Logbooks ready

Well after months of waiting to get my paperwork for my annual, they are finally done.  I can pick them up next weekend.  (this weekend is packed)  

it is a long story but there was some information missing from the logbooks from the prior owner and I tracked down the mechanic that oversaw the work done on it and now have the final bit of paperwork needed.  For reference the airplane went into the shop for annual in June.  there was a lot that needed to be worked on.  This drove the cost from about $1200 to about $6000 which was a bit of a shock.  I am still trying to work out how I am going to come up with that much money.  Well, sadly the plane was down for the whole summer and the rainy season is upon us again.  Time to get back to the instrument training.

New Hangar

I finally have a hangar for my airplane.  I now get to say things like, "hey, do you want to just meet at the hangar?"  LOL.

It is really nice and relatively new.  Lots of space for the plane and the stereo I brought out there.  It is a nice place to clean the plane as well.  I can plug in a vacuum or carpet cleaner etc which is also great.  I will post some pics when I get some.

Here are all the places that Serenity has been (That I am sure of)


View N4404J.kmz in a larger map

Exciting news!! The former owner of Serenity contacted me and told me a little about his experience with her back east. He also sent pictures.

<-- On the ice in Alton Bay, Lake Winnipesaukee.

KDAW Rochester NH. -->



Here is an excerpt from his email:
“I was getting my private ticket when I saw the owner changing the headlight, I had just got back from my first solo flight and asked about 4404j. He told me he was a half owner and wanted to sell his half. I spoke to his partner about their arrangement and bought the half” (circa 1996).
“My new partner flew only once and awhile and we split all other expenses, the last four years we owned it he only flew when I would take him. I finished up my private and took my check ride in 4404j. It was based at KDAW Skyhaven Airport, Rochester, NH and KLCI Laconia NH . Most of my flying was in New England with a few trips to FL, and of course OSH, I had about 1800 hrs on the engine when I sold her to what I believe to be a broker in Virgina.” (2003)
“ I also made several trips to ACK Nantucket and BML Berlin NH in 4404J .”
“I have always been shy of googleing her tail #, afraid I'd find out she was parted out in some boneyard.”
This last statement is a true testament for the love pilots have for their airplanes. I can completely relate 

July 25 2009 - Flight to lake Billy Chinook

Today I took Stacey, Justus, and Melinda to lake Billy Chinook in central OR. The plan was to fly out there to meet with some of Melinda’s friends that were there. Since it was a 4 hour drive or a 1 hour flight, taking Serenity seemed the best option. So at about 9:45 we took off from Vancouver and headed out to the lake. The air was hazy but the scenery was spectacular. You can see the flight track here.
I had some trouble closing my flight plan because we were in such a remote location and the facilities directory had the wrong frequency listed. FYI it is 122.5 in that region. We did a quick flyover of the lake and circled back to the airfield. I lined up for approach and set her down on the unmarked asphalt strip. Landing was pretty smooth. There is a hump in the runway that made it a bit of a challenge but it worked well. There was no paved location to put the airplane so we just put her in the field. I even managed to cut some of the weeds with the prop.
After we got out of the plane, we found out that there was little to no cellular coverage out there and we could not call the people we were meeting. There are no airport facilities at all at this airfield so I walked over to a home that is on the field and talked to Jack. He was a very nice man and even loaned us his car to go meet our group. We drove up and down the canyon looking for them and after several failed attempts at different camp sites we eventually found them. We got a ride back to the airport to return the car and then back to the lake. We played in the lake for a while and then got yet another ride back to the airport.


It was now about 107degrees out and the airport is already 3000 feet high. The plane was full with 4 occupants and our stuff for the day. Even with all of this, Serenity performed admirably. I had no trouble taking off and getting a decent climb. I made a pass over the lake to say good bye to everyone and then set a course for Seaside, OR. The flight was uneventful with the exception of skydivers in the vicinity of our flight path. I stayed on the radio with the jump planes and stayed at least 10 miles from their drop zone. We over flew Hillsboro airport and continued out to the coast. When we got to Seaside we saw that it was completely covered by a marine layer. We diverted to Astoria to find the same thing. We decided to head home at this point as it was hot and we were all tired.
In all we flew about 380 miles and about 4 hours of total running time. I want to say thank you to all of those who helped us out that day.

