Official Aviation Enthusiasts Thread

[Dave]

I know there are a bunch of aviation buffs out there: pilots, aircraft owners, and enthusiasts. So call this the official thread for all who have the bug. Post up your interests, bios, or whatever else you like about flying.

Other than the cars, flying is one of my favorite pastimes. Been a pilot since '91, and have owned a Cherokee 140, Seneca II, Seneca III, C310, Bellanca Super Viking, and now just picked up a '05 Archer III. It has an Avidyne 5000 glass panel (will take some getting used to) with E-Max engine monitoring & approach plates, dual 430s, mode S 330, STec 55X w/ flight director and alt preselect, carb ice detection, gap seals, PiperAire... Ready for trips to Put In Bay and Mackinac!

[kestrel74]

Wow..... I wouldn't know what to do with all that stuff !!

[kestrel74]

My ( quite easy ) panel. ( on the daily driver )

[dfa2100]

Old cockpit... new cockpit.

Started flying in 2007

[kestrel74]

overhead CB's & Misc STUFF

[kestrel74]

and..... where I'd be sitting if I decided NOT to become a pilot !!!

[kestrel74]

On a side note: NICE Archer !!!! I probably have well over 1500 hours in PA28's.

[Dave]

Originally Posted by kestrel74

My ( quite easy ) panel. ( on the daily driver )

Is the right seat ever open?

[kestrel74]

Originally Posted by Dave

Is the right seat ever open?

haha..... requires 2 crew ( both typed )..... I have about 1200 hours in this now.....good plane....needs a little more wing area tho ( Gulfstream 200 ) We're landing at about 140 knots ( just over your cruise speed ).... True out at about 470 knots..... Highest groundspeed so far:
649 knots ( 746 MPH for the non pilots )
This is going to be a busy thread ( although there has been others ) You know how it is with hangar lying !!!!

[ivan1]

for you aviation buffs....


http://www.gadling.com/photos/the-gi...r-2008/498770/

[dfa2100]

On that note...

FBO Hotties... A good preflight covers every aspect of the flight.

http://www.fbohotties.com/

[xtn]

I can't believe Lotus owners drive those spam cans around our beloved airspace.

The Lotus of the sky:

[kestrel74]

Yep, Lotus is the Pitts.

[codymac]

Originally Posted by kestrel74

Yep, Lotus is the Pitts.

[Eye Candy]

Has anyone done a coast-to coast-to coast trip in a light plane for a vacation? Pondering that for Christmas vacation. Last year at the last minute I went to Miami-South Beach-Nassau. Also considering flying to Belize.

IMO the best thing about general aviation is the ability to have a flexible schedule. On a given weekend, depending on weather/whim I can be in Atlanta, Orlando or NYC in under 3 hours door to door, burning about $100 worth of fuel one way. On some of the more distant racing weekends (Road Atlanta, 9.5 hours) I have a friend transport the trailer with the cars to the event and have them meet me at the airport. I can get a full day of work in and still get to the destination for dinner.

It is almost like owning your own personal time-machine.

What was the best flying vacation you have had? Hands down mine was taking the wife and two teenage sons to Staniel Cay Yacht Club for Thanksgiving. This place is relaxation/photography heaven, you can get a cottage on the water that has a 13 foot Boston Whaler docked behind it for exploring the numerous cays. http://www.stanielcay.com/

Last plane was a 2004 Mooney Ovation 2 DX with all the bells and whistles, 189K cruise on 15 gallons per hour. Present plane built by Rick Gray (his 10th RV,) there is a plaque on the panel that says "This is a hand built experimental aircraft, as I could not find a certified aircraft that met my standards." Very efficient, 160K cruise on 8 gallons at 8K feet. With twenty hours I bought a Mooney M20C (flew into PDK with 37 total hours ,) then bought a M20J and added a 1975 8KCAB Decathlon with inverted systems. Having two airplanes at the same time was more attractive in theory than reality especially with two ex-wives. Sold both and got the R model. Great travelling plane, but realized I missed aerobatics and avgas went from 2.10 to 4.75, labor at $100 and a lot of complicated systems to fail over time and keep me working full time into my nineties. The RV6 may be the last plane I'll ever need or want. It is so much fun to fly I find myself just going to the airport to bore holes in the sky or practice landings. My first annual on the plane was $485, the cost of an oil change for the Mooney.

