The Courtesy Car

The courtesy car was at one time commonly available at small airports for use by visiting pilots. Due likely to liability, few airports still offer a courtesy car.  Still, LebanAir Aviation at Lebanon State airport offers three.

Matti and I flew down to Lebanon State (S30) on a nice morning to pick up a courtesy, have breakfast, and look around town a bit.



The Miata was not available, but, compete with saddle blanket seat covers and a bag of dog treats, the Lincoln Towncar was.

Not the hight of performance or economy, but if I was in need of a luxury highway cruiser, the Towncar would be high on the list.

Breakfast was good, the company was great, and was the flight. I'll need to search for other destinations with available courtesy cars.

50th Anniversary

Recently, the Starks celebrated the 50th anniversary of Starks Twin Oaks with a barbecue, fly-in, open cockpit, and Audrey's favorite... a water slide.

There was also a video on a loop documenting the history of Twin Oaks.  

No other place quite like Starks, no other people quite like the Starks, and a fun day celebrating the place I learned to fly.

Unexpected Stop

Neither Sasha or Carolyn had been in a small plane, and Sasha has on occasion mentioned her fear of flying. Both had asked if I could take them along sometime.

A recent Friday looked like a great day to go have some breakfast and take a couple of friends along.

Taking someone new along is always fun, but not without unknowns with new passengers and a big breakfast. During the preflight I did quietly take a peek to make sure some sick-sacks were on board count.

The skies near Twin Oaks were mixed with low ceilings to the east, and clearing to the west. Current conditions towards Independence were good, with improving conditions forecast.

We made a turn to the west after departure to reach the clear, and turned south with good conditions.

As we approached the ridge south of Twin Oaks on the return from breakfast, we were met with solid overcast below. Hillsboro was reporting overcast at 1500ft, so we turned west to see if we could come in under the overcast from the lower terrain at that end of the valley.

As we descended in the clear, I could see that the overcast was to low in the west end of the valley to get under comfortably, so we we turned back east to land at Sportsman Airpark in Newberg. Here we could wait for the overcast to breakup, or call for a ride if it came to that.

Once on the ground at Sportsman, I called over to Twin Oaks to state the obvious that we would be late returning, then made a call to my boss, who I was overdue for a meeting with, and fill her in on our status. I knew she would be good with it.

After hanging around the office and ramp for an hour, the clouds began to break up north of us, and we launched back into the air for Twin Oaks.

Approaching the pattern, I talked with a pilot friend of mine that we'd seen on the ramp prior to departure, just now taking the runway. Apparently we had gotten out that morning just prior to the conditions becoming IFR, delaying their departure.

We got back to work a little later than expected, but it was a fun morning.

Made it to Bend and Sunriver

This time, we made the drive to Twin Oaks under some widely scattered clouds and a forecast for clearing and fairly light winds for all points along our planned route.

We departed in glass smooth air for the short trip over to Mulino (4S9), where we would meet up with any others from Mulino OPA that would also be flying out to Bend for breakfast.

After watching a Ryan PT-22 land and taxi into the grass, we settled into the FBO building and waited to see who else would show.  With such a great forecast for the day, we hoped to be joined by a good turnout.  By 9:00 we were a group of three planes departing Mulino, with a fourth meeting up with us along the way.

The plan was to travel south approx 30 miles before turning southeast climbing to 9,500 feet and following the Santiam Hwy over the Cascades, then on to Bend  (BDN). 

In route we checked in with each other on the air-to-air frequency, listened to others discuss troubles with the charging system on their aircraft, and watched the amazing scenery pass below as it changed from valley farmland, to tree covered foothills, to snow covered peaks.

 

As we reached the Santiam pass, our companions in the planes ahead began to report some turbulence descending over the high desert past the mountains.  Tightening our belts, and looking around the plane for any loose items, we began our descent down to 5,500, with Mt Jefferson’s 10,497ft peak off our left wing and Three Fingered Jack off the right.

It didn’t take long to enter the turbulence ourselves.  Not the worst we’ve experienced, but would remain consistent through our day in the high desert.

We overflew the Bend airport to descend and enter the pattern for 16, and wrap up the first leg of our day, ready for some breakfast.

The airport café is located above the FBO, with windows overlooking the ramp and runway beyond.  A total of 8 of us talked flying, watched planes come and go, and enjoyed our breakfast.

About noon, we all headed back to the ramp, wished each other a great flight, and went our separate ways.

We followed our OPA companions down the taxiway for run-up and departure on 34, listening to a towplane and glider communicate through the process of hooking up on the runway.  My glider knowledge is pretty limited, but it seemed like a pretty good day to find some thermals.  

