and it was enough time for Tina and Emilio to see what it's like to have slipped the surly bonds of Earth.

We'll try for a longer flight some other time, but I'd still call it a success.  They seem to have had fun and everyone came back safe and sound.  That's good enough for me.




They look pretty happy, right?

1 comment:

  1. Looking forward to a longer flight, but definitely a success, thanks Pinto!

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