Rides for the Mountain Biking Buddies

I have been mountain biking with a great group of guys. I am by far the oldest and most out of shape. They make sure not to let me get too far behind and find comic relief in the fact that I take a dramatic spill or six every ride. I hate those narrow plank bridges!

 I wanted to return the favor by taking them for rides in the plane. On Sunday, we finished our (extremely, inappropriately hard) ride up piles of rocks and boulders, then headed over to the airport.

The weather was absolutely perfect. We picked up John's son, Dolan on the way to let him share in the fun.

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First up, my friend John Morley and his son, Dolan. We do a safety brief, then buckle them in. My other friends, Mike and Scott will head up to the terminal to take a video, then will get the next ride.

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Here is the takeoff with the Morleys.
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Scott and Mike took this video of the landing pattern and taxi from the terminal. They're up next.

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Scott and Mike load up and we do a hot start. I'm thrilled to start it on the first try. We check the guages then taxi out for takeoff.  John takes the video this time. John's son, Dolan, had a great ride and wishes he could do it again.

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I take off for the flight with Scott and Mike. We do some turns and let Scott try flying. Mike gets a picture of his house and neighborhood, then we head back to the airport.

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With three big guys, I land faster and longer. We taxi past the first turnoff to the end of the runway to save the brakes.



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We taxi in past the terminal and down to the hangar to put the plane away, then walk back up to meet John and his son.

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Mike Laliberte

Scott Juenger

After we put the plane away, we have a few Mexican beers at the airport restaurant. It is Cinco de Mayo after all. 

The guys liked going up in the plane and I had a great time giving them rides. All in all a really good day.

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BFR Success

I had my BFR this morning with Don Eicher, pictured above. He is an instructor at Chester County Airport and a former F4 Phantom pilot. I'm happy to say I passed the very thorough Biennial Flight Review he gave me.

It looked unpromising this morning with clouds and light rain. I figured I'd at least get the ground portion done and headed over to the airport. We spent an hour going over regulations, safety, decision making and charts. By the time we were done, the sun had come out.

We took off and did air work including slow flight and steep banks. I actually hit my own wake turbulence in completing the steep banks, meaning I had made a perfect circle and held altitude.

We then went back to the airport. I did a touch and go, then a spot landing, both of which went well. He next had me do a simulated engine out by pulling the power on downwind. I came up short the first time and had to go around. I got the second one just right.

All in all it was a great experience and helped sharpen my skills.  I feel ready for the flying season.

Thanks Don!

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BFR Prep and Smoketown Picnic

Tomorrow is my Biennial Flight Review. My instructor who has always given them to me passed away last year. I managed to find someone at my home airport to do one in my Velocity.

The review consists of a minimum of one hour of review on the ground and one hour of flying. I spent this morning studying Part 91 of the regulations for the ground portion of the examination. Since I haven't flown much over the winter, I decided to get out and get a little practice, fuel up the plane and generally get ready.

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I did a couple of touch and goes at Chester County, circled the house, then decided to head over to my old home airport, Smoketown (S37). I figured if I could land and stop in 2,400 feet, then I was landing pretty well.

I did a full stop landing, then taxied past the hangars and the office. No one seemed to be around, so I just taxied back to the departure end of the runway and took off. As I was climbing out, I got calls from three of the local pilots who were in the air approaching the airport. They asked where I was going, since the monthly picnic was about to start. They have a great social scene at the airport and I always enjoyed seeing everyone at the picnics.

What the heck, I rejoined the pattern and tied down. It was great catching up with everyone. I had a burger, spoke with lots of old friends, then did a low pass on departure.

Here are a few pictures.

Burgers and dogs were already cooking

Rich Wallin and wife

The Smoketown gang

Mel Glick- He basically built Smoketown Airport

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As I climbed out, I got a great view of this hot air balloon approaching the airport. I had the heat off with no jacket, the sun was high at 7:00 and the fields were green. Welcome back Spring!

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I circled the house on the way back to the airport and Nancy got these shots from the back deck as I went over at 1,500 feet.
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Back at the hangar and it is still light out. The conditions were perfect-the best so far this year.

I wiped the plane down and put it away. Wish me luck on the BFR tomorrow morning.

