When visiting my local avionics shop the other day, I met Sasha, the shop cat. During the winter months, it seems she prefers the office. Take a look.
She’s settled into her perch there, probably atop the accounts receivable. It’s good to know there’s a cat around to calm the nerves and keep any potential trespassing vermin under control. Special thanks to the good people at Penn Avionics for doing a great job with the instruments in the airplane I fly, and for having such a pleasant cat.
Today was the day to test out the new little digital camera. It’s been about 4 years since I bought a new camera. Plenty has changed and improved. This time I decided to go with the Sony DSC-TX9. This is a fine device. Uploading photos to my Mac is a little different than before. But it works. So, I went out to my friendly neighborhood airport to test the panorama function. You simply press the shutter button and turn to the right. The camera automatically takes the photos and assembles them into a finished piece. Take a look by clicking on the photo to open it in a separate window which will give you the entire sweep.
This was a challenging test because of the low angle of the sun, the different light levels, and the subject matter. You see a little bit of lens flare on the right of the frame. This is not the camera’s fault. In fact, it dealt with it very well, exposing for the bright sun and somehow still capturing the details in that last plane. In a word: impressive. I would recommend this camera for all your general photo needs. It’s barely the size of a deck of cards. With a single SD card you can shoot about 500 photos. The battery is easy to slip in and out for recharge. Not bad for one low price. Enjoy the sights.
The V-22 Osprey is an impressive hybrid machine. It’s part helicopter, part airplane. I had the good fortune to see one come in for a landing at my local airport as photographed here.
It truly is an amazing machine. Surprisingly, it’s not as noisy as a helicopter, but the downdraft is wicked. The pilot brought it in along the runway then set down in the field beyond the trees seen above. It must take a steady hand on the controls because the craft is floating in the air and susceptible to any breeze or disturbance. That’s why pilot training, and continued training, is critical. I only wish the same was done for people who drive cars. More and better training would lower the number of collisions and generally improve road safety.
Flying in the trusty Cessna 172 as I frequently do, I pass by Pottstown-Limerick Airport (now Heritage, or for pilots out there KPTW). Anyway, this airport is one of my regular checkpoints on my way cruising to another locale. It’s easy to find because of the huge cooling towers at the nearby power plant. Here’s a shot of the field.
The runway itself is in good condition with ample width for those challenged by the centerline. You have to be mindful of the medevac helicopter that comes and goes. He’s known to depart in a hurry, and rightly so. Always do you checklist.
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