Our next destination was Sunriver, so we climbed out and turned south, crossing the city of Bend, following Hwy 97 past Lava Butte and for a quick look at Paulina and East lakes, turning back north for Sunriver.

Our turn back north set us up nicely for a straight in approach for 36 at Sunriver.  I prefer to fly the standard pattern, giving time to be on speed and altitude for the final approach path and better awareness of other traffic, but we’d been listening to a quiet Sunriver CTAF for 20 minutes, I was nicely aligned with the runway, and, I had a few glasses of iced tea with breakfast.

We were greeted over the Unicom as we taxied in to park, as well as on the ramp by a friendly women on a bike from the FBO, asking if we needed any services.  Yes, restroom.

We gathered a change of clothes and the bike helmets we’d packed along from home, and headed for the FBO.

The FBO a selection of free loaner bikes, and the Sunriver Resort ( www.sunriver-resort.com ) has 35 miles of paved bike trails that wind through stands of Ponderosa and Lodgepole pine, along the Deschutes river, past horse stables, golf courses, swimming pools, lodges, and vacation homes.  We were off to tour the resort, and enjoy the beautiful high desert surroundings.  We really enjoy the Sunriver Resort, and will need to book a stay for out next visit.

As the afternoon became late, we turned our attention to topping off the plan with fuel, and the final legs of our trip, Madras and back home.

Climbing out, our expectations of increased turbulence were confirmed.  Fortunately the wind was light, so the turbulence was mostly due to convection, and not winds rolling off the mountains, or both.  But, after about 20 minutes of bouncing along after a long day, we decided to climb to smoother air, and head for home.  We’ll stop by Madras, and mark that off out Western Flight Tour, another day.

VFR cruising altitudes above 3,000 AGL are odd thousands plus 500 on a magnetic heading between 0 and 179 degrees, and even thousands plus 500 between 180 and 359 degrees.  The turbulence remained with us though 9,000, so we leveled out at 10,500 in smooth air that remained with us until descent on the west side of the Cascades.

Transitioning from snow and tree covered mountains, back into the relatively flat farmland of the Willamette valley, we turned northwest direct to Twin Oaks.

After refueling the plane and returning it to the hanger, checking in with Betty, and heading down the road, there was one more stop to make – Sushi!

Having the plane for the entire day to go where we wish sure was fun.

Approx 325 miles of ground covered (plus 8 by bike), 3.6hrs flying time, and 23 gallons of 100LL fuel.

Western Flight Tour

Flew down to Lebanon (S30) and picked up my Western Flight Tour passport book. (This day was also the third anniversary of my checkride)

The goal is to fly to each of the 13 airports located around Oregon listed on the flight tour, take a picture of yourself and airplane with an identifying feature in the background. Land at at least 6 airports on the list and you are entered in a prize drawing.

The flight tour ends with a barbecue and the prize drawing Sept 22nd at Lebanon airport. A few of the airports we've been to, most we have not. 

I'm looking forward to getting started!

www.westernft.com

Open Cockpit Day

The Pearson Air Museum, located at Pearson Field Airport (VUO), hosted its annual Open Cockpit Day.

The airfield has an interesting history, dating back to 1905 when Lincoln Beachey flew from Portland in a lighter than air craft, and landed on the polo field at the Vancouver Army Barracks.

Several aircraft were open to climb into the cockpit, including the North American T-28 pictured with Heatherle and Audrey at the controls.  Seemed to swallow them up when they climbed into the cockpit
  

The EAA had a Young Eagles event planned, which offers a short ride to kids ages 8 through 17 free of charge. The weather had stalled this activity until early afternoon when the ceilings became high enough for a few planes to get in.

Pearson is not a large or fancy museum compared to Evergreen or WAAM, but it is unique in it's early aviation airfield style, open restoration area, and other historical points of interest close by.

http://www.fortvan.org/pages/pearson-air-museum

Not Quite Bend and Sunriver...

Nearly a month ago, i had reserved a plane for the entire day. Our plan was to join the Mulino chapter of OPA for a fly-out to Bend for brunch. Audrey, Heatherle, and I would then fly south to Sunriver, returning in the evening.
Unfortunately, as Sunday approached, the weather forecast became more April showers than May flowers. But, if the weather didn't look especially promising for a trip over the Cascades, it was at least forecast to be sufficient for any number of destinations in the valley or Columbia Gorge.


Up early Sunday to pack up and get a weather briefing. Still looked like Bend would be possible by either going south before crossing the Cascades, or via the Columbia Gorge and The Dalles before turning south.

A few sprinkles began as I was pulling an assortment of airplanes out of the hanger to reach 4KU, then rain while prepping the plane, proving the effectiveness of a high wing as shelter.

After landing at a quiet Mulino airport, we intertained ourselves with an assortment of aviation magazine past issues, waiting to see who else would show.

