Odyssey Pilot Hours–Around Town

While living in Erie, Colorado and flying at Odyssey Pilot Hours (OPH), I flew from dawn until early afternoon nearly every day. The rest of the time, I was free to do whatever I wanted. On some days, I went exploring.

View of the Rocky Mountains from the neighborhood

Tuesday, July 22

On Tuesday, I asked around for good hiking trails in the area. One person suggested Boulder Falls, but when I looked it up, I discovered that it was closed due to a rockslide. Someone else suggested the Royal Arch Trail at Chautauqua Park, in Boulder. That looked promising, so I filled my Camelback with water and headed to Boulder.

When I arrived, I couldn't find a trail map. I saw a bunch of kids coming down the trail with their adult chaperones, so I asked one of the adults how she liked the trail. She said that it was nice. So, that's the trail I chose. After hiking for only a few minutes, I began to feel the effects of being at 5,500 feet above sea level. My legs were fine, but I was struggling to breath. I told myself that it was not because I'm so out of shape; it's the thin air.

The trail split several times, so I took pictures of where I'd been to be sure I could find my way back. Soon, I ran into a guy who was going the same direction, and we started talking. He moved to Colorado decades ago and has loved it ever since. We walked along a mesa trail together for about a mile, then I turned around and headed back the way we had come.

David on a trail near Chautauqua Park, Boulder

Back at the car, I thought about what else I'd like to do. I decided to go tour the University of Colorado, which is also in Boulder. I found a parking lot that wasn't too expensive, then started walking. I found a campus map, then headed for the stadium. All the gates were closed, but I found a spot with a pretty good view.

Home of the Colorado Buffaloes

Then I continued through the older part of campus. The buildings were very old, and several were in the process of being restored. I walked past a small pond, then headed for the student union.

The student union was nice and reminded me of nearly every other student union I've ever visited. One of the banquet rooms was being set up for an event. There were two people sitting at a table outside the room and I stopped to talk to them. I mentioned that my son goes to UCF and the girl said that she was from Florida. We talked a bit about how the football game was almost cancelled due to a hurricane that passed through the area during the week leading up to the game.

Student union at CU

My next goal was to find a view of the Flatiron mountains from somewhere on campus. It didn't take long to find it. I sent the picture below to Andrew, saying something like, "UCF campus is nice, but it doesn't have mountain views!"

Flatiron Mountains from CU

Thursday, July 24

On Thursday, I returned to Chautauqua Park. I wanted to find the Royal Arch Trail. This time, I went to the proper park entrance and found not only a trail map, but also a guide. I told him that I was told that I must do the Royal Arch Trail. He told me that it was nice, but it was the hardest trail. He suggested the Flatiron Trail. I thought it wise to take his advice.

From the park, the trail rises very rapidly about 1,500 feet vertically. Needless to say, I stopped several times during this section, to take pictures <cough><cough> of course. I eventually came to a decision point, where one trail was easy and the other was medium. I told myself to suck it up and take the medium trail, so that's what I did. While coming around a bend in the trail, I saw a nearly vertical cliff rising above me. And to my surprise, there were people climbing it! Nope, that's not for me.

Climbers near the Flatiron Trail

On my way back to the condo, I decided to stop in downtown Erie. It is a very small town with some mining history, but it is growing rapidly. On this evening, they were setting up for a street fair. Vendors were busy setting up tents and putting out their wares. I like it when towns show their civic pride and hold events out in the streets.

Sunday, July 27

On Sunday, I decided that I wanted to drive into the mountains. I routed a trip that went to Estes Park and came back down a different route. I asked my house mate Daniel if he wanted to come along. He said yes. The route started in Longmont, went west to Lyons, took US-36 to Estes Park, then took CO-7 back to Lyons.

It seems like July 27 is event day in Colorado, or maybe it is like that every weekend. In Lyons, there were cars and people everywhere. A lot of them were carrying innertubes and floating on the river. Then in Estes Park, the sidewalks were overflowing with people. It was chaos, but it looked like a lot of fun. Then something absolutely crazy happened. We were leaving Estes Park - just a mile out of town - when we came across a female elk standing right beside the road! The hustle and bustle didn't seem to affect her at all.

The drive down CO-7 was amazing. The road follows the path of the Little Thompson River as it winds its way through a narrow canyon with steep walls. We stopped in several places to take pictures and to touch the water. I nearly fell in as I jumped onto a rock to take some low angle pictures.

