Since the weather has been pretty decent in Virginia, you would expect me to have dedicated significant time to the Cardinal and working on my flying. You would be wrong. This month I have added a measly 2 hours to my logbook. One bumpy and windy flight from Lynchburg to Richmond.
I had a meeting and the weather seemed to suggest a good excuse to mix business with pleasure. The take-off and climb out from LYH was great and with a tailwind going west, the flight to Richmond was quick. Upon arrival things got interesting. First, I botched my descent from cruise altitude to pattern altitude. This necessitated a spiral just north of the airport. Thankfully it wasn't busy in the pattern so I was able to join at 1200 ft as required. I immediately noted a stiff direct crosswind (approx 15-18 kts)and I started to sweat. My pattern was brutal and the approach on short final was just as bad. The winds were gusty and I was having real trouble tracking the center-line. I decided to carry some extra speed (despite knowing that the Cardinal hates this) and found myself over the numbers at about 95 mph. I was trying for about 80 mph so I was far too fast, in gusty crosswind conditions and trying to force the Cardinal to land. Well...let's just say that I decided it was time to abort and go around. Full throttle brought a quick response and the Cardinal began to climb out of ground effect. The stiff wind made the second attempt challenging, but a safe (and ugly) landing was the result.
With the Cardinal in one piece, but my confidence shaken, I rolled up to the terminal ashamed of such shoddy pilotage. This is one of the great things about flying. It keeps one really humble. I attended my meeting and then departed for Lynchburg. The climb to cruise was busy with lots of traffic. Having flight following by ATC, I was thankful that they were watching out for me. A Mooney flew directly in front of me about 1000 feet above and even though we were both looking for each other, it wasn't until the last few seconds that we saw each other.
It was bumpy at 8500 ft but with all the traffic I decided just to stay put and ride it out. The airplane was flawless and despite the bumps, it was an enjoyable but longer flight home. A stiff headwind kept my groundspeed down around 85 kts. Upon arrival in Lynchburg the wind was gusty but almost straight down the runway. With 150 feet of width to work with, even I couldn't botch that landing.
As I shut down, fueled and covered the Cardinal, I was kicking myself for all the mistakes and my poor piloting skills. The crosswind landing in Richmond was outside of my comfort zone and would have challenged a really experienced and skilled pilot. I promised myself that I would not push the envelope that way again unless I am able to get in some dedicated crosswind landing practice in the meantime. That's exactly what I need...more time in the air to practice.
For the rest of this month I have been swamped with work and running low on funds. The boys school year is almost over so once that bill is finished I will hopefully be able to afford to get back in the air and ideally, start my Instrument Training.
Lord-willing I hope to complete my Instrument Training this summer and also make several trips to Southern Ontario to visit my parents. With work, seminary classes, and a busy family, it looks like it will be an interesting summer. Thankfully, my health is good and my wife is supportive. Great blessings abound.
Monday, April 26, 2010
Monday, March 8, 2010
Airplane Ownership: N29350
After passing my checkride and becoming the proud owner of a new Private Pilot's License, I promptly stopped flying. The stress and study and weather wore me down to the point that passing my checkride was like finishing a very exhausting marathon. Don't get me wrong, it was stimulating, challenging, fun, exciting, frightening and nerve-racking...and I still can't believe I am a pilot.
Perhaps the reason that I stopped flying for almost 3 months after my checkride has more to do with finances than burnout. I started to research the possibility of buying my own airplane early last summer. Endless hours surfing the web and I became a man possessed with trying to debunk the theory that it is extremely expensive to fly. I hatched all sorts of schemes but in the end there was simply no way around it. Owning an airplane is very expensive.
The costs to fly are only a small piece of the total costs. You can't park an airplane in your driveway so you are forced to pay to park your airplane in a hanger or on the ramp at the airport. You must pay insurance, annual inspection fees, property tax (in Virginia), maintenance, etc., etc. Everything for an airplane costs about double or triple what you would expect to pay. Sadly, there appeared to be no way I could ever buy an airplane.
But...I am stubborn and hate to give up. In my research on hundreds of potential airplanes, I was intrigued by the Cessna C177 Cardinal. This beautiful creature was manufactured by Cessna for a decade in the late 60's and 70s. She was created to replace the workhorse of all airplanes, the C172. She is faster, with sporty lines and a huge interior. The doors on the Cardinal make it easy for even the most clumsy pilot to enter and exit with ease. There just happened to be a Cardinal that was owned by a partnership in Lynchburg, and one partner wanted to sell his share. In September I took my first flight in N29350...I fell in love. Love does strange things to a middle-aged man. He walks about in a daze, consumed with thoughts of payload, cruising speeds, fuel consumption and cost per hour calculations. By the end of my first flight I knew that I was smitten. I would visit her on the ramp and just admire her beauty. I would imagine firing up her 180 hp engine and climbing away from all the earthbound stress and landing at some distant airport....a little secret getaway. Well...I guess you can tell where this is headed.
In February of 2010, my madness reached new heights as I purchased a 25% share in N29350. She is a 1968 (beware of the lure of a younger woman) C177 with a 180hp Lycoming engine. She is a dream to fly and after completing the mandatory insurance checkout, I'm now free to fly...anytime the weather dictates that VFR guys can play.
