Sunday, July 29, 2012

First Leg over Water



Started looking at my planned rout to St. Croix for my Final Fix Project (see previous posts).  I have laid in a course that includes the first stop in the Turks-Caicos Islands.  The Providensiales island has the only airport with fuel for the Cherokee Six (100 low lead AvGas for those of you who do not fly).  This type of fuel is getting very expensive and may be on its way out in the not so distant future.  There is a search for some replacement fuel for the aging General Aviation fleet… so far none is in production to any great amount (AOPA is working on it).  I am sure that something will come around but until then we have to make due with the good old petrol.  There are also engines in the works that run on diesel fuel which is what the jets run on so there is no real shortage of that type of fuel (and its less expensive).  These conversions can be very expensive so I don't see that in the near future for the Six.  

    Any way, back to the first leg over water… the distance is 509 nm to the MBPV airport and it will stretch my limits on the Six.  I can carrie 84 gallons of fuel when the tanks are full.  There are 4 tanks on the Six so I have to be aware of each tank as I don't like to run the tanks dry… the passengers don't like it when the engine hick-ups when the tank runs dry.  I burn about 12 gallons per hour when I am "leaned" out and the Six will do approximately 119 knots at these settings.  So with 80 gallons and 12 gph, you get approximately 6 hours of flying and keeping 30 minutes of reserve.  

    The first leg is about 509 nm and if there is no head wind, you could fly it in 4 hours and 18 minutes.  The problem is that there is a high pressure weather system that likes to hang off the eastern part of the Bahama Islands and that create a head wind while flying south.  This could greatly increase my time on this first leg.  We will have to check the weather and the winds aloft closely to make sure we can make this first leg safely as a head wind could push us back an hour or more and that could push us close to our legal limit!  A 20 knot head wind will put us at 5 hours and 8 minutes.  Luckily there are other islands around but if I can make it to here, I don't have to clear customs twice and pay all the departure fees required in the Bahamas.  I will need to save my dollars as I am sure the fuel will be high priced.  I know that I will need to contact the FBO in the Turks-Caicos Island Airport but that will be long distance and I will need to look up the code for that Island.  Oh well, thats for another day.  Too much math for today!  Back to the coffee.  Bye for now, Robin.

Thursday, July 19, 2012

Fly-In and Pups


The Final Fix Project is still on track.  We are continuing to make plans for October.  I am still continuing on my quest for an IFR rating.  This is making me a better pilot and consequently safer!  For those of you that have been through the rating you know how much effort it is to push through.  Also for those of you who are not professional pilots (and IFR rated) and have to make a living doing other things, you know how much effort has to be applied to push this through.  I sometimes wish that I could just concentrate on just flying for a couple of months.  That would allow me to get some of the ratings that are on my bucket list.  Well that's what a bucket list is for… life would be less interesting if everything came easy ( I wouldn't know about such things, in other words, my life is interesting enough!).



Went out to the airport to visit the fly-in and exhibits.  The local War-Birds Museum was there with several of their planes.  The CAF was there also.  Helicopter and airplane rides were being offered.  Lots of food and fun including a Corn Hole tournament.  These gatherings are a great place to meet aviation enthusiasts.  I love seeing all the wide eyed children looking at the shinny planes.  Also some of the bigger children were putting on a show with  RC planes.  What fun!


The two pups and their mom (that we did emergency C-section on) came by the Hospital the other day.  They seem to be doing great.  We were able to remove the surgical staples from her incision as it has healed up (see post on 6-17-12 for rest of the story).  Even though these pups are looking great and hopefully we will find good homes for them, there are lots of pups that are not so lucky.  This is a reminder of why we are going to St. Croix… to hopefully make a difference.  

Ok, finished up my cup of coffee and its time to get to work.  Thanks to all that are supporting this project.  Bye for now, Robin.

Thursday, July 5, 2012

IFR GPS update


Continuing my pursuit of an IFR (instrument flight rules) rating, see previous postings to catch up on this pursuit.  This training will increase the safety factor for my mission to St. Croix and the Final Fixit project.  It will also lay the ground work for future missions.  
Cards for GPS and MFD

In order to continue my IFR instruction in the Six, I need to keep her GPS up-to-date.  That requires me to keep the data cards up dated with Charts and Approaches. This is so critical when you are flying IFR as you have to depend on your instruments to get you from point A to point B safely.  I have a GX 60 Apollo unit.  It is older (as avionics go) but still rock solid.  It is very expensive to upgrade so I will continue to use it as long as its reliable. It is however getting so the only place you can get regular updates for this GPS is through Jeppesen online.  In order to take advantage of this service, I have to acquire a 3 in1 adaptor that will fit into a PC computer.  I looked on line and eventually contacted Jeppesen.com online support.  After a lengthy "chat" with Jake, I was able to acquire the adaptor and update service for my GPS and MX20 mfd, for Eastern North America.  The adaptor was $100, the GPS service every 56 days for a year was $410, and the one time update for my MFD was $70 (I figured it need to be updated as the last update for the MX20 was in 2003).   They will have to send me the adaptor before I can get the updates… it's a holiday week so I will have to be patient, meanwhile, Happy Fourth of July!

    As always, thanks for your support and we will continue this adventure together!  Bye for now, Robin.