Brantel
Well Known Member
For almost 10 years I have been promissing my wife Shantel that one day I would be taking her on "Magic Carpet Rides" to fun destinations...
She got her first one this weekend to Charleston, SC.
About an 1:35 down and about 1:45 back. The airplane and its systems were flawless. Not bad averaging about 170mph @ 8-9gph. I still have rough glass and no lower intersection fairings....hope I can squeeze out a few more MPH after paint...
I decided to use KCHS since my wife already had us a car purchased there. We used Odyssee Aviation and they treated us like Kings and Queens. They gave us a ride around to the passenger terminal, hangared our airplane and topped us off on the return day. Their hangar rate was a little steep @ $30 a night but oh well, it was a great trip!
We did however get burned at the airport taxi stand!!! We needed a ride back to the FBO from the passenger terminal after dropping the rental car and instead of calling the FBO to come pick us up, I thought we would just jump in a taxi for the 5 minute ride around the airport....$18 for a 5 minute ride was a little rough!!!!
We had perfect weather for the flight down, just a few bumps and hot once we dropped into the pattern at CHS for landing. When we parked, it was sooo hot that the canopy expanded enough that I could not get the tipup latch open. I was almost bending the pushrod and lever that actuates the torque tube. The lineman was looking at me like I was a nutcase trapped in his homemade airplane.... the temp must have got up to close to the Sun as we were both sweating like crazy in the beaming hot sun. After trying for about 5 minutes, pulling on the safety latch handle etc. I remembered that I packed a few tools and pulled out a screwdriver to use as a prybar. I stuck it between the seatback bulkhead and the latch finger and it popped right open. Whew!! The air outside felt like it was arctic! I need to grind a little more away on those latch fingers!!!
The return flight was a little more exciting since there was a bunch of towering cumbulus coming in off the ocean with bases at 1700-1900ft. We had to ride under those till almost to Columbia before they just stopped. Once able up to 10,500 and turn on the cruise control. Glass smooth all the way to KMOR and once in the pattern at KMOR, we were greeted with lots of rough air....
The wife loved the trip, we did all the things people normally do in Charleston in a short 3 day trip. I had a ball and loved streching the airplane's wings a little. I think she is sold on the idea of having an airplane, now if we can find more sitters, we can do more of this type of thing!
The airplane and systems all worked well. I activated the weather on my 510 and that is amazing!! I did not need it much for this trip but it is a huge advantage! The more I use the 510, the more I am comfortable with it. It is different from the X96 series but once you get over that, it works great. The Zaon did a great job helping me spot traffic. No close calls that I am aware of! The Dynon and EMS just worked like good EFIS/EMS combo's do. The AP made this trip such a joy that I almost felt not needed! The IFR ticket makes dealing with flight following and Class C airspace, talking to Center etc. easy but I need to get into the system more often!!!
For those still building, keep squishing rivets! It is worth it!
Here are a few FLIGHT pics. I still need to render my raw images from the real camera:
http://picasaweb.google.com/brantel9986/Charleston#
She got her first one this weekend to Charleston, SC.
About an 1:35 down and about 1:45 back. The airplane and its systems were flawless. Not bad averaging about 170mph @ 8-9gph. I still have rough glass and no lower intersection fairings....hope I can squeeze out a few more MPH after paint...
I decided to use KCHS since my wife already had us a car purchased there. We used Odyssee Aviation and they treated us like Kings and Queens. They gave us a ride around to the passenger terminal, hangared our airplane and topped us off on the return day. Their hangar rate was a little steep @ $30 a night but oh well, it was a great trip!
We did however get burned at the airport taxi stand!!! We needed a ride back to the FBO from the passenger terminal after dropping the rental car and instead of calling the FBO to come pick us up, I thought we would just jump in a taxi for the 5 minute ride around the airport....$18 for a 5 minute ride was a little rough!!!!
We had perfect weather for the flight down, just a few bumps and hot once we dropped into the pattern at CHS for landing. When we parked, it was sooo hot that the canopy expanded enough that I could not get the tipup latch open. I was almost bending the pushrod and lever that actuates the torque tube. The lineman was looking at me like I was a nutcase trapped in his homemade airplane.... the temp must have got up to close to the Sun as we were both sweating like crazy in the beaming hot sun. After trying for about 5 minutes, pulling on the safety latch handle etc. I remembered that I packed a few tools and pulled out a screwdriver to use as a prybar. I stuck it between the seatback bulkhead and the latch finger and it popped right open. Whew!! The air outside felt like it was arctic! I need to grind a little more away on those latch fingers!!!
The return flight was a little more exciting since there was a bunch of towering cumbulus coming in off the ocean with bases at 1700-1900ft. We had to ride under those till almost to Columbia before they just stopped. Once able up to 10,500 and turn on the cruise control. Glass smooth all the way to KMOR and once in the pattern at KMOR, we were greeted with lots of rough air....
The wife loved the trip, we did all the things people normally do in Charleston in a short 3 day trip. I had a ball and loved streching the airplane's wings a little. I think she is sold on the idea of having an airplane, now if we can find more sitters, we can do more of this type of thing!
The airplane and systems all worked well. I activated the weather on my 510 and that is amazing!! I did not need it much for this trip but it is a huge advantage! The more I use the 510, the more I am comfortable with it. It is different from the X96 series but once you get over that, it works great. The Zaon did a great job helping me spot traffic. No close calls that I am aware of! The Dynon and EMS just worked like good EFIS/EMS combo's do. The AP made this trip such a joy that I almost felt not needed! The IFR ticket makes dealing with flight following and Class C airspace, talking to Center etc. easy but I need to get into the system more often!!!
For those still building, keep squishing rivets! It is worth it!
Here are a few FLIGHT pics. I still need to render my raw images from the real camera:
http://picasaweb.google.com/brantel9986/Charleston#
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