Path is back in his hangar. I hurried to the airport on Tuesday to make what I call a shakedown flight. I always do this following an annual, to make sure everything is just right. It felt so good to be back in the air, where I belong. One of the reasons that repairs on that Turn Coordinator were so expensive is because it has a connection to the auto pilot. I was told the auto pilot didn’t work when I bought the plane, but it didn’t matter to me as I prefer hand-flying anyway. Apparently this failing coordinator was the problem. I now have an operational auto pilot – bonus! I expect to continue doing most of my flying without mechanical help, but just once in a while it might be useful. After making five touch n go’s and seeing what it was like to act like a passenger while the plane flew itself, I made my final landing (which was near perfect) and put 45 minutes in my log book. All was well with plane and pilot. Good weather predicted for next day, ready for a real flight.
Wednesday morning started out with heavy fog – ¼ mile visibility on the ground. Just to the north – clear, blue and sunshine; same to the south. Frustrating and so typical. Then between 10:30 and 10:50 poof! – fog gone – It’s Mother Nature’s magic trick. I filled out paperwork for an hour’s vacation and thought about to where I would fly when 4:00 came around.
I’ve flown around every bit of Mt Rainier on many flights, yet the pull she exerts is strong. I announced my intention to depart the runway with a turnout to the east and as soon as we were high enough– there she was. Brilliant white in the lowering sun, sharply outlined against blue blue sky.
“Here I come Lady Tahoma, will you welcome me today?”
Mount Tahoma was her original name, and a glacier and small peak on her southeast side still retain these names in the form of Tahoma Glacier and Little Tahoma. The welcome I was inquiring about is my own way of describing flight conditions near mountains. Sometimes wind and air are smooth and soft and the mountain seems to say “Welcome. Come and fly as close as you wish.” On those days my plane skims her ridges, soaring softly over her glaciers so closely I can see blue ice. Her massive bulk fills my windows completely. Other times as we climb up to her feet, as a gnat to an elephant, she sternly rebuffs our overture with a slap of wind and turbulence. At those times, I turn quickly away and admire her from a distance. This was one of those times, I had to be content with a cautious circumnavigation that still provided me with some sights so beautiful, incredible, lovely that I need another language to use that has more superlatives to accurately describe. These photos can only hint at what it feels like to pilot your plane past this Lady with the setting sun glowing behind her.
Now this last shot is something I'd not seen before. It's the shadow of Mt Rainier reflecting on the haze to the east!
I’ve been blogging long enough now that if a few days go by and I’ve nothing new to post, I miss it. So with winter weather putting a stop to most flying there will be no new adventures to share. Of course there are a few past events to document, but they don’t provide me with the same satisfaction since I’ve already finished with them and moved on. I’m still going to keep this blog mostly about flying, but have decided to allow some of my other passions to edge their way in.
Scrapbooking. After the adventure itself is over, this outlet allows me to document and relive the event while appeasing my creative side. I’ve been a Scrapper longer than I’ve been a pilot so merging the two makes sense. I started as a paper scrapper, often using my computer to create bits and pieces. Purely digital scrapping was an easy step, and one I’ve embraced enthusiastically. With digital I can move something that doesn’t look right (it’s not glued down). That really cool piece of paper or ribbon can be used over and over. I can scrapbook anywhere I can use a laptop. No need for tables, storage and an array of tools that would impress a car mechanic.
Here is one of my favorite pages. (Click on the image to see full size)
If your interested in trying Digital Scrapping, I’d recommend a piece of software called Adobe Photoshop Elements. It’s not as complex nor as expensive as the full Photoshop that professionals use, but still has plenty of powerful tools. Then you could visit any number of web sites to download free digital supplies to get started. A couple of my favorites are scrapgirls.com and designerdigitals.com.
A friend said "Let's go have some fun."
With us this means flying someplace. We took off (after the blasted fog burned off) to go to Oregon. Perfect conditions with smooth air, great temperature, and unlimited visibility. We had not flown together (in separate planes) before. Pilots negotiate who will lead. Slow plane typically, so I throttled way back to let Judy take the lead. Amazing how much less fuel I burn with airspeed at 100 knots or under. Also decided in advance, is how close we will fly - we settled on 1/2 mile minimum.
Crossing the Columbia river just southwest of Kelso.
Our first stop was Salem, OR. Met a friend of Judy's who took us to his farm where we were encouraged to harvest all the veggies we wanted.
Leaving Judy's plane behind we made a quick run south to Lebanon so I could fill up on cheap MoGas. We also wanted to visit with the couple that runs the FBO. Dana and Larry are the best!
This is somewhere over northern Oregon. Love having pictures of my boy in the air!
A long time ago when as I child I would lay on the summer grass looking up into a circle of blue sky defined by evergreen tree tops and see planes passing over. I would wonder if someday I would be in or even fly such a plane - like Penny on Sky King.
A lot of life and years went by. I worked, married, raised children. Then a chance meeting with a pilot followed by a conversation with my husband changed my world. "Hey, Mike", I said. "I met the Sheriff's pilot today. Wouldn't flying be a wonderful way to make a living? I'd love to fly someday."
"We could probably afford for you to take lessons, why don't you look into it?" He replied. Two weeks later, this 53 year-old grandmother lifted into the air in a Cessna 150, snugged into the cockpit with a CFI. (Certified Flight Instructor). It was an Introductory flight just to see if I would like it. Five minutes into the flight I knew, without any doubt whatsoever that I would become a pilot. No matter what it took. The joy and freedom and thrill of moving an aircraft around the sky with my own hands wasn't even diminished by the airsickness that arrived as my instructor took control and guided the plane back to the ground.
Now this last shot is something I'd not seen before. It's the shadow of Mt Rainier reflecting on the haze to the east!
