Back in the saddle, sorta

The stars finally aligned today: the airplane was available, the winds were ok, the clouds were high, and the temps were warm enough. K and I went out to the airport for the first time in 4-5 weeks for some practice. I sat in the right seat and K in the left - she is getting ready for her private pilot check ride so she needed the practice more than I.

We had a heck of a time starting the engine, possibly due to flooding though I'm actually not sure. Thankfully the battery held up for the long amount of time it took to get it cranked.

Since we wanted to finish by 11AM we kept the flight to 1.2 hours. I acted as an FAA checkride examiner and asked K to perform a few different maneuvers.

Here's the rundown of items we covered:
  • Short field takeoff
  • VOR tracking
  • Steep turns
  • Slow flight
  • Power-on stall
  • Hood work to go back home
I had planned to give her an engine out scenario on downwind but we had turbulence and winds that were enough to deal with on the first time out in weeks. She ended our flight with a firm (but good) landing. She did great on the airwork - especially considering how much rust should have needed knocking off.Back in the saddle, sorta

After shutting down we had to run to the bank (before they closed) to deal with our most recent identity theft issues. It is flat out disturbing how little info you need to walk into a branch of our bank and be allowed steal someone's money - lots of it. Doesn't matter if some of the info is wrong either, which is quite handy for the scammers out there.

In other news, we are still looking into an airplane upgrade. A gentlemen is bringing a Columbia 350 for us to take a look at (next weekend, we hope).

Also, the ramp at JGG was surprisingly bare today - my hope is that people are just traveling or have moved into the new hangars.

In closing, here's a shot of John's CFI's tail dragger:

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