Pop goes flyin'

This was a mission I've been waiting to accomplish for a LONG time.

I caught a nice tail wind en route to Weschester County, NY from Leesburg, VA.  (137 knots in a C172 is FAST)  This was the first time I've flown a Cessna to the New York area.  Weschester county airport is just north of the New York Class B airspace.

Is that The Freedom Tower off to the distance?  I'll have to fly the Hudson River route next time to get a closer look.

 By the way, navigating with the IPAD is GREAT!!!

The pictures don't do the screen justice.  Even in direct sunlight it is easy to see the navigation page.  No, my plane is not an airliner, I haven't figured a way to change the plane icon to a "chicken hawk" yet!

Just before landing at KHPN to see pop.


I parked at Panorama Flight Service, GREAT FBO!

 Scooping up Dad for a flight!

After hitting the air, we got a nice view of the Hudson River.  We climbed to a good altitude and I took a break flying the airplane!

Aside from a death-grip on the yoke;)  He did a great job!

Extremely focused. 

After landing, my dad said he was extremely proud of me.  I myself felt a great sense of pride in taking pop flying for the first time.  Mission Accomplished!

Flight from Leesburg to Reading, PA

On Wednesday there was a stationary warm front that was hanging from the ohio valley all the way to the east coast.  The weather called for IFR so I filed and hopped in the Cessna along with my good friend Daniel Miller.

I flew the leg going to Reading, PA (KRDG).  It was a smooth ride with plenty of clouds to look at.  I'm getting a real kick out of instrument flying.

The cielings at Reading were pretty low, at about 1000 feet above ground level.  So I flew the ILS for runway 13 and landed.

Malibooz Bar & Grill had GREAT food!  If you ever find yourself at this airport you owe it to your   self and your passengers to check it out! 

After eating, Daniel and I taxied to the other side of the airport to check out the Mid Atlantic Air Museum.  First stop:  the bone yard.

More than just luxury cars!

 The airplanes inside the museum hangar were in much better shape:

Nice!

Wanna go for a ride?

 This airplane really caught my eye:

It's called the "Channel Wing."  It was supposed to have an extremely short take off performance to compete with helicopters.  But like many unique designs it did not catch on.

The flight back was pretty....but bumpy.  West of the warm front were hot temps, up to 30 degrees higher than the 50 degrees at Reading.  This caused towering cumulus clouds with updrafts and turbulence.  It's amazing how mother nature affects everything around you, and I find myself becoming more of a weather geek every time I fly.


Take care and fly safely!