Over the past few days I managed to get my airplane moving.
Branden T is a student who took the initiative to contact me about coming along on Angel Flights. I like to encourage kids who take the initiative, so I wanted to include him in any flight I had coming up. I can’t use him as a safety pilot, since he is not multi-engine rated yet.
Tom B, on the other hand, is a multi-engine guy, and I’ve used him before as a safety. Both of these guys are, or have been, associated with DSU near my home.
I invited both of these guys along on a recent flight in the area. I wanted to get some instrument practice before flying to Savannah with family. The plan was to perform at least 3 approaches, holds, and intercepts on this beautiful winter day. We managed that with minimal drama, and I think Branden appreciated the Twin Comanche’s speed. We had the throttles pulled back with a considerable tailwind, and were still over 170kts ground speed.
That was a good day of flying, and we returned to my awesome temporary hangar at 33N after fueling at Delaware Coastal.
Just a few days after this flight, winds were kicking up big time as a cold front was passing through. Airport management at 33N told me my time was up in that wonderful hangar, so I promised to have it moved the following morning. They have been so good to me, I didn’t want to hold them up one minute.
Arriving at 33N, the winds were a direct crosswind at 21 kts from the north. Departing off of RW 27, the lift-off was not as dramatic as I expected. Losing that tree line in anticipation of the new runway made a real difference. Crossing through 1500′ it must have looked like I was manhandling the airplane from the ground as I blasted through a sheer layer.
The plan this morning was to talk with a gentlemen down at Ocean City, MD about hangar space. I flew there around 4000′ and the turbulence became moderate and continuous. I throttled way back to about 20″ MP – but the ground speed stayed around 200 kts!!
Landing at Ocean City was a blast. Strong gusting right crosswinds (16G31kt) made it interesting, but reminded me how controllable this airplane really is. It practically lands itself. What a machine!
My contact wasn’t there, so I flew the airplane to Delaware Coastal and put it on the ramp for a few days. Still working through my options there, and I’ll try again at Ocean City to get back inside until my hangar gets repaired.
Fly safe.