P-51 Mustang Tribute Film: Gray Eagles
The P-51 Mustang is one of the most beautiful and intriguing planes that I’ve ever seen. Even though I’m not a huge warbird nut, I really do love the P-51 and hope to someday get to fly in one. This is an excellent documentary and cool story about a P-51 pilot and his plane.
Website Fixed!
Well, I apologize for the delay but I have finally gotten all of the bugs fixed with the website. There were a lot of tweaks that I needed to make and links that I needed to fix so please let me know if you find one that isn’t working correctly. Lori has just finished renaming a ton of pictures and I will be uploading them soon. Check back over the next couple of weeks for updates. Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!
Website troubles
For those of you that have visited the website in the last couple of days I’m sure that you have noticed things aren’t working quite right. I’ve been having a lot of trouble with the gallery script and I’m trying to get it fixed. I’ve spent a lot of time on it without much luck. I’m still hacking away at it and will hopefully come up with a solution soon. If you want to get into the Gallery you can click on the “Random Image” on the right hand side of the page. This will take you directly into the gallery. The interface between Wordpress and Gallery isn’t working right now so many of the pictures throughout the blog will most likely not work right now. Thanks for your patience!
Started my IFR training!
It has been something that I have wanted to do for quite sometime, but I have finally gotten serious about my IFR flight training. I had plans to start earlier in the year after I had some new panel lights installed in N9526J but that had to be put on hold for awhile after the plane was totalled in an unfortunate accident. After going through the spring and most of the summer without a good airplane to fly, I finally got the bug again over our family vacation to Michigan in early July. I rented planes from Dodgen Aircraft in Allegan, MI and got quite a few hours of flight time in West Michigan on the trip. In August I purchased a 1979 Piper Archer II that is loaded and all setup for IFR flight. Click on the picture below to see the specs of the new airplane and to see more pictures.
Before I purchased the new plane I received a stipulation from Lori. She said that she supported the purchase of the new plane as long as I studied and got my IFR within a year. What an ultimatum! Lori wants to be able to use the plane to travel places and to see family more often and I totally understand why she is pushing me to get it. I thought it was a great idea and I immediately started studying again for the IFR written exam. I’m about ready to take the test within a couple of weeks as I’m taking practice tests and scoring in the low 90% range.
I’ve also started the flight portion of my IFR rating. Frank Dorrin is an instructor that I met through flying out of Delaware Airpark (33N). Frank and I have talked a couple of times about the rating and what is required. He is very much down to business and uses a structured syllabus. He also owns a simulator which will help in my training. I’ve decided to start working with Frank and have now completed two flights with him that were both very productive. So far we have practiced the instrument scan, four fundamentals, constant rate climbs and descents, timed turns and we are currently working on patterns. We’ve spent some time on the ground as well and he is preparing me for what I need to know by showing the reference materials that I should use. What I really like about working with Frank as I know what to expect. He lays out the plans and we execute them. Both flights have been at night which is also helping me with my night proficiency. I’ve attached the flight tracks of the two lessons that I’ve completed so far that I downloaded from my Garmin 496. Technology never ceases to amaze me and this data is a great tool to evaluate the flight performance. You can also view the speed and altitude information as well as the flight tracks by clicking on these links: IFR Lesson #1 and IFR Lesson #2.
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- IFR Lesson #1
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- IFR Lesson #2
West Michigan Flying – July 2009
In July of 2009 the Frey Family took a trip to West Michigan to see friends and family. I hadn’t had any good rental options over the previous few months as my plane (N9526J) had been totaled by a pilot flying the plane that I used to rent (N41568). I took the opportunity on the trip to West Michigan to fly some of the planes at Dodgen Aircraft in Allegan, MI where Lori’s family lives. The owner of Dodgen is Jason Blair who is a National Association of Flight Instructors Master CFI. I had heard about Jason from flying in Allegan and he recently was teaching on a video blog that I have been following presented by the EAA. Here is a link: Earning My Wings
I contacted Jason and we met on the Monday morning of our vacation. I used the opportunity to not only get checked out but to complete a Biennial Flight Review (BFR). I was a bit nervous and studied for a few things prior to the review. When I met with Jason the nervousness went away. We went for a beautiful flight in a Piper Warrior up the coast of Lake Michigan and did a few procedures and returned back to Allegan. The ground portion was also very laid back and I easily got signed off to rent their planes and my BFR completed.
The next day I offered to take Kathy (Lori’s Mom) and Hannah flying. Kathy is originally from Muskegon so we decided to fly there (KMKG). We had a very nice flight again up the coast of Lake Michigan. I even let Kathy take the controls for a bit and she did very well. I think she was nervous when I was reviewing charts and pretending to look away but I still kept an eye on things. We had a very nice lunch at the airport in Muskegon and returned home. Kathy even let me do some steep turns and she enjoyed them.
I was determined to get a bunch of flying in so the following day I rented another Piper Warrior from Dodgen and flew up to Saginaw, MI (KMBS). My friend Bob was teaching summer school up there and we met up for about an hour just to catch up. It was a good excuse to get up and fly for a couple of hours (as if I needed one).
Click on the pictures to be taken to the gallery from this great week of flying. I logged almost 6 hours of flying in the 3 days. I also believe that this week gave me the bug again and that is why only a couple of weeks later I made an offer on another plane that I now own.
