A Perfect Flying Day

[Mike Adams]

On Friday, I had the perfect opportunity to demonstrate the fun and beauty
of general aviation, and thought I should share it with you all, just so
you don't feel sorry for us next summer when it's 110 degrees hot here!

We had some out of town visitors from Minnesota, here in the Southwest for
the holidays to thaw out. We took off late Friday afternoon for a short
aerial tour of some of the Arizona sights. We headed north to Sedona, and
made a pass over the airport and through the red rock country. The views
were fantastic in the late afternoon sun. Then we headed south toward
Cottonwood and Jerome, and then back down the Verde River canyon toward the
Phoenix area. This river valley makes its way through some of Arizona's
rugged backcountry desert mountains and is quite scenic - places that can
take half a day to get to by 4WD. Then we proceeded south over Horseshoe
and Barlett reservoirs and back home. The weather was clear and sunny,
temperatures here in Phoenix in the high 70's with light winds. The plane
was running good as we cruised along throttled back to around 120, and our
visitors were totally impressed. It doesn't get any better than this!

Mike

[PaulaJay1]

In article <7plMb.60780$m83.58977@fed1read01>, Mike Adams
> writes:

>On Friday, I had the perfect opportunity to demonstrate the fun and beauty
>of general aviation, and thought I should share it with you all, just so
>you don't feel sorry for us next summer when it's 110 degrees hot here!

Sure sounds like a good flight. We have gotten out to Tucson in the Archer for
the last three winters. Sure is different flying than here in Ohio. Vis for
60 miles not 6. I like to spend a few hours at Eloy to see the "profesional"
sky divers in action. There is good soaring out there, too.

Chuck

[Maule Driver]

"PaulaJay1" > wrote in message
...
> There is good soaring out there, too.
>
Well, in the summer anyway. The little bit of winter soaring I did out
there was surprising to me. perfect blue days, lots of sun, etc. Not a
single thermal for 8 straight days. Great for acro. Winter can be dead I
guess (???). Summer can be volcanic.

[Jay Honeck]

> On Friday, I had the perfect opportunity to demonstrate the fun and beauty
> of general aviation, and thought I should share it with you all, just so
> you don't feel sorry for us next summer when it's 110 degrees hot here!

Hey, today was perfect aviating weather in Iowa! Temperatures in the upper
40s, light winds right down the runway, and a strong sun that made it so hot
in the cockpit we had to open the fresh air vents -- in January! (Imagine
that -- heat off, short sleeves, and vents open in Iowa?)

Flew down to Muscatine with the family for a terrific brunch before the
Packer debacle.

Oh well, the flight was great, even if the Green & Gold blew an easy win...
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

[Ron Wanttaja]

On Mon, 12 Jan 2004 03:31:41 GMT, "Jay Honeck" >
wrote:

>> On Friday, I had the perfect opportunity to demonstrate the fun and beauty
>> of general aviation, and thought I should share it with you all, just so
>> you don't feel sorry for us next summer when it's 110 degrees hot here!
>
>Hey, today was perfect aviating weather in Iowa! Temperatures in the upper
>40s, light winds right down the runway, and a strong sun that made it so hot
>in the cockpit we had to open the fresh air vents -- in January! (Imagine
>that -- heat off, short sleeves, and vents open in Iowa?)

Had a nice day here in Seattle last week...about 25 degrees, and clear,
sunny skies after four to six new inches of snow. Wore my long leather
coat instead of the A-2, long underwear, and a ski mask under my flying
helmet. Flew for about an hour...pretty nice!

Here I am in typical winter flying gear:

http://www.wanttaja.com/flybaby/ice5.gif

I usually pull the ski mask up just before takeoff. If I have it up on the
ground, my goggles fog up. Once the plane gets going, the draft sucks the
moist air away.

It's warm enough, but my face still gets a bit stiff. Makes it tough to
enunciate on the radio.

Ron

[Rosspilot]

>
>Here I am in typical winter flying gear:
>
>http://www.wanttaja.com/flybaby/ice5.gif
>
>I usually pull the ski mask up just before takeoff.

LOL . . .that's how I look when I jump on my Harley in winter.
www.Rosspilot.com

[Jay Honeck]

> LOL . . .that's how I look when I jump on my Harley in winter.

Both of you guys might try a full-face helmet. I've got an older (20
years?) BMW flip up helmet that has soft inserts that literally "seal" your
head inside the helmet, for cold weather riding.

I've also got a newer (and, therefore, much lighter) version of the same
type of flip-up helmet, made by a Japanese company (whose name escapes me).
The newer one has a windscreen that wraps around further, to the point where
it doesn't impede peripheral vision at all.

They are both terrific for cool/cold weather, and would work great in the
Fly Baby.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

[Aaron Coolidge]

Mike Adams > wrote:
<snip>

A perfect flying day in the North East Sunday. Temps -1F at 7AM when I
started preheating. At 7:45 started the engine and flew out to Martha's
Vineyard for breakfast. (Reason? It was "warm" at +10F! Park right in front
of the restaurant!) Visibility was >50 miles, smooth air. Now we're
wondering if the Alton Bay ice runway is frozen yet.

My trusty E6B reported DA of -1000 feet at my cruise alt of 3000 feet.
--
Aaron Coolidge (N9376J)

[Ron Wanttaja]

On Mon, 12 Jan 2004 12:41:28 GMT, "Jay Honeck" >
wrote:

>> LOL . . .that's how I look when I jump on my Harley in winter.
>
>Both of you guys might try a full-face helmet. I've got an older (20
>years?) BMW flip up helmet that has soft inserts that literally "seal" your
>head inside the helmet, for cold weather riding.
>
>I've also got a newer (and, therefore, much lighter) version of the same
>type of flip-up helmet, made by a Japanese company (whose name escapes me).
>The newer one has a windscreen that wraps around further, to the point where
>it doesn't impede peripheral vision at all.
>
>They are both terrific for cool/cold weather, and would work great in the
>Fly Baby.

But...but...Jay, they're *ugly*. When I fly, I want to look like Cap'n
Eddie, not Captain Apollo. :-)

Santa brought me the DVD of "Battle of Britain," I watched it tonight. I
*gotta* get me a white turtleneck like Robert Shaw wears.....

Ron "Remembering that old Navy saying about looking bad" Wanttaja