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.