I think we need a new name for funky weather and clouds which only arrive on Saturdays. It's particularly cruel that, for the 3rd weekend in a row, nice weather has preceeded a generally snotty Saturday. There is nothing meaner for those of us trapped indoors for the week to stare out and plan a weekend of flying, only to have it snatched away by low clouds, goofy winds, or otherwise poor conditions.
Maybe we can call this phenomenon Cumulo-spoilsportus. What odd conditions yesterday. We still got a lot of flying done, but with the winds at 290 19G23KT, some of the approaches were... pucker-worthy.
Anyway...
While looking at a lot of 172Rs and SPs to add to the flightline recently, we came across something interesting for the Wingfleet Flying Club. Something special, even. Something arriving this week.
Meet Six Sierra Kilo.
6SK is a 2006 Beechcraft Bonanza G36TN aircraft. Six seats. 300 Horsepower. Turbo-normalized. Air-conditioned. The sort of plane you can take to Las Vegas in 50 minutes. San Francisco in 90 minutes. Salt Lake City in 150. The sort of aircraft that is perfect for a weekend of wine-tasting in Napa, a short-notice client meeting, or just shooting "the bird" to the airlines and the TSA while cruising in the Flight Levels and listening to your choice of XM station. Everything being a Pilot should be. :)
Numbers for participation in 6SK is being finalized, but will be in the neighborhood of $700/mo and $109/hr dry. Existing Wingfleet members will also get a special swap rate for usage and checkout. Since this aircraft was $750,000 new, and has nearly $100,000 in added STC upgrades, we think that's an excellent value.
6SK will include a hangar with personal locking cabinets for flight gear, take-out/re-hangar service and probably a few other touches as we think of them.
This aircraft will be limited to 5 members. There are also particular minimums for non-members to fly her (starting with 750 hours' total time, and some other particulars)
Email Mike if you'd be interested in more information or a demo flight.
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Some other news around the ranch:
Cessna 630 has had an intercom adjustment.
Cessna 68U has had radio work done.
Cessna 739 has a new nav1, and should be in "IFR Fighting form" again.
Cessna 17J is cruising.
Skylane 073 will have instrumentation improvements done this week.
Bonanza 11N has a new ignition switch.
AOPA's Aviation Summit is this coming Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. We'll be there on Saturday, and I've never been, so I have no idea what to expect. Some people have billed it as the "west coast Osh Kosh", but I think that's nonsense. Osh is simply unbeatable. :)
AOPA Summit is at KLGB Long Beach airport from 9:00am - 5:00pm.
We'll report in on what we find, just in case it's awesome. At the very least, though, it's a few days of aviation -- and like fishing, the worst day of aviation beats the best day at work.
More information available here.
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We are looking for some assistance for the Office. If you know someone uniquely qualified to assist our constant battle with paperwork, checklists, and aircraft - drop us a line.
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That's all I know right now. More as I learn it.
Blue Skies,
- Mike