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Springtime Breakfast in York

This weekend was forecast to be our first taste of Spring here in Pennsylvania. I got out of work on Friday a little early and headed out to the airport with my wife to see if we could get a quick flight in. I checked the weather in the office and the winds were 13 knots gusting to 20. Oh well, I decided to take what I could get and figure on some good crosswind landing practice. The sky was just too blue to pass up.

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As expected, it was very bumpy and rough once we got airborne. It was also a lot hazier than it looked like it would be from the ground. I made a nice landing in the gusty cross wind and called it a day. 

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Saturday morning turned out to be sunny with less wind. We decided to fly to Kitty Hawk Restaurant at York airport for breakfast.  The kids didn't want to go, so Nancy and I left them watching cartoons and headed over to the airport.

Here is the view out the window and the synthetic vision version on the Grand Rapids EFIS screen. You can just make out the 29 on the picture of the runway.

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Full power and we're off! Next stop - breakfast.

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We climb out and turn  on course for York -KTHV. It is beautiful and clear.

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A view of the screens as we head on course.

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Passing over Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

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...and the city of York.

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Base to final turn for Runway 35, York.

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Short final.

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Touchdown - right on the numbers.

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EFIS view at touchdown.

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It's a mile long taxi back to the office and restaurant when you land in this direction. There are lots of planes on the ramp. We're not the only ones dying to start the flying season.

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All tied down and ready to walk into the restaurant.


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We can see the ramp and our Velocity from our table.

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The food looks great. This should hold me till lunch.

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The Restaurant

Pilot lounge

Flight planning room

Front Desk

Some shots of the inside of the airport.

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We go out to untie the plane for departure. A group of curious pilots gather around the plane and we are happy to show them the interior and let their kids take a seat in the pilot's seat.

Then it's time for the long taxi back to the departure end of the runway. There are 5 other planes taking off and more in the pattern. It's good to see the airport so active.

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Number two for takeoff.
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Ready for takeoff. This is a really long runway.


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Crossing the Susquehanna river.

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Chester County Airport comes into sight and we start our approach.

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Some shots of the approach and landing at Chester County.

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Back at the hangar. It was a nice flight. Now I need a nap. Great start to the weekend.

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Visit to Brandywine Airport

Parked at Brandywine with office in the background

Friday turned out to be a gorgeous day in Pennsylvania, with temperatures in the low 50's and light winds. I left work a little early to get the plane out, since the weekend forecast doesn't look good.

Brandywine Airport (KOQN) is a nice little airport nearby. You can see the planes in the pattern from the pool we go to in the summer. It also has the departure end of it's runway on a hill right next to Route 202, a local highway. I always wondered, as I drove past, what it would look like to see it from the plane and imagined how crazy the plane would look swooping over the highway on takeoff.

I decided to fly over and drop in for a visit.


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As you can see, it was a beautiful day with puffy clouds at around 3,000 and some mild bumps. The airport has right traffic, which always feels a little awkward to me. Still, I made a nice landing. No pictures of the approach as I was busy fighting bumps and craning to look out the copilot side window.

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The airport's assistant manager, Jay Zook. Jay came out to clear a parking space for me and check out the plane. He kindly gave me a tour of the place, including his air museum/ office.

Thanks Jay!

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Here is the entrance to Jay's office.

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Hannah, the airport dog, is very friendly and will bring you a ball to fetch.

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Here's a shot of the office. If you click on it, you can see most of the relevant info about the airport on the white board.

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Time to head out and take off for home and dinner.

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Right across the runway is the excellent American Helicopter Museum. You can taxi right up and park next to those stairs on the far right. They have a large collection of exhibits and it's also great for kids. That's one of the original Ospreys used in flight testing. It was a big deal when they flew it in here. This place is worth a visit.

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Lined up for takeoff. It is starting to build up. The wind is picking up and the temperature is dropping.

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Turning into my hangar row at Chester County airport a few minutes later.

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By the time I shut down there is no more blue sky and the winds are picking up. Glad I got the flight in.

Part of what I love about having the Velocity is just being able to drop in on random, interesting places. There are always interesting people to meet and things to see. I'm looking forward to Spring, when I can get back to doing it a lot more often. Still, it was great to get this little visit in today.

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