Pilot Life: Logging My 100th Flight Hour!

Today, I achieved a personal milestone; I have logged my 100th flight hour as a pilot in my logbook! I was only seven-tenths of an hour away from hitting triple digits before I flew today! And I did it on the Piper Cherokee! I've noticed that not many people are flying Platinum Aviation's Piper PA-28-140 Cherokee Cruiser; the flight school acquired it to give students an appropriate transitional platform for the Piper PA-28RT-201 Arrow IV, which serves as the primary commercial trainer. It's also cheaper to rent by the hour than a Katana. Since my successful flight flying the Cherokee with my sister yesterday, I've decided to fly the big metal clunker and give some much-needed love to the ugly duckling more often and take advantage of the fact that no one else is flying it! As always, I did my pre-flight inspections, fueled up the airplane, and got things going with the engine-start procedure, followed by run-ups.

My 100th flight hour as a pilot was logged in the Piper PA-28-140 Cherokee Cruiser (N7625F)!

After verifying run-ups resulted in zero abnormalities, I taxied a short distance to Runway 30 and got airborne. I headed south towards Payson and flew around the valley, practicing some maneuvers and keeping an eye on the timer to note exactly when I hit 100 hours! I hit my 100th hour while I circled the Payson LDS Temple, an appropriate landmark for me! Needless to say, I was grinning from ear to ear!

Flying by the Payson LDS Temple when I hit hour number 100!

After hitting that milestone, I headed back to Spanish Fork and did two touch-and-go landings, followed by a full-stop landing. On my third landing, I vacated the runway and taxied back to the parking ramp before shutting down the engine.

The Cherokee after landing on this landmark flight! Getting to log my 100th flight hour as a pilot in this plane makes this Piper Cherokee Cruiser that much more special to me!

January 17, 2018 will be a day I'll remember, since I officially hit triple digits in my logbook!