Search results

  1. spinfire

    Old vs. older Cessna 182s

    There will be some parts on the aircraft that will need replacement probably once in the craft's useful life. Two examples that immediately come to mind from recent annuals include an aileron bearing and the Dukes electric fuel pump for my fuel injected 177RG built in 1977. These parts failed...
  2. spinfire

    Hidden costs with pistons vs turbines.

    What's bootsrapping? Or maybe you means bootstrapping? Still, I know what bootstrapping is, but not in reference to engine management...
  3. spinfire

    Hidden costs with pistons vs turbines.

    If it takes you 6 months to fly 25 hours then you should probably be changing the oil at 25 hour intervals Lycoming or Continental. On the other hand, if you're only flying 50 hours a year you're probably not the ideal candidate for a turbine either.
  4. spinfire

    When does Night qualify for actual IFR?

    Before I got my instrument rating I experienced this hard in a rental 172 while on a solo night currency flight. It was a very real experience. I was departing KPSM and with a left turn out you are pointed over Great Bay with the nose up high climbing out and no lights or moon that night. I...
  5. spinfire

    How often I should fly to stay sharp.

    I try to fly every week. That's much better for the engine too, and since this annual I had the classic Lycoming camshaft problems that likely started with corrosion from before I bought the plane I'm acutely aware of exactly how expensive NOT flying can be when you're an owner pilot. I also...
  6. spinfire

    Flight Plan Filing: Practicing Approches

    When I want to do something like this I'll file KASH to KASH, with the route via the airports (ie, specify KLEB KCON KMHT as the routing if you wanted to do approaches at Lebanon, Concord, and Manchester). Then in the remarks put something like "multiple appchs KLEB KCON". If I'm planning to...
  7. spinfire

    It's that time of year again...

    Meanwhile in Massachusetts/Southern NH, not much moisture at all: As we come up on my second season with my instrument rating I'm wondering once again how much I will be left frustrated by lack of deice capability in my Cardinal.
  8. spinfire

    Part Time Towers

    When they open back up again they say, "Any traffic in the pattern please advise."
  9. spinfire

    Just why is the Cardinal so slow?

    Yes, of course. This is more something I've picked up on with 200+ hours of owning a plane, flying it frequently and in lots of different loading configurations, and always flying the same plane every time vs. when I was renting.
  10. spinfire

    Just why is the Cardinal so slow?

    If a 177RG doesn't fly 140 knots at 7-8k feet in a WOT cruise (prop around 2400 RPM) then there is something wrong with the rigging or the engine is tired. I VERY highly recommend joining the Cardinal Flyers Online type club for the benefit of much information, a database of Cardinal owners...
  11. spinfire

    Just why is the Cardinal so slow?

    The only way a Cardinal RG is going 160 knots is with a tornado alley turbo STC or maybe the LoPresti cowl STC. 140 is book standard cruise and planes that are rigged properly will attain it. I flight plan at 10GPH but it's really more like 9.5 in a typical cruise at altitude. One look at the...
  12. spinfire

    Just why is the Cardinal so slow?

    On my Cardinal RG I cruise at 140 knots at altitude (7-8k feet). This is an IO-360, the 200HP version. This is about 20 knots slower than the M20J gets with the same engine which is probably the best comparison. I think much of this can be explained by parasitic drag issues such as better...
  13. spinfire

    Where to park. (NE)

    Assuming you are talking about two nights parking it looks like IAD is actually the cheapest when you add up all of the costs you mentioned at $106 (vs $118 for JYO and $122 for HEF). Personally between the cost and time savings I think it's a no-brainer and I would fly into IAD. Flying IFR...
  14. spinfire

    "FAA Bans GA Ride Sharing Companies"

    You might be correct when considering interpretations and intent, but purely reading 61.113 shows that it is a limitation on "Private Pilots" and never mentions anything about people who hold a commercial certificate. My understanding is that unlike ratings a "private certificate" is distinct...
  15. spinfire

    "FAA Bans GA Ride Sharing Companies"

    I have a question about some scenarios with a CPL but without a 135 operation. Assume you have a commercial certificate, you're flying your own plane and all of the other people are non-pilots. 1) You did not "hold out" by posting anything online but your friends know you are a pilot with a...
  16. spinfire

    Flying for another rating.

    Last year I made a long XC trip to San Antonio. I was solo. On the first day I flew three daytime legs under IFR, ASH-JST, JST-DVK, DVK-MEM. Would this satisfy the requirement?
  17. spinfire

    "Check Gear Down"

    I made a fuel stop at JST last August and there was no landing fee. It might be only for commercial ops or only for twins.
  18. spinfire

    Do you think the pilots reported this?

    On another thread discussing this (maybe on Jetcareers, I don't remember) somebody suggested that the right response would be to land at the nearest airport or return to the departure airport. Given that this was an international flight of less than one hour I think US Customs/DHS generally...
  19. spinfire

    Single most unimportant instrument.

    The Hobbs is broken in my Cardinal. Of course as an owner I don't particularly care, I log time by writing the wall clock time in and out on a little card and do the math afterwards. But I find it funny that as soon as I am no longer a renter the one instrument I want to fail as a renter...
  20. spinfire

    ILS or RNAV request

    My CFII says this too, and I had a good discussion with him about it. One can imagine a scenario where you are on an ILS approach, low on fuel or engine starts running rough, ILS craps out, and at that point you REALLY wish you'd started that timer. But in 99.9% of cases if you lose the ILS...
Back
Top