C-17 Flight - Niagara Falls

November 1, 2008 by Jeff · 1 Comment
Filed under: Flying, Jeff

Jeff and Kevin Ripley were lucky enough to get nominated to participate in Employee Appreciation Day for the Air Force Reserves at Dover Air Force Base. They were nominated by Doug Shelton, a Kraft employee who is currently activated in the Air Force Reserves. They had breakfast and a nice presentation about the history of the base and the Reserves. They also had a tour of the base with tours through the distribution warehouse and also the kennels where they train the drug and bomb sniffing dogs. A great lunch was served and afterwards they were treated to a flight in a C-17 Globemaster III from Dover, DE up to Niagara Falls. The group loaded up in the cargo bay of the C-17 and then were treated to multiple visits up to the cockpit. A few performance maneuvers were executed by the pilot which showcased the abilities of the C-17. The first was a shortfield take-off with a quick climb. Enroute they were treated to a zero-G climb to level off. Finally, on final approach they were put into a 60 degree bank turn and then into a short field landing. The pilot said that he had the aircraft stopped in about 800 feet! What a great day. It was much more than I ever would have expected! Click on the picture above to view more pictures from the day.

Itching to Fly!

October 13, 2008 by Jeff · 1 Comment
Filed under: Flying, Jeff

I just thought I should post quickly about how I’m really anxious to get back up in the air again with N9526J. The last time I flew was at the end of August to get the biennial IFR Cert done which passed with no issues. I flew up to Cross Keys Airport (17N) in New Jersey to visit Alron Avionics. Since then the plane has been grounded for the annual inspection and repairs. The annual has gone relatively well with the engine checking out with compressions all in the mid-70’s. The attitude indicator was sent out for rebuild as it has been somewhat erratic lately. The bad news is that when it came back and was installed it was not working. My mechanic shipped it back out again to get repaired. During this annual I had my Nulites installed. I think they are going to be a nice addition to the plane and will make it possible to fly the plane at night. Lights for the 6-pack, suction gauge and engine instruments were installed. The other gauges already had operational lights. I also had the vacuum pump replaced because my old one was a Rapco rebuilt pump in an Airborne core. Parker sent out a service advisory telling all Airborne pump owners that they need to replace the pumps because they are no longer supported. My old pump worked fine but due to the uncertainty and possible legal issues I decided to purchase a new Rapco vacuum pump.

Back in August I went out to mow the grass around my plane at 33N and found that the airport had already mowed the grass hit the aircraft at least 3 times. They did a significant amount of damage to the right aileron and fuselage. I was quite upset as you can imagine. I worked with the airport manager and they took responsibility for it. Normally they don’t mow within 15 feet of the planes. My mechanic is now making the repairs. The ailerons were both re-skinned (one of which I am paying for because of a previous ding). They look perfect, even the paint! Now the fuselage damage is going to be patched. Total damage caused was over $5,000!

So, hopefully in the next couple of weeks all the issues will have been addressed and I’ll be back up in the air again. I can’t wait!!!

Flight with Gary M. in N28679

August 17, 2008 by Jeff · 1 Comment
Filed under: Flying, Jeff

Gary called up Jeff on Friday afternoon and asked if he was interested in going for a Saturday morning flight. Of course I said yes. There has been kind of an inside joke that Gary has been avoiding flying in to Delaware Airpark (33N) and this was a perfect opportunity for him to come down. Gary called me up around 9:45 and told me that he was on the ground. I quickly hopped in the truck and drove the short trip to the airport and met Gary. After a quick visit to my plane to grab my headset Gary and I hopped into N28679. We taxied to the run-up area and heard some other pilots in the area of 33N. One was on a final to runway 9, low approach only but winds were favoring runway 27. To me this sounds like a recipe for disaster so Gary questioned the aircraft about his position. The pilot seemed rather confused and then called off his low approach and said he would be entering the downwind for 27. Just at that time a Bonanza also announced that he was coming in from the north to enter a downwind. I wish I had more pictures but they were very close to each other right around mid-field downwind and I would bet at least one of them didn’t see the other. Then, to top it off the Bonanza was in the lead on downwind and told the other aircraft to turn his base and land which he did. Only problem is that the Bonanza also turned his base. Both were on final at the same time and the Bonanza touched down while the other plane was still on the runway.

