The Most Important Meal of the Day

Date	Aircraft	Route of Flight	Time (hrs)	Total (hrs)
12 Nov 2020	N21481	SDC (Sodus, NY) - N30 (Honesdale, PA) - SDC	2.6	2110.2

ForeFlight is not just a flight planning and charting tool. It is a vector for inspiration.

Saturday evening, iPad in hand, I perused the weather forecast for Sunday. It was my hope to put more break-in hours on the Warrior the next day. Before long, I saw that Sunday's weather should allow a flight to Cherry Ridge, one of my favorite breakfast destinations. A quick check of the restaurant's website showed that they were operating according to social distancing guidelines; half capacity inside, tables outside, masks required when not seated. It was 9:30 pm, but I sent a message to Ed and he quickly responded that he was available for an 8:00 am departure.

Remember when every one of those activities would have required a telephone and someone on the other end available to speak in exactly that moment?

The flight marked my first climb above 3500 feet with the new engine. Established at a cross country altitude over the clouds while in two way communication with air traffic control made me fully realize that the journey to get Warrior 481 back in the air was mostly complete.

Though I was cruising at a higher altitude, I continued to run the engine above 75% power to continue the break-in, a process that I hope to complete soon. While cylinder head temperatures continue downward, the engine still runs hotter than normal and oil consumption remains high. We are not there yet, but making discernible progress.

Ed seated on the deck with our airplanes in the background

We chose to eat outside to maintain our social distance. As usual, breakfast at the Cherry Ridge airport restaurant was excellent and it was good to see the owners back at it, masks and all. Years ago, a flight to such a place for breakfast would have been an exciting adventure. But today, it represented a return to normal. That is exciting in its own way.

For the return flight, the vapor around us assumed a more aggressive posture.

I have missed this view.