Our small group ended up making the trek across the field for lunch at a local Mulino diner. 

Before leaving, we made a plan to fly over toward Troutdale (TTD) to enter the Columbia Gorge, then up to The Dalles (DLS).

Once airborne we could see that the ceilings were lower than forecast, and visibility had also decreased, so east of Oregon City, we decided to head back to Twin Oaks knowing the terrain from here would avoid the need to climb any higher.


While still VFR, it was probably the worst ceiling and visibility conditions I've flown, so I was happy with the decisions made, and to be back at Twin Oaks. It was kind of sad to leave a plane that I had for the entire day with only an hour of flight time though.



Audrey was not the least bit worried...

Love Spring Weather!

Breakfast at Twin Oaks on a beautiful spring Saturday.

Patterns at Twin Oaks...

... was not our original plan, but still good fun. Also worthwhile practice.

Our original plan for donuts and coffee at Lenhardt was clearly in delay status due to fog when we arrived at the airport.

Fortunately the South End Store is only about two miles away, where coffee and pastries await. Just the place to hold up with a little optimism for improved conditions.

Back an hour later, and the conditions had improved, save for the large patch of fog set stubbornly over the departure and final approach path. A slow preflight, bathroom stop, and walk around, and finally the departure path was clear.

 

We wouldn't be able to get much beyond the pattern, but that was fine, we'd be flying.

 

We spent the next hour with only a pre-check ride student in the pattern to keep us company, practicing takeoff and landing, enjoying the spring farmland below in between.

While taking our time in the pattern, I asked Audrey what it is that likes about flying. "I like the view from high up, but not too high, so everything on ground looks like toys and you can see far away". Yep, kinda the same for me. 

Taxiing onto the runway for the eighth and final time, Audrey's announcement of "here we go!" was conspicuously absent. Sound asleep.

Adventure Through Air and Space, The Evergreen Way

Sunday we met up with several others from the Mulino OPA for breakfast in Newberg at Finnigan's (spinach, mushroom, bacon, Swiss, and avocado omelet... very good)

After breakfast and hanger talk, we left as a group for the Evergreen Aviation and Space museum in McMinnville - http://www.evergreenmuseum.org/

The museum is divided into two buildings (four if you include the water park and IMAX theater).

One building covers space exploration from the earliest rockets, through the international space station, plus modern military aircraft.

Audrey was very excited to get a close up look at a real SR71.

The other building houses the centerpiece of the museum, the HK-1 Spruce Goose, so large it's hard to get a clear idea of it's size inside the building. Around and under the massive wings and tail of the Spruce Goose is a large collection of aircraft spanning very early aviation, military, commercial, and general aviation.

We had a tour guide for this portion of the museum that provided additional insight into the aircraft and displays. Turns out that our guide was assigned to Marine One during the Reagan administration.

Best part of the museum? Sitting under the museum's B17 was Bill, who at the age of 20, had completed 30 combat missions over Germany and occupied France as the pilot of a Flying Fortress. Over 300 hrs of combat flight time, Bill spoke in a quite voice of his first mission, the only from which he returned with no damage, the following missions, his crew, his best mission (the last), and the B17 itself. Bill thought it was a wonderful flying aircraft. Bill also shared some of his more humorous experiences training pilots back home for the remainder of the war in the AT-6 Texan. I could have spent the remainder of the day with Bill, but our tour moved on, and left with deep gratitude to a man that fought in a war a quarter century before I was born.





After 5 hours, and more than one previous visit, there was still more to see. Fortunately we opted for a membership this time.

Daddy It's an SR71 Blackbird

Audrey has become quite interested in airplanes lately (a mystery right?) and the SR71 has risen above the others as the clear favorite.

We were at Coyote Hobby (our local hobby shop), and around from the other isle comes a beaming Audrey, with a box in her hand. "daddy, it's an SR71 Blackbird!".

So after dinner and bath, we set out like the best and brightest at Lockheed to assemble an SR71.  So theirs was bigger, ours took less time.

Good times.   

        

Knobs, Switches, Dials, and Gages

Ever wonder what they all do?

Tim Morgan will tell you in less than 10,000 words here -
What do all the controls in an airplane cockpit do? - Quora

Actually really interesting if you've ever looked into the cockpit of an airliner and wondered if two human beings could possibly ever use, let alone keep track of, all that. Makes the panel in a 172 look no more difficult than operating an alarm clock.

Blog Editor

The new blog editor is really frustrating.  Just sayin'

Birthday, flying, and doughnuts

The weather forecast March 2nd looked promising, and being my birthday, was the all that was needed to ditch work for a few hours, and spend a little time working on landings, which over the past couple of flights had regressed back towards the "any landing you can walk away from" category. Okay, maybe not really that bad, but I tend to towards the perfectionist side.
I arrived at Twin Oaks by 6:30, and spotted my plane in the back of the hanger. No problem, pulling several planes out, and arranging them around the ramp so I could 4KU out was a good warm up on a chilly morning.

