Cub vs Champ

As someone who has spent significant time behind the sticks of both Cubs and Champs, this video really piqued my interest. It's a great comparison of the two classic trainers, both of which qualify under the Light Sport category. If you're new to flying or simply haven't had the opportunity to fly an old taildragger this is a perfect, quick way to learn more about the venerable J-3 and 7AC.

From my own perspective, the differences between the two planes are most apparent on takeoff and landing. Champs love to float and you need to manage your airspeed to avoid scooting well down the runway in ground effect; the Cub's boxier fuselage seems to bleed airspeed more quickly. On takeoff, they're spot-on in the video about how fast you can bring the Cub's tail up with moderate forward stick. I think the Champ spins a tad easier, too, but that's not exactly a standard (intentional) maneuver for most pilots...

Apologies for the lack of, well, anything on here in quite some time. I've been on the road for work a ton - the better part of three weeks and over 17,000 miles via the airlines since I last flew the Cub myself in January! With the return of Daylight Savings Time this weekend I hope my schedule will again permit regular stick time soon.

Ringing in 2015 with an octet of airplanes

Plane: Cessna 150 
Route: 40I-MWO-40I 
Weather: Clear, 25 degrees, wind 240 degrees at 15 knots gusting to 26

For the second year in a row, we took part in an old Stewart tradition - flying to breakfast on New Year's Day. Compared to last year, we doubled the turnout; eight airplanes flew this morning. I'm pretty sure that every one of Stewart's airplanes not currently in for annual took to the sky.

We lucked out, too. Although it was cold and windy there was not an ounce of frost, so we all avoided a lengthy deicing. Tommy hauled the preheater around the field to warm everyone's cylinders and all the engines were turning by 8:30. Within minutes, three Cubs, a Champ, the Arrow, the Fly Baby, and the 172 were airborne. We departed last in the 150.

We both got new Halo headsets for Christmas! :)

We were the eighth and final airplane to depart Stewart

Joining up with everyone else shortly after takeoff

Following a couple Cubs to Middletown

The third Cub, off our right wing

Entering the pattern at MWO in trail of all three Cubs

A different angle - us following the three Cubs from the ground MWO

Gina was quite excited that we could finally order some food

All eight planes on the ground in Middletown

I'm sure our eclectic formation was quite a sight from the ground - at least if anyone else was crazy enough to be up so early, looking skyward. We had a hearty headwind so the short 13 mile hop took nearly 25 minutes from takeoff to touchdown. I followed the three Cubs, landing last, with an absolute greaser in the shifty, gusty winds. The wheels touched so softly you could barely tell we had landed and I made the first turnoff. Definitely a good way to start to the new year!

Everyone parked on the edge of the ramp and walked through the gate to Frisch's next door. I'm not sure the staff expected 16 people to walk in together but our waitress was extremely cheerful and somehow kept our orders straight. I had an omlette and Gina had eggs and French toast; along with the coffee, it all certainly hit the spot.

We spent about an hour in the restaurant before heading back through the fence. I quickly preflighted the 150 and hopped in. I was slightly worried about the engine firing after spending an hour in the cold, gusty winds. Thankfully, she fired right up after three shots of primer. I taxied to the end of Runway 23, completed a runup, and was the first to depart. Everyone followed quickly behind and I soon joined up on the pack of airplanes flying eastward.

Flying back to Stewart at 2,500 feet following our hearty breakfast

Caesar Creek Lake, partially drained for the winter

In some spots, nearly all the water was gone

Even a small river has tremendous power to clear everything in its path

Foundations are still visible from buildings that were demolished when the lake was built

One final look at the low water on our way back towards the airport

Tommy and I were talking last night and he'd mentioned how low the lake was. They usually drain it in the winter (so there's greater capacity in the spring to hold snow melt and rainfall) but it seems even lower than usual this year. He said you could see some of the old foundations from the buildings that used to lie in the valley before it was flooded in the late 1970s when the lake was built. I hadn't seen that before so we continued east after the formation reached Stewart. As you can see above, it was definitely a unique view. Without question, it's a view that can only be truly appreciated from above.

