Airplanes at Wings Field

Wings Field is a wonderful small airport located just north of Philadelphia. Today they hosted an open house, featuring a number of modern aircraft. The following video takes you to see some of them.

Nice, eh? Absolutely. I learned to fly the Cirrus SR20 at Wings. Someday, I’d like to take the controls of one of the beauties featured in that video. In the mean time, I’ll be flying along at slightly slower speeds and lower altitudes, looking out for the traffic above. And by the way, if you get the chance to head off in one of them, don’t turn it down. You’ll love it! (Off to Aruba soon, so look for more exciting and interesting video from the island.)

Published in: on January 28, 2012 at 10:14 pm  Leave a Comment  
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Flying S37 to KOQN

Today was a short flight in the Cessna 172. Repositioning the plane from the mechanic’s shop at Smoketown Airport (S37) to its base at Brandywine (KOQN). Visibility wasn’t the greatest, about 3 miles, and as the sun came up, I expected it to get better. Well, it didn’t. No worries. All went well as you’ll see here.

Another safe flight in the log book. These short hops keep things interesting, giving the opportunity to practice things like short field takeoffs. It’s always good to stay fresh on the maneuvers. Don’t forget the checklist!

Published in: on November 2, 2011 at 11:56 pm  Leave a Comment  
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Chesapeake Flying (KOQN to W29)

It was the perfect day for flying, clear skies overhead, light winds, and plenty of fuel in the old Cessna 172. Here’s an abridged video of a flight from Brandywine Airport (KOQN) to Bay Bridge (W29). Check out the fall foliage and the upper part of the Chesapeake Bay.

Made it back in a timely fashion, too, with a little bit of a tailwind. The leaves will probably be past their peak by the time I fly again. I’m happy to have seen them this year.

Published in: on November 1, 2011 at 4:45 pm  Leave a Comment  
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Pattern Flying

It looked like it would be another good day to go flying. Weather reports indicated the visibility was fair and getting better. So, I worked up a flight plan, headed to the airport, and rolled out the Cessna 172, looking forward to a day above the ground. As soon as I took off, the conditions were worse than had been reported. Sure, it might have been “good enough” for someone else, but these were below my minimums, mostly because of the mist. When you’re flying, you have to consider the worst case. Sure the visibility at cruising altitude may be legal, but what if you can’t see large portions of the ground due to mist and fog. You lose an engine and down you come, landing in what? You don’t know what. Not good. Hence, upon seeing the conditions didn’t suit the mission, I ended up flying pattern, which is always good practice. Here’s the video:

After a few laps around the patch, practicing short field takeoff and soft field landings, I headed back to the hangar. Sometimes, that’s how it goes. (By the way, those stripes you see on the video are due to an anomaly created by the spinning propeller and the shutter speed of the video camera.)

Published in: on October 25, 2011 at 12:25 pm  Leave a Comment  
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