Eric Gleason
Pre-takeoff checklist
My poor fiancee... besides being stuck with me, her first experiences with GA have been less than smooth.
Her first flight was to be a day trip to Block Island (KALB -> KBID). After departing, I misinterpreted the ammeter, thought the alternator was failing, and decided to return to Albany. The digital readout on the Archer III is unlike any I'd ever seen before, and with only 1 flight in this plane I was still way behind the panel. After we landed and I talked to the club maintenance officer, I realized my mistake and we decided to try the flight again. When we got back to the plane, we found the right main tire was flat, and that grounded us for the day.
Her 2nd flight was a dinner trip to Oxford, CT, which went smoothly. I highly recommend the 121 restaurant there.
For her 3rd flight, I decided a spontaneous trip to Keene, NH with my 4 year old son for dinner and ice cream would be the right way to start Memorial day weekend, particularly with a lousy forecast for the weekend. Upon landing at KEEN, the left main went flat on rollout and I had to leave the plane stuck in the grass next to the runway. We were extremely fortunate to be able to spend the evening in the restaurant while the FBO brought in a couple of guys after hours to get us going again. We were able to fly back home late instead of trying to find a hotel room in town for the night.
I'm extremely fortunate that I have a fiancee who is willing to keep coming on these misadventures with me. And maybe in enough time, she'll be convinced that the club planes break down too much and that we need our own
Her first flight was to be a day trip to Block Island (KALB -> KBID). After departing, I misinterpreted the ammeter, thought the alternator was failing, and decided to return to Albany. The digital readout on the Archer III is unlike any I'd ever seen before, and with only 1 flight in this plane I was still way behind the panel. After we landed and I talked to the club maintenance officer, I realized my mistake and we decided to try the flight again. When we got back to the plane, we found the right main tire was flat, and that grounded us for the day.
Her 2nd flight was a dinner trip to Oxford, CT, which went smoothly. I highly recommend the 121 restaurant there.
For her 3rd flight, I decided a spontaneous trip to Keene, NH with my 4 year old son for dinner and ice cream would be the right way to start Memorial day weekend, particularly with a lousy forecast for the weekend. Upon landing at KEEN, the left main went flat on rollout and I had to leave the plane stuck in the grass next to the runway. We were extremely fortunate to be able to spend the evening in the restaurant while the FBO brought in a couple of guys after hours to get us going again. We were able to fly back home late instead of trying to find a hotel room in town for the night.
I'm extremely fortunate that I have a fiancee who is willing to keep coming on these misadventures with me. And maybe in enough time, she'll be convinced that the club planes break down too much and that we need our own