Tuning in the AWOS at Wright Brothers, I checked the winds and noted that they had continued to pick up. They were gusting up to 25-30 knots but were at least only 20-30 degrees off the runway heading. I turned final for Runway 26 at Stewart and had to stay very active on the controls all the way down. Kicking in a little left rudder to counter a wind shift just as I was rounding out, I touched down very softly on the grass. Two for two to begin 2015. I'll take it.

Flight Track: Google Earth KMZ File 
Today's Flight: 1.1 hours
Total Time: 324.5 hours

Colors and currency in the Cub

Plane: Cub, 85 hp 
Route: 40I, Local 
Weather: Clear, 54 degrees, wind 250 degrees at 8 knots

We were blessed with a gorgeous fall afternoon. Gina was working at the airport in the morning and I drove down to meet her near the end of her shift. With a Cub open and peak colors all around, the only logical way thing to do was to take it all in from above!

First, however, I took the venerable taildragger around the pattern solo. I originally planned to make two trips but Gina was still finishing up in the office and two became four. With a strong wind almost directly down the runway, I was off and climbing quickly every takeoff. Due to the skydivers sharing the pattern, I climbed straight out and leveled off at pattern altitude just past the end of the runway before turning crosswind and downwind.

It didn't take long to run through the full gamut - normal, short, and soft field takeoffs and landings, plus a couple power-off 180s for good measure. I was really feeling it this afternoon; the first landing was a perfect greaser and the next three were nearly as good. Holding the brakes on takeoff, I was off the ground in less than the distance between two sets of cones. Flying solo in a Cub with a healthy wind down the runway never gets old.

Gina wandered over and climbed in the front after my fourth landing. Once she was buckled, I handed her the camera and rolled back onto Runway 26. I climbed west before turning north, slowly making our way past Waynesville before turning towards Caesar Creek Lake. I opened the window (a chilly proposition!) so she could get some unobstructed shots of the great scenery.

OH-73 heading east towards Waynesville

Not a foliage shot - I just like Cub strut photos!

US-42 winds south past Waynesville towards Lebanon

We flew low and slow, making our way south with a detour east around Harveysburg to peek at the Ohio Renaissance Festival. It seems like the trees surrounding the lake are full of color every fall and this year was no exception. Numerous boaters were out enjoying the CAVU day, too.

The southwest end of Caesar Creek Lake and the dam that created it

The colors on these trees next to Caesar Creek Lake were spectacular

We flew past the Ohio Renaissance Festival in Harveysburg - it was packed!

Crossing I-71 we spotted some vivid patches of color a few miles further south; I pointed the nose in that direction and Gina snapped more photos. Before long, it was quarter of three and I had to head towards Stewart to return the plane in time for the next lesson. We flew up the Little Miami River valley - another wonderfully scenic area, year after year.

I-71 just east of the Jeremiah Morrow Bridge between Cincinnati and Columbus

I've come to the conclusion that I land the Cub better solo. Every landing before Gina climbed on board was great. Feeling good, I elected to make one more power-off 180 upon our return. Rolling out of a full forward slip about 50 feet up, I flared a tad too high. The mains touched and we bounced off the grass. Not very high, but it just didn't feel right, so I immediately firewalled the throttle and went around. We came back around, power off again, and this time touched down safely... but still with far less finesse than my first four of the day.

A friend was doing spin training in the Champ - he landed just after we tied down

Still, it was a perfect day for an aerial color tour. Gina and I both enjoyed the view; the near-constant bumps didn't ruin it one bit. Given how much I've been traveling lately, I'm quite glad we managed to squeeze in our annual foliage flight before the trees went bare!

