After my last flight, I wasn't sure if I'd fit one more flight in before I needed to go up for another biennial flight review (BFR). As I've alluded to recently, I'm letting my privileges lapse at the end of the month and not going up for a BFR for a little while. I have some big plans for flying in the future, but those plans are somewhat contingent on making sure my financial situation is rock solid. I won't go into details about it, but many of you have heard me speak about the plans on a personal level. I set a goal for myself, and I'm going to hit it. The only downside is this hiatus from flying, albeit temporary.
I actually have to admit not being able to control an urge to fly for this flight. A friend of mine posted something on Facebook asking what people do to find an inner calm, and I half-seriously offered a flight out of town if it would help. Of course, that got me thinking, and I booked a plane anyway. The weather was perfect, and I've always wanted to take some more artistic shots of the planes I fly without being around a ton of other planes, or people wondering what the heck I'm doing.
I tried charging my cameras in the car, but that didn't work as well as I'd expected. Luckily, only the ContourGPS complained when I loaded it into the plane. As such, I just gave up on the forward-facing camera view, left the ContourROAM2 on the wing view, and moved the ContourROAM to a panel-facing view, taking advantage of the lack of a passenger. And why not? I figured if it was going to be my last flight for a while, some solo time to bond with the plane would be appropriate.
I chose Luray (LUA) because there aren't many aircraft based there, and there are some great mountains as a backdrop. It's a nice short flight, too. The flight down was fittingly smooth, and I watched a few people take advantage of the nice weather on Skyline Drive down below. The landing in Luray was nice and easy. Landing uphill on Runway 4 makes it easy to roll down the runway with little braking to the transient parking.
Kenny (the airport attendant) asked if I needed anything while I was on the downwind, and for once I didn't take him up on a ride into town. I just replied that I'd be taking pictures and he left it at that. Sparing the normal narrative, I figure I'll just get to the pictures.
See what I mean about those mountains? Awesome. It's nice to have a mostly empty ramp around you, too. A photogenic subject makes it pretty easy, too.
I'm still intrigued by the wing of the DA40. It definitely shows the company's roots in making motor gliders. Also pictured, the Blue Ridge living up to its name.
I posterized the heck out of this one. Why? Because I could. I figured it would give it an interesting effect.
Despite wanting to savor the trip home, I actually kept the speed up. I guess if I have the speed I'll use it. There was a certain amount of internal pressure that I placed on myself to make my last landing a good one, but I actually pulled off a landing I was rather proud of. The new camera angle (for the DA40, anyway - I used the same angle in the FDK 500 video, which was a C172R) is shown here.
One thing the DA40 pilots can probably relate to is the fact that trying to put the plane back in its spot without a tow bar is quite the task. Without a second person, and uphill, it becomes nearly impossible. Up to this point, I've always flown with someone who could at least give a hand. I'm pretty sure anyone watching probably had a laugh at my expense, but as you'll see in the picture, I pulled it off in the end.
I plan on posting while I'm away from flying. What the posts will be about, time will tell, but I'm betting that it'll be related to keeping up with the technology and happenings in the NAS. If anyone has suggestions on what to write about, you can always drop a line either on Facebook, or Twitter.
Hours:
Pilot in Command Cross Country (PIC XC): 1.3 - 86.5 (of 50)
Actual/Simulated Instrument (Act/Sim): 0.0 - 13.7 (of 40)
