A little of this and a little of that....

It has been too long since I made any update to this blog and unfortunately even longer since we have made a trip anywhere.  That's not to say I haven't been flying!  The annual inspection went well.  Nothing major was found and everything appeared to be in good working order.  The only two big items that were accomplished were the spark plugs were changed out and the universal joints on the control yoke shafts were replaced.  Both items were due to wear and I was able to plan and budget for them.  I will say the plane "feels" much better with the new universal joints.

Anyway, I try to fly at least once a week to keep the plane exercised.  I always try to find something to do with each flight to explore, play with, fiddle, or whatever to give it a little more purpose.  For instance, I found out the automatic gear extension system in the plane does work!  I tried it when I first bought it, but no joy.  During the annual I stopped by the shop after they did the gear swing checks and they told me everything was good including the automatic system.  It is?  Sure enough! I tried it out and down they dropped.  I guess I'll have to adjust my routine and checklist to disengage the override during descent & landing.  Hey, you never know!

So here are a few pictures to share of my recent wanderings:

Yeah......they were worn out.

Came in to get an update and found this pretty gal getting some TLC too!

This Lockheed 12A is owned locally by the Marco family.  They have some amazing planes in their collection.  I've also seen their De Havilland Beaver and P-51 Mustang.  You can read more about the family and their planes here:  Generations In Aviation  I need to find out if they give tours!  Anyway, I came out the next day and I briefly met David Marco during the post maintenance checks.  Watching and listening to her start-up was awesome!

And I thought polishing the spinner on my plane was laborious!  This gal really shines!

I really like the iPad mini on the yoke with ADS-B weather from the Stratus 2 receiver.  I played with it a lot and felt very comfortable about cancelling my XM Weather subscription.  Here you can see what was received on the iPad and what it looked like out the window.

Every once in a while, I'd chase little areas of rain to rinse off the plane.  Sometimes I'd even drop the landing gear to give them a good rinse too!  I'm lazy at times, but with the heat indexes well over 100 degrees this summer, I'm waiting for cooler weather to give the plane a proper bath.

Climbed up to cooler air one afternoon and found a few sprinkles.  Saw this rainbow behind me after I went through.  It went around a lot further than the picture could capture.

That's about it.  Unfortunately our next scheduled Family Flying adventure is a little ways off.  We are looking forward to visiting family in Arkansas and Texas over Christmas and New Years.

But.......before that is the next Bahamas Habitat Fly In to Serve Others event and I'm blessed to be able to go!  It will be from October 23 -26.  If you are interested in experiencing this journey too, please contact the Bahamas Habitat and find out how!