Loop-de-loop

Pilots,

Just curious -- as you all know, we've been searching for a 150 to fill out the $59/hr end of our lineup. As the dollar weakens, these two-seat turkeys are now selling for 2-4x what they normally do, and in fact, many of them are exceeding the value of our older 172s.

Harrumph.



As we throw a wider net out into the market, I ran across a 150 Aerobat that was only mildly obnoxious in price.

For those who don't know, a 150 Aerobat is a 150 with numerous structural changes to allow +6/-3G operation, and includes skylights, a G-meter, and a host of approved basic aerobatic maneuvers such as loops, rolls, immelmans and cuban eights. Also, they usually include wild paint jobs, and this one is no exception.

Nobody at FlyC is currently rated to instruct aerobatics. This means we would not want anyone doing aerobatics in the thing until we got up to scratch. It could possibly take months for us to feel comfortable teaching aerobatic maneuvers.

My questions for everyone are:

1. Would an Aerobat be an acceptable 2-seat trainer?

2. Would it seem too much of a letdown to not do aerobatics in an "Aerobat" right away?

3. Would the added structural strength and potential for future maneuvers justify a slightly higher rental price? (probably $69/hr, and all of it from higher insurance and acquisition costs)

4. Or, is the consensus for those time-building economically just "anything cheaper is better, as long as its airworthy and loggable" ?


Friday musings... I'm interested in some opinions, as I'm pretty darn uninformed about Aerobatics.



Cessna 1ES blew out more than a starter yesterday. She now has a keyswitch with "Off, Left Mag, Right Mag, Both, Sparks and Smoke" setting. Ouch. We're on the case, but downtime is assured this weekend.

Cessna 04H has a report of scratchy radios that we are trying to pinpoint. Please relay any information (location, freq, com1 or com2 or both?) to the office so we can track this down and fix it.

We are updating pitot-static and transponder checks for half of the fleet this week. Expect sporadic downtime for 04H, 17J, and 25R. The current batch of checks are good through the end of this month (04H) and next month (17J, 25R).




Blue Skies,

- Mike

A new aircraft, a new pilot, an old problem...

Pilots,

We have added an airplane to the fleet which, after a 2-month annual, will seem new to everyone - Piper 7185Y!

85Y returned to us from her annual on Monday, however, she developed a stuck mic which took 2 days to sort out.

She's now ready to tear up the skies with two engines blaring. Welcome back, 85Y!



We got another bit of good news with the plane, this time from insurance -- we have been granted in-house authority to solo-endorse pilots in the twin. No more 2-day waiting period is required for insurance approval to solo 85Y!

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In other news,

Please join me in congratulating new U.S. Private Pilot Carlos D., who soared to victory in Cessna 68U to get his wings this afternoon.

Nice work, Carlos!



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Cessna 1ES is down for a starter swap. This one lasted 100 hours.

Cessna 04H has reports of running warm - pilots, please advise if you notice either high oil temps or low oil pressure, as we have been unable to confirm this one. The Engine shop has looked at it and blessed it, so this is likely a fleeting thing, but keep a skeptical eye.

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There is construction alongside our building. There is talk of putting an airport security station there. Let's hope it's not something tacky.



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Great weather abounds!

Blue Skies,

- Mike

Finally!

Pilots,

Please join me in letting forth a barbaric YAWP, as the FAA has decided that, even though piper never explicitly approved use of PA-30B wheels on a PA-30, in light of 85Y having used the "B" wheels since 1974 without incident, they have granted us a field approval to continue using the "B" wheels provided that we do not consider them to present any sort of safety hazard.

Awesome.



If I sound a little cheeky, please forgive me. I actually do believe that were it not for the FAA's oversight, we would see all manner of unsafe jerry-rigging and shadetree foolishness in aviation maintenance. Our aircraft are safer with FAA oversight, without question. As it is, however, it's tough to wait 3 weeks for them to decide if the wheels were safe, considering they have been in service without issue for 34 years.

But now they're "legit".

As it stands, Piper 85Y is set to return to the line with 100% certainty this Monday, with a possible return on Saturday or Sunday. Don't hold me to that, of course. Many thanks for the patient twinkie pilots who have been affected by this paperwork scourge.




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In other news,

Cessna 25R demanded and received new tires. The left main (the "good" one) was more hexagon than a circle. The "bad" one looked like it had been shot with a 12ga slug at KCPM. Nice work on those short-fields, guys! :)

Cessna 17J is back from Tom's Cessna in Long Beach for some nit-picking warranty work and upgrades.

Cessna 68U has new brakes. again.

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Bumpy today, but nice and clear and going to be warmer soon. I can't wait.

Blue Skies,

- Mike