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2004 Western Trip - Day 18

What I Planned:

Date: On or about August 2, 2004

There WAS no plan for this day - I thought I was going to be home the day before.

What Actually Happened:

Date: On or about August 2, 2004

I woke at my parents house in NJ, ate some breakfast and checked the weather, and then we headed out to Caldwell (KCDW) for the last, short ride home to Fitchburg (KFIT).

My mother watched me take off and I waggled the wings to wave to her. A few seconds later, the Caldwell tower controller (who had a bit of time on his hands, I guess) asked me if I had family or friends on the field. It took me a couple of seconds to figure out what he was asking me, since I had never heard a controller ask that before, and I said "say again?". He asked again, and then mentioned that he saw the wing waggle and assumed that was a goodbye wave - I told him he got it right. He then asked what my cruise and stall speeds were, and seemed impressed with the answers. It's always nice when folks are impressed :-).

The flight home was OK - I had to climb up to 9500 ft. to get over the thick haze and 5 mile visibility, but on top, visibility was great. It's nice to have a plane in which it's reasonable to climb up that high even for a 1 hour flight.

So, my "interesting" adventure is done, and I'm happy to be home. I've got a lot of work to do to clean up the plane from the problems I had, and I'll do them during the Conditional Inspection in August, so the plane is ready for Rough River in the fall. I've got to get a Magneto back to Jim Sower and Ken Miller, get my fixed Nose Gear Strut from Jack Wilhelmson and return Nick Ugolini's, replace the left magneto with an electronic ignition system, either get a second battery for the EI or replace the starter with a B&C starter, etc. etc.

After a few days rest, I'll look forward to starting on all that work :-). Thanks again to everyone who made any semblance of a reasonable trip possible for me - without you I would have not been able to accomplish what I did.

Here are a few shots from the day's flight.


It was REALLY hazy below about 8000 ft. - there was a vast difference up at 9500 ft. Click on the thumbnail to see the larger version.	Here's a cute little cloud, with a line in the background and the Quabbin reservoir visible. Click on the thumbnail to see the larger version.	Here's good old Fitchburg Airport. Click on the thumbnail to see the larger version.

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