Weekend wings!

Pilots!


Please join me in congratulating the newest U.S. Private Pilot in the world, Ben S., who sailed to victory with DPE Tom Hamm in Cessna 1ES.

Nice work, Ben!!



Blue skies!

- Mike

(P.S. Greetings from Osh Kosh :) You'd be surprised how many KAJO flyers are up here that we've already run into.)

A new set of wings...

Pilots!

Please join me in congratulating the newest U.S. Private Pilot in the world today, Pilot Carlos D.



Carlos sailed to victory with DPE Ken Earl in Cessna One Echo "checkrides are my life" Sierra.

Nice work, Carlos!

Blue Skies,

- Mike

You're healthier than you think you are...

At least according to the FAA -- good news for youngsters:

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On July 24, the FAA will extend the duration of third class medicals from 36 calendar months to 60 calendar months (five years) and first class medicals from six calendar months to 12 calendar months for pilots under age 40.

“This is welcome news for the GA industry,” said AOPA President Phil Boyer. “AOPA supported the FAA’s move that makes it easier and more affordable for younger pilots to fly.”

Current and expired medical certificates are grandfathered under this rule.

For example, a pilot under age 40 who has a third class medical that would have expired at the end of July 2008 under the three-year limit is now good for another two years. In other words, the medical won’t expire until the last day of July 2010.

But what if you had let your medical expire? If you are under age 40, and the certificate was issued less than five years ago, it is now valid until the last day of the month, five years from its original issuance date.

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more info here: AOPA



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Some other news:

Cessna 630 has a new door hinge. No word on who made a CFI try to claw his way out of the plane.



Cessna 68U is down for an alternator overhaul. She may not return until next week.

Cessna 20U is due back this week.

Cessna 04H is behaving fine.

Cessna 1ES has completed her 100hr.

Cessna 17J is not bugging anybody.

Cessna 25R is still cruising.

Piper 85Y is having her new engine burned in. Fancy.

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Office support will be light next week as we make the Osh Kosh journey. Please be nice to the staff, and feel free to Email me directly if we're not getting the job done.



Hazy but otherwise pleasant at the ranch lately. See ya soon!

Blue Skies,

- Mike

Wings never die

Pilots!

Many of you have been flying with us long enough to remember Cessna 72F, a 150 whose wings were prematurely clipped by a freakish windstorm, and weak and rusty tiedown cables.

Friend of the school Sam D. has been working on making 72F live again -- in the form of a flight simulator! Check out the excitement Roman has for the idea that he can take his work home with him now, and fly 150s all day and all night! woo woo!



What a cool contraption!

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Some other news:

We are ordering a new radio and sun visors for Cessna 68U

04H will be going down soon for a new nose bowl and a look at an errant heater hose that we keep hearing about. The "swedish sauna skyhawk" is apparently not appreciated.

Cessna 17J is in for 100hr inspection. We expect her back up tomorrow.



Piper 85Y is apparently in need of a new crankshaft. We hope this is the last excuse for her endless overhaul. Pilots affected by the 85Y downtime, please get in touch with the office if you would like to help us with the engine break-in (free of charge) We will do the first few hours, but we're happy to share the balance of them.

I appreciate everyone's patience with the twin this year. High Maintenance doesn't seem to encompass the situation, and all of the words which do are not fit to print. I assure you, we're as frustrated as you are.

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Hot and even Humid lately! My goodness. Pilots, be advised that with Density Altitudes approaching 3500' lately, climb performance is reduced, and mixture settings should lean appx 1-2" to compensate for the thinner air.

Hot is okay, but hot and wet is unacceptable. The linemen army will be doing rain dances in the hangar until this nonsense goes back east where it belongs. Rain dances? Okay, maybe we'll make sure they do them on their head, perhaps to get the reverse effect. It's all we can do.

Stay cool. Drink water. Hang out in the office and soak in the A/C. There are people wishing they could fly like us -- it's a small price to pay!



Blue Skies,

- Mike

Rockstars

Pilots,

A round of applause, or a stylish fist-bump to our maintenance crew, who have been cranking out aircraft at an alarming rate. To wit:

Cessna 630 has emerged from her 100hr and wing repair. We will be scheduling a visit to paint for her copilot wingtip, and her new copilot door panel.

Cessna 68U was hustled through a one-day 100hr. Nice!

Cessna 20U has had her finishing squawks done, she is back at Procraft for signoff. We hope she will be up for the weekend.

Cessna 04H broke her tachometer cable. It will arrive today and she may fly tomorrow.

Cessna 1ES is smirking at the other "drama queen" planes.

Cessna 17J has a new window hinge.

Cessna 25R is snickering along with 1ES.

Piper 85Y is still with the engine gurus.

Our thanks to the FlyC hangar crew: Mike, Curt, Kamau, Ricardo, Carlos, Larry, Paul and Joe.



We have purchased an impressive gas-powered vacuum sweeper. Since our landlords at Corona airport cannot manage to keep our tarmac gravel-free on their own, we will be taking matters into our own hands. Please alert the office to any loose debris on the line, and we will get it attended to. The days of our taxiway looking like a gravel-pit are about to end.

I'm bitter on this topic.



On a lighter note, the weather is warm and nice, and we have a lot of pilots warming up their checkride prep. Best of luck, gentlemen, I am looking forward to some wings being earned!



Blue Skies,

- Mike

Maintenance Scramble

Pilots,

A tough weekend, and we've got some casualties from 3 100hrs to report. To wit:

Cessna 630 underwent her first California-grade 100hr inspection, and we had some things we diudn't care for to iron out. Specifically, a patch on a wing skin, and some fiberglass work on one of her wingtips. The work is done, but we await paint on the wing.

Cessna 68U crossed her 100hr mark on Sunday, and she will be down this week for 100hr.

Cessna 20U is fighting us to wrap her 100hr. She's but a windshield away.

Cessna 04H has had an engine tweak, as the hot temperatures were making her run too close to the red for comfort.

Cessna 1ES is running fine. Thanks 1ES!

Cessna 17J has a new vacuum pump.

Cessna 25R is running dandy. Thanks 25R!

Piper 85Y is waiting on engine reassembly. More when I know it.



In other news, friend of FlyC Marlon C. recently achieved his CFI/MEI ratings, and will be instructing for us in the evenings. Working fliers, rejoice! Marlon is a FlyC alum, and knows all of our eccentricities already, and is ready to jump in with both feet. Marlon will be available immediately after 4:30pm, Monday through Saturday. Why waste that daylight after 6pm? (it's cooler then anyway!)



Great flying to be had, despite the heat. Grab some sky!

- Mike

A belated congrats...

Pilots,

Please join me in congratulating friend of FlyC and newly-minted Instrument Pilot Ryan F., who earned his blindfold with DPE Ken Earl on Monday in his beautiful Mooney M20.

Way to Go, Ryan!



Blue skies, clean foggles.

- Mike