Flight Track: Google Earth KMZ File 
Today's Flight: 1.2 hours
Total Time: 322.6 hours

Cruising in the Cub with Rob

Plane: Cub, 85 hp
Route: 40I, Local
Weather: Partly cloudy, 58 degrees, wind 320 degrees at 7 knots

My good friend Rob came down to visit for the weekend so we could attend Thunder Over Louisville, the Doolittle Raiders Reunion, and visit the USAF Museum. No aviation-related weekend would be complete without some time in the Cub so I made sure to schedule a couple hours for us on this beautiful spring evening. Our cameras were on hand every day so I'll be adding more museum photos to the series and posting about Thunder on here in the next month.

Today's aircraft of choice - the 85 hp Cub

The weather looked ripe for flying this afternoon with scattered puffy clouds, light winds, and an blooming landscape below. I got the plane preflighted while Rob watched some planes in the pattern and taxied over to the fuel pump to top off the tank. Although I only added 3.9 gallons, that's nearly an hour's worth of 100LL for the Cub! Rob climbed in and got comfortable, then I hopped in the back, we got propped, and I taxied off in the grass for my pre-takeoff checks.

I rolled on to Runway 26 and smoothly lifted off and climbed straight out. At around 1,500 feet I turned 45 degrees to the right to leave the pattern. Brett was up in the MXS practicing aerobatics (there's an aerobatic box over top of the airport) so I wanted to stay out of his way and climbed a few miles away as we flew towards the lake. I made a few sharp turns so Rob could see down as we both enjoyed the scenery passing below us.

We flew about 80 miles over Southwest Ohio in total

Once past the lake and headed towards Kings Island, I handed the controls over for a few minutes. Rob did a pretty good job holding us straight and relatively level as I kept my head on a swivel in traffic watch mode. Other than checking the instruments to watch airspeed and altitude and occasionally adjusting the throttle, I was hands-off the whole time. I had him make a gentle left turn around the amusement park and I watched for traffic and monitored the instruments while he enjoyed the view of the rides.

We then headed off East and I showed Rob a few Dutch Rolls to help explain adverse yaw. I had been able to feel that we were slightly out of coordination (not at all unexpected for someone who's never taken an official flight lesson) during some of his turns and knew this would be a great illustration. He then tried a few and, by the end of the minute or so, definitely was doing a really good job using rudder and aileron to keep that little Cub coordinated. I was impressed! I descended and followed the Little Miami River through the valley at about 1,600 feet from I-71 up until we were a few miles from Stewart.

As we approached on the 45 I could see another plane on crosswind. He was flying a bit of a B-52 pattern and was easily half again the normal distance I fly from the runway. Regardless, I didn't want to cut anyone off so I turned downwind a little early so we would stay comfortably in front of him. You would think we would have been quite visible as I turned with the sun shining brightly on those bright yellow Cub wings. As we made our way on downwind I lost visual but both of us were looking constantly, knowing he was out there. Soon after I saw him off to our right and descending - obviously he had somehow never noticed us in the pattern. I firewalled the throttle and broke off in a climbing right turn as we watched him continue descending, turn base, and land.

I circled back around and re-entered a 45 to the downwind for Runway 26. This time the pattern was clear and I made it all the way to the runway. I had been a little high and reduced the throttle and all was going smoothly until I felt us start to sink faster than I wanted. Just a friendly reminder from the Cub that, past a certain point, it will sink like a brick when you're in the flare. I poured on the throttle as the mains touched and climbed back out in a go around.

We circled around once more and the next landing was much better, albeit still more firm than I aim for. There was a light right crosswind and I didn't exactly make my best-ever transition into a sideslip on short final. I taxied back and made another takeoff and this time the landing was again better, but not super smooth. Never satisfied with that kind of end to the day, I took off one last time and elected to make a simulated engine-out approach. Pulling the throttle to idle abeam the numbers, I made a gentle turn back towards the runway and skimmed over the power lines and house at the end of the runway. The landing was perfectly smooth, a total greaser where we touched right as I brought the stick all the way back. Now that's a proper ending!

