Gaston's Ride Share Thread

Ted

Ted

The pilot formerly known as Twin Engine Ted
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Oct 9, 2007
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iFlyNothing
I didn't see any formal thread started on this, so I thought I'd go ahead.

Due to a recent change in circumstance, I'll be bringing my Aztec instead of the Mooney to Gaston's. I am so disappointed. :smilewinkgrin:

Missa is coming with me whether she likes it or not. This leaves 4 empty seats in the plane. With full fuel, I can still carry 1300 lbs, so I have useful load for certainly 3 more people and bags, potentially 4 with partial fuel and depending on weight of passengers.

I'm willing to pick up anyone en route. I'm specifically thinking if any of the KLOM group wants to come along (Adam? Rob? Andrew? I'll trade Aztec time for Matrix time :D), that'd be easy. It is preferable to have people on the entire route for fuel share purposes, obviously. Anyone who wants to come the night before to Williamsport is also welcome to spend the night at my house, and if anyone wants to go crazy and fly commercial into PHL or PIT to get the privilege of flying in my plane, I'm glad to pick them up. :)

Post here or PM me if you're interested!
 
Uhhm did you buy into your instructor's Aztec????
 
Oooo,.. this is very very tempting. I"ll have to see if Becky will allow me the time away and if finances will too. I'll get back to you. :fcross:

That's a lot of payload in that thing, which will probably go fast once we figure out what is being taken. Would we be camping in tents at this point?
 
There's NO tent camping allowed at Gastons, but there is a campground not too far away, if I recall correctly.
 
Mary said no go for her, no way, no how. Hmmm...We had a room last year and Kent picked up the deposit and made use of the room, we went to Sun-n-Fun instead.

I'm interested in going, heck, this may be the year I actually get there. I'll talk it over once again with my Bride but....I don't see her going at all, I may go solo.
 
vontresc said:
Uhhm did you buy into your instructor's Aztec????
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My instructor has a Navajo, PA-31-310.

I have an Aztec, PA-23-250.

You were in Marfa off Glider Goobering, so you missed all of this. :)
 
Rob Schaffer said:
Oooo,.. this is very very tempting. I"ll have to see if Becky will allow me the time away and if finances will too. I'll get back to you. :fcross:

That's a lot of payload in that thing, which will probably go fast once we figure out what is being taken. Would we be camping in tents at this point?
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There's no camping tents, since no camping at Gaston's. Either you stay in a cabin, or you stay at one of the other hotels down the road. I'll hope to bum a couch in a cabin from someone else. ;)

If we get 6 people who want to come, we can probably make it (depending on the 6 people) so long as we don't have full fuel. I figure we'll realistically only want to do about 2.5-3 hour legs due to bladder anyway, which means we need roughly 2/3 fuel with reserves, giving us an extra 300 lbs.

I doubt we'll get 6, though. I think 5 is the right number. Plan on bringing a weekend's worth of clothes, I don't think you'll need much else, really, except for my case of wine. :)
 
vontresc said:
touche.... but we need details!
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It has a total of two propellers, 12 cylinders, 1080 cubic inches displacement, 6 leather seats (interior done about 6-7 years ago in leather).

The past two owners have been local, and my instructor has been flying and servicing the plane for the past 7-8 years. It's a 1969 Aztec D.

Garmin 340 audio panel, Garmin 150 VFR GPS, dual KX170Bs with glide slopes, HSI, Garmin 327 transponder. Yes, it's FIKI. No, the auto pilot doesn't work.

I got a really good deal on it.

and

:needpics:
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Ask and ye shall receive (although check my profile for one pic ;)):

DSC_0012.JPG


DSC_0006.JPG


DSC_0009.JPG


Yes it has 6 seats, the previous owner just tended to keep the one seat out to make it easier to get in the back. Actually works pretty well if you don't want to take 6 people. :)
 
Ted DuPuis said:
Missa is coming with me whether she likes it or not. This leaves 4 empty seats in the plane. With full fuel, I can still carry 1300 lbs, so I have useful load for certainly 3 more people and bags, potentially 4 with partial fuel and depending on weight of passengers.
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I'm reserving two seats... I still have hope. So you only have room for 2 more max. As soon as I find out if that hope is founded we may get a cabin and you can stay in it (assuming there are still cabins available).
 
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Nice, Ted!....is that a radar scope in the bottom of the panel?

So what does she cruise at? Speed/Fuel
 
Since it's 5 months off, I'm more just putting the word out there as something to consider. No worries, you'll get the seats you need.

If need be, we'll strap Adam, Rob, and Gary to the wings. They can add oil as we're flying.
 
vontresc said:
Nice, Ted!....is that a radar scope in the bottom of the panel?
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Yep! She's got on board radar. That plus a 496 is going to be a really nice weather setup.

So what does she cruise at? Speed/Fuel
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Faster than your glider and less than Mari's Cessna. ;)

I really haven't flown the thing enough to get a good handle on speeds and fuel burns. 160-170 kts at 25-28 gph sounds about right given current info, but I'm expecting to do better. I'm going to put an engine monitor in within the next few months, which is going to help me run the thing a bit more precisely. Right now all it's got is a single CHT per engine and fuel flow per engine. No good.
 
I found that link a week or two back! That was when two owners ago bought it. He had the interior redone. I'm very, very glad he did. :D
 
Well Ted, it looks like I'll have to beat you sometime and bring a PC-12. Hey....it could happen!
 
Tristar said:
Well Ted, it looks like I'll have to beat you sometime and bring a PC-12. Hey....it could happen!
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Nah, PC-12 only has one engine so it doesn't count.

