Ed Cesnalis Posted October 18, 2012 Report Share Posted October 18, 2012 That's the right plan but with one timing issue. Arrive at Page before sunset. 6 Years ago at the Page-CT-fly in we flew in the afternoon to Monument Valley. On the way back the sun was setting and flying to Page was quite annoying, so much so that I finally advanced my throttle, left the formation and apologized to Roger Lee and company for leaving them behind. I was one of the first CTs with an optimized prop pitch and it showed there. You will have some trouble keeping up so remember that you can fly WOT @ 7,500' and above because you will be only realizing 75% power or less. Most of the ct pilots are not from high altitude so they are not comfortable with their throttles wide open. Wish I was coming. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FastEddieB Posted October 18, 2012 Author Report Share Posted October 18, 2012 Safely in Page, via Moriarty and then Gallup. More to follow... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FastEddieB Posted October 19, 2012 Author Report Share Posted October 19, 2012 From today's flight to Monument Valley: My beautiful wife: Some Navajo children on a field trip, enamored with the Sky Arrow: Each got to sit in the pilot's seat! And just one of many spectacular views: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FastEddieB Posted October 21, 2012 Author Report Share Posted October 21, 2012 Hooked up with Brian and his son Evan for a trip to Bryce Canyon. Their Allegro: We generously let the speedier CT's go ahead. :mad: Spectacular scenery: Again! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TAYLOR ALLEGRO Posted October 21, 2012 Report Share Posted October 21, 2012 Here is Fast Eddie and Kool Karen in the Sky Arrow on our way to Bryce Canyon UT from Page AZ for a great Breakfast! IMG_0756 by Taylor Allegro, on Flickr Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FastEddieB Posted October 21, 2012 Author Report Share Posted October 21, 2012 VERY cool shot! THANKS!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
josjonkers Posted October 21, 2012 Report Share Posted October 21, 2012 VERY cool shot! THANKS!!! Interesting pictures! Were there any CT's at the the CT Page Fly Inn too? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CT4ME Posted October 21, 2012 Report Share Posted October 21, 2012 around 33-35 CTs... Tim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger Lee Posted October 21, 2012 Report Share Posted October 21, 2012 It usually turns out that all, but 5 are CT's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FastEddieB Posted October 22, 2012 Author Report Share Posted October 22, 2012 Interesting pictures! Were there any CT's at the the CT Page Fly Inn too? I'm assuming there were. They tended to blast by us so fast all we saw was a blur! Oh, and safe and sound in Tucson with friends - maintenance with Roger Lee commences tomorrow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FastEddieB Posted October 27, 2012 Author Report Share Posted October 27, 2012 Update: Spent three days in Tucson getting the plane worked on by Roger. Yesterday to Chandler to visit a friend. This morning headed home, but with a late start and the time change, decided to stop in Carlsbad, NM after just two legs. Planning for Little Rock tomorrow, then home the next day if Sandy cooperates. Great trip so far, more to come... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Runtoeat Posted October 27, 2012 Report Share Posted October 27, 2012 Eddie, something about pusher airplanes that appeals to me. I really like the looks of the Sky Arrow. It looks good flying over Bryce. Before buying my CTSW, I was all set to buy a Rans S12 XL pusher. This would have been a fun plane but not for X country travel and I'm glad that I ended up with the CT. Have a safe flight home. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FastEddieB Posted October 28, 2012 Author Report Share Posted October 28, 2012 Carlsbad, NM to Little Rock, AR in four legs today. Whew! Home tomorrow - we hope! PS - Dick, maybe not the perfect cross country airplane, but I would not give up that canopy, nor the tandem seating, nor the sidestick. Different strokes, and all that! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FastEddieB Posted October 28, 2012 Author Report Share Posted October 28, 2012 We just left the Sky Arrow at Madison County Airport in AL. Very windy - gusts to 25k or so from the north. Rented a car and we're driving the final 150 miles or so home. Dark skies over the mountains west of Chattanooga are making this seem the the right choice. Pretty sure our inconvenience is minor compared to many. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FastEddieB Posted October 28, 2012 Author Report Share Posted October 28, 2012 Even if we had made it over the mountains, this was for our home destination (at about 1,800') Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Runtoeat Posted October 29, 2012 Report Share Posted October 29, 2012 PS - Dick, maybe not the perfect cross country airplane, but I would not give up that canopy, nor the tandem seating, nor the sidestick. Different strokes, and all that! Eddie, I feel that the Rans S12 is not a good X-country plane but agree with you regarding the Sky Arrow. The Sky Arrow is not a high drag airplane like the Rans and due to this, it has good speed, a well sealed cockpit and is a good plane to go X-country. If I hadn't found my CTSW, the Sky Arrow was on my short list to consider. