Got a lot of things accomplished today. Started the day with a little maintenance on the 172. The rudder was taken off to fix some worn bushings and touch up a couple spots with some paint. Got that done, and while the paint was drying, I filled the engine with oil, serviced the battery, tightened all the exhaust clamps, and then, when the rudder was dry, I re-installed that. 3 hours of work...and a job well done. Our 206 is also due for an annual inspection in February, which will be done down in Creswell, Oregon, which is down by Eugene (central Oregon). I had the privilege of ferrying the plane down there. This past week has been extremely good weather considering it's the gloomy corner of the US at the really gloomy time of year! Here's what the Wilamette Valley looked like around 2pm...
It was a little hazy because people were burning stuff, but nonetheless, it was a gorgeous day to fly. It took just over an hour to make the flight from start to stop--makes a 2 hour drive real nice. I also got my first ride in a Beechcraft Musketeer, a small four place low wing airplane. Our director of maitenance in Servant Wings owns the aircraft and offered to fly down to Cresswell in his airplane so I wouldn't have to make the 2 hour drive back by myself. I actually took off after he did, but arrived in Cresswell about 20 minutes before he landed. The 206 is about 30 knots faster (but also burns twice as much gas!) Here's a picture from inside his Musketeer.
Notice the occupants sit "on top" the wings, much like an airliner. He even let me fly for about 30 minutes on the way back to Vancouver. I've actually gotten to fly a lot lately--I can't pass up the supurb weather, especially when I need to build my flight hours. I flew to work Tuesday through Thursday, and on Wednesday night, Joy and I flew down to Eugene airport for dinner in their cafe. The real purpose of the flight was so that I could get some night flying time and more cross country flight time. I now have 354 flight hours! So far, I'm on target to meet my goal by April 21st. Only 46 to go!
We also received an information packet and several worksheets and questionnaires from MAF today. Some of the forms outline the content of my upcoming technical evaluation and what I'll be expected to do. I have a lot of studying to do! I feel confident though, especially with the quality training I got from Moody and the experience I'm getting in an MAF 206 right now; I feel like I'm a little ahead of the game in a lot of respects. I'm sure it will be tough though, and I will have to work really hard.
Not bad for a day's work!!
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