Little Thompson River

Tuesday, July 29

On Tuesday, the weather was not conducive to flying, so I took the opportunity to ride the Denver RTD train. With Andrew coming on Thursday, I wanted to ride the train and avoid the traffic and parking issues at the Denver airport. I thought it would be good to ride the route ahead of time so that I'd know what to expect when he arrived. I asked Daniel if he'd like to join me and he said yes.

Our first stop was in Eastgate. Eastgate is the stop that is closest to Erie. From there, we rode south into downtown Denver. The end of the line is Union Station. We got off the train and looked around Union Station while we waited for the next train to the airport. This is a stop on Amtrak's California Zephyr route, which we chased around Granby and Winter Park the last time I was in Colorado.

Union Station in Denver

We boarded the next train to the airport, sat back, and enjoyed the ride. Once at the airport, we walked around for a while, then boarded the next train back to Union Station. Just to mix things up a bit, I decided to get off the train at the Peoria station and ride a different train to Aurora. I was hoping Aurora would be nice, but it wasn't all that special. We got off that train and caught the next train back to Denver.

The next train took us to deeper into downtown. From here, we walked past the famous 16th Street Mall. We were in a bit of a hurry, so we didn't have time to explore it. From the street, I couldn't see why it was so popular. Back at Union Station, we caught the next train to Eastlake. On the way out of town, we passed by Coors Field and a BNSF rail yard. I miss seeing those big, beautiful "pumpkin" locomotives.

BNSF rail yard in Denver

After hearing so many stories about how bad Colorado has become after legalizing marijuana, I have to say that I didn't smell it at all the entire time I was there. Also, I left Denver feeling like it is a small city, trapped inside a huge metropolitan area. Most of the buildings in downtown are old and less than six stories tall. Finally, I noticed walking paths everywhere. During most of the train ride, there was at least one paved path visible. Colorado takes outdoor living seriously. This is something I wish more cities would do.

Odyssey Pilot Hours–Flight Time

I arrived in Erie Colorado on Thursday, July 18. On Friday morning, I attended orientation at Odyssey Pilot Hours (OPH). I was scheduled to get checked out in the two plane types afterwards, but the weather was not cooperating.

During orientation, the owner of OPH went through all of the rules and regulations. After each section, we signed and dated the document. With the paperwork out of the way, we moved on to flight details. There were four columns of notes on the whiteboard covering things like logging flight time, airplane-specific details like airspeeds, local area airports and air spaces, and pilot pressures and how to cope with them.

After orientation, I was nervous. I wasn't sure if I was ready to be the responsible pilot in command in this new, complicated environment. I told myself that I'd insist that my first partner be the flying pilot on my first flight. That way, I could sit in the right seat and observe everything.

JMB VL-3 at the OPH hangar in Erie

Saturday, July 19

Saturday was checkout day. I first flew the Harmony for nearly two hours. My instructor had me demonstrate slow flight, steep turns, and stalls before heading back to the pattern for touch and goes. I did four laps around the pattern before doing a full stop landing. Later that day, my instructor and I repeated the process in the VL-3.

After flying both planes, one after the other, I was convinced that I wanted to spend all of my time in the Harmony. The main reason was the seating position. You sit higher in the Harmony, so forward visibility is better. Also, the Harmony has a solid roof panel that blocks out most of the sun. Finally, the Harmony is a little easier to land. The VL-3, on the other hand, is very sporty. Some say it is like driving a go-cart. It is very slippery in the air and requires a lot of focus and tiny inputs to the stick to make a smooth landing.

Evektor Harmony at OPH in Erie

Sunday, July 20

For my first flight, I was paired with Lee to fly the VL-3, and we flew to Limon, Colorado. Lee had been flying at OPH for a long time and lives in the area, so he had a lot of knowledge for me to tap into. I flew as safety pilot and observed everything that he did and spoke. To make things even more interesting, two of my house mates were paired up and they also flew to Limon. This was very unusual at OPH. Most pilots choose to fly at night and they rarely, if ever, land anywhere. But the four of us preferred to fly during the day.

VL-3 in Limon

Monday, July 21

On Monday, Lee and I flew to Scottsbluff, Nebraska. After the flight on Sunday, I was fully confident that I could manage the flight, so I was the flying pilot on this trip.

