Gallery Update: Quick Shots in Redding

During my fuel stop in Redding on my solo cross-country flight, I got in a few quick shots of anything that caught my eye, which wasn't much, but something DID catch my eye as I was taxiing out for departure.

Redding (RDD) 1

Preview:

English Electric/Government Aircraft Factories (GAF) Canberra Mk20 (N229CA) parked in the Civil Air Patrol facilities. An Australian license-build version of the British English Electric Canberra first-generation jet-powered medium bomber from the 1950s era. Formerly registered as A84-229 with the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). After a bit of researching, turns out this aircraft is destined for the Northern California Veteran's Museum & Heritage Center currently in the works down in Anderson, California, a stone's throw away from Redding.

Pilot Life: Two Flights in a Day

After a foggy weekend that wasn't at all in any of the forecasts kept me from doing the solo commercial cross-country flight I wanted to do, I finally got a decent day to get back in the air today. Unfortunately, the weather today didn't improve in time for me to be able to do this particular cross-country flight in time as it would've conflicted with my personal schedule. As far as my luck and fortunes in flight training is concerned, what else is new??? So I stayed local today and got two separate flights in, one during the late afternoon and one quick one at night for night currency purposes.

Fine day to spread N5174E's wings.

For the first flight during the afternoon, I flew down to Eugene and practiced some landings there; it's been a while since I flew into a towered airport. Something else specific to my commercial requirements include doing some night landings at a towered airport (while the tower is still in operation!) and I'm thinking Eugene will a be good place to practice these landings in the near future. So the purpose of this first flight for today was to re-familiarize myself with Eugene Airport. After all the pre-flight/before-takeoff business, I got airborne and made my way down to Eugene, where I did three laps in the pattern for Runway 34R before returning back to Albany; I picked up VFR Flight Following by talking with ATC at Cascade Approach during the en route phase between the two airports. After landing and following a quick stop at the fuel pumps to top off tanks, I stowed the airplane back at the hangar.

After this flight, I had some church activities that were coincidentally happening in Albany by the time I got back on the ground, so I stuck around to kill some time and saved myself from the extra trip up and down the freeway. Of course, that made for a long day! While I was at the activity, I contemplated whether or not I should do a quick night flight afterwards because my night currency lapsed just a few days ago. In the end, I decided to do this second flight since it was a nice, clear night and I was already in the area; it was also too good of an opportunity to pass up while conditions were optimal. So once again, I returned to the Albany Airport and got ready to fly!

After a quick walk-around/pre-flight/before-takeoff business, I hopped in and got airborne off Runway 34 and did three identical laps in the traffic pattern, doing a full-stop landing followed by a taxi-back for the subsequent departure, just like the last time I did my flights towards night currency at Albany. After the third full-stop landing, I was done and night-current, so I taxied back to the hangar and stowed airplane for the second time of the day. It has been a long couple days, with plans and objectives just not working out in my favor, not to mention coming off the heels of a somewhat a frustrating weekend. But at least I got something taken care of today...

Gallery Update: Sunset Spotting in Albany

After getting back from my quick cross-country flight to Roseburg and back, I had a little bit of sunlight to play with after stowing the airplane and some pilots were heading out to fly. So I decided to practice some more panning shots and take advantage of the light from the setting sun!

Albany (S12) 15

Preview:

Van's RV-10 rolling out after landing on 34.

Cessna 172 Skyhawk (N3966F) departing on 34. A 1958 original model with the square tail fin, making this a true General Aviation gem!

Pilot Life: Quick Cross Country to Roseburg

So while I wait for the day of my Instrument checkride, I'm going to start knocking out some requirements for the Commercial Rating and overlap some of my training. I have well-over 250 hours of flight time logged, so all I have are specific flights that I need to do. One thing I need to do is a 250 nautical mile cross-country from one point to another, which I'll probably do in the next day or so weather permitting. So for today's flight, I decided to do a shorter solo cross-country flight down to Roseburg and back as a personal warm-up to get back into the habits and procedures of VFR cross-country flying.

Took N5174E out for a round-robin cross-country!

Nothing's really left me and I haven't forgotten anything important regarding cross-country flying. It was uneventful going down and back. On the way down to Roseburg, I utilized ATC services and picked up VFR Flight Following. As for the return trip following the full-stop and taxi-back, I went without and kept eyes outside the cockpit at all times. It was a good day to fly and a good way to get back into that cross-country mindset. I got back to Albany safely and uneventfully before calling it a day.

Gallery Update: A Quaint Little Airpark!

