Kate's Aviation Journal

I gave my fellow pilot Andy the Ercoupe ride I promised, and on the way to Oshkosh tonight, we noticed the sky was looking more and more interesting as the sun went down. I dropped him of and headed north again. I could hardly believe my eyes as the sun dipped below the clouds. By the time I got close to Brennand Airport, the sky looked amazing. The higher cloud layer made a dark and ominous-looking background for the lower scattered clouds, and I wasn't very far under those clouds. They were orange and pink with brightly highlighted ragged edges. The way the lower clouds zoomed by gave me a really neat sense of motion, and it was as if I were floating around in a surreal environment.

Most of the pictures were shot through the Ercoupe's side windows, but I opened the windows toward the end of the flight. This is one of the pictures I shot through an open window:


Here is a photo album showing how the sunset progressed. Andy took the first two pictures and I took the rest on the way back.

Labels: Ercoupe

In the late 1960s through mid 1970s, Reims Aviation in France produced the "Reims Rocket," a Cessna 172 with a 210-HP engine and constant-speed propeller. (Normal 172s come with 145 to 180 HP.) In the U.S., Cessna produced a version of the 172 with 195 horsepower called the Hawk XP.

Today I rode in a Cessna Hawk XP that has been modified from 195 HP to 210 HP, so you might as well call it a rocket. It has a STOL (short takeoff & landing) kit, so this thing takes off and climbs like mad. I flew with the owner as a safety pilot while he practiced instrument approaches.

This was one of the nicest places I've ever been in. It is meticulously cared for. The panel has a Garmin GNS530 GPS.  There's a Garmin handheld GPS hard-wired to it, so the 530 "talks to" the handheld. There's a nice autopilot and all the other avionics widgets you could want. Between the smooth-running engine and the wool seat covers, I think I could stand to sit in this plane all day. And oh, the performance... It's more like a Cessna 182.

If only I could write out a big check!

I flew the 182 to Madison today for some avionics maintenance. My former student followed me in another airplane and picked me up. We took the opportunity to eat at the Jet Room restaurant on the field before heading home.

The first annual International Learn to Fly Day was Saturday, May 15th, 2010. At Brennand Airport, EAA Ultralight Chapter 41 and Tailwind Flight Center co-sponsored an open house with orientation flights for adults, Young Eagles rides for youth, a seminar about learning to fly, and of course, plenty of donuts! The event took place at EAA UL41’s clubhouse hangar. Its purpose was to increase public interest in learning to fly, with the added bonuses of increasing awareness of our EAA chapter and the airport itself.

The weather was just about perfect for the event, with comfortable temperatures, light winds, and sunny skies. Several pilots displayed their aircraft and gave rides. They wished for drier grass and less standing water from recent rain, but Mother Nature had other ideas! At least 50 visitors arrived in a slow but steady stream. Many of them went flying. For some of them, it was their first flight in a small airplane. The Appleton Post-Crescent covered the event and featured a nice article in the Sunday paper.

Nine people bought specially priced discovery flight gift certificates from Tailwind Flight Center – a one-day sales record for the school’s Brennand location. As of this writing, six people have already redeemed their certificates, two have taken further lessons, and others are considering lessons. In a time when the flight training business is down a bit, this is positive news. No one really knew what to expect for turnout or interest in flight lessons.

EAA estimates that more than 40,000 people participated in nearly 450 International Learn to Fly Day events. Of those events, around 150 were organized by EAA chapters. There were at least 500 news stories and plenty of chatter on social networking websites. Just two days before this year’s event, on May 12th, the House of Representatives passed a resolution declaring the third Saturday each May International Learn to Fly Day. The next International Learn to Fly Day is Saturday, May 21, 2011. If this year is any indicator, next year’s events could be bigger and better. A major thank-you goes out to all who volunteered their time, talent, and dollars in order to introduce others to aviation.

I got a last-minute call to help fly a trip to Houston. I knew the day would start early but was excited to log my first turbine time in a Piper PA-31T3 or "T1040." There are only about four T1040s still flying in the U.S. out of the 24 built, and two happen to be in Oshkosh. It's basically a Navajo Chieftain with PT6 turbine engines instead of piston engines.

At 5 a.m. I was stepping in half-inch-deep puddles on the ramp to fetch things from another plane. It was only about 45 degrees out and raining steadily. I should have invested in a raincoat. We loaded things into the T1040 while it was still in the hangar. The plane was towed outside and I sat in the left seat. I watched the other pilot start the engines. As soon as the windshield defogged itself, we were on our way and I was flying.


I knew this plane was a different animal the moment it left the ground. I was really impressed with its climb performance and how it outpaced the Chieftain in cruise.

Enroute to the fuel stop in Batesville, Arkansas, we stayed ahead of a line of severe storms. I deviated to the east of a long bow echo and then got us back on track when it was safe. I logged a good amount of instrument time on this leg.

After Batesville, we flew nonstop to Houston Hobby Airport. Just like the last time I was there, I could feel the heat and humidity increase as we descended for landing. Also like last time, I flew the ROKIT ONE arrival, which has waypoints including "SSLAM," "DUUNK," "YAAOW," and "MINNG" -- as in Yao Ming of the Houston Rockets basketball team. There's also "QUESO" and "TQELA." Houston definitely has some busy airspace, and the arrival procedures help funnel everyone in.

While we waited in Houston, another pilot came up to me and asked, "Excuse me, ma'am, what kind of plane is that?" The plane raises eyebrows wherever it goes, at least if anyone is paying attention. We have to make sure line service understands our request for jet fuel.

Plans changed. It turned out the patient needed to wait till the next day to fly. What was supposed to be a day trip turned into an overnight. The one time I was in too much of a hurry to pack a suitcase, now I needed one. Normally I bring a suitcase even on day trips. Murphy's Law! It was 85 degrees and humid but I was dressed for 45 degrees. I put up with the hotel toiletries and dirty clothes for the night, and the next morning was glad to use the FBO's courtesy car to go buy new clothes and anything else I needed.

Things got back on track on day two. That afternoon our passengers arrived and we headed north. I rode right seat the whole way back. We planned to stop in Batesville again for fuel, but storms caused us to divert west to Harrison, AR. The next leg was to Chicago Executive to drop off our passengers, and then we made the quick hop back to Oshkosh, still in daylight. I had enough time to prepare for the next day's Learn to Fly Day event at Brennand Airport.

I logged my first 5.6 hours of multiengine turbine time on this trip, all on the first day. I had help starting the engines and setting the power for takeoff, but otherwise I found it pretty easy to manage the engines. This plane was easy for me to fly but still something new and different. I don't have reverse thrust available in anything else I fly!

Click here for a good picture of a plain white T1040 (not ours)