Pilot Life: Local Solo Flight in the Cherokee

I did a local flight out of Salem today, and this time, I got to do it in the Valley Flyers club's Piper Cherokee; after making some inquiries with some of the higher-ups, I was given approval with a club checkout by them without having to do another checkout flight (which is the usual procedure) given that I already have over 40 hours logged in the type and I demonstrated competence during my initial club checkout in one of the Skyhawks, a privilege I certainly don't take lightly! The purpose of today's flight was to go out and practice some basic attitude instrument flying (standard rate/timed turns), staying at altitude, and working on my instrument scan, all things that I've been struggling on in my recent flights with my instructor. Plus, I haven't been done a solo flight in a Piper Cherokee since my days in Utah, so I figured I could use the flight club's plane to help me practice and "rehearse" so to speak in preparation for getting back into the Albany-based Cherokee.

Valley Flyers Piper PA-28-140 Cherokee Cruiser (N1636H), the third Cherokee airframe to add my logbook. This Cherokee is the flight club's only non-Cessna aircraft in their fleet.

After taking a second to figure out which hangar the Cherokee was housed in, I went straight to work and got the pre-flight done before pulling the plane out of the hangar. I hopped in, got the engine started, got my taxi clearance after getting the ATIS information, and taxied the Cherokee out to the run-up pad. After a successful run-up on the engine, I got my takeoff clearance from the tower and got airborne with and departed to the south on the left downwind. I leveled off at 2,500 feet and headed to an area just east of Albany to practice the maneuvers I wanted to do. I mainly practiced timed turns, compass turns, as well as standard rate turns all while maintaining altitude; I also took the time to get a feel for this particular Cherokee.

Satisfied, I proceeded towards Albany Airport to practice some landings. Approaching from the east, I crossed over at midfield and made a direct pattern entry, left-traffic for Runway 34. From there it was like any other day of flying, as I executed two smooth touch-and-go landings, followed by a full-stop on the third landing I did. I rolled off at the end of the runway and taxied back to Runway 34, where I made a straight-out departure northwards back to Salem. After getting the ATIS information, I called up tower and requested a straight-in approach for Runway 34 there. Once again, winds were variable and they offered me Runway 31 when I was about four miles out; I accepted my new landing clearance for Runway 31 and made an uneventful landing.

I taxied off and got my ground clearance to go to the fuel pumps, where I topped off the tanks to tabs. After I got done refueling, I put the plane back in the hangar. Hopefully this flight will help me overcome the struggles I've been having recently. It was also nice to fly solo in a Cherokee for the first time in a year!

Gallery Update: Spotting on the go in Salem

I went out for a local flight this afternoon and brought my camera with me. I got a few photos worth noting both before and after my flight as I was transitioning around the ramp.

Salem (SLE) 25

Preview:

Piper PA-28-140 Cherokee Cruiser (N1636H), the plane I took up for a local flight today.

Cessna 750 Citation X (N808GG) parked on the ramp. This jet arrived into Salem just as I was about to depart and ended up parking right next to it when I returned and got fuel for myself. Hard to believe that one of the fastest jets available in the broad civilian market today is no longer in production as of last year.

Cessna 551 Citation II/SP (N551GE) parked on the ramp. The Citation II/SP is certified for single-pilot operations.

Cessna 560 Citation Ultra (N554TS) taxiing for departure.

N554TS departing on 34.

Cirrus SF50 Vision (N843MF) parked on the ramp. Arrived from Las Vegas two days ago. I photographed two SF50s last year, but this is my first time getting a really good look at one.

Gallery Update: Unusual and Cool Sights at Independence!

My dad, sister, and I drove over to Independence to grab some lunch at the Starduster Cafe. After we ate, I did a quick walk-around on the ramp, to photograph a few unusual and rather cool sightings I noticed at the airport.

Independence (7S5) 5

Preview:

Urban Air UFM-13 Lambada (N675MB) parked on the ramp just about to taxi for departure. The UFM-13 is a Czech shoulder-wing, two-seat motor glider was designed to comply with the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale microlight rules and US light-sport aircraft rules. The design is made of composite materials (the ideal choice for gliders) and can come as either as a fixed tricycle or conventional landing gear. Aside from its use as a motor glider, the Lambada has also been successfully employed as a glider tug; now that's versatility in the gliding world! Talk about another unusual aircraft to add to my portfolio!

North American NA-145 Navion (NC8683H) parked on the ramp. I'm thrilled to see an early model Navion that was actually built by North American Aviation (as indicated by the logo on the tail!), the same legendary company that built the famed P-51 Mustang! This particular model was manufactured in 1947

Face-to-face with the Navion. Although the Navion was built intended for a postwar boom in civilian aviation that ultimately did not materialize to the extent that aircraft manufacturers originally envisioned, this plane still deserves recognition as one North American Aviation's crown jewels in the civil aircraft category!

N675MB airborne off 34. Originally designed and produced by Urban Air until going defunct in 2010, the Lambada is  now built by Distar Air, which was formed to continue the production of the former's designs. For some reason, these Czech aircraft designs always fascinate me!

