Route: 40I, Local
Weather: Clear, 47 degrees, wind 330 degrees at 7 knots
Flying time is always hard to come by in the winter and my weekly agenda thus far in 2015 hasn't made it easier than usual. I was finally home with time to spare this morning and the springlike air was reason enough to brave mushy grass for some stick time. Emerson and I chatted about the field conditions upon my arrival, which were typical for March at Stewart - land a few hundred feet past the marked threshold, hug the south side of the runway next to the cones, and avoid the west end of the field.
He propped me and I launched into true soft field mode; once moving, I never stopped while I was on the soft, muddy turf. I did my run-up while taxiing to the runway and soon pushed in full throttle and launched skyward. With a decent wind nearly on the nose, cool temperatures, and being solo in the rear seat, the big Cub climbed fast. I leveled off at pattern altitude (1,800 feet) before turning crosswind each time around.
I had to knock off a little rust but I was satisfied with every landing. I made three laps around the pattern before flying east over the lake for a little sightseeing. Even with the snow melt, the water was still low and you could see some old foundations like we spotted in January. I climbed up to about 2,500 feet and did some steep turns, then flew back north of the airport and quickly descended back to pattern altitude with a steep spiral.
Wanting to check the other end of the field, I made a low pass and circled back around for my final landing. Coming in over the trees with a bit of power, I flared and touched extremely softly for a perfect three-pointer. That sure felt good.
Flight Track: Google Earth KMZ File
Today's Flight: 0.8 hours
Total Time: 326.1 hours
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