Photographic Logbook: Reflection 2020: Resurrection

A Not-So-Roaring Start To the Twenties

Between COVID-19 and Warrior 481's engine failure, overhaul, and subsequent high CHT troubleshooting saga, 2020 did not unfold at all as expected. In spite of all that, there were still fun things to do and beautiful sights to behold. The goal of this post is to celebrate them while still recognizing the less glorious things that occurred. One way or another, aviation is always an adventure.

2020 In Photographs

Approaching the Adirondack High Peaks from the South
("Sublime")

Among the High Peaks of the Adirondacks
("Sublime")

Snow blowing off of Mount Marcy in the Adirondacks
("Sublime")

Landing at Perry-Warsaw Airport with Tom and Alicia C in 85X
("A Socially Distanced Fly-Out")

Warrior 481 during her resurrection at the Dansville Municipal Airport
("How Warrior 481 Got Her Groove Back")

Lakewood Wildlife Management Area on the east end of Lake Ontario
("The North Country")

Channel into North Sandy Pond on the eastern shore of Lake Ontario
("The North Country")

Boldt Castle
("The North Country")

The aptly-named Stony Point
("Lake Ontario through the Camera Eye")

West Pierhead Lighthouse, Oswego, NY
("Lake Ontario through the Camera Eye")

Wells, Maine on the Atlantic seaboard
("A Hot Day to Visit SATAN")

Sunset over Lake Ontario
("At Rotation's End")

Warrior 481 returned to Dansville without getting stuck there
("The Best Kind of Screaming")

This sunset was literally the talk of the town, but we had the best view of it aloft
("The Best Kind of Screaming")

Nine Mile Point Nuclear Station near Oswego, NY
("Big Slide")

Descent for the Lake Placid Airport, Lake Placid, NY
("Big Slide")

Acadia National Park / Mount Desert Island, Maine
("Vacation, 2020 Style: Part 5, Acadia Aerial")

Caught between ceiling and terrain over the southern Adirondacks
("Vacation, 2020 Style: Part 6, Hot Headed")

Owasco and Skaneateles Lakes
("My Date with Connie")

Wing view over eastern Pennsylvania
("My Date with Connie")

Valley mist in southern NY
("The Bear Is Beguiled by the Big Apple Bravo")

Statue of Liberty, New York, NY
("The Bear Is Beguiled by the Big Apple Bravo")

Lower Manhattan is dominated by One World Trade Center
("The Bear Is Beguiled by the Big Apple Bravo")

The Empire State Building (center) no longer dominates Midtown Manhattan as it once did
("The Bear Is Beguiled by the Big Apple Bravo")

Ready to embark on a new adventure!
("Nautical Spelunking...by Air")

Launching over an autumnal landscape en route to Martha's Vineyard
("The Vineyard: Coastal Beacons, Colorful Cliffs, and Gingerbread (Part 1)")

Sodus Pier viewed from Jamie's Searey
("The Sea King")

Final approach, runway 35, Sky Acres Airport
("Another Priceless Morning: A Visit to Sky Acres")

Formations on an icy lake surface
("Winter Vignettes")

The Numbers

132.4: Hours flown in 2020 for a total of 2202.5; not bad considering that I was without wings for 1/3 of the year.

32: The number of airports visited in 2020 across seven states (ME, MI, MA, NJ, NY, PA, and VT). Owing to COVID-19, I mostly stayed in the northeast. There were no new states or provinces visited.

13: The number of new airports visited in 2020 for a cumulative total of 214:

10: The number of people who flew with me in Warrior 481 in 2020, much lower than typical. I have a lot solo time this year because of engine break-in flights and challenges from the pandemic. Thanks to Dan P (to Kalamazoo), Dan P (a different one, to Dansville), Derek S (to Dansville), Dave P (safety pilot), Tom C (safety pilot), Lee S (NYC flight), Ziad S (picnic in Piseco, NY), Jamie O (to Lake Placid), and of course, Kristy and The Bear for joining me on some adventures in 2020.