By 7:00 I was rolling down 20. Still after more than 350 takeoffs, the excitement as the plane becomes unstuck from the ground, and the runway descends below, never fails.

The ridge line south was thick with clouds, so I departed to the east, towards higher overcast in the Willamette valley. McMinnville was under a low cloud layer, so I headed over to Aurora to work on landing.

First landing was as disappointing as the last several had been. Rolling out I thought about the absence of the stall warning that normally accompanies the last second before the mains touch down, as well as some elevator travel remaining. I'm not holding it off long enough to bleed off airspeed, and touching down to fast, skipping along on the main gear.

The second trip around the pattern seemed to confirm this as I landed much smoother with the stall warning just beginning to squeak, and the yoke all the way back.

Being Friday meant that there would be a gathering over coffee and doughnuts at Lenhardt (7S9) just a few minutes south of Aurora.

As I rolled out on final for 20 at Lenhardt, I considered landing in the grass adjacent to the runway, which is a common practice here, but went for the pavement, not sure of the impact that the recent rains may have had on the turf.

Exiting the runway and hoping not to find anything too squishy in the grass, I taxied over to the FBO. Like driving a car on grass, there's something fun about taxiing an airplane on the grass, least I think so.

After a short visit of hanger talk, I needed to get headed back toward Twin Oaks. The downside of renting...

A light rain had started and I wondered if the low overcast that held south when the morning began, had moved in over Twin Oaks. The ASOS at Aurora was reporting visibility at 10, broken at 2500 overcast at 4800, and light rain, so I had a return to Lenhardt or Aurora as an out if I couldn't get back into Twin Oaks. Off 20 and a right turn out towards home.

It's always surprising how much noise rain can make over the air traveling over my aluminum surroundings at 110kts, engine, and an ANR headset.

Passing over Wilsonville and turning northwest, I could see through the rain streaked windshield Twin Oaks in the distance. No need to turn around and wait anything out.





Too soon, I was back at Twin Oaks, preparing to return to work and life on the ground.

Turned out to be a very nice day; flying, a drink with my boss and coworker after work, sushi with my family that night, and it was my birthday.

New Panel and More

Saturday, while out at Twin Oaks for the monthly breakfast, I was anxious to check out the updated panel, new interior, and new motor on my favorite plane. It had just come back on line a few days before, and I had blocked out 4hrs for early Sunday morning. I would have liked to have hopped in and taken off, but being at the height of arrival time for the breakfast, the ramp was a swarm of activity, and decided that it could wait a day.

Sunday morning came early, very early I was reminded by the rest of my crew as I urged them out of bed nearly two hours before the sun. Sunrise is a beautiful time to fly, and if we were going to be off the ground in time, we needed to get a move on.

The first lightening in the sky promised perfect weather to fly, as I completed preflighting the plane, happy for the fingerless gloves Heatherle had found for me.  Also very quiet.

The new motor turned right over, and the arrangement of the new panel was the same as the old, with the only stand out being the new Garmin 650 GPS, which I would soon discover was also Comm 1.

In had skimmed through the 356 page manual for the 650, but was fortunate that entering a flight plan was pretty intuitive.

We were soon headed towards breakfast with the rising sun off our left wing and long shadows below.

After a good breakfast and coffee, we headed for Siletz Bay (S45), 20 minutes west over the coast range.

Entering the right downwind leg for 17 followed the breakers off the town of Gleneden Beach, base leg crossing the spit at Siletz bay, and final over the Salishan golf course.

We made a short stop at Siletz Bay, signed the log book, and walked around a little, not going too far from Audrey, asleep in the back seat of the plane tied down on the ramp. A little quirky was the three wall shelter featuring tablecloth held down with an assortment of rocks, visitor info, and cloth window treatment. Fancy, and home to a large population of spiders.

We headed north along the coast before tuning inland, following the Salmon River highway (18) back through the coast range in the direction of home.

My landing back at Twin Oaks was a stinker. Safe, but I knew it was going to bother me for the remainder of the day, so we took a redemption trip around the pattern. A passable landing, and I felt satisfied with taxiing to the fuel pump to end our trip, with Audrey, still asleep in the back.

It was still early afternoon on a sunny February day, so made a short drive through the Tualatin valley for a hike at the Jackson Bottom Wetland, and then Noble Woods Park, giving Heatherle and Audrey some letterboxing opportunities.

Early dinner and a couple of beers at the Cornelius Pass Roadhouse was the right ending to an enjoyable day.