Monday, December 28, 2020
The End of 2020 - At Last
Monday, October 05, 2020
A Little Piece of Heaven
Once in awhile you run across a place that has just about everything you always wanted a place to have. Last weekend Leo and I flew the CallAir Cadet from our mountain home to another tranquil place about 70 miles west as the crow flies. The views of the mountains was wonderful, no wind, smooth all the way and the Mighty Continental (Powerful as the Nation) pulled us along at a stately 100 mph or so.
There was quite a bit of fog in the valleys between here and there (1A5 was reporting indef 200 and 1/4 mile) so we detoured to the south, beyond the mountain ridges, so we wouldn't be caught "on top" .. just in case.
The place we visited is called Tusquittee Landing (NC08), a private air park with homes and a community area. Brian took a picture looking east when he flew over it to scope it out:
It's a little piece of paradise at slightly over 2,000' msl with a 2,700 foot runway that is smooth as a pool table. Brian drew in their right traffic pattern for runway 28 in red .. Leo and I flew a straight-in approach from the east down a beautiful valley.
From their windsock, this is looking east at the terrain leading to runway 28. The nearby hills aren't at all intimidating, at least when there's no wind to negotiate.
The community area might have room for another hangar. Everyone we met was super friendly and we enjoyed our visit and BYO sandwiches .. much like 8NC9's Wednesday lunches.
The homes at midfield and toward the west end feature their own hangars .. aircraft ownership is required. That's a good thing as so many airport communities lose their way in this regard, leading to the hangars being turned into storage buildings.
Looking west you can see the broad expanse of runway and grass that allows for quite a comfortable, open, air park. Mr. William T. Piper of Piper Aircraft envisioned a country full of places like this in the 1940s and 50s and went all over speaking to private groups and municipalities promoting the idea.

The trip home, winding our way between mountain peaks, included a fuel stop at Franklin's Macon County Airport (1A5) where we filled up with 6.9 gallons of their finest 100LL AVGAS. My fuel consumption with proper lean mixture averages out to 5 gallons per hour .. pretty good for a 90hp engine.
All in all, a grand day to be out flying, best spent with good friends, old and new.
Thursday, September 24, 2020
To Be or Not To Be
Now I'm not one to hoard or hang on to most things too long (fooey - just ask my wife) but it came to the renewal of my Flight Instructor certificates last month and I honestly thought about letting them go by the wayside. There were regrets, to be sure; after all, I worked hard for them and have always thought the profession a noble one. 42 years have gone by as a CFI; that's nothing to sneeze at.
John and Pat Henderson in the late 1940s/early 50s
If I had mentors it was without their knowing. I always looked up to the first Flight Instructor with whom I was acquainted: John Henderson, who eked out a living at the Silver Springs Air Park in Florida. John was a civilian instructor during The War (WWII) and settled with his wife and family in rudimentary quarters in the early 1950s. Eventually things improved and John became an aviation icon in that part of the world. I never flew with him but he has always flown with me.
Mentor #2 has to be a fellow who guided a lot of us through his books, experiences and good humor: Bill Kershner. We met when Son John was a student at St. Andrews School at Sewanee TN. The airport where Bill held forth was just down the road a bit. What a neat guy .. veteran of thousands of spins while teaching basic aerobatics and upset recovery to students from around the world, a former Naval Aviator, corporate pilot and demo pilot for Piper Aircraft Company. Bill started out with a wish, then a dream, then put his dream into action working as a line boy fueling and hand propping airplanes, sweeping floors, soloing at 16 and working his way up. His career timing was perfect.
The modern day flight instructor has to jump through a few hoops to start his students .. it used to be that a third class medical certificate served as a student pilot certificate; nowadays the certificate is issued by FAA after a vetting process to ensure the student doesn't pose a threat to security. 9/11 changed a lot of things and flying is definitely one of them.
Despite the hurdles, the CFI is still the key to preserving our heritage of freedom to fly the skies of the USA. Without the CFI there are no new students to grow or maintain the system .. nothing new there .. and without the CFI there are no new ratings issued for instrument, multiengine, and all the endorsements required at the various levels of a pilot's experience.
So I renewed. I still harbor the dream of teaching my grandchildren to fly and local pilot friends challenge me with questions that keep me on my toes, which is good for me and, I hope, for them. Another local CFI of my vintage is a great counsel as well and we compare notes often. It is a fine fraternity (or sorority, as several of my CFI friends are women) and I am glad to remain in their company.
Friday, August 14, 2020
August Rain, etc
Well, here we are in August 2020, in the midst of a pandemic, an election year, and I'm not sure which is more topsy or turvey. On the one hand, the COVID 19 virus has sure put a damper on society and the economy and on the other, the upcoming election has aroused a lot of people. No matter .. we airplane nuts just keep on flying and building and fixing and find a lot of stress relief in the good old-fashioned way.
Did I mention so far in August (here it is the 14th) we've had almost 10 inches of rain? The duty thunderstorms roll in over the mountains after lunch and eventually make for some pleasant hours on the mower.
There have been some poignant farewells this month.
Friday, July 31, 2020
The Last Day of July
Tuesday, June 30, 2020
My First Glastar Condition Inspection
These pictures show the machined tailskid which works against a spring to cushion any inadvertent tail strikes. Most builders just attached a piece of nylon block or a portion of tire tread to protect the tailcone; Russ went way beyond that with a very nice piece of work.