Another great day for flying
Arranged to have a guy drop by from Washington Avionics to do a transponder check. I learned there are two flavors of check, IFR and VFR. Since I’m just flying VFR for now, I figured that was good enough. He said the first check has to be IFR and then I can do VFR after that. Who knows, maybe I’ll be ready for IFR flying in two years.
His equipment was pretty old looking, but worked well. We tapped into the static line, tested the instruments, and then tested for leaks in both ends (foward and aft) of the static system. No leaks and the altimeter on the AF-3400 was within 10′ all the way up to 20k’. The guy joked that he’d stop by next time he needed his equipment calibrated. He also checked out the pitot system. It was dead on and no leaks. Good to go!! (Don’t ask me why I didn’t do the check sooner. I got some bad advice and misunderstood the requirements.)
With that done and the skies clear, it’s flying time. More engine breaking in at 24″/2400 RPM. I flew up to Arlington, back toward North Bend, and back into Renton. 1.1 hours on the Hobbs.
I snapped a bunch of pictures in the air. This is Lake Sammamish followed by a shot west toward Seattle along I-90.
This one is Mount Si in North Bend with the Cascades in the background.
I should have zoomed in on this next picture, because it was really very, very cool. The little green patch in the middle of the forest dead center is a jumping off spot for hand gliders on Tiger Mountain. There were about a dozen of them circling around. I stayed way up and over so I wouldn’t spook them. I’m sure an airplane is not a good sound when you’re flying one of those things.
Very fun flight.
When I got back, I de-cowled the plane and drained the oil. Time for an oil change and to fix the leak at the oil cooler. I’m tired of the oil dripping on the inside of the cowl.