VL-3 in Scottsbluff

Tuesday, July 22

On Tuesday, Lee and I flew to Pine Bluffs, Wyoming. I was the safety pilot. This flight was extra special to me. At first, I didn't put it together, but as we flew along, I realized that I'd been to Pine Bluffs before. Back in 2014, during our vacation to Jackson, Wyoming and Yellowstone National Park, we were driving west from Omaha, Nebraska along I-80. I remember Nebraska being such a wide state with very little variation in scenery. I was thinking, "When will we see trees again?". And then we entered Wyoming. The first rest area was in Pine Bluffs. I remember a hill covered with pine trees and large rocks in the rest area. I thought, "Finally, we have trees and elevation changes. We must be getting close now." Little did I know how long and tiring the drive ahead to Jackson was going to be.

VL-3 in Pine Bluffs

Wednesday, July 23

On Wednesday, Lee and I flew to Akron, Colorado. I was the flying pilot. It felt odd flying to Akron, given that I went to school at the University of Akron (Ohio). Inside the FBO, I mentioned to the guy running the place that I was from Ohio. He said that he had once spent some time in Akron, Ohio. How strange is that?

VL-3 at sunrise

VL-3 in Akron

Thursday, July 24

On Thursday, Lee and I flew to Oshkosh, Nebraska. I was the safety pilot. This destination was a pleasant surprise to me, given that 1) Oshkosh, Wisconsin was currently hosting AirVenture and 2) I didn't know there was an Oshkosh, Nebraska.

VL-3 at sunrise

VL-3 in Oshkosh

David in Oshkosh

Friday, July 25

On Friday, Lee and I flew to La Junta, Colorado. I was the flying pilot. For this flight, I wanted to break the mold. All previous flights departed Erie and flew northeast around the Denver Class B airspace. For this flight, I wanted to depart to the south, along the mountains towards Colorado Springs. The trickiest part was finding a route that went above and below various airspace altitudes. To make that easier, we requested permission and flew through Rocky Mountain Metro's Class D airspace and the Colorado Springs Class C airspace. Once clear of those, we headed for La Junta. I was expecting to have the airspace to myself, but then about eight planes appeared on our traffic screen. They were all from a flight school in Pueblo. Half of them went to La Junta and the other half went to Melon Field. With four planes in the pattern, I went ahead and shot my approach as planned. With the other pilot's help, I was able to join the flow and land. I rolled to the end of the runway because the taxiways were all a mess. The runway wasn't in very good shape either. That was the roughest airport I can remember flying into.

VL-3 at sunrise

VL-3 in La Junta

Saturday, July 26

On Saturday, I flew with my house mate Iven to Lusk, Wyoming. I was the flying pilot. Our route took us right over Cheyenne, Wyoming. Earlier in the week, I had heard a Thunderbird pilot on the radio. My curiosity overtook me, and I called Cheyenne Tower to ask about the Thunderbirds and the Temporary Flight Restriction that I saw on the chart. He told me that they were flying Saturday and Sunday afternoon. As we flew near the airport, I peeked out and saw a line of small white jets on the far side of the field. I was tempted to take the following day off and drive up to see them fly.

VL-3 in Lusk

Sunday, July 27

On Sunday, I flew with my house mate Daniel to Sterling, Colorado. I was the flying pilot. 

VL-3 in Sterling

Monday, July 28

On Monday, Daniel and I flew to Sidney, Nebraska. I was the flying pilot.

VL-3 in Sidney

Tuesday, July 29

On Tuesday, the weather was too lousy to fly, so I did a trial run to the Denver airport on the train. After my experience dealing with traffic and parking at the airport when I dropped off my mom, I thought it would be easier to just park and ride the train when picking up Andrew later this week. The train went from a parking lot in Eastlake to Union Station in downtown Denver. Then another train went to the airport.

Wednesday, July 30

On Wednesday, Daniel and I flew to Limon, Colorado. I was the flying pilot. On the trip out, we noticed that the cylinder head temperature was running a bit high. Out of an abundance of caution, we returned to Erie to have it looked at. A mechanic quickly fixed the issue, and we were on our way again. On our return to Erie, we noticed an area building over the mountains on the NEXRAD weather screen. I decided to make a bee line straight back to Erie. As we got closer, Erie became covered by green, and then yellow. We were considering finding an alternate to wait out the storm, while still flying towards Erie. As we got within 20 miles, we could still hear other pilots flying in the area. We flew back to Erie and had no rain and no gusts. I don't know what the NEXRAD was seeing, but it wasn't making it to the ground.

