The Objectives
2017 was the kind of year that makes me thankful for the exhilarating -- and often humbling -- adventure found in flight. I began this memorable year of flying with two objectives that I deferred for far too long:
- Fly to Canada
- Earn a tailwheel endorsement, preferably in a J-3 Cub
There were also the usual standing secondary objectives for 2017: visit new airports, visit new states, fly more than 100 hours, and exercise the instrument rating.
Piece of cake, right?
The Highlights
Highlights for 2017 include:
- Earning my tailwheel endorsement in a J-3 Cub with Damian at Andover Flight Academy
- Successfully negotiating international flying requirements twice to land at Billy Bishop Airport in Toronto, Ontario and Bromont / Roland Desourdy Airport in Bromont, Quebec
- Flying with Dad for the first time
- Taking The Bear on her first hot air balloon ride (thanks, Mom!)
- Flying to see the total eclipse in Copperhill, TN
- Flying in to an airshow for the first time, the New York Air Show at Stewart International (KSWF)
- Finally visiting the outstanding Beechcraft Heritage Museum in Tullahoma, TN
- Organizing (7) or participating (2) in nine trips with other Williamson Flying Club members, some involving up to seven participating aircraft (examples: here and here)
Along the way, there were some challenges (both real and tongue-in-cheek):
- One near mid-air collision
- One "exploding" water bottle during cruise flight
- An attitude indicator failure in IMC
- A confusing instrument clearance / non-clearance received from Montreal Center while in IMC en route to an uncontrolled field in Quebec
- Two severe weather deviations (Morgantown, WV and Fulton, NY)
- One phony Frank Lloyd Wright house
- My first nighttime IFR hop in rain/IMC
- Cracking the overhead ductwork of my airplane with my head in turbulence
- A carbon monoxide alert during a night flight resulting from CO detector operator error
Let's just say that the positives outweigh the negatives and leave it at that.
The Numbers
137.3: Hours of total time in 2017, my highest accumulated in a single year.
10.6: Hours flown in IMC this year (total: 35.3), my highest to date even after failure of the Warrior's attitude indicator in September brought an end to IFR flying for the remainder of 2017. This is the first year that I have flown more time in actual IMC than simulated (by a fraction of an hour - I logged 10.1 hours of simulated instrument time in 2017).
10: States/provinces visited: Michigan; New Jersey; New York; Ontario, Canada; Pennsylvania; Quebec, Canada; Rhode Island; Tennessee; Vermont; and West Virginia.
3: New states/provinces (Ontario, Quebec, and Rhode Island).
36: Total number of airports visited in 2017.
12: New airports visited for a total count of 184:
12: New airports visited for a total count of 184:
- Aeroflex-Andover Airport (12N), Andover, NJ
- Trinca Airport (13N), Andover, NJ
- Martin Campbell Field (1A3), Copperhill, TN
- South Albany Airport (4B0), South Bethlehem, NY
- Block Island State Airport (BID), Block Island, RI
- Burlington International (BTV), Burlington, VT
- Buffalo-Niagara International (BUF), Buffalo, NY
- Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport (CYTZ), Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- Bromont-Roland Desourdy Airport (CZBM), Bromont, Quebec, Canada
- Sullivan County International Airport (MSV), Monticello, NY
- Stewart International (SWF), New York, NY
- Tullahoma Regional (THA), Tullahoma, TN
3: New grass runways sampled, two in the Cub (12N and 13N), one in the Warrior (6B9).
7.0: Hours flown as PIC in a J-3 Cub!
53.5: Hours flown with The Bear in 2017 (not including the hot air balloon time). She now has a total of 400.3 hours of General Aviation flight experience since birth!
7.0: Hours flown as PIC in a J-3 Cub!
53.5: Hours flown with The Bear in 2017 (not including the hot air balloon time). She now has a total of 400.3 hours of General Aviation flight experience since birth!
