Big Toy Day 2014

Each year the Lexington, North Carolina Communities in Schools pairs up with the the FBO at the Davidson County Airport for a day of Big Toys. Local municipalities, fire departments, construction companies, the National Guard and others bring their big machines so the children and youth can get up close and personal with them. Part of Big Toy Day includes a fly-in for area aviation enthusiasts.

This year over 30 various airplanes found a spot on the ramp to exhibit to eager children and their parents. For me the top three airplanes that I was excited to see were the following:

A Waco YMF-F5C which received its Airworthiness Certificate in April sat majestically on the row closest to the FBO. When looking at this beautiful airplane, no one can honestly say that they don't make biplanes like they used to. Added to its classic look, was a fully appointed panel that would make cross county travel a breeze.

From a 2014 Waco to a 1942 Stearman. Here is the classic. Longer wings and a prominent 9 cylinder radial are the most obvious differences.

The "star" of the fly-in was Jeff Michael's 1944 P-51D. Named "Obsession," this P-51 is hangered at the Davidson County Airport.
Throughout the day, crowds were constantly gathered around it. Midway through the day, Jeff took to the skies and did a number of high speed low passes.

Over all it was a nice day with good crowds and funds raised to help the disadvantaged in our school system.

2013 Winston Salem Airshow

Saturday's edition of the 2013 -S Airshow was a big dissapointment due to the weather. Ceilings varied between 1200 and 1700 AGL and there was a constant drizzle. Acrobatics were out of the question, but there were some moments of clearing when some of the performers were able to do some banana passes before the crowd.
There was a brief window when the Aeroshell Team were able to do some loops in a very shortened program.

An L-39 with a nice paint job did both high speed and low speed passes:

 

 

 



One plane I was excited to see at the airshow was the "Super Stol" by Just Aircraft. I have heard a great deal about this plane. It will take off and land in 100 feet.  This is accomplished by leading edge slats and wing length flaperons. 

Just Aircraft - Super STOL



Super STOL - Panel



Super STOL - Wing

 

Beech 18

Beech 18

Beech 18

Jane Wicker at 2011 Winston Salem Airshow

I was going through some photos on one of my SD cards, and I ran across this short video of Jane Wicker at the 2011 Winston Salem Airshow. At the time, I didn't know I was watching one of the best. She will be missed.

 

Some Pictures and Video from my Europe Trip

In June, I took a trip to the UK and to Geneva with my family. In all our commings and goings, we flew 6 segments. Here is a video of the approach and landing into Geneva:

 

On my last night in London, I stayed on the 6th floor of the Jury's Inn Heathrow which over looked the approach path to the main Heathrow runway. Here are a few photos from that great vantage point:

 

Emirates A-380

Emirates A-380

 

Old and New Liveries

1.5 Hours in a 1940 J-3 Cub!

Crosswind Landings!

It had been a couple of weeks since I had flown, and Friday dawned beautiful. Having checked the forecast, I knew that in the afternoon the wind was going to pick up and be gusty. At 8:30 a.m. however, it was supposed to be about 5 kts without gusts. So I headed to KEXX. Following preflight, I taxied out to runway 24 for take off.

Immediately after lifting off, I realized that this was going to be a bumpy, crosswind day. While the METAR was reading only 5 kts, not far out of ground effect was 10 - 15 kts. I now was committed to one landing! Afterwards, I would decide if I would do anymore.

What made this more challenging was that the crosswind was variable between 80* and 100* off of my right. So the choice of runway was problematic. I would listen to the AWOS on downwind and the wind would be a slight headwind. I would listen again during final, and it would have changed to a tailwind.
I crabbed till I just about touched down and then switched to wing low. The tailwind caused me to float a little, but it was acceptable. Having a little more confidence, I decided to try another circuit.
I did a short field take off and just like last time, I began getting bumped around right out of ground effect.  The amount of wind altititude provided me with practice at flying a square pattern. It was a challenge to keep the plane lined up on final. My second landing was comparable to the first. During my training, I had not practiced many crosswind landings, so this was good experience.
Once more! My third time around the pattern was similar to the first two. Final approach felt fine and my flare was perfect. Just as my wheels touched down, a gust hit me from the right, and I could feel the plane begin to slide sideways putting a big side load on the landing gear. Right then I had a decision to make. The grass was getting nearer, and I didn't feel I had control. So I crammed the throttle in for a go around. As the wheels left the runway, I began floating over the grass between the runway and taxiway at about 10 feet. I accelerated but took out flaps a little too soon, so I mushed along at 10 ft agl for about 1000ft. Eventually, I established a positive climb and got the plane lined back up with the runway.
It is true that the training just kicked in. I made the decision very quickly not to try and salvage the landing. What I did realize is that I need to be much more careful about establishing a positive rate of climb before I take out the flaps. And when I do, I need to make sure I don't take them out all the way. I was glad to get the 3rd (or is it 4th) landing done. I called it a day.
In order to grow as a pilot, you must push yourself just a little beyond your comfort zone. Friday did that for me. I look forward to more opportunities to practice crosswind landings and get better.

Night Currency

July 2, 2012 was the last time I had done any night flying. As December dawned, I really wanted to get current and proficient to take my family up to see the Christmas lights at night from the air. Since it had been awhile, I asked my CFI Jerry to go up with me. My primary concern was to get confident with night landings. I remembered that the runway comes up very fast at night, and I wanted a little coaching.
Jerry had just finished 2.2 hours of dual night cross country, so he went to take a break while I preflighted 69R. When I finished, we climbed in and got started. I did five landings. Each got a little better than the last. I had a tendency to round out a little late. I didn't bang the nose, but the first ones were a little hard. I need to anticipate better when to round out and then be patient as the plane settles down.
I did take a few minutes to fly over Lexington and see the lights. Night flying is so beautiful, and it is a privlege to see what few people get to see at 1500 feet agl. I am looking forward to going back up with my family.
We finished the night with a practice ILS approach into Runway 6. I am beginning to do the book study for my instrument rating, so I wanted to begin to get acquainted with what will actually be required in the cockpit. It was challenging and fun. I am looking forward to my training.