Glades and Keys

What a wonderful day!  Departed KSRQ.  Briefly stopped at KPGD for fuel.  Buzzed Sanibel looking for friends vacationing on the beach.  Then to DVALL, a logical waypoint getting set up for the last leg to KMTH, with deviations to stay out of certain airspace.  All for a blackened grouper sandwich at Keys Fisheries.  Hadn't been there for a while.  Last time was an Island Packet rendezvous circa 2007/2008.

 

The Glades are interesting landscape.  Lots of area to wonder about.  How many pythons are down there.  The Keys are simply beautiful from the air.  An amazing realization, this trip took two hours.  The same trip on Charmed would take, what, maybe three days given 60 nm days.  Even on Lacey or in the Benz this trip would have taken nearly six hours.  Alexandra is a great ride!

On a technical note, the data update for June didn't go perfectly.  Navdata went in easily again, but for whatever reason the other data didn't.  The cards had to be removed and reinstalled a few times before all data came up without alerts and errors.  Having the Samsung tablet on the yoke is a comforting backup.  I wonder if I should bring paper, too?  Or a second tablet?

A new question comes up after these flight operations, how many hours between oil changes, 25 or 50?  With 25 hours since the last one, the oil looks great.  And the plane is being used enough that there is little chance of the oil getting stale.  The answer just may be 50 for now.

Garmin data logging

I haven't quite figured all this out yet, but it is cool!  The G1000 logs data.  The pictures above are departure from KISM and arrival at KSRQ.  In addition to track and altitude methinks there is other data on the card.  N569DS has it figured out:  http://cirrusreports.com/flights/N569DS/224513

Kneeboard or yoke mount for EFB . . . .

It's settled, FltPlan Go on the Samsung Galaxy Tab A 8 inch will be my EFB!  But how to hold the tablet while flying is still being studied.  I love the Fallon Aviation Myclipkneeboard for its simplicity and for keeping the avionics panel in full view, but I don't like having to look down while using it.  The RAM Claw Yoke Mount Kit with 7” X Grip is likely going to be my final choice.  I have tested it full range of control inputs while on the ground but I have not flown with it yet.  It doesn't get in the way, or block vision, and having it right there is preferred.  The one remaining issue, how do I handle the backup paper notepad until I gain complete faith in the electronic scratchpad of FltPlan Go?

Landings are not optional . . . .

Just when you think you aren't ever going to improve, you stick two!

A couple of nights after work this week, six or eight touch and gos each night, and no landing has been better than about fair, with a couple being poor.  Last night I realized I was running out of fuel and was going to need to buy it at KSRQ for $6.00 a gallon if I didn't take a quick run to one of the more reasonable airports.  So it was off to KPGD for $3.72 fuel.  The landing at KPGD was grade A.  The landing back at KSRQ was grade A, and it was a substantial crosswind since Runway 04/22 was closed and winds were 22015KT.  You can see from the crosswind chart below, landing on Runway 14, the cross wind component is almost the whole 15 knots, at 14.8 knots:

There are two ways to handle a crosswind landing.  My preference:

Aileron to keep the plane on the runway centerline.  Opposite rudder to make sure the nose, and wheels, are pointed the direction the plane is going.

It will take more practice so all landings are as good as the last two, but there is progress getting to know Alexandra and in being able to put her smoothly on runway centerline at the end of every flight.