Cubbin' with Garrett on his overnight layover

Plane: Cub, 85 hp 
Route: 40I, Local 
Weather: Few clouds, 83 degrees, wind light and variable

As seems typical of the aviation community, I know Garrett via numerous small-world connections. We met through my best friend Rob (who's an aviation fanatic and has flown with me many times) but he also graduated from WMU with us. On top of that, he also knows pilot friend Chris from growing up near Kalamazoo and volunteering at the Air Zoo. Today he flies CRJs for a regional airline and occasionally manages to schedule overnights at DAY so we can say hello. This time he was in town long enough for a Cub flight, so that's what we did. Obviously.

Everyone's always smiling in a Cub

To back up a little bit, we went out for a beer last night shortly after he got into town. Their brews speak for themselves (sidenote - Dayton has quite a number of really good local breweries these days) and I love their location, but I partially took him to Warped Wing just for the great aviation references. It was nice to catch up and, well, mostly talk aviation and airplanes.

Back to this morning... I drove downtown, picked him up from his hotel, and we arrived at Stewart around 9:00. Summer is out in force and it was already quite muggy. But we were about to climb into a Cub. And fly around with the door open. Problem solved.

Preflight complete, he performed the necessary contortions to climb in front, I slid into the back seat, and we got the requisite hand-prop to start the fan turning. I departed on Runway 26 and turned south, pointing out the river, valley, kayakers, and bike trail below. Eventually we made our way over towards Kings Island before turning around and following I-71 back northeast.

Flying over the eastern edge of Caesar Creek Lake

I flew over the lake as I often do while sightseeing and, even at this relatively early hour, it was replete with boaters out avoiding the humidity in their own preferred fashion. We then headed north past Waynesville and circled around one of the more ridiculously large estates in the area. Not sure why, but it seems like half the time I forget exactly where to find it. I suppose that may be why they built it there!

No doubt we could've spent all day flying low and slow but Mr. Airline Pilot did have a job to get to on time. So I entered the pattern on a crosswind entry from the north to land back on Runway 26. The touchdown wasn't my absolute best (pro pilot pressure?!) but Garrett seemed satisfied.

We headed back downtown, grabbing Gina on the way, in search of a quick bite for breakfast. Tank's - a local institution - was the plan but they were busy as usual, so we ended up with a nice light meal at differently, but equally, delicious Ghostlight Coffee. Then we dropped him back at his hotel, in time for work and everything! While I'm usually the one visiting pilot friends while traveling, it's just as nice spending the morning committing aviation with friends in my town.

Flight Track: Google Earth KMZ File 
Today's Flight: 1.0 hours
Total Time: 353.0 hours

Cubs with the door open are the best air conditioners

Plane: Cub, 65 hp 
Route: 40I, Local 
Weather: Few clouds, 85 degrees, wind 180 degrees at 11 knots

After reminding myself why so much time off is not good for one's skills in the Skyhawk, I figured I might as well get in a little Cub practice while already at the airport. I was honestly a tad nervous considering the J-3 can be a little less forgiving if you misjudge your flare height by a foot or two. On the other hand, I had just done ten laps in the biggun' so it couldn't be that bad, right?

Turns out I was right! While they certainly weren't all greased-in three-pointers, even the first was respectable. I had to add a little power one time around but the Cub's truly awesome stall indicator (that's the bottom half of the open door, which floats up into a horizontal position just above stall speed) does help you visualize when you've got the right attitude in the flare.

More importantly, Cubbin' is still a bunch of fun. It was great to get in a little stick and rudder even though I never left the pattern. All in all, I definitely arrived home this afternoon much more aeronautically current than I departed.

Flight Track: Google Earth KMZ File 
Today's Flight: 0.5 hours
Total Time: 352.0 hours

Bouncing the 172 back into currency

Plane: Cessna 172
Route: 40I, Local 
Weather: Few clouds, 83 degrees, wind 200 degrees at 7 knots

When you haven't flown in months, a bit of rust is to be expected. This year has been even worse than normal on my logbook; those of you who still visit this blog and its resident cobwebs undoubtedly realize that! So it came as no surprise that I needed more than a few laps around the pattern to get my sight picture back into a semblance of shape.

It had been about five months since I last flew the 172. That sort of gap meant Tommy went up with me for the first two takeoffs and landings. The initial plan was one lap but he decided to make it two after my first landing, if that's any indication of the oxidation.

Much-needed circles around the familiar grass strip

Basically, as best as I can determine, my eyeballs needed a serious recalibration after spending so little time in the left seat. On the first landing I flared a good foot or two too high, brought the yoke back just as one should, and... bam! Thanks again for the hardy landing gear, Clyde. The second was far from perfect but Tommy seemed satisfied I wouldn't break the airplane, so he hopped out and I continued going in circles for about another hour.

