A nice night of CAP flying

Started by Nomex Maximus, May 13, 2009, 05:16:56 AM

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Nomex Maximus

Our squadron decided to have a practice mission for its meeting this week. So instead of meeting at our usual classroom, we all met at a local airport and arranged to have someone (me) fly the airplane from its hangar at the big airport out to our mission base. 

Weather was mild upper sixties, clear skies, a moderate wind from the south making for crosswind landings at mission base. I took the airplane from the class C airport out to the west over the city and down to an airport I had not landed at before to pick up an aircrew member. Around the river I went, joined up on the downwind and turned base and then final onto this runway surrounded by hills and river. I landed and picked up my mission observer and then got airborne again. Over to the mission base for a crosswind landing. I sort of greased it.

Got inside the terminal building and CAP had the run of the building. Mission base was set up, incident commander present, squadron members were on hand and things were ready to go. Around the building flight training was going on - someone in a Piper was getting instruction, others in 172s were flying. Off in the distance, two guys had a 100 year old aircraft engine mounted on a test stand and were trying to get it running - the kind where the seven foot prop was bolted to the crankcase and the crankcase turned around a fixed crankshaft. Some of us went outside to track a practice ELT with a handheld DF unit and we stopped by the aircraft engine guys to watch them get their engine started - and got splattered by the oil and the gas the thing shook out.

The evening went on and out squadron sent out two more sorties to look for a parachute and to track an ELT simulator. A bunch of us stood outside wating for our turn to fly and watched the local pilots practice their crosswind techniques in the pattern. Finally, our plane came back for the last time, and it was time for me to take my friend back to his airport and for me to continue on home. I made an almost night time landing into the tight little airport I had been at before - greased it. I dropped him off and now that it was legally night time I went to practice my night currency at another airport. I had the airport all to myself. The cool weather made the 172 a bit friskier on take off than it had been earlier in the day. I finally went back home with 20 mile visibility at night, parked the airplane and went home.

A pleasant way to spend an evening.
Nomex Tiberius Maximus
2dLT, MS, MO, TMP and MP-T
an inspiration to all cadets
My Theme Song