captbrando's log

Ok folks… FIXED! Got the scary image of the other Sport Star out of my head and stuck three good landings today. It was more on angle of approach and speed management. That plane is a little different than the 172 and needs a touch down speed of about 50kts in the 1 notch of flap configuration. Rechecked out and feeling good!

Still no NTSB report published on the other Sport Star. Will post it when I see it.

This past week I made a quick run through Chicago for work. I did get to see a Cubs game while I was there! On my way from the airport, to Wrigley, BACK, and other destinations, I noticed a sign in the cab authorizing a $1 fuel surcharge.

Hey, I understand that fuel prices are going up. And unlike the uneducated activists who think that all fuel surcharges should go away now that oil is under $100/barrel (guys, the prices are correlated, but not connected), I think that the cab fuel surcharge should go away for one reason.

Seriously guys, here’s that one way you will save $1 per trip (and MORE).

Quit driving like a 90 year old woman is chasing you in her Ferrari, waving her wig at you madly to get your attention, and putting her dentures on a reaching stick threatening to bite your cute little cheeks clear off your cute little face!

DAMMIT JIM! Slow down! Try driving with one foot instead of two!

Ahh, I feel better. Now, business guy in a tailored suit… fix the ringer on your phone.

Garrett & I took up the Sport Star today! Lots of fun. EXCEPT. Landing was a bit rough.

Yep, after I had kissably smooth ones in the 172 on turf, I had a pretty rough one today. So much so that the owner of the school suggested I take an instructor up to practice!

Good idea… I don’t want to be a safety risk! So I’m going up with the chief instructor sometime next week to polish that baby.

I reflected back on my landings in the SportStar, and the ones that I did the best on were on very long runways. My problem is that I am coming in a little too fast, and after seeing the wreckage of the other Sport Star, I lost my confidence and didn’t want to stall. With enough speed, I won’t stall, but I was freaking out for no reason. The stall speed with the plane in the configuration I had it in was 38 kts. I was going 60. That’s an easy 22kt margin.

So with a long runway, I can take my time floating away to bleed off speed. On the short runway at 52F, I don’t have that luxury. I was definitely a little embarrassed, but the only thing bruised is my pride. I would much rather have an experienced pilot tell me that I need to get some help with something, than have an NTSB examiner tell me that!

I’ll spend an hour with the instructor, which should allow me to get six good landings in. Then the next time I am going up, Matt & I are taking the Sport Star to Stephenville (BBD) for barbecue.

Garrett was a hit at the hangar and was telling everyone how he got to fly the airplane. I’m so glad that I get to share this with Garrett!

Oh, and something else…. After seeing the wreckage of the Sport Star, we’re taking a look at buying a plane. Nothing against rental facilities, but I’d almost rather get a plane that has had a thorough once-over by a good mechanic, and be the only one flying it. That way, I KNOW what happens to the plane. Plus, long term I’ll save a ton of cash.

Will check back in after my flight instruction to tell you how I did!

Got some flight time with my old instructor today! Instructor time? But you are already a pilot!

Yep, but there are times when you are trying something new, that you want to do it with a CFI next to you instead of just by yourself.

Spins were out of the question today. The main reason for this is that I’m not going for my spin CFI endorsement. The secondary reason is that spins screw up the gyros in an airplane. Since those things cost $250/each, the mechanic does not want us doing it in any IFR certified plane. N52119 is the plane I flew today, and it is the best IFR 172 that the school has.

So here’s the plan on spins. We’re either going to wait for 5915A to be ready for flight (it has no working gyros), or I’m going to go to Marcair and do some spin training there. Either way, it’s important to me and I’m going to do it.

Today we flew up to Ironhead. The whole point of this was to get practice landing on turf. I did beautifully, logged 3 landings on turf (to a full stop), and then we headed home. Quick day of flight, but I am comfortable on turf now. Pretty easy actually, and it was not nearly as rough as I thought it was going to be. And the North end had a 25 foot slope rise on it!!

I also got a look at one of the SportStars in the hangar. Nothing special, except someone crashed it! Thankfully no one was hurt, but it was another great lesson at someone else’s expense on aviation safety. When the report from the FAA comes out, I’ll post it so you can see the official details.