After I had shut down and paid the bill both of us took our cameras out alongside the runway and shot departing and arriving airplanes for about 15 minutes. Joe also asked me to prop a student in the Champ, which I did and he went on to practice in the pattern while we took photos. Stewart is such a great place - one of those airports where you could easily waste away any day just watching the people and the planes. Couple that with the lush, early Spring grass and perfect weather and it's an aviation- and photo-enthusiast's dream!

Watching as a gorgeous Cessna 180 lines up for takeoff

The 65 hp Cub accelerates down the runway

I love the clean paint job on this Cessna 182

The Champ (my solo bird) zooming past on takeoff

Gently lifting off the grass

Descending over top of the trees and power lines on short final

Skirting along in ground effect just before touchdown

Champ climbing out after departing Runway 26

Flight Track: Google Earth KMZ File
Today's Flight: 1.3 hours
Total Time: 145.8 hours

Cessna + Champ + Clouds = Currency

Plane: Cessna 150
Instructor: (None) / Dave
Route: 40I, Local
Weather: Low ceilings, overcast, 29 degrees, wind 080 degrees at 8 knots

Given the weather of late, I was more than happy simply to get airborne this afternoon. My friend Mike and I had been hoping to take a cross-country over to Columbus (TZR) or down to Portsmouth (PMH) for a bite to eat like we did last weekend. Checking the TAFs and METARs when I rolled out of bed it was obvious the skies were nowhere close to allowing for any sort of trip today. Nonetheless, I drove down to Stewart figuring I might at least be able to stay in the pattern and keep my skills as fresh as possible. The ceiling was low (between 600 and 800 agl) but high enough to stay out of the clouds while flying circles around the airport. It was actually rather similar to the weather Dave and I encountered during a lesson back in September.

Cubs flying in formation with another one on final

Cessna

We pushed the plane out of the hangar and I was about to start it up when Emerson (one of the owners of the place) knocked on the window. I had pushed us right over some gravel and he pointed out that could damage the prop if I started it there. He also had to test fly it since they had just done a 100-hour inspection. So that made me feel like a bit of a moron, although he certainly wasn't upset or anything. I wouldn't have known about the test flight part (I got the book so they thought it was ok to fly in the office) but I know better than to start over gravel. Anyway, lesson learned and I'll likely never do that again.

Mike wanted to tag along after his first lesson in the Champ and I figured an extra pair of eyes never hurts. The pattern was surprisingly busy considering the low ceilings. At one point there were 5 planes in the pattern: three Cubs, the Champ, and us in the 150. I just worked on all sorts of takeoffs and landings - short and soft field, normal, engine-out, and even a go around. All were smooth aside from my first engine-out, where I let it get a few knots slow about 20 feet up and cheated by adding power so we came in smooth instead of dropping in hard. No reason to beat up the plane for the sake of practice when there's a perfectly good engine up front. Overall though I felt quite sharp for not having flown in two weeks.

Short final in the 150 (courtesy of Mike)

Champ

When I arrived at the airport I saw that one of Dave's students had canceled so I asked if he'd mind sticking me in the slot for an hour in the Champ. If you recall, I did not feel very comfortable flying solo the last time I went an extended period without flying the taildragger. Even though I won't likely be flying the Cubs or Champ much all winter, I want to at least try and maintain a semblance of currency in them. The ceilings were still low (and lowered some more as the lesson went on) but good enough for us to make five or six laps around the pattern. I felt right at home and other than coming in slightly fast (about five knots, which translates to plenty of floating in the Champ) on about half my landings everything was smooth and coordinated. The last landing was pretty much a three-point greaser as we slowed down to around 50 mph in a short field technique.

I'm very, very glad the weather let me get up today as I don't want to go any longer than two weeks between flights if at all possible. Hopefully we have a stretch of nicer days in the weeks ahead so the time I've booked actually turns into some cross-country $100 hamburger runs. I'm even debating taking the 150 up to Michigan overnight in a couple weekends. Since I won't be up again before the holiday, let me send my sincere thanks to everyone who reads this blog and wish you all a wonderful and Merry Christmas!

