My college son desperately wanted to go some place warm for spring break. Having been flying and working in subzero temps in ND for two months, it didn't take much convincing for me. Unfortunately, the Turbo-normalized Bo A36 I've been living in lately wasn't available, so I opted to take the Cherokee Six 300. It's nowhere near as fast, but you can haul a grand piano. With four of us (he brought his girlfriend) I figured the load hauling was a good thing.
Originally we were going to launch early this morning and do it in one long day. But weather forecasts motivated me to leave yesterday and try to get beyond the forecast.
I missed it by 100 miles! We stopped in LaGrange, GA (LGC) last night. We woke to driving rain. After a long, soaking refueling fiasco we were ready to launch into the muck, in order to beat the really severe stuff that was lurking to the southwest this morning. As it was, it was very wet and bumpy for an hour plus, but we were able to keep moving forward.
Then, about an hour into VFR conditions I noticed the heading indicator indicating a turn to the right. Since I wasn't turning, a quick glance at the suction gauge showed it pegged on zero. Dang! I advised ATC, then continued on to Ft. Myers.
As an aside, I think it's been 25+ years since I've done this much long-distance hand-flying. While the Six has a 430W, everything else is basic six-pack and an old, inop autopilot of unknown heritage.
Originally we were going to launch early this morning and do it in one long day. But weather forecasts motivated me to leave yesterday and try to get beyond the forecast.
I missed it by 100 miles! We stopped in LaGrange, GA (LGC) last night. We woke to driving rain. After a long, soaking refueling fiasco we were ready to launch into the muck, in order to beat the really severe stuff that was lurking to the southwest this morning. As it was, it was very wet and bumpy for an hour plus, but we were able to keep moving forward.
Then, about an hour into VFR conditions I noticed the heading indicator indicating a turn to the right. Since I wasn't turning, a quick glance at the suction gauge showed it pegged on zero. Dang! I advised ATC, then continued on to Ft. Myers.
As an aside, I think it's been 25+ years since I've done this much long-distance hand-flying. While the Six has a 430W, everything else is basic six-pack and an old, inop autopilot of unknown heritage.