When I had the Decathlon, Harrier pilots would come over from Cherry Point Naval Air Station to ride with me for more seat time/aerobatics. That was a blast. I bought the RV6 from a United Airlines pilot that had flown it only 45 hours in 18 months: he lectured me for about thirty minutes on the dangers of aerobatics.

Gotta die somehow (knocks on wood.)

[Dave]

Originally Posted by Eye Candy

Has anyone done a coast-to coast-to coast trip in a light plane for a vacation?

What was the best flying vacation you have had?

Wow, beautiful airplane. It wasn't quite coast to coast, but 3 years ago I flew solo from Dayton to San Diego in a Seneca. 14 hours (8 back) out with 4 fuel stops, hard headwind and IFR 3/4 of the way. Last fuel stop was Phoenix, and at 14K my heater breaker popped. My breath looked like a horse in winter, and my hands were numb when I landed. It was a beautiful site to see San Diego come out of the darkness over the last mountain.

Best vacation was island hopping in the Bahamas for 2 weeks: Bimini, Walkers, Long...drank mucho Kalik.

[xtn]

Best flying vacation?

When I was about 18 my dad flew me and my younger brother from Texas to Oshkosh, Wisconson, for the largest fly-in in the world, in his 1929 Travel Air Model 4000.

Open cockpit, radial-engined bi-plane with no radios; cruise speed about 105mph, four fuel stops each way. It was awesome.

[jtj]

where alot of people have aspirations of getting thier degree after they get the kids grown up etc, mine is my pilots license and a small aircraft (with the price of a 4yr college, the plane is probably the cheaper route anyway!). i have an almost unhealthy fascination with aviation. I just never pursued it when i was younger and didnt have a family to support. with an unemployed wife and 4 kids its probably best i dont have plane etc right now since i would just be looking at it in storage... my wife and i plan to get the kids grown get our certs and i will probably pursue an a&p license as well for maintenance and repairs, and maybe a step out of the car biz to something better. but ultimately once we get everything in place we intend to travel around the country by plane instead of rv. we can take alot more short trips, and plenty of long ones that wouldnt be feasable to us in a huge rv.

the biggest thing that makes me wish i had one now is taking the boys on some flights while they are younger. my bug/love was started by my dad at a pretty young age by always getting me a flight in the old bi-plane that seems to be at every airshow giving rides for $x. at the time i never paid much attention to it, but looking back i realize my dad wanted a ride as much as i did (vetaran navy pilot for many yrs, medical disability took him out of military and flying as a pilot) and cost being what it was, it was him or me, not both. I always got the ride, and while it was great, and i wouldnt trade the experience for anything (or my dads sacrifices), it was just around the airport. I would love to take the boys like that on camping trips etc. some tx state parks even have airstrips with planeside camping. being able to take a couple hour flight to go camping is way more appealing than ANY length car trip (to me anyway). it would also give me an avenue to pursue ariel photography as well. ive got 17 more yrs ( iwont bore you with the months days and hours) till all the kids are out of highschool and on thier path to whatever, so i will let you all know how its going then!

ive posted it before, but www.jetphotos.net is pretty cool place for TONS of pilot's photos from the cockpit etc...

[kestrel74]

Been there done that............ flew a Warrior from ABE to SDL ( Allentown PA to Scottsdale AZ )........20 hours flight time at 1000 AGL all the way.....was one of the coolest trips I've ever done. Take your time and do lots of flight planning, you can get yourself in trouble crossing the rockies at certain times of the year.

[kestrel74]

RV6 I can't wait to fly for FUN again. I think when I finally get something fun, it'll be a Kitfox Outback with extra HP and tundra tires..... OR a Avait Husky