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!
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.)
The weather was just about perfect for flying yesterday, clear skies, light winds, and an airplane available. I mounted a small video camera on the right seat, for a view of the flight. The following video takes a look to the side and slightly forward from a Cessna 172 during take-off, a short cruise, and landing. Take a look:
More flying videos are on the way, weather and funds permitting. Next time I’ll position the camera straight ahead. Hopefully, it will be another smooth day or else the footage gets jostled about a bit too much. Either way, can’t get enough of this kind of footage. The little GoPro camera is not the most sophisticated, but it does the job. I wish I had three of them.
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