The Cheyenne is back and ready to fly. We flew less last year to allow maintenance items that were coming due to be completed. Squawks were cleared and avionics were upgraded to an integrated Garmin Suite.
Lancaster Avionics repaired our YAW Damper woes and returned the autopilot to full functionality in the process.
Our reserve slot for the long awaited paint project was coming up towards the end of the year, so the new boots and windows were installed ahead of that. The aircraft is in great shape.
Short Fields: I’m flying the airplane well, but one should never be complacent. Smoketown airport is where the painting was completed. The runway is 2,750’x50′; sloping up to the west; with obstacles at both ends. The landing went smoothly as you can see here, but it did take some planning. I flew in solo, very light on fuel, and on a day with favorable winds that allowed an uphill landing.
The trip back out was completed two months later due to the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. Paint work naturally requires that the flight controls be removed and chemicals be used on the airframe, so a complete and thorough preflight inspection has to be performed before departure. Jeff and I drove up on Jan 13th to do that inspection and to QA the paint.
We completed our inspection by early afternoon, and decided to fly the Cheyenne home and leave our vehicle there. After briefing normal and emergency procedures, Jeff and I departed on the uphill runway. Runway 28 has an elevated road off the end, and when an 18 wheeler passes by it presents a significant obstacle. Light on fuel and using approach flaps for departure, we climbed up and cleaned up with no issues.
After getting the Cheyenne back in its hangar, we flew my airplane back to Smoketown so Jeff could retrieve his truck.
Mission Accomplished.
Fly Safe!