Cub time and Gina's flying lessons

Plane: Cub, 65 hp
Route: 40I, Local
Weather: Partly cloudy, 83 degrees, wind 060 degrees at 4 knots

Wow, it's been 10 days since this flight (it's August 11th right now) and I haven't even had a chance to write about it yet! Work was insane over the past week and a half (52 hours in four days, etc.) and then we were in Chicago for a wedding. Gina and I used the Zi8 in flight to capture some video but I simply haven't been able to edit it into anything, so that will have to wait for now. As to the flight itself...

Since I didn't have a chance to fly when Gary and Rob visited on Saturday, I wanted to get up the following afternoon. Ever since our giant flying adventure I have not gone up much. That's due to both a lack of free time and a seriously depleted flying fund. This wasn't going to be a flight with any purpose other than knocking out some takeoffs and landings to keep the rust from forming.

The sun was shining, the temperature quite pleasant, and the winds light as we got propped and taxied down to the end of Runway 8. I made three takeoffs and landings - short field, simulated engine out, and a power-off 180 accuracy approach. On that 180 approach I was able to land within 100 feet of my aiming point. We took off for the third time and I headed out towards the lake to enjoy the warm breeze blowing through the Cub's open door.

Gina took the controls for a few minutes and flew us around the lake. I haven't mentioned it on here before, but she's been taking flying lessons. Her goal is just to learn how to land the plane in case something happens to me. She's gone up in the 65 hp Cub three times now with CFI Dave and still doesn't want to work towards a Sport or Private certificate; maybe that will change in the future. Her stick and rudder skills have definitely progressed and she did a great job keeping the plane level at 2,100 feet while following the shoreline. It was nice to be able to just enjoy the view, watch for traffic, and record a couple short videos with her doing the flying.

I had her fly us into a 45 degree entry to the pattern. As we approached I saw another plane turning downwind and she turned away for spacing. I took the controls back and brought us around for an intentionally long landing. Adding power as I started to flare, I flew us about one foot off the ground until touching down roughly 1000 feet down the runway. Not much else to report - just another nice summer day in the Cub!

Flight Track: Google Earth KMZ File
Today's Flight: 0.8 hours
Total Time: 171.4 hours