Three quick laps around the pattern

Plane: Cessna 150
Route: 40I, Local
Weather: Clear, 87 degrees, wind 140 degrees at 8 knots

I drove down to Stewart after work (could there possibly be a better Friday activity?) so I could to pick up a polo shirt for Gary. It also just happened to work out that Gina was scheduled to go flying with CFI Dave from 5:30 to 6:30. Do you actually think I could sit on the ground after driving to the airport on a clear summer evening? I had hoped that a Cub would be open but they were both flying (Gina and Dave in one of them) so I got the keys to the 150.

My patterns were more quadrilateral-like than rectangular today

On my way down to the end of the runway I passed by Gina and waved to her and Dave. She took off (it looked quite good from my perspective!) while I did my runup and then I followed them into the pattern with a normal takeoff. I debated heading over to Wright Brothers but her lesson was almost over so I elected to just circle around Stewart a few times. Three quick laps with a normal, short field, and soft field takeoff. It's obvious to me how much more I've been flying the 172 lately (after logging 12.6 hours on our huge trip last month) because I keep using way too much right rudder on climbout.

I attempted a power-off 180 accuracy landing but landed a bit long. My final landing was intentionally long as I added power and flew about a foot over the runway to touch down closer to the tiedowns. My logbook confirms that this was my shortest flight ever, just 0.4 hours on the Hobbs. Not that I'm complaining - I still got to fly!

After chatting in the office for a while, Gina and I headed off to Der Dutchman for dinner in downtown Waynesville. It's a big, Amish-style restaurant with chicken, loads of homemade side dishes, and whatnot. We both opted for the buffet and stuffed ourselves silly. It was delicious and I can't believe I've been flying out of Stewart for about 2 1/2 years and just now finally made it there for dinner - you can bet we'll be back again.

Flight Track: Google Earth KMZ File
Today's Flight: 0.4 hours
Total Time: 172.9 hours