Today's Flights: 0.7 hours / 0.8 hours
Total Time: 80.3 hours

Solo Practice 13: Still not a lucky number

Plane: Cessna 150 / Champ
Route: 40I, Local
Weather: Overcast, 56 degrees, wind 190 degrees at 7 knots

Writing this after the lesson, I now see that I was doomed from the start. Although technically the flight in the Cessna was #13 (which went well) and not-so-good Champ experience was #14. Today I took a half-day of vacation so I could go up flying during the afternoon before catching my flight to Portland where I’ll be spending the next five days.

I had 60338 scheduled but they were working on the engine and I had been switched to 3718J. This was bad for me on two levels, as it has the screwy radio (thus scratching my plans to go over to MGY) and they also had to juggle the schedule so I lost a half hour of time. So once again I just stayed local and worked around the pattern at Stewart.

There was a decent crosswind so I practiced the usual slew of takeoffs and landings. While I might not list them all in the “very good” category, my landings for the most part were soft-ish and felt stable. One time around I came in too fast and ballooned so I jammed in the throttle and went around. I brought the flaps up too quickly, however, and started to sink and lightly bounced off the grass. Gotta be more careful with my procedures! Altogether it was a good practice session but I would have preferred 60338 and more time so I could have landed on pavement and worked on stalls and steep turns.

Time up in the Cessna, I decided to take the Champ up since I was at the airport and using a half-day of vacation to be there. It’s a few weeks since I last flew the taildragger and actually had to have Dave re-endorse my logbook as solo endorsements are only good for 90 days. Judging by my performance on the first landing, I’m not so sure Dave should have signed his name. The airspeed indicator was placarded (covered up) but the Champ is pretty simple to fly by reference to the wing on the horizon, so that should not have been an issue.

Back to the landing, I’m pretty sure it was the best job I’ve done scaring the hell out of myself thus far in flying. I came in fast but without the airspeed indicator it’s hard to say just how fast. It was probably about 10 extra mph but in the Champ that means a good deal of extra lift. I held her off but touched down and bounced and ballooned, then hit again, veered a little, bounced more… it was thoroughly scary. I knew what to do (GO AROUND!) and did just that but I struggled for what felt like a long time (and was likely all of 2 seconds) to get the plane under control and safely climbing. It really felt like I was about to lose control and ground loop the thing, or worse. Words probably don’t illustrate how bad it looked and I’m quite glad it wasn’t a nice sunny day with a lot of people watching. On the flip side, I walked away unscathed and didn’t break the plane either.

That whole experience did turn out to be an aberration on the day, as I came in the next time and set her down pretty softly. And then I made a bunch more laps around the pattern with each landing certainly at least belonging in the “acceptable” category. The crosswind picked up and varied but I adjusted properly and felt back at home in the Champ. Certainly today reminded me how quickly things can get out of control, but it also showed that all this training has at least given me enough instinct and knowledge to handle a precarious landing situation.

Flight Track: Google Earth KMZ File
Today's Flight: 0.6 hours / 0.9 hours
Solo/PIC Time: 23.0 hours
Total Time: 68.3 hours

Why flying is the greatest thing on (off) Earth

Plane: Champ
Route: 40I, Local
Weather: Clear, 75 degrees, wind 080 degrees at 5 knots

The air is crisp, the sky is blue, and I'm at the airport with time to spare. With a day like today you just can't pass by a chance to lift off into the Fall sky. So I get the keys to the Champ and pull her out of the hangar. Taxiing across the green grass I can't wait to get airborne to enjoy aviation in its pure and simplest form.

Window wide open, no headset or mike, I open the throttle and watch the ground quickly roll past - oh what a sight. Climbing up over the fall colors and trees down below, I turn north towards Waynesville where (I do not kid here, my friends) they are having a sauerkraut festival and the street's filled with tents. Now off to the East where I can see Caesar Creek Lake. I fly closer and closer as I level the plane. The air is smooth and still and I trim the plane just right such that I don't even gain 5 feet as I motor around here tonight.


