Jenny and I flew the Cub to the Golden Gate bridge today. It was our first trip there together. It was a bit of a strange flight because we went from dead calm wind to pretty good chop and back again several times. When we finally got to the Bridge the wind really picked up and the plane jumped around quite a bit. But, it was worth the view and I’m looking forward to going back when the wind isn’t quite so strong and the clouds aren’t quite so low.
The flight was surprisingly smooth. There wasn’t much wind, which is rare, and you could actually see the bridge from Sonoma once you got to about 1000 ft. The bridge is pretty amazing when you drive or walk across it but I’m convinced that the best way to see the Golden Gate is to see it from a small plane. It’s especially nice in a Cub with the door down and the window open. Hopefully, this time next year I’ll be able to fly by it in the L-19. Fingers crossed that it will be restored and ready to fly. We also flew by the Wharf and did a loop around Alcatraz, which was cool. It was fun waving my wings at the tourists as we flew by. Also, I could see my house (small apartment) from there.
This was a momentous occasion for Terri. It’s the first time she’s been up in a plane with me despite the fact that I’ve taken her daughters flying on multiple occasions. Hi Taylor, Hi Alyssa! It’s going to be hard for the family back home in Iowa to believe this, but she didn’t scream or get sick once. Not even when it got a little bumpy flying around the hills. The second picture gives you a good idea of how much rain we’ve had. This is the shooting range that I use as a marker for turning towards the airport. All of the busted orange clay pigeons make it easy to see from a long ways out. Anyhow, as you can see it’s almost under water. I hope my marker doesn’t get washed away Alyssa, this last picture is for you. We didn’t give your bear a ride in the plane, because we didn’t want to lose it out the window, but we did get a picture of Ballerina Bear with your mom and the plane in the hanger.
As long as you keep your eye on the oil level it’s not really a big deal. The problem is bad design. They put the crank case breather port next to the prop shaft which is lubricated by the engine oil. Unfortunately, as the prop shaft spins it throws oil into the hole, then gravity does the rest, as you can see from the picture on the left. I’ll get around to fixing it sooner or later. Until then, I’ll just have to keep a rag handy to wipe the belly down after every flight.
Today I went with Mikka Skaffari, another Finnish friend who lives here in San Francisco. It was pretty breezy for a Cub, with 15 to 20 mph winds, but we stayed clear of the hills and enjoyed some bumpy sideways flying. As the sun started setting the wind died down and we finished the day with some nice smooth air. I forgot my camera today but Mikka brought his so I’ll post those pictures once I get them. It was a pretty nice day flying and I hope I can get away again next weekend sometime to do a little more.
It was a real pleasure to get to fly with Eric in his Piper Clipper. After taking the shot he took the opportunity to show me how well his plane could perform aileron rolls. I landed with a pretty big smile on my face. It’s nice to be at an airport with so many nice folks. Make: Cessna
This was an amazing cross country experience and it was a lot of fun sharing it with friends and family. Now that the flight is over, I want to continue sharing my passion for flying, airplanes, and the culture of aviation. So… I’ve started this blog, along with my brother, in order to do that. Now, without further ado, (did I spell that correctly?), let’s get this blog kicked off with a few photos. Cheers |
|
That’s me, Paul Whitaker, in the back of my 1946 J-3 Cub. This is a photo taken by Tom Howard somewhere over West Texas during a 2000 mile flight from Paris Cox Field (PRX) in Paris Texas to Sonoma Sky Park (0Q9) in Sonoma California. A flight that we documented at 
Entries (RSS)