Saturday, May 12, 2018

We're a flying family, part (one eighty) deux

Plane: Cessna 182 RG 
Route: MGY, Local 
Weather: Broken clouds, 82 degrees, wind 270 degrees at 6 knots

After spending much of the day enjoying the warm, almost-summer weather (and weeding and mowing the lawn) it appeared the forecast scattered storms were scattering away from the area. So I decided it would be the perfect opportunity to take the whole family up in the new plane for the first time! It was the first time we all flew together since Mariella's first flight last August.

She was happy before we even left the ground

One additional perk of the new club airplane is its proximity to home; we were at the airport about five minutes after leaving our house. Nobody had flown the plane since I flew her yesterday but I still did a thorough pre-flight before pulling 7YG out of the hangar. There was some rain to the west but I checked the radar on my phone again before we all climbed on board - it was no factor and we'd be back on the ground long before it arrived.

She's clearly my child given her affinity for the window seat 

I took off on Runway 20 then turned east, flying up towards Bellbrook. With no plans to fly far, I leveled at 2,500 and reduced the power to 2200 RPM and about 22" MP for a quieter, slower flight. Mariella is quite the squirmer and Gina had her hands full with her. That aside, she was quite happy and was really enjoying looking out the window.

The only thing she didn't approve of were her earmuffs. Since it was only a short flight, I wasn't too concerned. But we'll have to try using some foam earplugs (and keeping her in her carseat so it's harder for her to pull them out) on our next trip for ear protection from the engine noise.

Totally engrossed in the view from above

I'd say she was enjoying the flight

Being a complete ham as she so often is

Requisite family photo, now taken sitting above retractable gear

The sky was quite calm but I did still know some rain was off to the west. We'd only been up maybe 15 minutes as I turned south and made a quick turn over top of Stewart. Then it was direct back to Wright Brothers, which only takes a few minutes at 140 knots. I commented to Gina, and she agreed, that it's nice how much more stable the 182 is - it'll be great on trips.

Passing over my familiar turf aerodrome

We were soon on the ground after a very soft landing; the stall horn sounded just as the mains touched. I think I'm getting the hang of flying this Skylane! Within a couple minutes, we had shut down, Mariella was in her car seat in the car, and Gina helped me push the plane back into the hangar. It was really nice to take a quick family flight tonight. With this milestone out of the way, we're ready to take some trips that really take advantage of the 182's speed and range.

Today's Flight: 0.5 hours
Total Time: 389.6 hours

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