24 posts in this topic

Posted

I’ve been getting as much time in the air as I reasonably can, since I got signed off to solo. It’s all been within a 25 mile radius. I’d have to go further to find something less beautiful. It looks tropical, with the pale blue water of the glacier-fed lake. https://youtu.be/mP2QAMC01Ww

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Posted


looks great and congrats on successful soloing.

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Posted

Very nice!  So would you say it's all been worth it?  Of course it was!   :)  JImChuk

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Posted

Ohhh man ur lucky!!!! I need to do the same but takin over running the family company is takin all my time right now.  Congrats on the flying, whole different outlook on the day from the air, any flight can turn the worst day into the best day!!!!

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Posted

Thanks, everyone. It's been really rewarding. I'm glad I stuck with it, finished the project, and am able to enjoy it. I got frustrated with the obstacles in ever getting to fly it, and came close to throwing in the towel. That was after I had it airworthy, and didn't get to fly it for months. It was several month after the inspection before I got to fly in it. After that, I got maybe an hour or two of instruction over the course of a couple months. Then, with the FAA... first, dealing with the registration set me back several months, then I waited eight months to get my medical card. That was ridiculous. There were a couple days where I thought seriously about putting it up for sale. I put an awful lot of work into it to not be able to fly it, so being grounded by weather, schedules, and bureaucracy really got to me. But, it is worth it. It's great to be flying. I wanted to do this for a long time. It's just in the nick of time, too, as my summers are so busy that I wouldn't be able to schedule any flying with the instructor. I need to work on the cross country to expand my horizons, but, as you can see, there's some pretty nice flying to be done in the immediate area. Thanks, everyone, for your support, parts, information, and encouragement that helped me get this far. It's good to be here. 

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Posted

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Posted

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Posted

Quick flight yesterday morning before the weather moved in. Still in that 25 mile radius. I hope I can get the dual cross country with the instructor before things get any busier. Short flights are better than no flights. I saw AKFLYERBOB out in his model 4 later in the day. That 670 must be fun. 

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Posted

Flew to the southern end of my short leash, this morning. Beautiful flight along the bluff. Got a good look at the dipnetters and the setnets that were fishing today. That panel tank doesn't hold enough fuel. Great for keeping me in the 25 mile radius, though. 

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Posted

Having explored the horizontal limits of my student pilot cert, today I explored the vertical limits and reached new heights. The limits for sport pilots is 10,000 msl or 2,000 agl, whichever is higher. The local airport is at 108, but today’s density altitude was 1,000 feet. Based on that rule, the highest I can legally fly locally is 10,000 feet, unless I flew over one of a couple nearby volcanoes. Then I could fly over 12,000 feet, but sadly, said volcanoes are a little beyond my 25 mile radius, so that will have to be another day and a new thread. 

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Posted

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Posted

Looks like you are having fun.  Way to go.  JImChuk

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Posted

That is great!  Where are you located?

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Posted

I'm near Kenai, AK. Great place to fly. I spread my wings a little and got most of the cross country dual instruction out of the way, today, with a nice flight down to Homer. You're just up north in the valley somewhere, aren't you?

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Posted

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Posted

looks like you are having lots of fun.  Now aren't you glad you stuck with it during the rougher times of the rebuild?  In a way I'm also saying that for those with projects that are stalled out or nearly so as well.  There is light at the end of the tunnel if you just keep walking toward it.  I'm glad you're enjoying the plane.  JImChuk

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Posted

It's funny you should mention that, Jim. We were just talking about that, last night. I wonder how many people do give up before they get to fly it. More than half, I'd guess. I definitely want to encourage anyone who's working on one of these planes, or considering it, to go for it and see it through to the end. It's been a challenge, but totally worth it. It was probably a rarer situation for me to finish the project easily enough, but then find the biggest discouragement, for me, was getting the right instructor and the schedule and weather to fly it. It was all worth it.  

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Posted

You guys must be psycho, opps I mean psychic, since I was considering putting mine up for sale. But I guess I'll reconsider that option for awhile. Maybe things will settle down in a couple months and I can get back to it.  Old grandpa once told me, "when you don't know what to do, don't do anything."

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Posted

Nice way to start the morning. 

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Posted

Landing at the grass strip, last night. Besides me, there were also some mosquitos landing at the same time. They got slapped, but the camera got turned sideways in the process. I sure like that smooth grass. 

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Posted

Pics from the last two days. The haze is from the Siberian wildfires. I couldn't smell it in town, but, at altitude, the smoke was quite strong. 

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Posted

If all these pictures post, you could stitch them into a nice panoramic. I can't complain about the scenery of the 25 mile radius. I have over fifty hours in the plane, now. Need to knock out some of the other requirements for the license before I go for the check ride. For now, just enjoying the view. Sorry I didn't have the camera level, but I had my eyes on the horizon and my hand out the open door. We had a horrific midair collision nearby, the other day, that claimed seven lives. Always keep your eyes open. 

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Posted

No longer constrained to the 25 mile radius, but  I did take all these pictures within 25 miles of the airport. Nice day for flying. 

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Posted

Looks like you are having lots of fun with that airplane.  Good for you!  JImChuk

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