We can take a hint...

Pilots!

It's been an interesting few days. Here are some things that I know:

First, a belated congratulations to newly-minted Commercial Pilot Alexander N., who earned his moneywings in Cessna 25R with DPE Mark D.

Nice work, Alexander!



Secondly, a new and well-deserved congratulations to the newest Private Pilot in the world -- one Pilot Ken F., who earned his wings in Cessna 17J with DPE Ken E.

Nice work, Ken!



Some maintenanceland updates:

Cessna 630 has not offended anyone.

Cessna 68U neither.

Cessna 739 completed her 100hr.

Cessna 25R... we'll come back to.

Cessna 17J goes in for 100hr this week. She is in solo-only mode today. (aka "timed out")

Bonanza 11N continues her Annual inspection, and will return next week.

Skylane 073 is stylish.



So, yeah....

I have a thought exercise for you. Let's imagine that you were flying a 172RG around, running some Errands, like ya do when you're a pilot -- and you notice that one of the main gear did not extend fully, robbing you of a green "down" light.

You cycle the gear again, and the same thing. In fact, you notice that the main gear is not actuating at all -- just dangling in the wind.

That sucks.

You go to the emergency gear extension in the POH, and run it very carefully. No change.

Well.. it's time to act like a PIC. There's no procedure in the book, and the aircraft is definitely in an unfriendly state. The good news is, you have 5 hours to parley, and help is just a radio call away.

Kudos to the crew of 25R who were able to radio us for advice, allowing us time to call Cessna Technical Support for some answers. Ultimately, of course, the answer was "Yeah, good luck with that" -- which we on the ground were happy to relay. It was decided to land gear-up at CNO and give the tower plenty of time to prepare "the equipment".

Calling up with "We'll be landing Gear up in 45 minutes" like making a dinner reservation must've been a refreshing change for the tower. I expect they're used to dispatching the mobile dustpan crew in surprise situations only.

CNO Tower was impeccable, and had complete fire and safety crew available, cleared the airspace and both traffic patterns, grounding all aircraft. After a "lower than normal" landing on RWY 21, and a quick evacuation, everybody was able to depart the airplane intact and high-fiving one another. 25R, on the other hand, returns to surgery. :(

I hope we can all act as calmly and collectedly when the chips go down. That is "Pilot in Command" at its finest, and Elian, Cris, and Marian can all teach us a thing or two about keeping composure and getting the job done.

Nice work, guys.



Footnote: You may only give the "Pilot Thumbs Up" if your wheels are down.

More as I know it.

Blue Skies,

- Mike

New wings, new faces

Pilots!

Please join me in congratulating the newest U.S. Private Pilot in the world -- one Pilot Wayne C., who earned his wings in Cessna 739 with DPE Mark D. Way to go, Wayne!




We have a new CFI to replace Spenser P., who has decided to pursue his true calling and become a Lion Tamer in Kenya. Some would argue this is safer than Flight Instructing :)

Please say Hello to Lorne S., a CFI, CFII, and MEI. Lorne is also an Air Force veteran of 6 years, has an IT degree, and a very sharp sense of humor. We are looking forward to Lorne brightening our doors this summer, and cranking out pilots in his down-to-biz style! He is available for booking starting next week.

Welcome to the FlyC Family, Lorne!



We are throwing wrenches as follows:

Cessna 630 is down Monday and Tuesday for her 100hr.

Cessna 68U has a new new carburetor. She's been taking lessons from Julie.

Cessna 739 completed her 100hr.

Cessna 17J's transponder seems to be holding.

Cessna 25R completed an oil change.


Bonanza 11N will be pulled down for annual soon, possibly this week. We anticipate a 2 week downtime.

Skylane 073 still rocks.

==

To whomever the concerned citizen was who reported a "tan-skinned pilot in the flight school who was reading maps" to the Riverside Police Department -- thanks. You wasted 2 detectives' entire day as they tried to ascertain if our customer was a "terrariss". Unless you thought we were in on the plot, just ask us next time. We'll try to contain our laughter.