6: The number of people who took me flying during my time without an airplane. Thanks to Denny A (Piper Comanche), Paula S (Piper Cheorkee 180), Tom C (Piper Archer I), Ed C (Piper Archer II), Brad R (Cirrus SR20), and Jamie O (Searey) for helping me to scratch the aviation itch. This is the most time I’ve spent in other people’s airplanes since I bought the Warrior in 2004.

The Highlights and Lowlights

Monthly flight activity from My Flightbook collected since I began flying in 2000

Lowlights:

Disintegration of a defective magneto on March 7 that necessitated a new engine for Warrior 481. She sat out in the elements at Dansville Municipal for four months while I fretted over storm damage and theft. In the end, the birds were the worst part of it all.
Four months, my longest lapse since I began flying regularly. Until 2020, my only other significant gap in flying was December 2005 (see plot of monthly hours, above) when the airplane was in Le Roy, NY while I still lived in Kalamazoo, MI.
High cylinder head temperatures after engine break-in that resulted in an emergency landing at Wiscasset, ME during our family vacation and led to months of troubleshooting before resolution in November.
First time needing to visit the ER during a flying trip. Let's hope it's the last.
I learned that hurrying around on an icy ramp can result in nasty injury. At least my wrist wasn't actually broken.
COVID-19. For all of the obvious reasons.

Highlights:

29 flight hours in July 2020, the most I have ever accumulated in a single month. To quote Mark B, "You have a 2000 hour TBO (time between overhauls) on that new engine, try not to use it all up at once."
A new T-hangar at KSDC, brighter and hopefully drier with a great view of the runway.
I got to experience a variety of different aircraft thanks to the generosity of my friends.
Visits with aviation blogger friends Gary (Gary's Flight Journal), Jeff (The Frey Family), and Steve (A Mile of Runway). Considering that they all know each other, it is a shame that we could not meet up simultaneously. I blame COVID.
I was able to explore the cockpits of several historically meaningful aircraft like the SR-71B Blackbird at the Air Zoo, the Lockheed Constellation at Greenwood Lake, and D-Day veteran C-47 Whiskey 7 and the "The Movie" Memphis Belle B-17, both at the National Warplane Museum. It was really wonderful to touch history in such a tangible way.
Excellent flying adventures, all things considered:

February 15, 2020: A beautiful winter day in the Adirondacks under a rare blue winter sky
February 23, 2020: A day trip to Kalamazoo to finally see the cockpit of the SR-71
June 13, 2020: A terrific socially distanced picnic fly-out with the WFC
August 15, 2020: Taking my family to Bar Harbor, Maine and capturing some beautiful images of Mount Desert Island
August 30, 2020: Exploring the Lockheed Constellation in Greenwood Lake, NJ
September 5, 2020: An aerial tour of Manhattan with The Bear and the WFC
September 19, 2020: Exploring Penn's Cave by boat with The Bear and the WFC
October 9, 2020: A solo exploration of Martha's Vineyard
November 21, 2020: I got to climb through several of the cool airplanes in the National Warplane Museum's hangar

Alone or with friends, I enjoyed some excellent $100 hamburger destinations for the first time:

Big Slide Brewery & Public House adjacent to the Lake Placid Airport (LKP)
Pilot’s Cove Café at Sanford Seacoast Regional (SFM)
The Plane View at Martha's Vineyard Airport (MVY)
Smoke Shack BBQ & Burgers at the Greenwood Lake Airport (4N1)
Hangars Café at Sky Acres (N44)
Café Volo at the Francis S Gabreski Airport (FOK)

Looking Ahead

Aspirations for 2021 include:

Warrior upgrades to enhance safety and capability (already in the works)
Adding some new states and/or provinces to the map (when I can actually go to them)
Re-invigorating the Williamson Flying Club's Activities Committee after a rough 2020
Gaining more IMC time: my 2020 total is 0.2 hours, which is pretty weak (on the bright side, I logged 18 approaches in 6.6 hours of simulated IMC since July).

Of course, we'll have to see whether these goals are even reasonable or not. It's a dynamic world out there. Best wishes to everyone for a happy holiday and a much, much, much better 2021!

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Thursday, December 24, 2020

Reflection 2020: Resurrection

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