Stony Point

Date	Aircraft	Route of Flight	Time (hrs)	Total (hrs)
30 Apr 2016	N21481	SDC (Sodus, NY) - Lake Ontario shoreline - SDC	1.3	1535.1

The cylinder break-in process continues.

Unable to fly to a destination owing to time limitations and responsibilities at home, I was still able to slip the surly bonds for a little over an hour.

The sky was wide open, blue, and gorgeous. I turned eastbound and followed the lake shore. When I reached the eastern end of the lake, I rounded the corner at the unlikely-named Mexico Bay (everyone knows that Mexico is a town in New York, right?) and continued north. Though the air possessed a biting chill, bright sunlight warmed the cockpit of my flying greenhouse. The engine hummed strongly, evenly. It was a perfect Sunday drive, even if it was on a Saturday morning.

I like this end of Lake Ontario; sandy beaches, islands, and interesting topography. The eastern shore of Ontario is as close as this Great Lake comes to being as cool as Michigan's west coast.

Southwest of Watertown, I noticed that my available time was half over and that it was time to turn around. I changed course over Stony Point (shown by the arrow on the sectional) to head south and west back toward Sodus.

Wait...was that a lighthouse down there on the point?

I circled around. Yes, it was the Stony Point Lighthouse in Henderson, NY, a nice discovery for the morning. The rocky shore reminded me of Maine; Stony Point was aptly named.

I marveled, as I often do, at the variety of color presented at the surface of the Great Lake, nuanced by depth and sunken topography. Underwater scratches near shore suggested the work of numerous boat keels against the lake bottom.

Returning home, this time over the water within gliding distance of shore, I passed the "Lakeview Wildlife Management Area", perhaps the least sexy name ever given to an interesting looking wetland.

The Warrior performed well on her new cylinder. Though cylinder head temperatures were consistent with those recorded on the first flight after maintenance, it was still early to expect a change. While I wished that the old number three cylinder had not failed, I had to confess that the compulsion to break-in the new cylinder made for an excellent excuse to fly.