Has anyone taken an air tour in a four-place, with a CFI? Any recommendations?

VFRs,

CtO clinics are open to all Piper PA28, PA32, PA34, and PA24 aircraft. Grumman aircraft also participate with the Cherokees, including AA-5B, AG-5B, AA5, AA1, AA1A, and AA-1B planes. There are other type groups for Bonanzas, Cessnas, Mooneys, RVs, Warbirds, etc. 

This weekend’s clinic (April 22-24) is at KXNX in Gallatin, TN. The remaining clinics are:

May 13-15 KTZR, Columbus, OH

May 20-22, KJEF, Jefferson City, MO

June 3-5, KFKA, Preston, MN

June 11-12, S33, Madras, OR

June 24-26, KGDW, Gladwin, MI

No need to freak out about flying the Fisk arrival at OSH. Eliminate the stress. Arriving with a Mass Arrival group is THE BEST way to go to OSH. Airspace is cleared for the mass arrival groups, each of which has a scheduled arrival time. Groups have hospitality tents, camp together and you can learn a lot about your aircraft from pilots with similar planes. The social aspect makes OSH that much more fun. There are many opportunities to share with each other what to see or skip while at OSH. 

Don’t wait to register for a clinic or hotel rooms. Clinic hosts have reserved blocks of rooms, and some are only being held to specific dates. Details are on the Cherokees to Oshkosh website on the Schedule page. There are alternate motels near all the clinics, if you can’t get a room, use the contact form on the website to connect with the host of the clinic you will attend (pop-up menu on the form). The host should be able to connect you with lodging. Many hosts also arrange for ground transportation at the clinics. 

Again, don’t wait to register, clinic hosts need to know how many pilots to plan for and how many experienced pilots they will need to assist as safety pilots for first time participants. Because we continue to improve our procedures, clinic participation is mandatory for all who wish to fly the mass arrival no matter how many times you have flown with us in the past or your level of formation flying experience. Flying with dozens and dozens of planes is fun, but everyone needs to understand the procedures and safety protocols. Our participants vary from recreational flyers to ex-military pilots, current and former airline pilots. Some have 200 hours PIC (the minimum requirement) and others have over 30,000 hours. Safety is our number one priority. Take a look at the ground school videos on our website. Go to the “Documents “menu item and “CtO Training Resources” submenu. Viewing the ground school videos are required for participation in the clinics, but if you are wondering if this is for you, they can give you a sense of who we are and how we operate. 

Unlike the other mass arrival type groups, there are no charges for CtO clinics, though you may be asked to chip in to cover the cost of lunches and snacks. 

Details at https://Cherokees2Osh.com

Thanks to Jay Selman from Jaybird Aviation Photography for permission to use his photos taken at Cherokees to Oshkosh Clinics this year. 

I saw the threads for previous years didn't see one for '23.

My home drome

https://www.wingswheelskeels.com/index.html

Come see us! Lots of activity going on. Hope to see you there.

Gary Risley

There are type groups for Cherokees, Grummans, Bonanzas, Cessnas, RV’s and more. 

This is a reminder that if you are a Cherokee driver: PA28; PA32; or PA24, or a Grumman driver: Tiger; Cheetah; or Traveler, you only have a few days left to sign up for the Cherokees to Oshkosh Mass arrival (yep, we include Grummans, it turns out nice people also fly Grummans). Registration closes on May 31 at midnight PDT. 

You must attend one of the three remaining clinics to participate. Registration is closed for the Columbus clinic this weekend. The last two clinics are June 2-4 at KFKA, Preston, MN and June 23-25 at KAID, Anderson, IN.

There is no charge to attend the clinics. 

Join us. As one of our participants once said: “Flying is fun. Flying together is more fun.” 

Details are at: https://www.cherokees2osh.com

I'll be flying my Turbo Arrow from Albuquerque to Orlando area in late May. Current plan is to go along the southern part of the US, staying over land. Planning on no more than 3 hours between stops. Mostly because that equates to bladder size, but also this will be my first long XC with this plane. I can evaluate oil and fuel consumption and stretch my legs a bit.... Will have a RON (Remain ovr night) some where along the route.

Any recommendations of fields, food, fun / interesting places to see along the way?

Any fields I should avoid ??

Thank you

There are two clinics, one on each coast. Both will qualify you to join in the Cherokees to Oshkosh Mass Arrival. 

Clinics are being held at 60J, Ocean Isle Beach, NC, and KVIS, Visalia, CA. 

60J and KVIS are the second and third of 10 clinics. There remaining seven clinics are:

KOSA, Mt. Pleasant, TX April 14-16

KXNX, Gallatin, TN April 21-23

KJEF, Jefferson City, MO April 28-30

KTZR, Columbus, OH May 19-21

KFKA, Preston, MN June 2-4

S33, Madras, OR June 9-11

KAID, Anderson, IN June 23-25

Details can be found at: https://cherokees2osh.com

Cheerio,

Stan

My wife has been nudging me for a trip to Lake Superior this summer. Finding the airports is no problem - they're all in Foreflight! Finding a place to stay is proving much harder. She really likes the Blue Harbor Resort in Sheboygan, but a campground or Motel-6 will definitely be no-sale.