Flight to Mt St. Helens

This last weekend was the first I had been back after my adventures in Florida. I finally got to see Serenity again and it was time to get back in the air. While I was gone the shop weighed the airplane as the records the previous owner kept were incomplete and I needed an accurate baseline. She weighs 1332lbs (including full oil). That is only 3lbs off of my calculated using all the manufacturers data for what has changed in the plane since the day it was manufactured in 1967.
My mom and my cousin were in town so I thought it would be nice to take them on a scenic flight. We chose Mt St. Helens and it just happened to be a beautiful day. We took off with my cousin Austin in the front seat and my mom and Stacey in the back. Cruise was less than anticipated due to a stronger than expected head wind, but we were still making good time. The fuel flow meter I had installed was nice to have onboard to help regulate the fuel we were using up.
About half way there, I let Austin fly the airplane. He did a fantastic job with very little assistance from me. In fact after about 10 minutes i did not need to touch the controls at all for the rest of the flight (until we got back to Vancouver anyhow). We got out to the mountain and it was just beautiful. The air was completely clear and the snow was melting creating waterfalls around the mountain. The south face is pristine and breathtaking. The north face as we would soon find out tells another story.
As we passed along the west face we could see areas of trees that had been all laid flat in the same direction toward the base of the mountain. As we progressed further we noticed that the trees all disappeared.

There was nothing left standing on the north side. The powerful eruption almost 30 years ago had left the earth barren and scarred. The most amazing thing was that even this extreme devastation was beautiful. It was rugged and scarred, colorful and complex, the entire landscape looked like it was on another planet. We took lots of pictures but due to technical difficulties, there are only a few that came out. I have included a few here that my mom took.

Shuttle launch viewing and Warbird Adventure

Well my airplane has sat unflown for a while now since I flew on a comercial airliner to Florida to watch the liftoff of the Space Shuttle Atlantis. It was spectacular. liftoff was right on time at 2:01pm and the sight was uterly breathtaking. I cannot describe the feeling other than an uncontrolled rush of emotion that the human mind cannot properly cope with. It filled all your senses; your eyes were dazzeled by the light from the booster flame trail, your ears were filled with the roar of the liftoff, you entire body rumbles with the compression waves of the monumentally powerful engines. It is unlike anything I have ever experienced and I hope to have the opportunity to do it again.

I got a few good shots but not what I had hoped. I will always remember that sound, the feeling and the emotion of the launch. I highly recomend it to anyone interested in the space program and even those who are not.

The day after the launch I had the opportunity to fly a WWII T-6 Texan. The person in the plane with me was a certified flight instructor so I was able to do the flying above 1000' and I now have T-6 time in my log book. I also have aerobatic instruction loged as we were doing aerobatics as well. It was quite exciting.

We started off with steep turns, which I have done many times in Serenity, but quickly moved on. With each new manuver, James, who was the CFI, would demonstrate it first and then I would take the controls and replicate it. Steep turns were no challenge at all as I have done many in the past, but then we moved on to aileron rolls. This is a simple enough manuver, you point the nose about 20 degrees above the horizon and then push the stick full to one side. This was such a thrill! It is the first time I had been inverted in an airplane.

We also did a manuver called a wing over, which is a quick way to turn around by clinbing and dropping the nose to the side. Next was the loop. This was something I have always wanted to do. The picture here is from the loop. It was a 3G manuver so the most intense of the day. This was followed by barrel rolls and an 8 point roll.

You can visit their website at http://www.warbirdadventures.com/ I highly recomend it!

Flight to Astoria (aka $100 hamburger)

This last Sunday I flew to Astoria for lunch.  The weather was mediocre so I had to skim under the clouds and above the mountains.  This seems to be the norm for my area this time of year.  The wind was gusty and strong to the east.  I was flying west to Astoria and East home so getting home was much faster than getting there.  

