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!