Gee whiz, and I thought my amateur little aerial snaps were nice -- these take the cake! (slow connections beware, huge pictures ahead)
Aerial Photography Deluxe
Daydreaming of Clouds,
- Mike
Thursday, February 22, 2007
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
Another beautiful weekend
Pilots,
Another fair weather weekend made for some wonderful flying.
Some maintenance updates:
Cessna 68U has received her new Attitude Gyro, and has been installed.
Cessna 20U had her seat mangled. I really can't describe it any other way - if you don't know about the seat up-lock in 20U, please ask someone, as it is unusual and non-intuitive. Thrashing about in the seat trying to will it to comply is unlikely to work, and is likely to result in a $500 cessna part bill.
For that matter, none of our aircraft respond well to force. Please ask someone before ripping the planes apart if they're not acting in the way you would expect. We're quite understanding about routine breakages, and honest "oops" items, it's part of our normal day -- but the recent mangling of Julie's door and now 20U's seat were anything but reasonable.
Cessna 04H has a new set of spark plugs.
Cessna 17J has a new set of spark plugs.
We anticipate some avionics work in 68U, 20U, and 04H this week and next. We will manage them to minimize downtimes of multiple planes, but expect 2-3 days at a time for a single plane.
--
Fly Safe!
Blue Skies,
- Mike
Another fair weather weekend made for some wonderful flying.
Some maintenance updates:
Cessna 68U has received her new Attitude Gyro, and has been installed.
Cessna 20U had her seat mangled. I really can't describe it any other way - if you don't know about the seat up-lock in 20U, please ask someone, as it is unusual and non-intuitive. Thrashing about in the seat trying to will it to comply is unlikely to work, and is likely to result in a $500 cessna part bill.
For that matter, none of our aircraft respond well to force. Please ask someone before ripping the planes apart if they're not acting in the way you would expect. We're quite understanding about routine breakages, and honest "oops" items, it's part of our normal day -- but the recent mangling of Julie's door and now 20U's seat were anything but reasonable.
Cessna 04H has a new set of spark plugs.
Cessna 17J has a new set of spark plugs.
We anticipate some avionics work in 68U, 20U, and 04H this week and next. We will manage them to minimize downtimes of multiple planes, but expect 2-3 days at a time for a single plane.
--
Fly Safe!
Blue Skies,
- Mike
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
And another rating...
Pilots,
Please join me in congratulating our Friend Scott D. on the passing of his FAA Airframe and Powerplant Mechanic's Inspection Authorization (IA) Certification!
Scott has risen to the top tier of Aviation Mechanics, and we are pleased to have him advising and repairing our stickier aircraft trouble, now with an IA to back up his opinions. The gruelling 3.5-hour exam was not a pretty one, but Scott prevailed. Nice Job, Scott!
Scott is our top recommendation for pre-purchase aircraft inspections, because he has a nose for trouble, and a realistic idea of what plane maintenance is like for a buyer -- the dozen or so inspections he has performed in the last 2 years has uncovered all manner of grisly problems and saved buyers infinite heartbreak and financial ruin. Please contact the office if you would like to get in touch with Scott for your own airplane hunt, or are already an aircraft owner looking for some unusual troubleshooting.
When not wrangling with our own flybabies, Scott is often found fixing, waxing, or flying his Beech Debonair!
not a debonair
Tangentially on that topic, we have at long last distilled our first batch of thoughts and created the "Fly Corona! Recommended First Plane List". We are asked untold times about airplanes that pilots are considering purchasing, a sensiment we support 100% -- and we've supplied a dose of reality for anyone considering making the leap -- the numbers may surprise you! (in both good and bad ways)
Our list of our 14 favorite aircraft are sure to not be "too much" for a young pilot (<250hrs), and represent a wide variety of missions, from fair-weather flying, to some serious XC flight. Additionally, they are fairly simple, free of troublemaking systems such as Turbochargers and Oxygen systems, and are generally well known to aviation mechanics and employ highly reliable engines and designs.
This list is a draft, of course, and while we love ALL airplanes, these are the ones we can most confidently recommend. I'd love to hear some feedback on the list, planes that could be added, or if you're wondering "how did you arrive at those numbers??" -- give a shout either here or via email.
Have a peek: The List
Blue Skies!
- Mike
Please join me in congratulating our Friend Scott D. on the passing of his FAA Airframe and Powerplant Mechanic's Inspection Authorization (IA) Certification!
Scott has risen to the top tier of Aviation Mechanics, and we are pleased to have him advising and repairing our stickier aircraft trouble, now with an IA to back up his opinions. The gruelling 3.5-hour exam was not a pretty one, but Scott prevailed. Nice Job, Scott!
