Recent content by Flyhound

I've used a variety of Android devices (hardware and software) for flying over the years. Currently, I'm using iFly EFB software by Adventure Pilot and I'm very happy with it. I like the features, the cost and the enthusiasm of the developers. They actually send me personal emails when I have a...

Try the Basin Harbor resort on Lake Champlain in Vermont. Smooth grass runway with cabins on the water and a lodge with a restaurant. Here's a video of my trip to the resort:

This was taken back when NASA cancelled the Space Shuttle program and handed out all of the shuttles to museums. This one was headed to the Udvar Hazy AIr and Apace Museum run by the Smithsonian out by Dulles Airport:

High Sierra fly-in in 2019 before the crowd arrived: And after the gathering was full. I liked conditions in the first shot more.

When I bought my current tube & rag airplane (a Maule MX7-180) I was living in northern Virginia, just outside of DC. I had the same conundrum. I found a house and hangar on a private airstrip that had room to add my plane for a monthly fee. Sometimes I had to juggle planes around to get mine...

I said planes were more fun - not more important. I like having shelter, but my house has never been something I run to for fun. I hate gardening (but I do it), I hate home maintenance (but I do it) and I groan when my property taxes are due (but I pay them). My plane is completely impractical...

I bought a 180 Hp, 2002 model Maule MX7 in 2013 with 1,000 hours on the engine. I paid ~$100K for the plane back then. At 2400 hours, the engine started making metal, so I bought a rebuilt O-360 from LyCon with the cylinders flowed and ported, the tappets DLC coated and some other engine...

After 7 months, my rebuilt O-360 engine was delivered to my mechanic. Now I need the weather to improve enough to fly my plane to his place with the old engine and swap the new for the old. LyCon promised to get it done in 6-8 months. The new engine build was finished after 6-1/2 months. The...

Yeah, I miss all of the extra information those Flight Guides provided. They let you know if there was a courtesy car on the field, the distance to local hotels and their phone numbers, how far it was to restaurants and cafes and all of the businesses on the field. There is no single source for...

I was flying through Whidbey Naval Air Station Class C airspace and talking to their ATC when this bad boy flew under me. I knew it was coming, but its passage was so quick it still startled me.

I have a solar charger that I leave leaning against the plane's main gear while I'm wandering the grounds all day. I use the solar charger to recharge one of those "battery bricks". When I get back to my campsite at dusk, I use the battery brick to recharge my phone and my tablet. I'm particular...

We have several restricted areas in the Puget Sound area where I fly. They are frequently inactive, but can become active in a heartbeat. I always contact ATC to ask if they are hot just before entering that airspace in case the condition has changed since I did my flight planning at home. If...

More airplane camping. I want to land at all of the state owned grass strips up in the Cascade mountains. I also want to fly back to the Alvord Desert when Hunter Noak is playing his Steinway Grand piano out on the playa: 1 minute, 5 seconds into the video:

My first plane was my fastest. I'm on my 4th plane now and it is the slowest I've owned. My changes weren't driven by the need for speed, but by mission changes. I sold a Grumman Tiger because I was interested in aerobatics. I sold my Pitts because I had kids I wanted to fly to college. I sold...

Gliders typically land on well groomed fields and those don't present any hazards beyond what the weather throws at you. A lot of tailwheel aircraft are used for off-airport adventures and that is a lot more challenging due to possibly very rough and uneven landing surfaces. When the weather and...