Pilot Life: A Full Cessna 172 with Amy, Hannah, and Ammon!

A good day to go flying (kind of!) and another first me today, and that being I took full house in a Cessna 172 by taking three of my friends flying! Today's flight consisted of me taking Amy, Hannah, and Ammon, people I play recreational sports with on a weekly basis out to the coast (albeit, briefly) for a scenic flight.

Flying with all seats filled in N5174E, a first for me!

After picking up my friends at the agreed upon place we'd meet, I took them over to the hangar, where I did the pre-flight. After that, I pulled the plane out and got everyone on board and did a passenger briefing before starting up the engine. I picked up the current ATIS information before calling up Salem Ground and requested taxi clearance, which I promptly got. I taxied us over to the run-up by Runway 34 and did my before-takeoff checks; everything looked good, so I called up tower and told them we were ready to go. Cleared for takeoff on Runway 34 with a left-crosswind departure to the west, I got us airborne and pointed the nose towards Newport. The plan was to fly the Oregon coast, but the weather there would say otherwise. On the way, Amy took a selfie!

Obligatory selfie while airborne with good friends Amy Chirinos, Hannah Taylor, and Ammon Teubner!
(Photo credit: Amy Chirinos)

I invited Amy to take the controls and try her hand at flying the airplane under my supervision. As we traversed the mountains separating the valley from the coast, it became apparent that there was some cloud coverage all along the shoreline; a quick listen to the Newport AWOS confirmed what seemed to be not-so-ideal conditions to fly the coast northward; I ended up making the decision to scrub the second intended leg of the flight and proceed back to Salem after doing a landing in Newport. We made an uneventful landing on Runway 34 there after overflying the city and making a standard pattern entry. I also made the landing a full-stop and taxied to the ramp so my passengers could switch seats.

After my passengers rotated seats, I taxied us out for departure. After doing a quick run-up, I got us airborne off Runway 34 and proceeded back to the northeast towards Salem. Once again, we traversed over the terrain while staying out of the clouds that lingered over the coastal area. Eventually, we got back into the Willamette Valley and clear skies, a rather stark contrast! From there, I invited Ammon, who was now in the co-pilot seat to take the controls and try flying the airplane, again under my supervision. I also tuned in to the Salem ATIS to get the weather there. We kept going southeast until we were around Millersburg before contacting Salem Tower, where I requested a straight-in approach for Runway 34.

About four miles out, Tower came back on and asked if I'd be interested in side-stepping over to Runway 31. I accepted the new clearance and got quickly established on a three mile final for Runway 31. After making an uneventful landing, I requested taxi over to the fuel pumps, where I topped off the tanks as part of my general housekeeping and courtesy to the Valley Flyers flight club. Amy and Hannah walked back to the hangar while Ammon and I hopped back in the plane and taxied over there, where we wasted no time in towing the plane into the hangar after engine shut-down because another one of the flying club's Cessna 172s was about to start their engine!

Namely, THIS Cessna 172, N515ED!

After we got our Cessna 172 back in the hangar, my passengers and I cleaned the plane, namely on the front windscreen and the leading edges of the wings and struts as they accumulated a nice (not to mention, disgusting!) bug collection! After we were done, Ammon got another selfie of us with the airplane!

After getting back to Salem! Making memories like this have been the highlight of my so far insignificant flying career thus far.
(Photo credit: Ammon Teubner)

After clearing out all my equipment from the plane, we closed up the hangar and headed out. I dropped off Amy, Hannah, and Ammon where I met up with them before going our separate ways. Even though today's flight didn't go according to plan, we still had a good time enjoying each others' company and it was a positive note for me to end the week on. Thanks for flying with me guys!

Gallery Update: Monmouth 4th of July Fly Overs

Happy Independence Day! It's been a while since I got some off-airport aviation photography done, but given that's it's the 4th of July, some fly-over passes are bound to happen! In today's case, I was spending the day just east of Independence and Salem in the quaint town of Monmouth, Oregon with some wonderful friends and associates as part of my young single adult church group; we got together for breakfast before attending the city's annual Independence Day parade held on Monmouth's Main Street. And of course, prior to the parade, we got a fly-by pass courtesy of two F-15 Eagles from the Oregon Air National Guard's 142nd Fighter Wing, 123rd Fighter Squadron, the Redhawks out of Portland!

Also, during the parade, some local pilots most likely from the nearby Independence States Airport  flew two overhead (albeit, slow!) passes!

Off-Airport - 07/04/2019

Preview:

The glorious sound of freedom approaches! Thank you Redhawks!

Two F-15 Eagles from the 142nd Fighter Wing, 123rd Fighter Squadron, the Redhawks buzzing the town to kick off the 4th of July celebrations in Monmouth! Go Redhawks!!!

Four more planes taking part in the celebration with some loose-formation flying!

Luscombe 8E Silvaire Deluxe (NC1803B). With a large N-number, I was quite pleased to have been able to identify at least one of the vintage GA planes in the formation!

Second pass by the loose formation.