Landing at Astoria was exciting as the wind was almost 45 degrees to the runway.  It took a steep crab angle to keep moving in the direction of the runway.  All turned out well however and the landing was quite short.  I taxied over to the FBO and parked the plane.  I went inside and asked where I should go for lunch.  The gentleman working there told me that there were a few places in town but none on the airfield.  He let me use their car and I was off to lunch.  I had shrimp which was good and filling.

After I was done eating I went back to the airport, thanked them for the car and left a tip for the service.  It is customary to tip about 10-20 dollars for courtesy cars.  then I flew home.  It was a nice day out.

Before and After!!

Can you believe this is the same airplane??

Pics with some sun

So on wednesday there was some sun so I got some pictures of Serenity is some real light.  I have posted them below!!

I got my airplane back!!

Well it has been a long wait for Serenity to return (yes she has a name), but she is finally back and looking quite stunning.  You cannot tell that this is a 40 year old airplane.  After a long wait and many delays, that cost me a lot of money, I flew her home on Monday.  

The weather was not very cooperative for my trip.  The paint shop is located in Grants pass, OR which is in a valley.  The entire area was covered by a thick overcast layer which was about 2000ft above the ground in the center of the valley and dropped down to touch the mountain tops all the way around preventing my exit.  I waited from 9am until about 1:30pm for the clouds to clear.  Then a little patch of blue started to show through.  I hopped in the plane and took off.  I flew around the valley for a bit looking for a way out and climbed as high as I could while still remaining clear of the clouds.  At 5000ft I gave up and returned to the airport.  I went inside the paint shop and talked with Merl for a bit and then noticed another opening.  I jumped back into the plane and took off again.  Climbing at about 1000ft/min I got back up to 5000ft and there was a clearing above the lowest cloud layer.  I kept climbing in a circle in this area until I got to the top of the cloud cover.   I ooked at the altimeter and it was 12,500ft!!  Wow that is a thick layer of clouds.  I pointed the aircraft to the north and I was on my way home.  

It was like that for about 150miles until I reached Eugene.  She was flying faster than she use to.  I was making about 137 knots at the top of the green arc and had a ground speed of 159 knots.  When I was above Eugene I saw an opening in the clouds and noticed that they were well above the ground in that area.  So I descended through the opening and flew the rest of the trip under the clouds, which any pilot will tell you is a bumpy ride.  It was much slower going at this lower altitude but the view was nice.  I finally got back to Vancouver and the wind was so strong that I was pointed north and flying almost exactly NE!!  I lined up for the pattern and flew down to the runway.  The landing was a non-event and I taxied back to the FBO.  I saw my instrument instructor inside so I parked in clear view and ran inside.  I showed off my new beauty to anyone that would look.  All in all it was a great day.

I did however have my phone die and had to use email to ask for a ride home.  Luckily, my friend Mike was there to save the day again.  I showed the plane to him and we chatted for a while before he drove me home.  I went out to the plane two more times that day just to look.  I cannot wait to make more trips in my fabulous new looking airplane.  I feel excitement, calm, joy, pride, and serenity when I am up in the air.  That is where she gets her name.  It is a feeling that I cannot adequately describe.  It is sheer joy.

Painting still in progress

Well The plane was suppose to be done on the 3rd and it wasn't.  Several things came up that delayed the completion.  I took a week off of work to go pick  it up, have a friend work on it, fly some friends around and then fly home.  Unfortunately it was still not done that Sunday, so my friend Mike. and his girlfriend Christine, offered to drive down to Medford to get me.  In case you do not know, it is a 5 hour drive each way.  They are good friends.

So it is now the 14th of March and it is still not done.  I got some pictures of the plane painted with out the clearcoat, 2 days ago and you can see them here.  The tail design looks exceptional.  I really love how this came out.  While I was in Medford for a week waiting on the paint I had the

opportunity to spend some time in the paint show working out the designs and lines for the paint.  I am glad this happened as it is more what I wanted because of the delay.

Yesterday I got a few pics of parts with the clearcoat on.  They look much more finished.  Really spectacular really.  I am including those pictures here as well.  It is turning out really great.  I am hoping that I will be able to get it tomorrow.  We shall see.

Painting progress

So the pinting process is still on schedule. I have included a few pictures of the plane durring prep and a few pictures of the problems found.  The shots here are the pre paint shots.  