Finally after the traffic cleared Gary took off and we headed across the bay. He took the GPS 32 approach into Millville (KMIV) and did a very good job. The picture is when Gary was under the hood flying his approach. A little rough landing and Gary decided to go around. The second one was better. Gary is a bit hard on himself on the landings but what pilot isn’t? After Millville we took off and headed towards Cape May (KWWD). Gary circled the ferry terminal and then we entered a downwind for runway 28. A much nicer landing. After a short stretch and me trying to shake off an upset stomach we jumped in the plane. Gary has flown with me twice and on both occasions I have gotten a little queasy. This is rare for me but Gary is probably afraid to fly with me again. We then headed back up the west Jersey shore and crossed back over the bay north of Dover’s airspace. A straight in approach and Gary’s best landing with me of the day back into 33N. He kept the fan running while I jumped out of the plane and I snapped a couple of more pictures of him taking off.

Thanks Gary for the nice flight! Sorry for scaring you about me getting sick. Next time will be better. Click here to see Gary’s blog post of the flight: Gary’s Flight Blog

This is a new tool that I just installed on my website to be able to edit and embed maps directly from the blog. Let me know what you think.

Blogging

August 5, 2008 by Jeff · 1 Comment
Filed under: Family, Flying, Jeff, Website

I’m kind of envious everytime I read the excellent blogs of other pilots at details they put into their accounts. I have been flying now for a little over 5 years and have had many enjoyable adventures. I think I have done a fairly good job of documenting a lot of these adventures through photos but have not had the patience to detail the trips in words. I read Gary’s Flight Blog, Rob’s Flying Adventures and others and realize that I will never have the literary ability to recount my adventures quite like they do. That being said, I’m going to do my best to start keeping better documentation of the things that go on in the life of my family so that I can share them with others. This includes family events, travels, flying adventures and whatever else comes to mind at the time. I’m hoping that this blog will give me the opportunity to do this. I welcome your comments, suggestions, and encouragement in this endeavor.

Flight to Indy - Brickyard 400

August 5, 2008 by Jeff · Comment
Filed under: Flying, Jeff

Jeff and Bobby flew to Indianapolis on Friday morning, July 25th, 2008. We left early and were off the ground before 7AM to beat any of the summer afternoon thunderstorm possibilities. The weather on the way to Indy was very nice with only a few clouds around 5000′ as we approached Indy. We stopped in Conshocton, OH (I40) which is a small airport with inexpensive fuel a little northeast of Columbus, OH. Once in Indianapolis we landed at Eagle Creek (KEYE) where the plane was tied down for the weekend. The nightly fee was only $8 which was waived for the first night with fuel purchase. Eagle Creek staff was very friendly and professional. It is a very nice FBO. These are some of the excellent shots that were taken on the way to the fun weekend that we had. Total flight time to Indianapolis from Dover, DE was about 5 hours.

Here is a picture of Indianapolis Motor Speedway from the air. The flight into Eagle Creek took us just to the north end of the track.

We had a fun time in Indy spending time riding race go-karts on Friday and going to a great dinner at Ruth Chris Steakhouse. On Saturday we spent most of the day at the track. We were able to get access to the infield to see the end of Qualifying, spend some good time in the “Hall of Fame”, peruse the sponsor booths and driver trailors and see some of the practice session. It was a great day at the track! Saturday night continued with a great dinner at St. Elmo’s Steakhouse which is very well known for their shrimp cocktail which comes with an excellent homemade cocktail sauce with fresh horseradish. The evening continued with a quick trip to the new casino in Anderson and then a night at the clubs in downtown Indy. A fun filled day that didn’t end until about 3:30 AM!

Sunday morning was a little rough, but after shaking off the cobwebs we headed out to the track for the race. A beautiful day for the race and an interesting venue. The seats were just short of the start/finish line and only about 10 rows back from the pits. At Indianapolis Motor Speedway you can’t see the whole track. The track is also very long so there is a time between each lap when the cars come around. There were also a lot of cautions at the race due to a tire issue identified the day before. NASCAR was taking precautionary cautions just when the racing started to get good. At the end of the day, Jimmie Johnson won the race.

On Monday morning there were some early storms that passed through Indy. Visibility was a little low at about 4 miles but just north of the area it was clear. There was a slight delay in departure. Weather being reported on AWOS stations from Dayton, OH to Dover, DE was reported as sky clear below 12,000 and visibility greater than 10 but the haze would have made you think otherwise. It was very difficult to make out a clear horizon at times. The air was smooth though and a decent 15-20 knot tail wind helped get us home a bit quicker. Total flight time from Indy to Dover was about 4 hours. We were going to stop in Conshocton but when we were on downwind they informed us that they were out of fuel. We climbed back out and decided to stop in Wheeling, WV (KHLG) and add another airport to the logbook. The rest of the flight was uneventful and we were back home by lunch time.