Flying

cropped-IMG_4746-Wind-generators.jpgI’ve been interested in flying for as long as I can remember and in the fall of 2005 started working towards my private pilot certificate. I soloed in January 2006, passed my private pilot (airplane single engine land) on July 6, 2006, and passed my instrument rating check ride on June 1, 2008.  I also have high performance endorsement, complex, and tailwheel endorsements.  Jess and I are currently the owners of a 1960 Bellanca 14-19-3 (a.k.a. Cruisemaster 260), the last of the triple-tail Bellancas (above) and a 1940 Fairchild 24W-41A.

The types of airplanes I’ve flown are still pretty limited, but here’s the current list:

  • Aeronca Champ
  • American Champion Decathalon
  • Bellanca 14-19-3
  • Cessna 152
  • Cessna 172 (steam and G1000)
  • Cessna T-41C (Military version of the Cessna 172)
  • Fairchild 24W
  • Liberty XL2
  • Piper J3 Cub
  • Vans RV-6A and RV-7A

Below are some flights for which I have either good pictures or a GPS track. The tracks from my private training where from a hand held GPS that only kind of worked. The more recent tracks are from the Garmin Aera 510 in the Bellanca. When I remember to download the tracks, of course.

2015 Bellanca-Champion West-Coast Fly-In
Finally made it to the Bellanca-Champion West Coast Fly-In in Columbia, CA. It was a bit hot, but it was fun to see all the other Bellancas and Champs that are still flying. When all was done, flew 1412 miles in 9.1 hours, averaged 155 MPH, and burnt 116.85 gallons of 100LL (12 MPG). [GPX]
Friday Harbor 2014
Jess, Laura, David, and I spent the afternoon in Friday Harbor. On the way home, we circled San Juan island and spotted a pod of Orcas in the sound. Returning to Auburn, we were approved for the Mariner transition across SeaTac. [GPX]
Seattle Relocation
Due to a new job, I moved from Albuquerque to Seattle this spring. Over Memorial Day weekend, I finally had the chance to relocate the Bellanca to Everett Field. It was a long flight, but everything went really well. [GPX]
Indiana
John (previous co-owner of the Bellanca) and I were going to fly into Oshkosh in 2012. I flew the Bellanca up to South Bend (my home town) and hung out there for the month of July. While in South Bend, I flew over to Urbana-Champaign for a meeting and took my parents and sister for a trip in the Bellanca, flying over both our old lake cottage on Diamond lake and my parents’ current house. Unfortunately, thunderstorms and a tight schedule kept us from flying into OSH. Driving wasn’t nearly as much fun. The long, winding path back to New Mexico (due to thunderstorms everywhere) is currently my single day longest flights. [GPX]
Crested Butte
Pete and I had planned to go skiing while he was in Crested Butte in January 2012. Unfortunately, there wasn’t much snow, so we just hung around Crested Butte instead. But first, we let everyone in town know we were having fun by flying around Mount Crested Butte for a little bit. Also determined that flying over North Pass was a much shorter route than going west to Montrose and then heading back east. [GPX]
Laura and David’s Wedding
In July 2010, I flew up to Seattle, WA for my friends Laura and David’s wedding. On the way, I stopped at San Carlos to pick up Rachel and Rob. At the time, the flight from 1N1 to KSQL was the longest single day of flying I had done. On the way back from San Carlos, a line of thunderstorms stranded me in Prescott, AZ overnight. [GPX]
Second Solo Cross Country
second (and last) solo cross country trip during my private pilot training. Trip was Bloomington, IN (KBMG) to Crawfordsville, IN (KCFJ) to Muncie, IN (KMIE) back to Bloomington. [GPX]
First Solo Cross Country
First solo cross country trip, towards the end of my flight training. Trip was Bloomington, IN (KBMG) to Charleston, IL (KMTO) to Lawrenceville, IL (KLWV) back to Bloomington. [GPX]