17: People who flew in Warrior 481 with me in 2017. Thanks to Kristy, The Bear, Mom, Dad, Penny B, Terry B, Jamie O, Scott L, Leia L, Ed C (Jr), Ed C (Sr), Tom C, Joe E, Dave P, Matt P, Jack S, and Sandra S for joining in! Particular thanks go to Jamie O, Dave P, Matt P, Joe E, and Tom C for serving as safety pilots during practice under simulated instrument conditions.
The Photographs
These are my favorite photographs from 2017.
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| Warrior N21481 parked on the ramp at Lake Placid, KLP ("Mountain Fellowship") |
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| Letchworth State Park, Middle Falls, photographed from a hot air balloon ("The Flying Bear Flies Lighter Than Air") |
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| Aeroflex-Andover Airport (12N) in New Jersey where I did my tailwheel training ("Dragging Tail") |
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| Morning clouds reflected in clear ice on Sodus Bay. ("Seven Degrees") |
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| Wind turbine in Ontario, Canada ("Spoiled") |
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| Bear is my copilot ("Over the River(s) and Through the Sky To Grandmother's House We Go") |
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| Owasco Lake ("Ode to the Hundred Dollar Hamburger") |
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| Warrior N21481 parked in Bromont, Quebec and photographed from inside Le Bisto M ("Le Vol Vers Le Quebec: Language Barrier") |
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| 1946 Piper J-3 Cub in which I received my tailwheel training at Andover Flight Academy ("Dragging Tail") |
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| Interchange of I-81 and NY-12 near Alexandria Bay, NY ("From Whence Came the Dressing") |
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| Morning at the Williamson-Sodus Airport ("Partial Panel") |
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| Selfie captured in the spinner of a Beech Model 17 Staggerwing at the Beechcraft Heritage Museum ("A New York Piper in Beechcraft's Tennessee Court") |
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| Ice on Sodus Bay near Sodus, NY ("Grayscale") |
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| A portion of the former Charlestown Naval Auxiliary Air Station on the Rhode Island coast ("Expedition To the Outer Lands") |
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| View of Middle Falls at Letchworth State Park from a hot air balloon ("The Flying Bear Flies Lighter Than Air") |
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| First flight with Dad ("A New York Piper in Beechcraft's Tennessee Court") |
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| Low clouds over autumn fields north of Cayuga Lake ("Grass Fix") |
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| Binghamton, NY ("The Blues") |
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Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport (DTW) viewed through a hole in the ceiling
("Frontal Passage")
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| Sunbeams scattered every which way over New York's southern tier ("The Blues") |
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| Wall of clouds over Lake Erie ("Frontal Passage") |
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| 1946 Piper J-3 Cub at Aeroflex-Andover Airport (12N) ("Dragging Tail") |
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| High definition undercast ("Expedition to the Outer Lands") |
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| Boldt Castle on one of the Thousand Islands near Alexandria Bay, NY ("From Whence Came the Dressing") |
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| Mike Wiskus performs in his Pitts at the New York Air Show ("The Blues") |
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| Sodus Pierhead Lighthouse, Sodus, NY ("Down by the Bay") |
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| The Catskill Mountains in autumn ("Expedition To the Outer Lands") |
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| Downtown Rochester, NY ("Constellations") |
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| Wind turbines in fog, Ontario, Canada ("Spoiled") |
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| Between layers near Buffalo, NY ("Frontal Passage") |
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| The first example ever built of one of my all-time favorite aircraft, the Beech Model 17 Staggerwing ("A New York Piper in Beechcraft's Tennessee Court") |
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| Clouds over western Connecticut ("Expedition To the Outer Lands") |
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| The Toronto waterfront, photographed on approach to Billy Bishop Airport by Kristy ("Billy Bishop's Alternative Universe: Part 1") |
CONGRATS! Some amazing shots from this year, thanks for sharing. I'd say you had a pretty darn good year based on total time but the real feather in your cap is the IMC time. A new rating and grass strips too....you're rockin' it my friend.
ReplyDeleteThanks Gary! This means a lot coming from you. As I assembled this review, part of me couldn't believe I'd done all of these things in one year. And, yes, I'm really proud of the IMC time. That was something that completely snuck up on me. Most of the other highlights were planned, but all that IMC time was not. Thanks for commenting, Gary!
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