Good evening to All,
I can’t believe that it is almost Christmas and I can’t believe I have not been in the air for just under 2 months. The longest no fly period since I got my license.
Ron Fairweather has been out to the hangar lot this late fall and now winter. Not only did he scrape the fairings down on XTW’s stabelator, fill and re-paint them, but he had a new to us ADF installed as well as having Sham install my old Garmin 495 in her instrument panel. Soon she will be the star of the fleet.
I still like HTD but that why some aircraft have high wings and some low wings. People are made differently and so are aircraft.
There are several items in the desk attached to our closet where the life jackets are. One appears to be some form of GPS mount. If you take a look in the desk next time you are out to the hangar you might be surprised. There are glasses, a clip board, and more.
We had our normal hard to start problems during the cold spell. One shareholder read the POH for HTD which indicated that several extra primes were required when really cold. All I can say is that I have over 800 hours on HTD alone and know that more than 3 primes will flood her to the point where it will need drying out before it will start. I went out during our coldest day and a shareholder was sitting in the snow with blue fuel running over the nose wheel. Needless to say it didn’t start. Sometimes experience is better than the POH. I wouldn’t argue with the manual but I do know how to start HTD.
There was a little water in the hangar after the snow storm. It was ice when I was out there. If you see pooled water on the floor in the hangar, please take the broom and brush as much out as you can. It will freeze the tires to the floor.
Anyone flying XTW, please report any differences in the Transponder altitude reading. You can call ATC and they will give you their reading or they will tell you that you are not reporting the altitude they assigned to you. It has generally been ok but was off one day. Perhaps a little ice, who knows. Just let me know if it is a problem.
Flying is down this year. Our November was a record even for BC. I hope that means January will be cool and clear. The greatest flying weather. There is nothing like the ice on the granite tops. Looks like some of the lower mountains are covered with jewels.
Jim Fairweather noticed that HEV requires the fuel selector switch to be on an individual tank above 5,000 feet. This is placarded but I have to admit I never noticed it. He noticed it at 8,500 feet on route to Ashcroft. One tank was going dry while the other remained full when the selector was on both. BE Aware
I have so far been very happy with Doug, our AME. If anyone has any comments about him or work he has done, please let me know. It isn’t the same as when Paul was next door and looked at our aircraft from time to time. He would notice little things and fix them on the spot. With Doug down at the back of PFC’s hangar, it isn’t easy for him to do that.
I have a share for sale that the shareholder will make a great deal with for someone starting out in flying. He is looking for a younger person who may not have the money to purchase a share otherwise. He also has a Garmin 500, a hand held radio, 2 Mustang Life Jackets, 2 new headsets and probably more. Let me know if you know of a young start up flyer or anyone else interested in the gear.
Remember that anyone over 70 requires a check ride before they reach 10 hours, but only once we renew our insurance in March. Just keep it in mind for now.
We hope 2017 will be a great flying year for all.
Penny and I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a great New Year. What is the old farts say, “May you have tight floats and tail winds”. I’m not that old.
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