July is for Firsts

When the moment comes, we have to seize the day!

My friend, Sid, made his first ultralight flight this month .. at 90, he was thrilled. This is the same guy who helped build and then flew a LongEZ across the North Atlantic and back in the late 1980s! That was before we civilians had GPS. After a career flying Cessna 210s, a VariEZ and that LongEZ (among other types), interspersed with his day job as a neurosurgeon, Sid quit California and moved to God's country with his wife, Penny, also a pilot and a "99". Many Happy Landings, Sid!

The EAA chapter meeting had a couple of fellows from the Charlotte FSDO FAA Safety Team present a program on flights into and out of non-tower controlled fields. That was the first time in a long time that we had FAA at a meeting. The last time was an Airworthiness Representative who has since retired and moved to South Carolina. In this summer heat wave, I expect he is wishing he could be here in the mountains. South Carolina and eastern NC can be pretty warm even in a normal summer.

The morning after the meeting I was inspired to fly a Dawn Patrol over the mountains and the views were spectacular .. the early morning fog in some of our valleys was just beginning to lift and the air was clear with broken layers to keep it comfy.

Sid's now former neighbor also move to South Carolina to follow his wife's career as an OB-GYN. They had been all over the world and his flying included membership in military flying clubs in the Tokyo area and in Virginia. They've settled about 40 miles from here in Greenville and Matt completed his flight review this week at Greenville Aviation, so he's on his way again after nearly a year and a half! Of course he sent the picture above to show us how much he enjoys being back in the air.

Progress is being made on a number of airplane projects and I'm putting together plans for a revamp of my instrument panel in the Glastar, hopefully this winter if the supplier can get all their components with the shortages in the supply chains these days.

So July 2022 is almost in the books and August plans are fleshing out. More flying, more friends gathering and sharing their stories. 

Off the airfield, we had to say goodbye to a dear and faithful companion. Josie was a few months shy of her 15th birthday when she just ran out of steam. There is a hole in our hearts, all our hearts - mine, Anina's and her 2 canine pals - as we carry on without her yet keep her spirit alive. If you've been there, you know what I mean.

Josie. 2007-2022

Around the Patch - June 2022

 

We caught a break in June .. some really nice flying weather early in the morning when it was cool .. Winds tended to pick up in the afternoons.

Friend Sid, refugee from California and long time pilot, has been making the transition from regular garden variety airplanes like his VariEZE, Cessna 210 and LongEZ to ultralights. A broken hip put him back a little but he's back in the seat and running taxi tests as I write this at the end of June.

We had a great EAA meeting in June at a private airfield and environmentally friendly preserve owned by a fellow who has built airplanes and races his RV-8 in various venues. It was quite a pleasure to be invited into his private space. To take a look, go to www.eaa1016.org 

The Glastar went in for its annual condition inspection and came through it with no squawks at all. I'm ready to move forward with an update to the instrument panel and am just waiting for Advanced Flight Systems to help me write the specification. Fuel prices have a lot of owners looking for the new avionics to help us fly as economically as possible.

So that's about it .. the Fairweather Flyers and EAA members just keep on keeping on.