To Tuscaloosa and Back

N-71317 is finally finished with her annual.  She had been moved to her new home in Rostraver, PA (KFWQ) in a heated hanger with lights, curtesy of my friend Dennis Tolkach.  I took the opportunity to do my first annual under the guidance of an A&P who would inspect the work and sign off that it had been done to FAA specifications.

Also, in preparation for new regs and ADS-B, the Garmin 530 was upgraded to WAAS.  Sounds technical, and it is, but the upgrade is very nice to have when navigating.  The big change is that GPS approaches now have vertical guidance instead of 'drop and scoot' and and I have traffic on the GPS screen, which is very handy.  And lastly, and perhaps most importantly, I am ready for the ADS-B mandate ahead of schedule.

Mechanically, the list of minor replaced parts and fixes was long and varied and it gave me a great chance to get under the hood, dash, in the tail and fix minor annoyances that needed fixing.  I also got some great, new LED landing, taxi, and position light.  It's good to be seen.  The experience and time spent gave me new insight in to how simple and beautiful this plane really is and it gave me confidence in the condition that she's in - which is great for her age.

The first long trip after the annual was to Tuscaloosa to visit the college kids and for the 'Parent's Weekend' for Jessica's sorority.  The flight was on a beautiful day, although we were bucking a 50+ mph headwind which slowed us to 70-80kts for the majority of the trip.  We stopped in Scottsboro, AL for gas.  We probably would have made it all the way to Tuscaloosa, but while close counts in horseshoes and hand grenades, it doesn't count in airplane fuel.  This added another hour to an already long trip, but we did get in before dark.

Flight back from Tuscaloosa to Rostraver

The trip back to PA was planned for the afternoon.   We had rain storms overnight  with clearing in the morning, but the weather was moving north.  This meant moisture, clouds and colder temps, which might mean freezing rain and icing conditions.  The window to get home on Sunday was pretty wide, but it would close if we didn't get moving.  Allison and I got up early, filed a flight plan, and headed out.  Above is the radar track of the trip we made. We were in the clouds at Tuscaloosa at 1200', but popped out on top at about 3500'.  We climbed on to 9000' and had a smooth ride on top until KY, when we were back in the cloud cover for about an hour.

Huntingdon approach told us there was freezing rain at the airport, and we saw a little snow, but there was no ice forming on the wings.  The headwind that haunted us on the way down was our friend on the way home and granted us 160kt ground speed for parts of the flight.  I kept the portable GPS showing 'Nearest Airport' most of the way, occasionally checking the weather at a nearby airport in case we got into ice and needed to divert.

We arrived a little early, and put her back in the hanger.  Hopefully she will be our ride for another 5 trouble-free years.

Flying in a King Air 100

Recently, I've moved N-71317 from Steubenville, OH (2G2) to Rostraver, PA (KFWQ).  Rostraver is much closer to home.  I've friended and been befriended by Dennis Tolkach, who is owner of Hollywood Air Services t FWQ.   Houston (71317 is Houston, TX area code forward and backward) likes her new home. She's warm and it's much easier to work on her in a well-lit place.

Long story short....  Hollywood Air Services houses a King Air that belongs to a local contractor and the copilot was not going to be able to make a flight to West Palm Beach.  Pilot John Masters was in need of someone to sit the right seat. This was a private flight, so no real pilot duties required, but he needed some help closing the door and making sure the owners are comfortable. AND, it's always helpful to have someone familiar with cross-country navigation/flight to help with the COMMS and NAV radios and flight planning.

Dennis, good man that he is, suggested to Pilot John Masters that I might be able to fly with him.  All was agreed, and I put on my first tie in years, a white shirt, and nice blues and headed to the airport.

The experience was awesome.

Our route on the way down. 230 kts for 4:06

A beautiful sunset just off the east coast of FL.

The King Air sits in Ft. Meyers where it's 80 degrees. 

 The panel is familiar with a Garmin 530/430 for navigation.  It also sports radar, if necessary.  The 10 smaller dials to the left of the Garmin are for the turbine engines powering this beast.  If I fly with Captain Masters much, I will need to learn how to properly care for the turbines.

That's a 650 HP turbine on the wing there.  

After reaching altitude (21,000' or Flight Level 210) on the trip home. 

N945WS is inside the hanger keeping warm.   You can see Dennis Tolkach's Lamborghini in the background. 

The flight back home: 

I actually hand-flew until we reached cruise altitude of FL210. Again, what a hoot!

I'm not sure it will be as much fun flying N-71317 now. ;-)