Vectors To Final

Today I made an early flight over to KCEU and back. For the leg to Clemson I went IFR to get some practice on the radio. Just before takeoff I found out that both GPSs were not getting a good signal. I took off anyway since it was severe clear and expected they would get fixed up on there own. However, they never really did start working again until I was almost back to Rock Hill 1.5 hours later. Turns out that the antenna is mounted under the glaresheild using velcro of all things. It had come loose and so was no longer seeing the entire sky. That's where ForeFlight Mobile helped out a great deal. I was able to watch my GPS-derived position on the VFR sectional charts as I motored along. Helped out a great deal - I was surprised how tough it can be to determine your exact location in a Cirrus when the GPSs are inoperative. You go from massive amounts of positional info to very little. Always a good idea to have an independent backup!

Since buying into the SR22, I've had two chances to take her flying. The first was to do some ForeFlight testing and just get used to the airplane again. I did that flight solo, since I was home alone at the time. The weather that morning was too nice to pass up. I also spent some time going over the aircraft logbooks so I would better know when the next inspections, etc. are due. The next morning I got to take my wife and son up for their first flight in the airplane. Both have been in an SR22 a few times, but not in this one! We stayed local, and made it a short flight. This was his first time using a headset and he did exceptionally well, especially considering he's just 2.5 years old. I ended the flight with a landing to be happy with and taxied back to park.

This evening I had a special treat. I got to fly "my" new airplane (well, part of it is mine) for the first time. I bought part of a Cirrus SR22 based at the local airport and today was "checkout" day. I went up with my co-owner's instructor to get re-aclimated with the airplane - it's been at least a year since I had PIC time in a Cirrus - and knock out a BFR (bi-annual flight review) and IPC (instrument proficiency check) at the same time. Needless to say, it was tough work, but loads of fun. We started out in the FBO talking about the performance and systems of the SR22. From there it was on to weather briefings and what to look out for. After that he gave me our route of flight (KUZA->KFLO->KCRE->KUZA) and I went off to brief and file it. ForeFlight Mobile 3 came in quite handy for that task, but I took my time doing it as I wanted to be completely thorough. This was not only my first Cirrus flight in a while, but my first flight as pil...

Ars Technica posted a good article on the inner workings of air traffic control last week. It reminded me of my visit to the Potomac TRACON a few years back, and how impressive their facility was.

This video shows the setup of a Cirrus mock-up - pretty neat to watch! I've seen this SF50 mock-up in person at AOPA Summit - it was larger than I expected and, like everything Cirrus makes, quite pretty to look at.

On the way home from the in-laws after Christmas I checked my iPhone email. I found a new message letting me know my flight school, where I was renting an airplane, has gone bankrupt. I had noticed for a while that there wasn't much activity there so it wasn't a big surprise, but it's still a big disappointment. I feel quite bad for the owners, of course, but that also means I have no way of flying now. So now I'm once again looking to buy an plane or find an existing aircraft at KUZA that I can buy a share of. I looked closely at a Piper Warrior for a bit but that was scoped up by another buyer. I had a goal to keep enough money aside to put a Aspen PFD in it - all the better for safer IFR flying. Now I'm looking around some more and trying to find something that fits my purchase budget without having too high of an ongoing cost. Taking a look at older Mooneys and Piper Arrows now.

I had the great chance to fly a bit with my buddy John this weekend. I acted as safety pilot as he shot 6 rapid-fire approaches. My Dad even got to ride in the backseat to take in the sights around the Williamsburg area. Lots of fun! John ended the flight with a super soft landing and we taxied back to parking. I also got the chance to chat briefly with my old IFR instructor Charles as well as some of the other folks at the airport. It was great to be back there!