Any suggestions on where we should stay?

thanks!

Bob

A few of us met in Marengo Illinois yesterday for a visit to a B17 being restored and a trip to the Illinois Railway Museum, in Marengo and Union, Illinois. We had a great time and are planning on going back next summer! Here are some pics.

https://t.vrbo.io/coNOkZwdrtb

https://www.airnav.com/airport/KJKL

https://www.facebook.com/466681463376811/posts/pfbid0VtwLL4m1D5DBEshRgUM5TB1taargvFp6rCvKQEnzMpu5XohEst35UbNn8bTSNbu1l/?d=n

I wrote out a rant about an asshole that intentionally attempted to cause a mid air or just scare the crap out of me by climbing at me and causing my iPad to turn red. The iPad said 100 feet below and he was climbing. I did balls to the walls, pulled back and went straight up. Then pulled power out and started down, quickly, as a jet was passing overhead.

It was a status airplane with a parachute. I saw the guy and his plane, our paths intersected, only separated by 300 feet at the most after I climbed. After he pushed me around he dove then turned his exponder off.

I was a little upset. Approach heard me, they heard him laugh at me.

Last week it was an Eagle, this week single fixed gear super plane. I better stay home next week.

I am one of the lucky cops, I got hurt very badly and had to retire while still alive but very hurt. As such I lost my medical and got out of GA, went into the fractional airlines dispatch department for 18 years and while hanging out with my fellow midnight dispatch scum I was reinfected with the GA virus. My teen age daughter complained that both of her parents work for the preeminent fractional airline and she had never flown.

So the search began. I found an Arrow that passed my inspection and bought it, then found out all the AD’s and annuals had been pencil whipped for the last 17 years. The Arrow was down for a while for in essence a D Check but now my Arrow is in pristine condition and we are enjoying flying it.

My midnight dispatch scum friend is also a CFII at a local airport, he is not in need of hours but it is not hard to find young CFI’s who want to go to the airlines and need hours. One such pilot loves flying my Arrow and he wanted to go have breakfast and tour the museum at KPCW, Port Clinton, Ohio located on the shore of Lake Erie, just about exactly 1 hour from our home base of Lancaster, Ohio, KLHQ.

So we did all the normal stuff to get ready and had an uneventful flight north. We overflew Cedar Point Amusement Park and a mile or so over Lake Erie then the 2 miles into KPCW. From our time over the park to our approach, 4 aircraft arrived all without ADS-B and 3 took off and stayed in the pattern, only 1 of the planes that took off had ADS-B. It quickly became scary busy and Doug my CFI took over the landing. He got us sequence in with the other traffic but the other traffic was 20 knots slower than us. One of the other planes realized we could not play well in their sandbox and he allowed us to go in front of him while he did a 360. It was an incredible air show and my 50 year old Arrow was the newest plane in the pattern by several decades. There was a real Cub, TriPacer, a 1959 Cessna 180 on amphibious floats and a few others.

While turning final there was a black spot out in front of us. This dot began taking shape, white tail feathers and a white head and bright yellow legs. We got to see a Bald Eagle in flight at no more than 20 feet off the wing. His wings were out stretched and his talons aimed at the plane, I don’t know if he put his feet out to slow himself down or if he intended to engage in close range combat. Either way we turned leaving him to fly through our prop wash and we landed safely, rolling to the end of the runway and right to breakfast/lunch at The Tin Goose Diner. Everything looked good and we enjoyed our food and heard no complaints from any table.

After we ate we toured Liberty Aviation Museum. They have several planes, all airworthy including a B25, Boeing Stearman and a new arrival a PBY Catalina flying boat. They have some WWII German tanks and weapons along with a Sherman Tank that they take out in the parking lot and play with it on some Saturdays in the summer. We were allowed to stick our heads in the PBY and have a look while museum staff sprayed the aircraft with degreaser. The old P&W’s gave the plane a generous coating of oil that the staff was using a large lift to reach the tail to degrease it. The Cat is registered N4NC.

All in all it was a great flight, 1 hour each way, good food and a little bit of aviation history for my daughter. Helping my teenager understand the sacrifice and loss her family endured to give her the Rights and Freedoms we enjoy today.

My daughter explained to Doug, he better sign her off to solo on her 16th b-day, her dad, me, the meteorologist, pointed out she was born in January, my fault, and we live in Ohio, kinda my fault, and Ohio weather in January may push her solo back to March. I was told I have 2 years, work on my forecasting. I think my kid has the aviation bug so looks like we have a future Piper Owner Society member. She plans on becoming a lawyer. She is interested in protecting family farms, equine sports law and has spoken to a lawyer at the airport and has become interested in aviation law. In 10 years we may have a lawyer here to help. Especially if you fly your horses to your family farm.

If you are interested in good food and a fun small museum, a flight to KPCW is great just please don’t have a mid air with our National Bird and commit a felony by killing a Bald Eagle.

That was one of the most impressive sights I have seen, an Eagle full span with its talons pointed at me.

