Decathlon input

I am in no way implying that he go ferry that plane alone.

I am implying he bring it home. If he can find an instructor to go with him so he can fly it, great.... But at a minimum grabbing a friend that is insurable and ride in the back, so the plane can get home.
 
morning. I'm tracking every thing you're throwing down. your input serves as a reminder that I'm doing it right and not getting ahead of myself. plane is headed back into the shop this morning for the work and we'll see what the damage is later today or tomorrow - or next week when they email me the findings.
I definitely have thoughts of, "just bring it home. label inop, plan a route, c'mon home." (this trip will be with a CFI buddy for sure)

but where I'm at is leaving the plane there until I can get another week off or so and get quality time w/ an instructor down there chipping away at all the tailwheel things. my 25hrs in a 7kcab was six years ago... and just that... six years ago. my dinky little 2.1hr three weeks ago was a nice reminder of some feels, but also a wake up call that the control stick pressures felt different. tail felt heavier. fwd pressure for wheel landings felt heavier and further fwd and landings feel faster.

I'll get back to Bend. my plan remains the same - lotsa' instructor time down there. spin training and aiming for some beginner aerobatics instruction. certainly some solo flight time down there. only then will my CFI buddy and I hop in and go for the flight home.

alright - quick grab of the coffee and off to duty. crew has some No.1 engine runs on the nine-two today. I've got E6 evals to wrap up.
best,
b
 
Potterfield,

I just got done with the first flight of a plane I've worked on for a year and my anxiety level was maxed out after multiple delays! Stick with what your gut is telling you, make a plan and, most importantly, trust the advice of people that are looking out for you. If you need another person to bounce ideas off of I'll PM my cell phone number.

It will be worth the wait but you have to get it home in one piece. You're on your way and we're all rooting for you!
 
well - good news from the shop I suppose. factory inspect from Garmin fixed the transponder.. re-installed ops-checked (inspected and finished certification).. they found the strobes inop and believe it to be the power supply as well. not quite sure what my options are w/ strobes. that new Whelan power supply is pushing $1000.00 - some talk of going LED's (WAT Orion 650's ?)..
some forum chatter from five years ago - hate to resurrect the thread... but one thing that's appealing is, from BigEd, "...yanking out the ridiculous 3lb strobe power supply." ... which is probably what I have installed.
thoughts? its in the right shop for equipment removal and W&B updating - they have the tools and know-how..
or I wait - give it a go myself someday when I have more of the know-how and access to someone w/ tools..
I'll do some more research - I wonder if AmericanChampion has any info on their website..

good evening, fella's (and any ladies out there following along)
V/r,
b
 
I would bring the aircraft home, then carefully study the newest LED technology and make an unhurried decision.

However, there is a lot of knowledge right here - perhaps our little group can steer you to the correct solution. I doubt that it will be to fix your current system, although I did just that somewhere around 2006, before LED technology had developed. Power supply was $300 then, and I had a limber friend with tiny hands.
 
forum go’ers, Ahoy from Bend! lesson today, tomorrow, and maybe thursday.
good 1.5hr flight today - Mike Kloch is a helluva instructor! glad to have his instruction today.

feeling better and better!
 

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And as coincidence would have it, i was at the same airport on the same day doing transition training with Mike Kloch in his decathlon (the white one, behind). I started talking to the guy with the pretty blue Decathlon and realized, "hey wait a minute, i read about you on the internet!" Wow, it's a small world. Glad to meet you in person, and I'm also happy to hear that you are closer to getting your bird home.
For anyone else in the pacific northwest, a quick plug for Specialized Aero Works: Mike is a good instructor and I did an upset prevention and recovery course with him a few years ago, and i feel like I leaned a lot.
 

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greetings, folks!
another great flight today with new things learned..
plane is running great.. several folks local to the hangars have asked if i’m new here. they’ve never seen the plane before..
lotsa closed hgr time i guess. snagged a free phone ram clip mount - HUGE win for the flight home and utilization w/ foreflight. though still rocking my plotter/sectionals/E6B to keep me honest.
really been eyeballing weather and looking for a nice window in the coming days.

either way, back on duty monday morning!
cheers,
b
 
evening…. from Port Angeles!
safe and successful trip home on Friday as we had a navigable weather window open up. fun flight up to the Columbia Rvr gorge, over to Portand then north up the I5 corridor where we picked up the hood canal and a last left near port townsend.

a solid 3.6 - and my butt was a lil’ numb. took a day off yesterday and went out today with attempt to fly - but with a late start and getting moved into the new hangar… i opted to fill the tanks, get some oil, and calculate fridays fuel consumption.
met a handful of new neighbors out at the field.. really a lotta’ fun. looking fwd to some evening flights this week after work.

let the aircrapftspruce ordering begin!

no pictures of the flight home. i was all about the aviating, navigating, and communicating.
will send a few in the coming days.

cheers,
b
 
One of the world's most beautiful routes! Really nice to see you got all squared away and happy with it. Try not to add too much - simpler is better.
(says the guy who spent the afternoon fighting a GNC 750)
 
potterfield said:
greetings, folks!
another great flight today with new things learned..
plane is running great.. several folks local to the hangars have asked if i’m new here. they’ve never seen the plane before..
lotsa closed hgr time i guess. snagged a free phone ram clip mount - HUGE win for the flight home and utilization w/ foreflight. though still rocking my plotter/sectionals/E6B to keep me honest.
really been eyeballing weather and looking for a nice window in the coming days.

either way, back on duty monday morning!
cheers,
b
Click to expand...

I don’t normally use mounts in my plane however is misses like having her foreflignt up, she got a suction cup mount that crips both sides of the phone off amazon, stuck to the side of the windshield it actually works quite well

If you need any tailwheel instruction, or some killer homemade pie and ice cream go over to Port Townsend
 
i did a flight into Jefferson County - “JeffCo” (?)
but it was after hours.. another day will stay longer snd scope the scene..

plane is flying great. had a real nice confidence builder today.. buttered that wheel landing!

on some bad weather days - may need to peel
into transponder wiring and antenna coax / mount..
seems to be tracking intermittently..
and might have a little strobe bleedover on the radio/ics..

keep you posted!
cheers everyone - enjoy yer weekend!
best,
b
 
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