Flying Club: Holding Pattern

Well, my name is first on the "waiting list" with the flying club I am trying to join, so I am in a holding pattern of sorts until someone leaves (which is hopefully soon). I will keep flying 95T in the mean time, unless someone has an Arrow, Mooney, or A-36 Bonanza they want to share!

I wanted to get my wife used to some more ATC communications, so she agreed to join me on a simple flight down to Monroe-Custer (KTTF). We departed Mettetal to the north, and waited to pass the downtown area before turning out of the pattern per the noise abatement procedures. Up to 2200 ft, and snag Willow Run's (KYIP) ATIS weather info... more fiddling with the radios and make the call "Willow Run tower, Cherokee 4595T is 8 miles north, would like to transition to the south, 2200 with Yankee". Tower calls back with "...95T transition approved, altimeter 30.28".

We overflew the western edge of Willow Run airport, and headed roughly southwest bound to assure our staying clear of Detroit's Class B airspace. I explained the basics of pilotage to my wife and had her confirm (on the chart in her lap) the landmarks that I was using to navigate by. The drag strip at Milan slipped under the left wing as I made the turn the southeast towards Monroe, and picked up the River Raisin (the curving line of trees that follow the banks of the river make it easy to pick out from the rest of the farm fields).

Garmin Geko track imported into Google Earth.

One full stop landing later, we were lined up on runway 03 and we departed to the north. I tuned the Carleton VOR and did a bad job of navigating directly to it (something about Detroit's Class B airspace makes me want to keep to the left). Another listen to YIP's ATIS, and a quick call to tower, we were approved for a transition to the north. Once clear of Willow Run's airspace, I tuned Mettetal's frequency on the radio. We sequenced ourselves #2 entering the pattern behind a Civil Air Patrol flight, and I was able to demonstrate both crosswind correction techniques on final for runway 36.

My wife is working her way through the book "Say Again, Please", so I think next time she will be ready for the radio work.

95T squawks this flight (attitude indicator slow to align (vacuum pump about to die?), passenger headset plugs are loose (need to be replaced), radios still mis-labeled (need a label))

Time this flight: 1.2

Landings: 312

Total Time: 97.6

"Don't bug me, I am scanning for traffic"

Passing over the west side of Willow Run on our transition to the north.

Cool as a cucumber.

NASA's "Earth Observatory" serves up some storm clouds

NASA's "Earth Observatory" is a daily visit for me, and today's image is aviation appropriate even though it is a picture taken from the International Space Station. HERE is a shot of a fully formed CB over Africa, be sure to click on the full resolution image. The only thing that might be cooler is a time lapse sequence of a monster storm as it is forming (shot from low earth orbit of course). Hello... NASA are you listening?

Desaturated. When will spring arrive?

If there is anything that is painfully obvious from these shots is that everything around here could use a little color. Faded paint on the aircraft, brown grass, grey scenery, heck even the PAPI could use a boost. Thanks to Rich for taking these shots on our last flight (I had to scale them all down, as their original resolution was huge)


Turning downwind for Runway 18


On short final, looking west


Approach looks good, that lump on the horizon in the distance is
another trash dump, which means visibility was 7 miles.



NinerFiveTango






People out on the ice at Whitmore Lake






I-275 traffic






I-275 Looking north






Scenery with a wingtip




Hopefully, spring will be here soon!