Now I'm over the dam and I follow the creek, twisting and turning over the valley below and loving what I see. I continue to the South towards I-71 where a beautiful bridge spans the gorge in front of the quickly setting sun. I turn back towards home now and descend slightly further, to again follow the valley carved out by years upon years of running water. Into the pattern I turn, feeling one with the Champ and the controls. Abeam the numbers now, I throttle back and lower the nose.

Downwind, base leg, and now it's short final. My descent is smooth and I'm almost in denial. Days like this are when you have to pinch yourself to realize how lucky you are. The ground rushes up as I round out and flare and I make one of those landings that only happen when no one is there. A total greaser, smooth as silk, my best ever I think. I taxi back and shut her down, pull out my logbook and enter point five. This is just one of those days where you feel blessed to have experienced something you'll remember the rest of your life.

Flight Track: Google Earth KMZ File
Today's Flight: 0.5 hours
Solo/PIC Time: 14.6 hours
Total Time: 46.0 hours

Solo Practice 6: Serious crosswind practice

Plane: Champ
Route: 40I, Local
Weather: Clear, 74 degrees, wind 030 degrees at 9 knots

Before heading off to Virginia Beach for a weekend of jet noise, I took my friend Rob with me to check out the airport. I've linked to some of his awesome aviation photos before and figured he would enjoy the chance to shoot some classic old planes at Stewart, which he indeed did. While he shot some film, I took the Champ up for a little takeoff and landing practice.

The winds started off down the runway but quickly shifted to an almost direct crosswind. It wasn't blowing too strong and I knew it was in my limits, so I decided it would be good practice. I had two of each that were great, smoothly lifting off or setting down on the ground, cocking right into the wind on liftoff and landing lightly on the left wheel on touchdown. Unfortunately, I also had one really bad takeoff where a gust got under the left wing and I had to quickly react. Everything else was pretty much average, where I safely took off or landed but they weren't perfectly smooth or greasers.

Rob had my digital camera and took some videos of me and another pilot who was flying the Stearman. As with our usual airshow videos, they just aren't complete without all Rob's commentary. You'll see what I mean...

Today's Flight: 0.7 hours
Solo/PIC Time: 7.8 hours
Total Time: 36.5 hours

Solo Practice 5: Back to the basics

Plane: Champ
Route: 40I, Local
Weather: Mostly cloudy, 74 degrees, wind 270 degrees at 8 knots

So much for the forecast of clear skies today. It ended up being quite cloudy, bumpy, and cool. Not that it kept me out of the air, so no harm done in the grand scheme of things. I decided to do a little sightseeing again in addition to working on most of my basic flight maneuvers. As has become somewhat of my norm for solo flying, I took off and stayed in the pattern to practice a landing before venturing off. The air was somewhat bumpy and was rising quite thoroughly on downwind and base, so the Champ just didn't want to descend even with the throttle at idle. I ended up going into a monster forward slip on final and bringing her down for a total greaser of a landing. Not a bad way to start off the day.

My first trip around the pattern this afternoon

I took back off and headed off to the North past Waynesville and followed Bellbrook Road (which I drive on my way to the airport) up to Bellbrook. There was another plane close by so you can see in the GPS track that I sort of turned around up there a couple times and flew back to the South while I waited for him to clear the area. Then I started in on some S-Turns, going back up Bellbrook Road. They all felt great in the air and the track appears to agree with me. I feel quite confident that I am doing them to Practical Test Standards, maintaining airspeed and altitude very well.