Cheyenne, King Air, Conquest, now those will count. It'll happen! :)
 
Hey Ted, nice ride! Good luck w/ the flying truck! If I need a Piano moved across the country, I now know who to call!:rofl:
 
Ted DuPuis said:
I found that link a week or two back! That was when two owners ago bought it. He had the interior redone. I'm very, very glad he did. :D
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but very very unglad about the nose... :frown2:

I can say it flys really nice right up untill they turn off an engine...:eek:
 
Ted DuPuis said:
Nah, PC-12 only has one engine so it doesn't count.

Cheyenne, King Air, Conquest, now those will count. It'll happen! :)
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How long is Gastons? I need 3k to be comfortable in the B-200. We have hi-float tires, so grass is no problem.
 
wabower said:
How long is Gastons? I need 3k to be comfortable in the B-200. We have hi-float tires, so grass is no problem.
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3200 x 55

Lot's of planes coming in and out of there. A Cessna 414 landed when we were there. Dave S. also took his P-Baron in and out of there last year.
 
Missa said:
but very very unglad about the nose... :frown2:
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I can fix the nose easily. The interior, that's another story.

I can say it flys really nice right up untill they turn off an engine...:eek:
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Ahem, I was flying it quite nicely on one engine, and that's according to you!
 
FlyNE said:
3200 x 55

Lot's of planes coming in and out of there. A Cessna 414 landed when we were there. Dave S. also took his P-Baron in and out of there last year.
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actually it was a very lightly loaded 421. And I dont think Dave will be bringing the P Baron in this year. While technically long enough to get airborne its not the safest strip in the event of engine failure for a pressurized twin.
 
A DC-3 came in last year...
 
FlyNE said:
3200 x 55



Lot's of planes coming in and out of there. A Cessna 414 landed when we were there. Dave S. also took his P-Baron in and out of there last year.
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Hmmm. Wingspan is 54'. Partner would ****. Guess I'll stick with the Wagon.
 
Greg Bockelman said:
You have to be comfortable flying BETWEEN a couple of trees on the approach end. :smile:
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I believe Wayne would be comfy flying through the knotholes in the trees...
 
wabower said:
Hmmm. Wingspan is 54'. Partner would ****. Guess I'll stick with the Wagon.
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Wayne, there's plenty of room either side of the runway...
 
SCCutler said:
A DC-3 came in last year...
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DC-3 has a lower Vmc than the 421. 77 knots (according to Barry Schiff) vs. 85ish knots (for the 421). And from what i can find, the takeoff roll itself will be less than 2000 feet, especially lightly loaded and lowish altitude.
 
SCCutler said:
I believe Wayne would be comfy flying through the knotholes in the trees...
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Or knotheaded enough to try? I gave at the office, flying the oil patch years ago. Most of the roadsigns in that part of the country have an "S" shape at the bottom of the pole from the roughnecks and logging crews pushing them over with their pickups then pulling them back up with a chain. But they figured it was worth it, since I was bringing mail, cookies, spare parts and a fresh supply of Beechnut.
 
tonycondon said:
actually it was a very lightly loaded 421. And I dont think Dave will be bringing the P Baron in this year. While technically long enough to get airborne its not the safest strip in the event of engine failure for a pressurized twin.
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Correct on both counts.
 
FlyNE said:
3200 x 55

Lot's of planes coming in and out of there. A Cessna 414 landed when we were there. Dave S. also took his P-Baron in and out of there last year.
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I am not going to take the P to Gaston's. Dave told me how he felt about it last year, and he's had the plane for longer than me. And I most certainly wouldn't take a 414 there. Same Vmc as the P, same engines, but slightly heavier. Not a good combination

Just for fun, here's some performance data for Gaston's, assuming I am by myself, 2/3 fuel, no wind, adjusted +20% for grass:

Ground Roll 1900
Over 50' Obstacle 3300
Accelerate - Stop 3600

I don't like A-S distances that are longer than the runway. The P is a small airliner, not a good grass performer.

-Felix
 
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tonycondon said:
DC-3 has a lower Vmc than the 421. 77 knots (according to Barry Schiff) vs. 85ish knots (for the 421). And from what i can find, the takeoff roll itself will be less than 2000 feet, especially lightly loaded and lowish altitude.
Click to expand...

When Basler Turbo Conversions finishes up a DC-3, they train the pilots here:

http://airnav.com/airport/W23

2990 ft. on the longer runway. I was told they do stop and goes on it - Wow!

Of course, a King Air with VG's is an amazingly good short-field airplane too. :yes:

Wayne, be it King Air or 185, I'm pretty sure I'll be impressed either way. :yes:
 
During my relative short charter flying career I routinely flew Chuck Norris to his ranch in Navasota, TX, r/w 3,250'. The B-200 (lightly loaded) needed about half of it to land, a tad more than half to take off.

flyingcheesehead said:
When Basler Turbo Conversions finishes up a DC-3, they train the pilots here:

http://airnav.com/airport/W23

2990 ft. on the longer runway. I was told they do stop and goes on it - Wow!

Of course, a King Air with VG's is an amazingly good short-field airplane too. :yes:

Wayne, be it King Air or 185, I'm pretty sure I'll be impressed either way. :yes:
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jmaynard said:
You know, at this rate my Zodiac will be one of the smallest planes there...
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Well, your Zodiac is pretty smallish in general, but that's not a problem. It's still got a much cooler avionics setup than my plane is likely to ever have. :)
 
Ted DuPuis said:
Well, your Zodiac is pretty smallish in general, but that's not a problem. It's still got a much cooler avionics setup than my plane is likely to ever have. :)
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Plus, it's the only plane piloted by a Virtual Being in a computer!
 
All these cool-sounding planes... Gawd I wish I could go! Darn family obligations on surrounding weekends and the resulting budget constraints that come with them!
 
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