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coppercity Posted October 29, 2012 Report Share Posted October 29, 2012 Even if we had made it over the mountains, this was for our home destination (at about 1,800') That wind forecast looks like every afternoon here in Bisbee from March thru May! Not fun, but you get good at crosswind landings! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CT4ME Posted October 29, 2012 Report Share Posted October 29, 2012 'glad you made it home safe... 'always nice to sleep in your own bed! Tim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farmer Posted October 29, 2012 Report Share Posted October 29, 2012 Eric When we landed at VGT this week Monday the winds were 200 at 24 gusts 36 . They gave us runway 12 R and cleared us to land 10 miles out. The controller gave the winds on downwind and final. After landing he removed his finger from the crash truck button and thanked us for getting it on the ground. It is always windy in Hawaii. Thanks for your help making the page event good for us. Eddie and Karen very nice meeting you folks as well. THANKS To Everyone who makes Page Possible. Larry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coppercity Posted October 29, 2012 Report Share Posted October 29, 2012 Glad everyone made it home safely, sorry we missed it, but glad my airplane was there! Thank you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FastEddieB Posted October 29, 2012 Author Report Share Posted October 29, 2012 That wind forecast looks like every afternoon here in Bisbee from March thru May! Not fun, but you get good at crosswind landings! I was kinda surprised at the straight line winds we met in Henryetta, OK, Moriarty, NM and Sedona, AZ. I got to put to use at Moriarty and Sedona the technique of landing and taking off at an angle to the runway centerline to reduce the crosswind component. In a pinch, the Sky Arrow in a strong wind should only take a couple hundred feet to land. There's nothing explicitly illegal about landing in a ramp area aligned with the wind, though if one came to grief one would have to articulate why it wasn't careless and/or reckless operation. To note is that straight line winds like that are kinda rare around here, and even the 3,000' terrain and trees surrounding Copperhill can make strong winds much more of a challenge as the wind spills over the obstacles and terrain around the airport. Anyway, survived to fly another day and have another adventure getting our baby back to the nest on another day! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FastEddieB Posted November 1, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 1, 2012 Good news and bad news and good news. Good news is it was a gorgeous day today. Hardly a cloud in the sky. Drove to AL, returned the rental car, got in the air and had 25k+ tailwinds all the way home. Bad news is that the strong and gusty westerly winds made an approach and landing into Copperhill, TN too much of a challenge. The runway is 2/20 with trees to the west. I went so far as to line up for RWY 2 on final, but it was far too bumpy for my tastes with the wind spilling over those trees. Good news is that nearby Blairsville, GA has a RWY 8/26. Bumpy approach there, but doable. Called a friend and he picked us up and drove us the 20 miles or so home. Will wait for the winds to die down and go pick her up in the next few days. We hope! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duane Jefts Posted November 1, 2012 Report Share Posted November 1, 2012 Smart move Eddie! Good job! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FastEddieB Posted November 3, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 3, 2012 Well, FINALLY the little Sky Arrow has returned to her nest at Copperhill, TN... Took a while, but Sandy's winds finally let up! Working on a summary report of our adventure - will try to post in the next couple of days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FastEddieB Posted November 9, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 9, 2012 I finally am getting around to some summary pireps about our adventure. Here's an image of the legs flown (I think you can click on it to enlarge): I'm not sure if this will work, but this may be a link to an Excel file of the above (via Dropbox): https://www.dropbox....geTrip2012.xlsx As an aside, I created that worksheet on my Mac at home and made sure it was in a Dropbox folder. Then, on the road, I could keep it current using an iPad app called "CloudOn", which gives you access to Excel spreadsheets and a crude form of Excel for the iPad. Anyway, this was the longest trip we've attempted in the Sky Arrow. At or near max gross and 5,400 rpm, we were seeing about 97ktas. You can see from the average speed that headwinds came into play much more than tailwinds. Some of the average speeds are unreasonable low - those were legs like to Monument Valley where there was a lot of sightseeing. The 5.8 gph overall average should be pretty accurate. I had repitched my prop for more rpm a while back. While that definitely helps on takeoff and climb, I think I saw better cruise numbers with more pitch. Before the next long cross country I may pitch it back for comparison purposes. Only mechanical issues were the ongoing small oil leak, and a "GEN" light that would periodically start coming on at 2,200 rpm. The Sky Arrow might not be the best cross country platform, but it served us well and we're no longer in that much of a hurry. Got to see a lot of the country up close and personal, and each fuel stop had its own story. More later on the iPad replacing paper charts, my new LightSpeeds, and maybe a few other things that might come to mind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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