Mountain View

Shakedown Flight

On July 4, Warrior 481 conveyed me, Jesse, and Jiwon to Penn Yan's annual Fourth of July Pancake Breakfast. It was their first time experiencing this proud aviator's tradition that fuses flying with flapjacks. Anticipating multiple flights in mid-July -- including a family vacation to Boston and club outings to Washington DC (via College Park, MD) and Block Island, RI -- I drained the oil upon return to the Williamson Sodus Airport.

The next day, July 5, I returned to the airport, filled fresh oil and Camguard into the engine, changed the filter, and cut open the previous filter in search of extraneous metal. With nothing significant observed in the pleats of the dismantled filter, I did a runup to check for leaks, then filled out the logs to return the Warrior to service.

It was late morning, I was hungry, the weather was perfect for flying, and I had no additional plans for the day. 

Obviously, this meant that lunch in Lake Placid was in order.

Dramatic Ceiling

Date	Aircraft	Route of Flight	Time (hrs)	Total (hrs)
05 Jul 2024	N21481	SDC (Sodus, NY) - LKP (Lake Placid, NY) - SDC	3.2	2840.0

Conditions were respectably VFR, which to my mind is essential for a trip to one of my all time favorite airports in the Adirondack Mountains. But my flight to Lake Placid also included a claustrophobic element as I flew beneath a dramatic cloud deck to get there.

Windmills near Lowville, NY.

Lake Placid with Whiteface in the background.

Return to Big Slide

Warrior 481 on the ramp of the Lake Placid Airport.

After a beautiful, smooth flight to the mountains I made a gentle enough landing to actually impress myself. Though I was a bit late for lunch, the crowd at Big Slide Brewery & Public House was so large that my only option was taking the last seat at the bar.

This caused some consternation from the bartenders when I refused all offers of beer, but they plied me with water instead. I had "The Burger" (Bake Placid potato roll, white cheddar, local bacon, lettuce, tomato, and house burger sauce) and it was cooked exactly as requested and was deliciously messy. (Messiness usually scales proportionally with flavor.) Honestly, it was the tastiest burger I had eaten in recent memory. It was also enormous and the three women sitting to my right were keenly interested to see how I would tackle it.

"Without making a mess?" I asked in clarification to enthusiastic answering nods. It must have been a slow news day. I think I acquitted myself quite well.

Strategic VFR

"Clear prop!"

I navigated my way home VFR around the clouds, peering ahead and working to avoid becoming penned in by bits of vaporous fluff. While I have an instrument rating in my back pocket and the option to request a pop-up IFR clearance, I try to avoid playing that card unless it's truly necessary. Asking for pop-up IFR clearances too frequently strikes me as evidence of poor planning.

Descending over Sodus Bay on approach to runway 10 at the Williamson Sodus Airport.

Mountains, dramatic skies, and burger perfection. Sometimes, aviation is such luxury for the senses.