Hello All,
Please join me in welcoming two new faces to the good ship Fly Corona!.
First, working the office, you'll meet Dana. Dana comes to us from nearby Makarion Institude of Aeronautics at Chino Airport (CNO). In addition to being friendly and experienced, she's an expert at the Schedule Shuffle, which we do from time to time. We look forward to Dana's help with our increasing workload at the school. Look for an imminent "guess who answered the phone, Beth or Dana?" type of contest, as we've already heard reports that they are equally cheerful on the telephone.
Additionally, pilots caught snookering a free lesson from Dana "because Mike said it was okay" will be subjected to 15 hours' aircraft belly degreasing! :) Welcome to the family, Dana!
Second, please welcome Chris, who will be working with our Line crew. Chris will be subjecting himself to the endless barrage of Cessna and Piper knowledge which is our Line staff. Look for Chris to be stocking, fuelling, taxiing, and washing aircraft, and so far, he's been doing so with a smile. :) Please help Walsh cook up new tortures for Chris, so that he can understand what flying is really about. (just kidding, Chris... mostly -- welcome aboard!)
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Cherokee 08F is going into the avionics shop for a copilot PTT switch installation, so that instructors can join the radio party line with you in the air. We've noticed an increased interest in the Cherokee of late, so if you're interested in trying something new out, talk to a CFI about a spin in the low-wing plane. I tell people that the Cherokee flies like an upside-down 172, but looks much cooler -- you might even agree! The Cherokee costs the same as the 172s, and if you're not yet solo, or if you're well past it, a flight or two in the Piper PA-28 should not disrupt your training. Mix it up a bit, give 08F a try!
Cessna 20U was removed from the schedule today for a new transponder installation. The old Narco AT50 (circa 1980-something) decided not to play with us anymore. There is now a new Garmin GTX-327 in its place. Additionally, her VORs were recalibrated to IFR spec so you can play in the clouds with confidence, and also, a PTT switch was installed on the copilot side as well.
Cessna 08V's propeller arrived from Van Nuys (VNY) after a 4-week "unauthorized vacation". We expect 08V back on the line by Mon or Tue. (but don't hold me to it :).
Cessna 72F has had a repair made to her Battery Bus, which had worked itself loose. Any electrical weirdness should be fixed -- please let us know if you have any more problems. Also, if you were the one who loosened it -- please know that you cannot hotwire an aircraft with the Battery Bus
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Beth has been appointed as the Corona Airfaire Chairman (Chairwoman?) for 2006! If you see her studying a binder loaded with numbers, and lost in her own little world -- be sure to loudly demand 3 bounce castles at the airfaire this year -- she loves that idea.
Seriously, though, we aim to have some fun with the faire this year, and I've got some projects cooked up already. If you're interested in volunteering time and energy to building some aerodynamic demonstrations (read: interactive toys), let Mike or Walsh know -- we'll be cooking these things up in our secret laboratory (aka, our new hangar) and you're welcome to join in.
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Exciting times ahead, and as always, please let us know how we're doing!