To see the detailed information, visit nj99s.org, select Calendar and then 2022 Spring Flyout Challenge. The results and prizes will be announced in person and via Zoom on June 4th at Lincoln Park Airport ((N07), Lincoln Park, NJ.

It is not necessary to fly to any airport to be eligible for a prize. Simply by purchasing an entry card, one point will be earned and you will donate to the scholarship fund. Visit the website for full details and important information on each participating airport.

We flew down from Hillsboro, OR (KHIO) to Yolo Country (KDWA) and kept the plane there to make the rental car logistics simpler. Was great to tour around with my daughter and by flying ourselves we avoided the insane prices for commercial during spring break as well as the crowds. In CA Diesel is now more expensive than jet A....

On the flight back we had good weather so flew it all VFR and got to "sightsee" past Mt. Shasta. I flew ~ 60% power at 10.5k burning around 22 GPH for 172 kts TAS and often over 195kts TAS. Was a magic carpet ride and fun to share with my daughter as we debated the merits of one campus over another. Mostly I was giving her a preview of urban to suburban campuses large and small. She still has some time to decide.

Considering the flight of 2.5 hrs vs an 8.5 hr drive we saved at least 12 hrs RT and the fuel costs were less vs commercial.

Taking kids on college tours (and hopefully visiting them once in college) is one of the reasons why I picked the Seneca for my next plane. I have the useful load to almost fully equip a dorm... I hope to fly out to the Bahamas later this year too.

Woodland Aviation in Davis is a top place for servicing Cirrus planes - they are co-located with Davis Flight Support who I used. Their hanger was full of $10 million dollars worth of planes - or 9 planes. I used to own a SR22 but the useful load is not enough and at over $1M per plane I don't think the value is there. My Seneca was < 1/5th of that, has more useful load, is FIKI and can be equipped to a similar level of avionics integration is desired. The SR22T is flown at 85% power for cruise so the fuel burn numbers and speeds are not as far off as you would expect single vs twin. 85% is about 270 HP vs the 265 HP Total for my twin at ~ 60%.

I am still active in the Cirrus community as well and it is a great group of people. I would say a number of them have moved from aging Piper/Cessna piston planes many years ago for the advanced features in the Cirrus (glass panel, aerodynamics + chute). Today, some of the same advanced avionics, engine monitoring and autopilots are now available for retrofit into the existing Piper/Cessna fleet. When Cirrus pilot's are out of useful load for missions some are moving to twins but also jets and turboprops. The Piper pressurized series is a common step up too.

My daughter and I are planning out our next adventure.

This no cost clinic is open to all PA28, PA32, PA34, PA18 and Grumman Tiger, Cheetah, and Traveler pilots. The Grummans have been flying with the Cherokees since 2018.

I don’t normally recommend bringing guests to the CtO (Cherokees to Oshkosh) clinics, because it takes focus away from the task at hand, which is to learn, or knock the rust off, skills for flying together. But this clinic is different from all other clinics. The host, a retired restaurateur, owns three ocean front homes (vacation rental properties) on Ocean Isle Beach, NC (a 30 minute drive north of Myrtle Beach, SC) just two miles from the airport. These homes on the ocean each have a pool, and in total have 25 bedrooms, 19 full bathrooms and 3 half baths. This is a great trip for spouses/significant others since this is a resort area. The hosts provide breakfast and dinner for the group (and will provide full details to those who register). The host only charges for the cleanup fee from his service, the cost of the food and for a 15-passenger rental van, so it’s a great deal. They also open up their houses a few days early and after the clinic for those who wish to stay longer. It is a great social weekend on top of the flight training. The fee to stay for the weekend is $175 single and $200 double. For those who have been in the northeast or upper Midwest, this is a great get a way and teaser for what we can expect from the WX in the next month or two.

There is no better way to land at OSH than in a mass arrival with the airspace cleared for the group. The training the CtO provides is exceptional for the inclusion of training for a number of scenarios that could conceivably face a pilot, and element, or the flight.

Not a Piper or Grumman driver, there are mass arrival type groups for many other aircraft makes including Bonanzas, Cessnas, Mooneys, RVs and more.

Details can be found at https://Cherokees2Osh.com

I'm looking for pointers going into the Vegas area. I've read plenty of positives and negatives about both GA (KVGT or KHND) airports in the Vegas area. I'm attending a 5 day conference....

1. Any recent good advice on which one to use ??
2. Any advice on how to make nice with the controllers and how to fly a "strip tour" or other sight seeing stuff.
   When I lived in Silly-Con-Valley, we used to do "Bay Tours" all the time. Pretty straight forward... wonder if there is
   something similar for Vegas.

I plan to fly ABQ V12 ZUN, INW, DRK, EED and then up into Vegas.
Early morning departure out of ABQ to help with avoiding the afternoon thunder bumpers that tend to show up.
Should only take about 3.5 to 4 hours to get there.

Mucho thanks

I have a 1966 PA-28-180. Hangered when at home but would like a cover when travelling.

Any thoughts - good and bad - on the products that are on the market?