It is still not painted but the body work is underway and the masking is completed.  You can see it here with the control surfaces removed and the masking on the windows.  The main wheel farings are off as well for painting.

There were a few problems that were found with the airplane.  

1) The bearings on the flaps were worn out and all need to be replaced.  

2) The assist step is damaged to the point where it will not help to just weld it back.  

3) There were apparently a lot of wasps that have made my airplane their home in the years that it sat.  

4) The air exchanger has a few cracks in it.

The biggest problem was that the left aileron had

 been repaired poorly in the past and they recomended that the aileron be replaced.  

You can see in the picture to the left that there was a  piece of metal rivited over the aileron for whatever reason.  I have been searching for a replacement that I can get while it is being painted.   I will upload more as I have it.

Here is the draft of the new paint scheme!!  It is metallic silver on top and metallic dark green on the botton.  The accent lines are a metallic charcoal.  I am suppose to get some pictures of its progress tonight and I will post those tomorrow.

1/24 - Flight to Grants Pass to paint N4404J

On the 24th, I flew my airplane down to Grants Pass Oregon to have it painted.  I am having the work done by Evolution Graphics and from what I have seen they do great work.  I bought a round trip ticket to get me home and back and set out planning for the trip.  I am hoping to have pictures of its progress to post here as they happen.

The morning was cold and frosty as normal but I was getting off a little later and the plane had already thawed.  The sky looked a little overcast but this was at 9000ft or so which is well above 

my planned 6500ft.  I checked the precip radar and everything looked good.  There was a little blob over Medford but I was not going that far.  I started up the plane and taxied to the fuel pumps.  I filled it to the tabs (36 total gallons) and started off to the runway.  I called Portland tower and took off from Pearson.  I was again given a mid-field crossing and I was on my way.  As i passed Salem, OR I noticed that there was a lower layer of clouds below me ahead.  I pressed on and found my self flying between two cloud layers for about an hour and a half.  I was trying out the Mountain Scope software which has a synthetic vision component.  This proved very useful as I could not see the mountains below but I knew right where they were.  

When I was about 80 miles from Grants Pass I noticed that my DG began to spin at about 3RPM.  Aparently there was no filter on the gyro instruments and they has sucked in some insulation from the dash.  I was also growing concerned that there was no opening in the clouds to decend through.  At this time I realized that I should have looked at satellite images rather than radar to see the solid cloud cover.  Too late now I guess :-)  I finally saw a ridge in the clouds and went to investigate it.  It turned out to be an opening about 1.5 miles long and about 2000 ft wide.  I passed over it to see what was below.  I was so relieved to see a runway down there.  It was Roseburg.  I made another circle to decend through the opening and down into Roseburg.  Once below the cloud layer it was totally clear.  The clouds were unfortunately all the way down to the mountain tops so I was in an enclosed space.  I used the Mountain Scope software to determine the best path to fly so I could stay well below the couds and well above the terain.  I got stuck a few times and had to make a few canyon turns but I managed to keep going.  I looked the the computer and saw there was just one ridge between me and the airport and I followed the path that I-5 made through it.  It was such a relief to pop out on the other side.  I could see the airport and I made straight for it.  I got in the pattern and made a nice landing at the field.  I taxied to the paint shop, got out and was greeted by Merl the owner.  We talked for a little bit and went inside to talk about what we wanted to do with the paint.

My mom showed up, because she was taking me to the Medford airport to catch my flight home.  We all sat down and worked out a color scheme for the airplane.  What i thought we were going to do and what we decided on were totally different.  We choose metallic forest green for the belly, metallic silver for the top and a metallic charcoal grey for the accent.  I will post a drawing as soon as I get it.  After all that was decided, my mom and I went to lunch at a nice sushi place and talked for a while.  then we went to the Medford airport so I would have time to get through security.  It turns out that there was no one there.  THey have a nice new terminal though, which was exciting to see.  My dad showed up which was really nice since I do not see him often either.  Then I boarded my plane and flew home as a passenger.

