As I neared my destination, ATC called and suggested I divert around a thunderstorm along my route. After putting the airplane away, I sent my sister this picture. I forgot about it until she gave me a framed reprint for Christmas.
One of my goals since I got my Private ASEL has been to own and fly a flying boat amphibian. About two years ago, I purchased a Coot Amphibian in need of repair and currently have that airplane in my workshop. I had been looking to train for my seaplane rating in a hull-type seaplane, but the nearest location was some distance away. Imagine how pleasantly surprised I was to find an advertisement for seaplane training at Shannon Airport (KEZF), where I keep my Cherokee 140.
I have a healthy fear of running out of fuel and I do everything I can to be sure there is fuel left in the tank when I land. One of the best improvements I made had nothing to do with the airplane at all, but instead was a cheat sheet for quickly finding True Airspeed to trim the airplane and to determine engine fuel flow.
In the past two years we have completed a long VFR trip successfully five times. How have we done so well on such a long trip VFR when the weather is so unpredictable? We have a multi-level system and we follow it. It is not perfect but it works.
We asked the Air Facts community to share with us why they bought the airplane they did and why this was the right choice for them. We heard from William “Pete” Hodges of Spotsylvania, Virginia, who made the case for his 1968 Cherokee PA28-140. Here’s Pete’s case.