I flew up to a little airfield called Stark's Twin Oaks Airpark, a privately-owned, public-use airport located just south of city limits for Hillsboro to inquire about some multi-engine flight training opportunities after receiving a lead from my flight instructor. The airport is family-owned and operated, which is quite unusual. It is definitely one of more interesting places I've flown to! I went to check out the multi-engine trainer aircraft, but there was at least one other interesting sighting I was glad to photograph!

Stark's Twin Oaks (7S3)

Preview:

Piper PA-23-180 Apache/Seguin Geronimo (N1231P) sitting in a hangar. This airplane is the sole reason why I flew up to Twin Oaks for, to take a look at as a potential multi-engine trainer somewhere down the line.

Cockpit of the Twin Oaks Airpark's Apache. The folks I met were nice enough to let me hop inside to check out the interior!

De Havilland Canada DHC-2 Mk 1 Beaver (N221RT) parked on the grass. My first time seeing and photographing what's perhaps one of the greatest bush planes ever built! And given that this one has floats just goes to show that de Havilland Canada made a truly versatile workhorse of an airplane! Catching a glimpse of this aircraft at Stark's Twin Oaks Airpark is a good example why as a plane-spotter/aviation photographer, you should look in unusual places for the hidden gems you might come across!

Pilot Life: Cross Country to Twin Oaks

We're getting some nice weather starting today and going forward for a couple days and I'm going to take advantage of it! For today's flight, I decided to follow up on a lead my flight instructor gave to me regarding multi-engine flight training by flying up to Stark's Twin Oaks Airpark, a privately-owned, public use, family-owned and operated airfield just south of Hillsboro! So once again, I saddled up the Skyhawk and made the trip in an afternoon. I made the trip a cross-country, my first one of the year and the first cross-country flight I've done in two months!

Taking N5174E up to a quaint little airpark!

After the usual pre-flight business, I got airborne off Runway 34 in Albany and headed north; due to some partial cloud coverage en route, I navigated by way of Independence and McMinnville (what I call the western route up the valley!) and maintained VFR. With ADS-B on hand and eyes outside the cockpit, I made my way up Stark's Twin Oaks Airpark. Tucked away surrounded by hills, I navigated around the terrain and got sight of the airfield. I crossed over midfield and set for the left downwind for Runway 2, which happens to slope uphill slightly! After an uneventful landing on the short and narrow runway, I taxied over to the ramp and parked the airplane... in the mud! Sorry uncle Alan!

After securing the airplane, I got out and looked around, talked to some people, and got some contact information. And of course, I got a good look at the multi-engine aircraft I'm interested in flying for training!

Piper PA-23 Apache/Seguin Geronimo (N1231P), the reason why I flew up to Twin Oaks for, to take a look at for potentially doing my multi-engine training in.

I gotta say, I was quite impressed with the atmosphere this particular airpark community had! After I was done, I got back in the Skyhawk I flew up in and got ready to return home southbound. After starting up the engine, I taxied uphill towards Runway 20 and held short to do run-ups. After run-ups, I got airborne and followed the airpark's noise abatement procedures before heading southbound. It was a routine VFR cross-country flight and before I returned to Albany, I headed down to Corvallis for my 50 nautical mile leg of the trip in (yes, it's another triangle route!).

Another uneventful leg followed by a direct downwind entry for Runway 35 into Corvallis, which ended with a touch-and-go. After getting back up in the air, I turned back to the northeast towards Albany, where I landed back on the same runway I departed from two hours earlier. After a quick stop to top off fuel tanks, I returned the plane back to the hangar and called it a successful outing with a few things to ponder and plan over for the future.

Gallery Update: Mitsubishi Solitaire Sighting in Salem!

I'm excited about this one because I finally got to photograph an aircraft type that I've always wanted to see: the Mitsubishi MU-2! I noticed on FlightAware last night that one was coming into Salem so I decided right there and then that I'll head out to see it arrive.

Salem (SLE) 17

Preview:

Mitsubishi MU-2B-40 Solitaire (N66FF) taxiing in after arriving from Denver-Centennial. I've always wanted to see one of these! The Solitaire is considered to be the ultimate model of the short-fuselage variant of the MU-2 family, featuring improved engines and increased fuel capacity; 57 Solitaires were built between 1979 and 1985. Because I'm half-Japanese and biased as such, I think the Mitsubishi MU-2 is one of the coolest twin-engine turboprops out there!

Cessna 525 CitationJet CJ1 (N77DB) parked on the ramp. Arrived earlier this morning from Salinas, California and scheduled to return there later in the afternoon.