To Iola on Halloween

Halloween was a beautiful day to fly with much warmer than normal temperatures in the upper 60s, a clear sky, and light winds. I wasn't the only one who thought today was a great day for the Friday lunch in Iola. I went with a student and saw lots of people I know. Over 50 aircraft showed up, which is more than usual! The menu this week was a picnic lunch of grilled hamburgers and brats, which fit well with the weather. A lot of us sat outside to eat, trying to enjoy this weather while it lasts. Winter isn't far away!

Even Rudder the dog was enjoying the sun.

Pumpkin Carving

I made two Ercoupe Jack o' Lanterns for Halloween based on the picture on the Ercoupe Network web site - the "D" shape is from the Ercoupe logo.

Getting There...

Our Ercoupe-in-progress saw the light of day today when we moved planes around. This time it came out of the hangar with both wings on. (I was there earlier in the week to witness the associated miracle.) It's really coming along. Finally looks like an airplane again. We've got the cowling off at the moment in order to work with the windshield. Still to do: windows, right fuel tank, interior, and weighing. Test flight comin' right up.

Drooling Over the Newest Cirrus

Pass me a bib, please. I got a ride in a brand-new Cirrus SR22 with the Cirrus Perspective avionics package by Garmin. I rode in the back seat while Taylor Huether of Cirrus introduced my student to the wonders of this airplane.

This avionics system is just about the coolest thing I've ever seen. It's like having virtual reality inside the cockpit. Instead of just a two-color artificial horizon on your primary flight display, you now get synthetic vision with a 3-D view of terrain, obstructions, airports, and traffic.

Prior to taxiing out from the ramp, Taylor showed us the airport diagram feature of the multifunction display. The diagram orients itself to your plane and moves with you. Having this info right on your screen is great for preventing getting lost on the airport, and more importantly, preventing runway incursions.

We flew around for at least half an hour. Part of the demo consisted of showing off the airplane's wonderful slow-flight handling characteristics. I had actually never experimented with this, so I was intrigued to see how much roll authority you have in a stall. The wing design keeps the ailerons working without provoking a spin. Don't try that in your Cessna.

During our approach to the airport, Taylor showed how you can display Jeppesen instrument approach charts on your multifunction display. Meanwhile, when the approach is loaded into the system, the primary flight display shows the pilot a "highway in the sky" to fly through -- a series of boxes for you to aim for, like a tunnel. This simplifies flying instrument approaches and gives the pilot a lot of situational awareness.

I had to remind myself to look out the windows. The avionics were quite attention-getting. Even if you're not looking at them, you know something's different about this airplane when you hear an electronic voice calling out traffic as if it were air traffic control. "Traffic, two-o'-clock low, two miles." ATC and traffic alerts are one of the few things that will cut out your music from your XM Satellite Radio.

On approach to Green Bay's runway 36, I watched the screens display the "highway in the sky," the runway coming at us, and nearby towers. This system is an instrument pilot's dream. You no longer have to use your imagination when wondering what's ahead.

I hope it's only a matter of time before I can get a chance to sit up front in a Perspective-equipped Cirrus. For now, I am just happy to have gotten a ride in one. I've watched the SR22 evolve since my first flight in one in 2001. I've flown in each new generation of the model, and by far, this new SR22 is the most impressive. I can only imagine what will come next.

My New Old Ride

The Friday lunch menu at Iola today was a Thanksgiving-style turkey dinner. I spent a lot of time talking to a gentleman who was at Pearl Harbor and learned to fly later in life. We had a good conversation. I highly recommend talking to strangers at this airport.

My ride was a 1960 Cessna 172B, several letters back in the alphabet from the L-and-up models I'm used to (1971+). To me, all the differences add up make this plane seem like it should be called a Not-Quite-172. This one may be red and white like the one I usually fly, but a glance at the straight back and a look inside will tell you it's much earlier in the lineage.

This was the plane's first flight after maintenance and a lot of sitting. I had never flown it, so I only half-trusted it... and that half was coming from having Jim, its mechanic and owner in the left seat next to me. But the plane behaved itself and won me over. It's in really nice shape. I flew the plane a bit but left most of the work to the student pilot onboard.

After Iola, we flew to Clintonville and then back to Brennand. Later in the day we went up again for a couple more takeoffs and landings. The weather was turning sour so we had to put our toy away early. We'll be flying it a lot more.

Fall Colors

The fall colors are here! I went to lunch at Iola with two students, and later went on a flight from Brennand to Wautoma to Waupaca and back with Todd in his Ercoupe.

The aerial pictures from Iola back to Brennand were taken by Chris Turke. Thanks Chris!

Watertown Breakfast & Iola Lunch

Two out of three meals today were airport-related. I rode to Watertown in Ted's Archer for breakfast, then I flew a brand new student to Iola for their weekly Friday lunch. I could have gone three-for-three but my last student and I had too much work to do. Here are some pictures from the Watertown trip.