(we told the detectives the same thing, btw)

(All FlyC staff are TSA trained and certified annually -- we know what to look for)



Summer is upon us! Haze, Heat, and High Flying Weather! Woo hoo!

Blue Skies,

- Mike

Gloomy

Pilots!

June gloom is here! That means summer haze, and the need for some sporty aviator shades.. Ray-Ban Maverick Edition of course.



Here are some maintenance things I know about:

Cessna 630 is in for her 100hr at the end of this week -- she may skid through the weekend on "Solo only" duty if things get backed up in the hangar, but we hope not -- please check the AV1ATE sheet.

Cessna 68U has had her flaps re-wired and a new carburetor installed.

Cessna 739 is in for her 100hr now. Expected return is on Friday.

Cessna 17J is cruising. Thanks, 17J!

Cessna 25R is looking stylish and keeping the wheels down. Nice work, Pilots!



Skylane 073 is cruising.

Bonanza 11N is coming due on her Annual (July 31), and we are trying to pick a time for a 2-week downtime. Email me if you have an opinion. She has new brakes, tweaked seat rails, and we are working on getting an oil leak addressed and the GPS antenna looked at.



Jake has a Hangar Movie Night planned on July 8 if you'd love to attend and breathe in some aviation with us. :) We will either provide snacks, or Bobby A will (you might prefer Bobby A to us!) -- actual movie selection is TBD at the moment -- taking any suggestions!

That's all I know for now...

Blue Skies,

- Mike

A proper two-armed morning stretch

Pilots!

Hello there. I'm catching up on all of the news from the ranch these past two weeks, and there are some items of note.

First, a very belated congratulations to U.S. Private Pilot Marian P., who earned his wings last week in Cessna 17J. Nice work, Marian!



Some maintenance tidbits:

Cessna 630 will be in for 100hr next week.

Cessna 68U has a new avionics master switch, which we hope will alleviate her radio issues.

Cessna 739 isn't bothering anybody.

Cessna 17J has a new: Transponder, ADAHRS, and Alternator. Toms says this will definitely fix the issue. We say that's great, we'll pay you in 3 months if the issue stays fixed. Their response was unfit to print, but we stuck to our guns. Reports say... So far so good.

Cessna 25R is cruising.

Debbie 11N had her yoke "Vee" flipped to allow more legroom and closer seating position. Also some minor squawks attended as well. We will be eyeing her intermittent GPS next, and scratching more items off of the list.

Skylane 073 returns from a trip to Mexico, where a certain pilot learned about Oil Filler cap security :) I hope Doug won't mind my sharing his epic adventures. What could be cooler??



We have two spots left in our Osh Kosh bash this year! Also one spot in the house... well, the second house, anyway. Here are some more details:

We will be leaving Saturday morning, July 24, and flying two aircraft from Corona: My S35 V-tail Bonanza, and one as-yet-unnamed aircraft of comparable speed. (because we hated waiting last year)

We plan to arrive in Osh on Sunday, after a stay in Iowa or Nebraska or some place rich in cornfields.

We will form up with our comrades in Debbie 11N (coming up from Houston), and our friends in a classic C35 V-tail Bonanza coming from San Francisco, and we will make a little formation into Osh.

We have rented two houses immediately across from the North 40. Air Conditioning, kitchens, proper showers... we will be luxuriating.

We will enjoy the Osh festivities and drink in everything airplane for the week.

Friday morning, we will make the slog homeward. Traditionally, we have made it home the same day after a cruel lashing and mutinous dive through all manner of weather, mountains, and gorgeous vistas.

...a week not to miss. Let me know if you'd be interested in joining us this year! The flight portion is appx $450 in fuel pro-rata, and the house is $100 per night (for 5 nights, for $500 total) -- we'd love to have ya!





That's all I know at the moment.

Blue Skies,

- Mike