1/17 - First cross country

               My girlfriend is a huge fan of bowling and the PBA tour had a stop in Medford, OR.  This is where we use to live so naturally she went there for the week.  I had been trying to come up with a place to fly to for some time so I thought it would be fun to fly down and have lunch with Stacey and my parents.  I got up early and went down to the airport.  There was a thick layer of frost on the airplane so I could not take off.  The side facing the sun was beginning to melt so I let it get mostly defrosted and then got out the tow bar and turned the airplane around so that the other side could melt as well.  After a lot of melting and drying I had removed the ice from the airframe.  This took almost 90 minutes so I was glad to be done with it.  I still had 20min until my scheduled departure time.  I finished the walk around  and tried to start the airplane.  Click…  nothing!  I tried for about ten minutes and then walked over to Aero Maintenance where the gentleman behind the counter offered to jump start the airplane.  It worked and the engine roared to life.  I was very thankful to him and that I already had fuel in the airplane. 

I took off almost an hour late but I got my flight plan opened and appended.  I was given a mid field crossing departure over PDX which was great as I had been wanting to see the Portland airport from the air.  This also afforded me a spectacular view of Portland from the air.  You can see it in the picture here.  There is still some moisture on the window from the cold morning.  The flight was pretty calm up until Eugene.  I had been navigating solely with a handheld aviation GPS as I had not tested the VOR equipment in the airplane.  The other instruments seemed to be working fine adn I got no complaints from ATC about my newly repaired trandponder.

The fog covering Eugene was impressive.  I was only able to make out the airport when passing directly overhead.  It was a solid layer from there almost to Medford, with the exception of the mountains which were sticking up high above the fog.  “4404J are you VFR?” asked Seattle Center.  “Seattle Center, Yes I am 4404J.  “  They informed me that Medford was IMC and that I would not likely be able to land there.  I figured this might happen so I planned on landing at S03 as an alternate.  As can be seen in this picture, Medford was not an option, but Ashland (S03) was clear and a million.  I texted Stacey and told her that I would be diverting to Ashland and to meet me there.

We had a nice lunch and I was very happy to get to see her and my parents.  We ate at Big Al’s which is a nice little burger stand in Ashland.  It was my first $100 cheeseburger J.  We had to make lunch short as my colorblindness prevents me from flying at night.  We headed back to the airplane for pictures and a send off.

Of course the airplane would not start and I was running out of time.  I had not made plans for my dog Flirt to be taken care of overnight so I needed to get home.  I asked around for a new battery but it was the weekend and there was essentially no one around.  My parents offered to jump start the airplane which is not very convenient.  The battery is under the back seat and is difficult to get to so I had the back seat propped up with the tow bar and hooked up the cables.  I am thinking that I just want to get the cables unhooked as soon as possible since I do not want sparks in that part of the plane.  It would not turn over fast enough with the car engine at idle so I had my mom rev it up.  This time it turned over and started.  Whew….now to get those cables unhooked.  I started unhooking and I suddenly hear the car horn blaring.  I look outside to see what is happening and I notice the plane is moving and the stabilator is passing between the hood and top of my mom’s car.  I quickly grab the brake handle and stop the plane.  That was nearly an expensive disaster.  I yelled goodbye and I love you and I was off again.

Racing against the descending sun I headed back to Pearson field.  I tuned in the Eugene VOR and the to/from indicator shower I had a signal and I picked up the Morse code but I had no deflection on the needle on any OBS setting.  I went back to GPS nav and continued home.  It got dark quickly around sunset so I was racing home.  The GPS had my ground speed at 157mph due to atail wind.  The moment the sun dropped below the mountians the air got really rough.  I was being thrown all over the cabin.  I was given a mid-field crossing at PDX and I flew over the Columbia river.  I saw my home airport all lit up as if it had been waiting for my plane and me to return home.   The turbulence got worse as I reached the other side of teh river.  "4404J squak VFR, frequency change approved" I heard over the radio.  Before I could respond, the tower barked back at me.."4404J do you copy?"  I responded to the tower and let them know that I was having trouble staying upright and that I was unable to respond because I was responsible for the safety of the sircraft and those aboard.   I read back their call and suaked 1200 and changed to the Pearson frequency.  The landing was relitivly smooth and I was relieved to be home.