News

Got news you want to post? Click here!

March 2004

03-30-04    JWinDel made his third solo flight today. This flight followed the same protocols as his second solo flight, reported on 03-26-04. This flight was still restricted to the pattern around the airport but included more than the usual three touch & go landings, and was flown in a different aircraft. Pictured below, the "Tiger" is similar in appearance but differs slightly in equipment to the "Cheetah". The major difference is that it has about 12% more horsepower, allowing it to cruise at about 145mph vs. the Cheetah's 130mph.

Grumman AA-5B "Tiger"
N26784

Instrument Panel - Left                                              Instrument Panel - Right

With supervised pattern solo flights accomplished and to continue, the next step, expected in the next couple of weeks, will be unsupervised pattern solo flights. JWinDel gets to fly solo, the Instructor gets to stay home, and JWinDel gets to save the one-third of the hourly cost of the flight that is the Instructor's fee!

03-29-04    Uncle Leo is reported to be doing well and resting comfortably, down in Woodbury, N.J., after by-pass surgery surgery on his right leg.

03-26-04    JWinDel made his second SOLO flight today, during only his third lesson at the Squadron 1 Flying Club  Like his first solo in February, this solo was restricted to flying in the pattern around the airport, this time at Bridgeport's Sikorsky Memorial (BDR) in Stratford, CT. The flight was made in the same aircraft pictured in the story of 03-04-04, Grumman "Cheetah" N26142. Unlike his first solo, during which the student must come to a full stop after each of three landings, he performed three "touch & go" landings. This procedure differs in that the student takes off again immediately after landing, without stopping. His Flight Instructor, Alex Wolf, reports that his blood pressure remained at normal levels as he watched from the ground, likely owing to his own good health rather than JWinDel's flying skills!

03-20-04    The Colorado Clan took a road trip to Galveston, Texas to visit friends. The next morning, they boarded ship for a week long cruise to the Cayman Islands. Informed sources (i.e. KED) report that, despite some unexpected events and unpleasant weather, all had a wonderful time.

03-05 - 03-11-04    El Jefe and KED traveled from Manhattan, Kansas up to Broomfield, Colorado for a 5 day visit with our Colorado Clan.

03-05 & 03-06-04    Manhattan, Kansas (a.k.a. "The Little Apple"): The NJCAA National Indoor Track Championships were held this weekend at Kansas State University. Michael qualified for this meet. The Men's Team from Delphi J.C. finished 4th in the Distance Medley Relay and 2nd in the 4 X 800m Relay events. Team mate Justin Wood was ranked 2nd nationally in the 1000m event. Their Coach, Bob Backus, was named NJCAA Coach of the Year. The Women's Team finished 4th in the 4 X 100m Relay event. All in all, an outstanding meet for the relatively small school competing on the National level. Katie, Phil, El Jefe, and KED all journeyed to the "Little Apple" to show their support.

03-04-04    JWinDel planned and flew his first dual Night Cross-Country (X/C) trip this evening, with CFI (Certificated Flight Instructor) John Kyprios. The trip was from Westchester County Airport (HPN) to T.F. Green Airport (PVD) in Warwick, R.I. It was a beautiful Winter night and the view on the way up was spectacular. Sarah popped down to the airport from her nearby home for an hour's visit and even brought along some fuel for the poor pilots, i.e. Dunkin Donuts Coffee! The flight back was a different story - there was no view! The training regimen required that, from moments after take-off from PVD until moments before landing back at HPN, JWinDel had to wear "The Hood". This device completely blocks the student pilot's view outside of the aircraft, forcing him to fly by the instruments alone and learning to trust them. Of course, the CFI is there, acting as the safety pilot in case the student screws up, but fortunately, such was not the case and the flight back was more or less uneventful, as well as successful.

03-04-04    JWinDel  joined the "Squadron 1 Flying Club", based at Sikorsky Memorial Airport (BDR) in Stratford, CT. He expects to complete the Stage Two Check in the near future at American Flyers, based at Westchester County Airport (HPN), where he began Flight School  last October, in the Cessna 172 Skyhawk. He will complete his training at Squadron 1 in the club's various Grumman and Mooney aircraft with CFI Alex Wolf. He anticipates that he will go for his final check ride in the near future and get his pilot's license some time in the next couple of  months. Today's familiarization flight went very well and JWinDel reports that the well equipped "Cheetah" (pictured below) was a pleasure to fly. ANY BODY WANT TO GO FOR A RIDE?????

      
Grumman AA-5A "Cheetah"
N26142

    
Instrument Panel - Left                                          Instrument Panel - Right

Last Updated 04-03-04