Quick Afternoon Flight With Abby

The weather forecast is favorable so we will fly to New Orleans tomorrow for Abby's dance competition.  To get ready, Abby and I made a short hop this afternoon over to Palatka (28J) for some "cheaper" fuel for our trip.  It was a very pleasant flight and we even got to enjoy some city lights at dusk upon returning to Craig Field.

It's so good to be back in the air!  Tomorrow will make 3 days I've flown in the last 7.  Life IS good. I'll post about our trip when we get back.

Back In The Air!

My medical finally arrived in the mail yesterday. I sent a text to Pete at work and we met up in the early afternoon today. After a thorough preflight we jumped in the plane for my first engine start in two months! Unfortunately my left side seat belt pulled out from below when I went to tighten it! Oh well, after five minutes it was properly reattached and we went through the start up sequence again. The engine roared to life and we taxied to RWY 5 for a VFR departure.

The run-up, VOR checks, and take-off were great and we departed to the south and eventually turned west while paying very close attention to everything since a lot of maintenance and down time have occurred since the last flight. With everything working great we proceeded on to Ocala (KOCF) for lunch.

Everything running smooth!

We had some huge,tasty burgers at the Tailwind Cafe and departed back for Craig Field. Enroute we flew over Jumbolair Aviation Estates and you could see John Travolta's house with his Boeing 707 parked in front (sorry no pic). We had a smooth flight back. The oil temps still seem to be a little higher, but the oil cooler overhaul appears to have helped a little. We'll keep an eye on it. The new audio panel worked great. I have a lot to learn about it, but so far so good. I LOVE the new panel layout. It is exactly what I wanted and put everything in a nice clean and usable presentation. Next flight will be in days, not weeks or months!

**Pete took a few pictures so when he sends them to me I will post them.

Great News Today!

After pretty much being on the road for two weeks for Thanksgiving and work, I was extremely disappointed to come home and not have my medical waiting for me in the mail. I called the FAA today to plead, cry, bribe, or whatever I could to get it, but before I could do anything they told me I was cleared on December 1st and my medical was in the mail!

I also haven't seen the completed panel project since it was finished around Thanksgiving. So after work I made a quick dash out to the hangar to check it out. It looks great! I can't wait to go fly this week and check out the new layout.

Here is a list of what was done:

Upgraded the audio panel and intercom to a PMA8000BT which upgrades us to one unit with stereo and Bluetooth
Swapped the KX155 Nav 2 radio and indicator to ones with glideslope capability
Removed the Argus Moving Map and ADF receiver
Moved the Strikefinder to the pilot's side of the panel for easier viewing
Placed the Garmin 496 portable GPS in a panel dock
Installed a handheld VHF plug to access the plane's antenna with the handheld if needed
Installed a 12V power port between the rear seats for passengers
Relocated a few other minor items
The engine monitor was upgraded this summer


I'll try to get better pictures soon, but here is an initial before & after set:



Before



After