Such junky weather lately. Not a single flight today on the flightline, and we all decided to just go home.
Some things that I know...
Cessna 630 is coming up on her 100hr.
Cessna 20U is also.
Cessna 739 test flew for the first time today -- we expect her back on the flightline tomorrow! Huzzah!
Cessna 1ES is cruising.
So is Cessna 17J.
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It looks like we will not need to throw in the sponge on our zombie 25R -- the insurance wait is over, and everything seems reasonable for us to repair her and get her back in the air -- with an estimated return to service in 8-10 weeks. Should be a project to keep us busy this winter. Cool!
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We also have news on the flying club front! It appears that we finally have a contender, and our opening offering!
Please meet 11 November, a Beechcraft Debonair E33. She is stacked with all of the trimmings of an awesome cruising go-anywhere machine, including the following:
155kt cruise
3-blade prop
12gph fuel burn
4 seats
2-axis autopilot
IFR Enroute/Approach GPS
dual IFR navcoms w/dual glideslopes
HSI (!)
standby AI
Stormscope
JPI engine analyzer with Fuel Flow
Check this mama out:
If you have ever flown a Beechcraft, you know it is the most joyous, well-balanced, and amazing aircraft there is - light on the controls, easy to land well, and chock full of the thoughtful touches that make a pilot's life easy, and with a cost per mile between a 150 and a 172!
Imagine... Vegas in an hour. San Francisco in 2 hours. San Diego in 25 minutes. WOW. In fact, we took a similar Debonair to Osh Kosh this year, and it cruised with no complaining, and in comfort and style -- even when I flogged our poor pilot friends into a 14-hour marathon return home. I suspect some of our Intrepid Seven pilots may have recovered by now and can comment on the Bonanza/Debonair comfort and harmonious flying style.
(I think most of them liked flying the Debonair even more than my own V-tail :) )
Anyway, we are going to be trying 11N out under the following arrangement:
We are seeking 5 pilots interested in a club arrangement for a 1 year commitment. We do not believe there will be a minimum experience level, but insurance will be the final word, and we will have that answer early next week.
The dues to cover full and proper club insurance, as well as tie-down, and basic maintenance will be only ~$194 per month.
The aircraft will rent for ~$59/hr DRY (this means excluding fuel), which amounts to appx $117 wet, depending on fuel pricing. Club membership will include an individual truck service fuel account for easy dispatch and billing.
There will be a 100% refundable deposit involved (amount TBA), as well as a 1hr/mo minimum flight commit. Otherwise, we plan to keep things as simple as possible, and see how things go. We anticipate numerous tweaks, as well as the addition of other aircraft (which club members would have access to)
We expect to start this club as soon as we get folks involved, and this will be a separate entity from Fly Corona, with its own rules, schedule, ways of doing things, and accounting.
Please drop me an email at mike@flycorona.com if you are interested in launching something really cool at Corona with us!
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That's all for now. More as I know it.
Blue Skies,
- Mike