Somewhere along the way everything came back together; I even greased a couple landings. My general smoothness and flow in flight and in moving through the pattern to landing weren't up to the usual standards - that sort of thing definitely comes with frequent flying - but all were safe.

I decided to make the final landing of the power-off variety and proceeded to essentially repeat my first of the afternoon. Tommy had just landed with a student in the Cub and was treated to a nice view. Of course. Not satisfied to end on that note, I went around one last time and managed a much better power-off approach and landing. Didn't grease it, but at least it didn't feel rusty.

Flight Track: Google Earth KMZ File 
Today's Flight: 1.6 hours
Total Time: 351.5 hours

A little Deutschland flying in a Mooney

Plane: Mooney M20
Route: EDLN, Local 
Weather: Haze, 81 degrees, wind 350 degrees at 5 knots

After ten days of crazy work leading up to and kicking off the big trade show, it's time for vacation. Gina flew over a couple days ago and this afternoon - after spending a few hours seeing the show as tourists - Rainer, a coworker and fellow pilot, took us up in his Mooney. He and I have talked airplanes and aviation plenty of times when he's in the US; it was great to finally experience general aviation in Germany.

Our route over North Rhine-Westphalia

He shares his Mooney with four other pilots. They base it at Düsseldorf Mönchengladbach Airport, which is about 10 miles outside the city. Today the airport serves purely GA traffic, however it has been served by some commuter and budget airlines in the past. It's towered and the security reminds me of air carrier airports in the US as key cards and badges are required to access the tarmac through the terminal.

Mooneys, Mooneys everywhere (and some other planes, too)

The now-unused passenger terminal at Mönchengladbach Airport

No moving your own airplane - have to wait for the FBO staff with the tug

Rainer finishing his preflight

Rainer called the FBO while we were driving to the airport to request that the airplane be pulled out of the hangar. As you can see above, they're rather expertly arranged inside. In fact, owners aren't even allowed to move their airplanes until they're outside.

Once the preflight was complete we all climbed onboard. He got the ATIS and we got situated, then he started the engine and things proceeded much as they do on this side of the Atlantic. The whole international standardization of aviation is quite handy at times. The tower controller cleared us to taxi to the end of Runway 31.

Lots of nice electronic goodies in the cockpit

Taxiing to the runway

Although Rainer is a CFI, I was still a little surprised when he asked if I wanted to take off and fly for a bit. Obviously most of us pilot folk don't turn down a chance to pilot an airplane. Once I reminded him I don't do much complex flying (i.e. none) and he still thought I was capable, that was that. I taxied us to the runway and - cleared for takeoff - I advanced the throttle and soon lifted off and into the blue German sky. He managed the propeller and I believe I retracted the gear upon his instruction, though I honestly don't recall the latter.

Takeoff - not bad for my first in a retract, if I do say so myself

There's a surprising amount of farmland not that far outside of town

There's a specific departure route to avoid the airspace and arrivals at Düsseldorf Int'l. While on the ground he had pointed it out on the map and the controller gave further instructions. Once airborne, I followed it by essentially following a freeway and remaining below a specific altitude until we were about 5 miles west of the airport.

Once in more open airspace and leveled off, he helped me trim out the airplane (the electric trim is on the pilot's yoke) and pointed out some local sights. They have a radar datalink on one of the screens; he updated that to keep tabs on some developing storm cells to our southwest. I did my best to keep us reasonably level while taking in the view.

Looking at the latest radar on the panel, I believe

The trees along the road here caught my eye

As we flew away from the city we ran into some showers...

...eventually turning around to avoid this thunderstorm to our southwest

Eventually, with the weather continuing to trend towards the iffy category, I turned around and we headed back towards Düsseldorf. The visible cloud-to-ground lightning bolts may have also contributed to the decision. Now, it really was just a pop-up cell, but it was in our way (Rainer had hoped for us to fly further that direction, towards the mountains and better scenery) and going around it wasn't a great option. So instead we headed back northeast.

We saw plenty of windmills as you may expect 

Cologne from 20 miles out - you can spot the famous cathedral if you look carefully

Düsseldorf from the south, with the main airport visible in the distance

The Rhine River snaking southward from Düsseldorf 

Seems like all large German cities have a tall tower with a restaurant on top

The terrain becomes more hilly as you continue eastward 

One final view of Düsseldorf before we turned back to land

We flew past the city on the south side, enjoying seeing all the spots I've spent the better part of the past ten days - the Altstadt, the parks along the Rhine, and the Messe - from above. Cologne (where we'll be heading tomorrow) was also visible from 20-25 miles away through the summer haze.

