Route: MGY, Local
Weather: Clear, 80 degrees, wind 340 degrees at 5 knots
Time moves quickly. After a couple busy weeks that included my little sister's wedding and a work trip to San Antonio, I was itching to get back in the air. We're planning a nice little day trip for Father's Day this coming weekend but I wanted to get in a little air time first. Especially so I could have an opportunity to give the new avionics a trial run.
The club just installed a nice Appareo ESG transponder so the plane meets the ADS-B mandate. It includes a hard-wired Stratus 2i so we now have ADS-B In on aircraft power. For the non-pilots, that basically means we have a little device permanently mounted in the plane that allows me to see real-time traffic, weather, NOTAMs, and such on my iPad in the cockpit... so I don't have to worry about bringing my own when flying 7YG anymore. Quite convenient.
It was too nice a night not to fly
I got to the airport about 7:45 and had the propeller spinning just before 8:00. I taxied down to the end of Runway 2, completed did my run-up, and taxied onto the runway. With quarter-full fuel tanks (which is still 1.5+ hours of flight time in this plane) and only myself on board, the plane leapt into the air in no time.
In the pattern at Wright Brothers
The air was remarkably clear for a reasonably warm summer evening. Visibility was truly unrestricted. Had I climbed up to 3,500 or 4,000 feet I have no doubt I'd have seen the Columbus skyline 65-70 miles away. Instead I stayed in the pattern and brought the plane in for a smooth landing in the nearly still evening air. I taxied back and launched into the sky again, this time really trying to let the plane fly itself off the runway when it was ready to cheat gravity.
Looking south towards MGY over I-675 and Yankee St
Dayton Mall and the I-675 / I-75 interchange
My next landing was a bit of an aviation milestone - my 1000th, if I've managed to log them all correctly over the years. Thankfully it was very smooth. Wouldn't want to ruin the moment.
I taxied back one more time but, after takeoff, turned east and climbed up out of the pattern for a very short scenic flight around the area. Even with the power reduced to 15" of MP my ground speed was over 120 knots; I do continue to enjoy this plane's ability to go places. I flew a gentle circle east of Wright Brothers then flew west along I-675 while descending, gently turning again west of the field over Miamisburg to re-enter the pattern.
My final approach and landing (which, full disclosure, I thought was my 1000th) were the best of the night. I didn't need to touch the power from the time I reduced it abeam the numbers and everything was stabilized all the way through to the flare, where I reduced the power to idle and gently touched the mains with the stall horn blaring. A fitting end to a fine evening flight.
Flight Track: Google Earth KMZ File
Today's Flight: 0.6 hours
Total Time: 397.1 hours
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