Dover NASCAR Weekend
It is already that time of year again when the NASCAR races come to Dover. We only live a couple of miles from Dover International Speedway. Over the few years that we have lived here I have had a couple of opportunities to go to the races but none quite as good as this year. A friend of mine at work was able to get me a “Cold” pit pass that was good for the whole weekend. On Friday we got together and spent some time touring the pits, the Nationwide Series garages and the inside of the track. We were down on the track when the guys were practicing. On Friday afternoon we went down to pit road for the introductions and to see Samantha Doorn sing the National Anthem. Samantha is the daughter of one of Jeff’s co-workers at Kraft. It was quite an experience to be right in the middle of the action. Unfortunately, right after the drivers started their engines it started to rain. The race was rained out and postponed until Saturday. That evening my friends and I hung out in Dover Downs and got a tour of the facility. There were a lot of events going on and we even got into a celebrity pool tournament that had a few of the drivers and Hershel Walker.
The crew started the day early on Saturday morning with Jeff, Andy, Eric and Kenny meeting up and tailgating in the parking lot. Andy cooked 
up some excellent brats and we had a burger, chips and of course a few beers. Jeff and Eric went into the infield for the start of the race. It was neat to be so close to the drivers and see all the action on pit road. Pit road isn’t the best place to see the race so after a few laps Jeff and Eric went out to catch up with Andy and Kenny. On the way they stopped in one of Eric’s friend’s suites just to say hi. Then they continued on to the Turn 4 area where Andy and Kenny were camped out for the race. It was great to get all those different perspectives of the track. Jeff picked Joey Lagano to win the race and right up until the end of the race it looked like Kyle Busch was going to win it. In the last few laps Kyle had a tire issue and Brad Kaslowski swooped in to take the win. Joey came in second. Most everyone was happy that Kyle didn’t win though.
We weren’t sure if we were going to stay for the truck race. It had been a long day. Right at the last minute Andy and I decided that we would stay. I have never seen the truck race so it was something I wanted to. Andy and I went back into the track and took a seat in Turn 1. It was a good race. Again Kyle Busch dominated and made it look easy at each restart weaving in and out of the others. Right at the end of the race he had another tire problem and wasn’t able to recover. There were a lot of cautions for tire problems but it was still a good race. Afterwards, Andy and I dragged ourselves out of the stands and headed home. It was a very long day but also a very fun one!
Even though I had a pass that would get me into the infield I decided that two days of racing was enough for me and I’ll watch the Sprint Cup on TV. It was an excellent experience and I’m thankful to have good friends to be able to share the experience with!
Click on any of the pictures above to be taken to the gallery with all of the pictures I took over the weekend.
A few short videos taken from my phone are also posted at: http://www.qik.com/jdfrey1
Lawn Care Season….
For the last few years I’ve contemplated getting a lawn tractor. I was either being too cheap or felt guilty for riding around so I would find an excuse to put it off another year. Our yard isn’t really that big but it does grow very fast and I have been finding it increasingly more difficult to find the time to mow it. In the peak of summer I usually have to mow about every 4 to 5 days or it gets too long and is very difficult. This year I finally broke down and upgraded the Troy-Bilt self-propelled mower to a nice 46″ Troy-Bilt lawn tractor. I even got a bagging
attachment which should help keep the yard looking clean and ready for the kids to play in the backyard. My wife calls it a toy….I call it a tool. Whatever you want to call it, hopefully it will save me some time and help keep my yard looking the way I like it. Here a pictures of both my mowers. I also have a Troy-Bilt pressure washer. My neighbors are going to think I own their stock!
N9526J – Damaged by Another Plane
I’m too sick to explain too much but N9526J may have been damaged beyond repair today when another aircraft hit her when trying to land at 33N. The pilot was flying N41568 which is a plane Jeff used to rent as well. The pilot amazingly was not injured. A Cessna Skymaster was also damaged that was parked next to N9526J. It is a sad day!
Click on the picture to the left to see all of the pictures.
Here is a link to the story in the Dover Post: http://www.doverpost.com/news/x679799326/3-plane-fender-bender-rips-off-wing
Flight to Georgetown, DE
It was a beautiful February day so Jeff decided to go flying. He called up Andy P. to see if he was up to it as well. Hannah and Bryan also joined 
in the fun. Andy had flown with Jeff one other time a few months ago. They flew from Delaware Airpark (33N) to Georgetown, DE (KGED). There they topped off with relatively inexpensive fuel and had a drink at the restaurant. On the way home they flew out over the Delaware Bay and up the coast. They circled Andy’s house where he took some pictures and then they came into land. Total flight time was 1.4 hours with a couple of landings for the day. Everyone had a great time.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Just a short post to say that the website has been recently updated and that new pictures were added to the Family, Hannah, Bryan and Kids categories. We hope that you like them and that you have a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
2008 has been a year that has flown by for the Frey Family. The Family went on vacations to the Outer Banks of NC and to Disney World in Orlando, FL. Hannah is in her second year of pre-school at the YMCA. Bryan is all boy and continually getting into everything he isn’t supposed to. Lori stays busy working at the YMCA, taking the kids around to their multiple activities during the week and chasing Bryan around. Jeff continues to do well at Kraft and was promoted to Business Unit Manager of the Desserts area in September. We hope that all of you have had a good year and that you have a wonderful New Year! We would love to hear from all of you.
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Dover Weather
Thursday, Mar 11
Fair
Currently: 40˚F
Feels Like: 40˚ F
Hi: 63˚, Lo: 47˚
weather feed courtesy of weather.com - thanks!