As we made one final 180 to head back to the airport, Rainer requested a practice approach, which the controller granted. He engaged the autopilot, which precisely flew the approach back to Runway 31. Disengaging on final, he brought us down for a very soft landing after about 45 minutes in the air.

Once everything was shut down and packed up, we wandered back through the mostly-deserted terminal and Rainer drove us back to our hotel. Obviously our thanks go out to him for the awesome airplane ride; I seriously owe him a Cub ride next time he's in Dayton! It was really fun and interesting to compare how things work at home versus overseas - and to see a foreign city from a familiar perspective. User fees aside, everything honestly felt just about the same. Well I suppose we speak a tad less German to the line guys, too.

Thanks as always to Gina putting up with me sitting up front while she takes photos in the rear! :)

Eight years later

Plane: Cub, 65 hp 
Route: 40I, Local 
Weather: Clear, 68 degrees, wind 010 degrees at 9 knots

As I started my flight training in 2008, I was just about to embark on my first trip to Germany. I was on my way to Düsseldorf for drupa, the biggest printing trade show in the world. I often call it the Olympics of printing, as historically it's been held every four years. Most of you know I work for Kodak in inkjet printing (I was in R&D at the time) and that was the reason for the trip.

Eight years later, I'm once again packing my bags in preparation for drupa; it begins next week. My career has certainly progressed and my involvement in many things has increased. Long hours and significant travel - nearly all related to the trade show - are much of the reason I simply haven't had much time to fly thus far in 2016.

I've certainly flown plenty this year, just on American Airlines. The statistics have continued to skew in favor of the airlines since my last flight. As of this evening my total hours / miles this year are 2.4 / 114 PIC and 161.8 / 59,884 as a ticketed passenger. Quite the dichotomy.

Prior Years: 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015

So, while the pilot portion of my life was unquestionably somewhat lacking over the past year, life itself was again full of many memorable experiences:

• Gina and I took a bucket list of a vacation last summer, spending five incredible weeks in Australia, New Zealand, and Bora Bora
• Tons of other travel - 15 states and 8 countries (first visits to Australia, Belgium, China, French Polynesia, Luxembourg, and New Zealand)
• I got to fly on the Wright B Flyer!
• Taking a few coworkers up for the first time on a beautiful fall evening
• Bringing my friend and ringer (Chris' term!) up Cubbin' for some great aerial camerawork
• Going hang gliding for the first time in New Zealand
• We even managed one overnight flying trip to Kalamazoo for a weekend of WMU football

Unfortunately, albeit for only the second time in these eight years, the weather on my actual birthday was not flyable. Showers and low ceilings moved in mid-afternoon and by the time I was able to leave work there was clearly no Cubbin' to be had. Gina and I hit up a couple great local breweries for birthday drinks and made plans to squeeze the flight in over the weekend.

Looking out over the farmland east of the airport just after takeoff

Today's weather was perfect, save for gusty winds from the north most of the day. I mowed, went for a run, and took care of some other trip preparations until the wind calmed down in the evening. We climbed into the Cub a little past 7:30 pm, got a prop from (owner) Cub, and were soon sailing through the extremely clear, blue sky.

Still plenty thankful to have a wife who enjoys the front seat of a Cub! :)

There's something about taking off with zero plans in a Cub that both a) perfectly clears one's mind and b) just feels right. Originally I was thinking about flying around downtown but it's still mid-May and, while quite comfy on the ground, it was honestly a tad chilly with the door open (as it should be - it's a Cub, people). So instead I just sort of flew around the lake and enjoyed the view of both the boats on the water and the extremely green foliage passing 1,000 feet below.

The new marina at Caesar Creek Lake is up and running

Over the lake and heading back towards the airport

We re-entered the pattern maybe 20 minutes later behind the other Cub. Having flown so little this year, I absolutely wanted to get in my three takeoffs and landings to extend my currency another 90 days. With a strong but steady direct crosswind I managed a solid landing on the first try. I thought it was worse at first but eventually I realized the giant lawn roller was sitting next to the tractor for a reason - the field's rather bumpy at the moment!

The next two laps around the pattern were not significantly different. Not my best takeoffs or landings, but more than serviceable given the crosswind and my personal rustiness. I taxied back to the hangar and we pushed the venerable J-3 inside as the sun decided to touch the horizon.

The sun was setting by the time we'd pushed the Cub back in the hangar

I certainly realize this blog (along with many other things on my to-do list) has fallen victim to my relatively insane schedule this year. Like it or not, there are things I need to do and things I want to do. Flying has taken a little bit of a back seat although I have every intention of jumping right back in as soon as possible. In fact, we're really hoping to take at least a couple trips before the summer's over. Here's hoping things calm down a bit after drupa.

Until then, safe flying everyone!

Flight Track: Google Earth KMZ File 
Today's Flight: 0.8 hours
Total Time: 349.9 hours