Hawks Field

Am planning a 7:00 departure tomorrow for Telluride, CO to see Zack, Torrey and grand baby Kestrel. Apologizing in advance if I wake up any neighbors ...

The plane if fully IFR rated ... Garmin GTN650 for GPS/Comm, Dynon SkyView D-700 for PFD, Mode-S transponder. But I wasn't (IFR ready) until taking an IFR proficiency check-ride with Bill Ziesenitz, one of our local instructors. So I picked him up last Saturday and we flew a 1.4 hr. flight out of Hamilton, NY. Been awhile, and 1.4 hrs. looking at the gauges (well, they're not exactly gauges anymore ... flying the modern glass cockpit is more like a video game) is pretty draining. But I was able to finish the ride without doing anything stupid. So now I'm ready to tackle Oshkosh and Telluride, knowing we can always transition to instruments when needed.

Just received notice of our airport identifier from the FAA: 8NY8

Had a great "Open Hangar" on Saturday. 27 adults and children signed up for rides this year (children will count towards the Young Eagle Program).

The big news is the new paint (by Ram Collision). Ron and his son Zack did a great job with the P-51 paint scheme. Now we're working with VictoryGirl to work up some cool nose-art. Will be taking "Good Sport" to Oshkosh this year, where it will be judged for paint, workmanship, etc. Yesterday we took the plane out for it's first ride this year. To be honest, I was a little anxious after being down over the winter (and having everything apart for the painting), but it all checked out and I took flying buddy Craig up later in the morning. We noticed a little vibration at high RPM, so I think we need to get the prop balanced. It's always something!

Flight test one glorious summer afternoon. Doug and Laurie were visiting us from South Carolina. That's their son Bryce in the back seat, my very first passenger (taxi only).