3D Sunset

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.

Not Your Average 172

 

What happens when you take a good all-around airplane like the Cessna 172 and bolt a 210-horsepower engine to it? You get crazy-good takeoff and climb performance and the cruise speed you wish a regular 172 had.

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!

Madison Maintenance Flight

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.