A winter storm is (literally) blowing through central New Mexico tomorrow, so it looks like my flying is done for 2012. It’s been an interesting flying year, with 37.7 hours and 46 takeoffs and landings through the year. The year started with a fun trip to Crested Butte to visit Pete, which involved some nice winter flying in the Colorado Rockies. Flying a pattern in Gunnison involves a downwind right up against the mountains, which was really cool. After some pretty serious engine work, I took the Bellanca to South Bend in July, got weathered out of flying to OSH, had a blast at OSH, and spent 9.5 hours dodging thunderstorms, bumps, and headwinds in one day flying home. The fall saw me buying my partner out of the Bellanca, so it’s all mine now :).

The start of 2013 brings a lot of work on the Bellanca. I’ve wanted a full engine monitor for some time, but panel space is a major problem. So after trying a lot of mock-ups, I’m going to install an EDM-900 primary, which will replace a lot of the aging instruments in the plane. The flaps and ailerons were painted with Emron before the Stits STC changed and the paint on the flaps has taken some abuse over the years. Combined with a bent aileron and it’s time to recover the wing control surfaces. Finally, the hydraulic powerpack is off to overhaul. So it will be a busy spring with maintenance, but hopefully some good flying time later in the year. The EDM-900 should also help run the airplane much more efficiently than I can with the single EGT/CHT today.