S-Turns (middle) and Turns Around A Point (top left)

After that, I did Turns Around A Point by circling around two different water towers. These felt a little off as I tend to get a little too close to the "point" (i.e. the water towers) on the upwind side of the circle. However, when you look at the GPS track it looks like I'm doing a pretty good job flying an even circle so maybe I'm over-analyzing up in the air. I finished up the day by doing a few Dutch Rolls, eight Steep Turns, and a few more takeoffs and landings. There was still lots of extra lift so I extended my downwind and was able to fly a more stabilized approach. In my opinion, I still have to work on my Turns Around A Point and also at maintaining altitude a little better during my Steep Turns. Just about everything feels very solid up there, but I can always find some room for improvement.

Flight Track: Google Earth KMZ File
Today's Flight: 1.4 hours
Solo/PIC Time: 6.7 hours
Total Time: 32.5 hours

Solo Practice 4: What a difference a new engine makes

Plane: Champ
Route: 40I, Local
Weather: Haze, 84 degrees, wind 110 degrees at 4 knots

Back from Japan and unable to get in with an instructor until this coming weekend, I scheduled a solo flight this evening to keep myself from getting too rusty. Last time I mentioned the Champ she was in the hangar getting a new engine installed. The prior engine had over 4,000 hours on it - that's a testament to the reliability of aircraft engines right there! Given the new engine, I was extra careful to check every detail during my preflight inspection and watched the gauges in the cockpit a little more than usual. Everything looked perfect so I decided it was time to take to the sky.

Today was very hot (it was 93 when I left work) and humid so I did not expect much performance from the airplane. Pushing the throttle forward I could not believe just how fast the plane picked up speed, lifted off the ground, and climbed away. If you had sat me in the back seat, I may have mistaken the Champ for the 85 hp Cub! Seriously, any reputation the Champ has as the dog of the fleet is going to have to be thrown out the window. New performance found and enjoyed, I adjusted the trim and settled in for some pattern work.

I just worked on takeoffs and landings for the most part, because the temperature was dropping and that means it was getting closer and closer to the dew point. Visibility was slowly degrading as a consequence of all the moisture just waiting to condense out of the air and probably dropped from 10 to 5 miles during the hour I was flying. My takeoffs were all straight and smooth and even though I didn't grease a single landing all had minimal bounce.

Along with the standard practice, I had a little fun with some other maneuvering in the pattern. On two of my takeoffs I lifted off and then accelerated level above the runway to around 80 mph, then pulled back into a steep climb until I hit 60 mph and lowered the nose. Gotta enjoy yourself up there sometimes, right? :) I also practiced a go-around on one approach, applying full power at about 50 feet agl and sliding over to the right of the runway while climbing. And on my final approach, I pulled the power to idle abeam the numbers and made a simulated engine-out approach and landing. Nothing too fancy tonight, but it's always good to get up and should tide me over until my next lesson on Friday.

Flight Track: Google Earth KMZ File
Today's Flight: 1.0 hours
Solo/PIC Time: 5.3 hours
Total Time: 29.3 hours

Solo Practice 3: When in doubt, go around!

Plane: Champ
Route: 40I, Local
Weather: Mostly cloudy, 77 degrees, wind 010 degrees variable from calm to 8 knots

Tonight was one of those deceiving evenings when it comes to the weather. It was almost completely calm when I took off and the sky was clearing. The intent was to work on some maneuvers but also to spend some time just enjoying the view from above. Takeoff was smooth and the calm winds made this one of those rare occasions when you can point the nose straight ahead and actually end up right where you've aimed.

Once over the lake I made four steep turns, going from a right turn directly into a left turn and then repeating the process. These were some of my best yet since I stayed within 50 feet of altitude throughout the entire 720 degree maneuver, kept my speed pegged at 60, and rolled out right on the original heading. Feeling good about those, I did a few power-on stalls. It's sometimes hard to get a feel for stalling the Champ since it wants to fly so ridiculously slow but I was not totally satisfied with my stalls tonight. I did not pull back to raise the nose fast enough to bleed off the airspeed quickly and get a nice, clean break at the moment of stall. As far as the recovery goes, I did an alright job lowering the nose and gaining back airspeed but it could have been smoother. Maneuvers complete, I decided to fly around for a little while.

