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.
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| 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.