How does fractional airplane ownership work? Imagine the expense of owning your own airplane and divide it by 4. The Cardinal's insured value is $60,000. So a 25% share costs $15,000.00. I agree that $15K is not cheap but realistically, you can't even buy a decent car for $15K anymore, and a classy bird like the N29350 will not lose her value at the same rate as a car, truck, or boat. All expenses are split into quarters which makes our fixed costs $80/month/owner. This covers insurance, tiedown on the ramp, taxes, and other minor costs. When I fly I pay $25/ tach hour. For non-pilots, you pay for airplanes by either tachometer time or what is known as Hobbs time. A Hobbs meter basically runs at a standard rate constantly whenever the airplane is running. The tachometer also keeps time but depends largely on how fast the engine is running. For my recent flight from Lynchburg to Shenandoah Valley Regional Airport and back, the Hobbs time would have been 1.4 hrs. However, the tach time was only 1.0 hrs. What a deal! Can you see why I fell in love with this airplane? She's beautiful, cheap, and fun to be with. OK....that might be taking the analogy a little too far.
My purpose in writing today is to say that I have found an economical way to fly...and an airplane that I'm thrilled to fly. My cost to fly is now $60/hr (25/hr for time in the air plus fuel @ 10gph), compared to rental charges that averaged $125/hr for the Piper Warrior...and the Warrior is no Cardinal.
So, life is exciting and I keep finding excuses to get up really early in the predawn darkness, slip away to the airport and steal away for those special moments when the rest of the city sleeps, and I can steal away in the Cardinal...high above the cares and concerns of life.
Perhaps the reason that I stopped flying for almost 3 months after my checkride has more to do with finances than burnout. I started to research the possibility of buying my own airplane early last summer. Endless hours surfing the web and I became a man possessed with trying to debunk the theory that it is extremely expensive to fly. I hatched all sorts of schemes but in the end there was simply no way around it. Owning an airplane is very expensive.
The costs to fly are only a small piece of the total costs. You can't park an airplane in your driveway so you are forced to pay to park your airplane in a hanger or on the ramp at the airport. You must pay insurance, annual inspection fees, property tax (in Virginia), maintenance, etc., etc. Everything for an airplane costs about double or triple what you would expect to pay. Sadly, there appeared to be no way I could ever buy an airplane.
But...I am stubborn and hate to give up. In my research on hundreds of potential airplanes, I was intrigued by the Cessna C177 Cardinal. This beautiful creature was manufactured by Cessna for a decade in the late 60's and 70s. She was created to replace the workhorse of all airplanes, the C172. She is faster, with sporty lines and a huge interior. The doors on the Cardinal make it easy for even the most clumsy pilot to enter and exit with ease. There just happened to be a Cardinal that was owned by a partnership in Lynchburg, and one partner wanted to sell his share. In September I took my first flight in N29350...I fell in love. Love does strange things to a middle-aged man. He walks about in a daze, consumed with thoughts of payload, cruising speeds, fuel consumption and cost per hour calculations. By the end of my first flight I knew that I was smitten. I would visit her on the ramp and just admire her beauty. I would imagine firing up her 180 hp engine and climbing away from all the earthbound stress and landing at some distant airport....a little secret getaway. Well...I guess you can tell where this is headed.
In February of 2010, my madness reached new heights as I purchased a 25% share in N29350. She is a 1968 (beware of the lure of a younger woman) C177 with a 180hp Lycoming engine. She is a dream to fly and after completing the mandatory insurance checkout, I'm now free to fly...anytime the weather dictates that VFR guys can play.
How does fractional airplane ownership work? Imagine the expense of owning your own airplane and divide it by 4. The Cardinal's insured value is $60,000. So a 25% share costs $15,000.00. I agree that $15K is not cheap but realistically, you can't even buy a decent car for $15K anymore, and a classy bird like the N29350 will not lose her value at the same rate as a car, truck, or boat. All expenses are split into quarters which makes our fixed costs $80/month/owner. This covers insurance, tiedown on the ramp, taxes, and other minor costs. When I fly I pay $25/ tach hour. For non-pilots, you pay for airplanes by either tachometer time or what is known as Hobbs time. A Hobbs meter basically runs at a standard rate constantly whenever the airplane is running. The tachometer also keeps time but depends largely on how fast the engine is running. For my recent flight from Lynchburg to Shenandoah Valley Regional Airport and back, the Hobbs time would have been 1.4 hrs. However, the tach time was only 1.0 hrs. What a deal! Can you see why I fell in love with this airplane? She's beautiful, cheap, and fun to be with. OK....that might be taking the analogy a little too far.
My purpose in writing today is to say that I have found an economical way to fly...and an airplane that I'm thrilled to fly. My cost to fly is now $60/hr (25/hr for time in the air plus fuel @ 10gph), compared to rental charges that averaged $125/hr for the Piper Warrior...and the Warrior is no Cardinal.
So, life is exciting and I keep finding excuses to get up really early in the predawn darkness, slip away to the airport and steal away for those special moments when the rest of the city sleeps, and I can steal away in the Cardinal...high above the cares and concerns of life.
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