Heading towards the North at around 3,500 feet, it was getting a little cloudier and I started to feel some bumps that likely were downdrafts from the clouds. Then it started to drizzle ever so slightly and I decided it was time to descend and turn back where I came from. I could feel the winds picking up and could tell they were a little shifty because I felt the plane trying yawing. I flew over the road I drive to get to the airport from my apartment and then headed South past Stewart. It still felt gusty and there were certainly more pockets of rising and falling air than when I took off. Once sufficiently South of the airport and at 3,000 feet, I turned around and descended to 1,800 and made a 45 degree entrance to the downwind.

My approach was a little high and fast but I got her slowed down and made a soft landing, albeit a little long thanks to the extra speed. There was a slight crosswind now but it was still pretty light and variable and I decided to head back up for some more practice in the pattern. Oh how Mother Nature can throw us a curveball in an instant. Back around the pattern and on final, I was too fast and the crosswind had picked up to I'm guessing 8 knots or so and was blowing directly across the runway. Not that I haven't landed in that sort of weather before, but not by myself, and the weather hadn't switched like that in the middle of the flight.

Floating down the runway and using a side slip (right wing down into the wind) to keep her straight, things just didn't feel right. I had enough room to land but made the wise decision that it would be best to try again, so I applied full power and made my first-ever go around. Next time around I still wasn't perfect (still floated too much) but the approach was more stabilized and I made a soft landing on Runway 26. The windsock was blowing straight across the runway so I taxied back and called it an evening. All in all, some very valuable weather and on-the-fly decision-making experience makes this a great flight in my book.

I purchased a great little suction cup mount for my camera last weekend to help with taking videos in the plane. Hopefully this will aid me in not filling half the frame with the glareshield from now on. Check out some footage from tonight below, including - in this order - takeoff, flying around the pattern, steep turns, stalls, and landing. Oh yea, just for the record, I don't like how crappy and compressed Blogger's video uploader makes the videos look!

Flight Track: Google Earth KMZ File
Today's Flight: 1.0 hours
Solo/PIC Time: 4.3 hours
Total Time: 25.5 hours

Solo Practice 2: Having a little fun up there

Plane: Champ
Route: 40I, Local
Weather: Few clouds, 73 degrees, wind 220 degrees at 6 knots

Summer mornings with a full blue sky and a light breeze only make me want to be one place - in the air. I got my wish today and went up for a little over an hour, starting off with two takeoffs and landings before venturing out. Then, along with practicing all the same maneuvers I worked on last night, I did a little bit of sightseeing. Instead of heading East over the lake where I usually practice I flew off to the West after working on S-Turns. On my way towards the water tower I used to practice turns around a point, I came across a field with a pretty cool maze or design cut into it.


It felt like most of my maneuvers were a little tighter this morning. Looking through the Google Earth track after the flight, it looked like I made some great S-Turns. They actually felt a little off up in the air but the track shows them being pretty darn symmetrical across the two roads over which I practiced. Same goes for one of the turns around the water tower.


After going in many circles doing steep turns (which felt alright, on par but not necessarily better than last night) I headed off over Caesar Creek Lake before returning to the traffic pattern. There were lots of boats out there and I flew a circle around the beach area to watch all the folks 1,000 feet below me enjoying the sunny day.


I brought my camera along again but took some video today in addition to the usual photos. It sat nicely on the glareshield (dash) so I decided it was safe and not distracting to leave it there. One of the results of flying coordinated is that you do not slip (slide to the inside) or skid (slide to the outside) around turns... so I must be flying well since the camera stayed in place the whole time! My first entire trip around the pattern is below along with my descent and flight around Caesar Creek Lake on the way back to the airport. I added a few captions for the non-pilot folks reading this too - enjoy!

A Trip Around The Pattern:

Over Caesar Creek Lake:

Flight Track: Google Earth KMZ File
Today's Flight: 1.3 hours
Solo/PIC Time: 3.3 hours
Total Time: 23.4 hours