Scott is our top recommendation for pre-purchase aircraft inspections, because he has a nose for trouble, and a realistic idea of what plane maintenance is like for a buyer -- the dozen or so inspections he has performed in the last 2 years has uncovered all manner of grisly problems and saved buyers infinite heartbreak and financial ruin. Please contact the office if you would like to get in touch with Scott for your own airplane hunt, or are already an aircraft owner looking for some unusual troubleshooting.
When not wrangling with our own flybabies, Scott is often found fixing, waxing, or flying his Beech Debonair!
Tangentially on that topic, we have at long last distilled our first batch of thoughts and created the "Fly Corona! Recommended First Plane List". We are asked untold times about airplanes that pilots are considering purchasing, a sensiment we support 100% -- and we've supplied a dose of reality for anyone considering making the leap -- the numbers may surprise you! (in both good and bad ways)
Our list of our 14 favorite aircraft are sure to not be "too much" for a young pilot (<250hrs), and represent a wide variety of missions, from fair-weather flying, to some serious XC flight. Additionally, they are fairly simple, free of troublemaking systems such as Turbochargers and Oxygen systems, and are generally well known to aviation mechanics and employ highly reliable engines and designs.
This list is a draft, of course, and while we love ALL airplanes, these are the ones we can most confidently recommend. I'd love to hear some feedback on the list, planes that could be added, or if you're wondering "how did you arrive at those numbers??" -- give a shout either here or via email.
Have a peek: The List
Blue Skies!
- Mike
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
The new week
Pilots!
Please join me in congratulating US Private Pilot Wes M., who today earned his wings in Cessna 08V, with DPE Tom Hamm.
Congratulations, Wes!
Cessna 17J returns today from Long Beach after having her copilot door repaired. We still do not know the cause of the door jamming the way it did, but it bears mentioning: The co-pilot door is both locked and unlocked from the inside of the aircraft in 17J. It appears that someone attempted to force entry from the co-pilot side, and did so with enough force to shear part of the door latch mechanism. Please be kind to our aircraft, and ask the office if something seems to be requiring too much effort.
--
Cessna 68U will be in for 100hr this week.
--
We are on an AROW document witch-hunt. We have ordered new Airworthiness and Registration cards for the entire fleet, since one plane was found to have a ratty A/W card. Please inform the office if your aircraft's POH or Weight/Balance sheets appear to be illegible or incomplete in ANY way, so that we may replace them promptly.
Great flying lately. Grab some sky.
Blue Skies!
- Mike
Please join me in congratulating US Private Pilot Wes M., who today earned his wings in Cessna 08V, with DPE Tom Hamm.
Congratulations, Wes!
Cessna 17J returns today from Long Beach after having her copilot door repaired. We still do not know the cause of the door jamming the way it did, but it bears mentioning: The co-pilot door is both locked and unlocked from the inside of the aircraft in 17J. It appears that someone attempted to force entry from the co-pilot side, and did so with enough force to shear part of the door latch mechanism. Please be kind to our aircraft, and ask the office if something seems to be requiring too much effort.
--
Cessna 68U will be in for 100hr this week.
--
We are on an AROW document witch-hunt. We have ordered new Airworthiness and Registration cards for the entire fleet, since one plane was found to have a ratty A/W card. Please inform the office if your aircraft's POH or Weight/Balance sheets appear to be illegible or incomplete in ANY way, so that we may replace them promptly.
Great flying lately. Grab some sky.
Blue Skies!
- Mike
Tuesday, February 06, 2007
Turning wrenches, turning props.
Pilots,
Cessna 20U has returned with a strong and clean wing, courtesy of our friends at Procraft. Fresh from her 100hr, we expect 20U will be ready to stir up some sky.
Cessna 68U, who has been carrying 20U's water, will be going down intermittently for maintenance, since the squawks are starting to stack up a bit. Additionally, 68U's 100hr will be due next week, so expect some downtime for 68U in the coming week or two.
Cessna 08V looks cute with her new spinner.
Reports are that both 68U and 04H have their shimmy dampener problems fixed.
I believe that's it for the moment... fun flying lately, and the weather could not be sweeter.
Blue Skies,
- Mike
Cessna 20U has returned with a strong and clean wing, courtesy of our friends at Procraft. Fresh from her 100hr, we expect 20U will be ready to stir up some sky.
Cessna 68U, who has been carrying 20U's water, will be going down intermittently for maintenance, since the squawks are starting to stack up a bit. Additionally, 68U's 100hr will be due next week, so expect some downtime for 68U in the coming week or two.
Cessna 08V looks cute with her new spinner.
Reports are that both 68U and 04H have their shimmy dampener problems fixed.
I believe that's it for the moment... fun flying lately, and the weather could not be sweeter.
Blue Skies,
- Mike
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