Thursday, July 31

Today was my last day at OPH. I still had time on my account, so I needed one more flight. The flight could be either a dual 1.6-hour flight or a solo 0.8-hour flight. I chose to fly the VL-3 solo over Boulder and along the mountains. It felt nice to complete my hours, but sad to know that my time at OPH was over. I find it ironic that I wanted to fly the Harmony but ended up flying exclusively in the VL-3.

Flight Time: 50.4 hours
Total Time: 796 hours

Odyssey Pilot Hours–Getting There

Over the past two years, I’ve been building flight hours towards a potential aviation job. During this time, I’ve noticed that several companies require a minimum of 800 hours of flight time. This is actually low, considering the regional and major airlines require a minimum of 1,500 hours. So I set my sights on reaching 800 hours.

In pursuit of this goal, I have looked all over Florida for time building opportunities. As one would expect, there are many businesses that cater to people like me, both domestic and foreign. But there was one non-Florida company that caught my eye nearly two years ago. That one was Odyssey Pilot Hours.

Odyssey Pilot Hours (OPH) is a time building company located near Denver, Colorado. They fly Light Sport Aircraft (LSA) exclusively. I recently acquired some time in an LSA so that I would be comfortable flying at OPH. This is the story of my journey to Denver with my mom.

Monday, July 14

Monday morning, we left home and headed for our first stop outside Atlanta, Georgia. We took with us everything I needed for two weeks in Colorado, just what Mom needed for the drive and flight back to Florida, a cooler full of food and drinks, and a box of snacks. Our plan was to drive about 500 miles a day and stop anywhere we thought was interesting along the way.

Our first stop was along I-75, at the Suwannee River Bridge. I’ve seen the sign every time I’ve driven along I-75, so I decided that I should stop and see what it was all about. We got off the highway and drove past the Spirit of the Suwannee Music Park. Soon, we realized that we went too far, so we turned and took a different route. That route didn’t work out, so we went back to the main road. Eventually we found the old bridge. It was closed to automobile traffic and was covered with colorful graffiti.

Suwannee River Bridge

Back on the road, we continued north to Georgia. When we crossed the state line, we stopped at the Visitor Center and had a picnic lunch. After lunch, we continued north past Atlanta and stopped at our motel in Villa Rica.

Since it was early, we got back in the car and drove to downtown Villa Rica. We parked along the train tracks in the old town and took a little walk along Main Street. We came across a place called Infinite Games. It had science fiction characters in the window, and I found that fascinating. We stepped inside and had a nice chat with the owner. There were several people there, playing a variety of role-playing games. It seemed like a really cool places; something out of the ordinary.

On the way out, we found an historic marker. Here’s the gist or what it said:

An explosion from a natural gas leak at Berry's Pharmacy destroyed four buildings, damaged others, killed 12 people, and injured 20. This event underscored the need for an organized local emergency response unit and the use of odorants in natural gas, according to the Georgia Historical Society.

Tuesday, July 15

Tuesday morning we checked out and headed towards Arkansas. After driving for three hours, we saw a sign about a natural bridge. It was too early to stop, but our motto was to stop at any interesting places, so I got off the interstate and drove to Natural Bridge, Alabama.

We found the entrance to the Natural Bridge park and entered. There was no one manning the booth, so we drove on in. We parked at the bottom of the hill.

Natural Bridge parking lot

We entered the small gift shop and talked to the woman behind the counter. She told us that there was a fee to see the natural bridge. We asked how far away it was, and she told us that it was just a few hundred feet up the trail – certainly within Mom’s maximum walking distance. So, we paid and took the short walk up the trail. I was pleasantly surprised to find a double arch. It reminded me of the double arch in Arches National Park in Utah, except for all the greenery and life around it. :-)

Natural Bridge

Back on the road, we passed through Birmingham, then headed for Tupelo, Mississippi. Everyone knows why Tupelo is famous, right? The birthplace of Elvis Presley. Of course, we had to stop there. The Elvis Presley birthplace is on a large plot of land that contains many other things, as shown on the map below.

Overview Map of the Elvis Presley birthplace

We decided that we wanted to see the house and the gift shop, but Mom wasn’t interested in walking up to see the pond or the statue. We took a quick peak inside the house before realizing that everyone was wearing wrist bands. Oops.

Elvis Presley birthplace

We continued the Walk of Life loop, the returned to the gift shop. The gift shop was full of everything Elvis-related imaginable.

Elvis Presley souvenirs

On the way back to the highway, we stopped an ate a picnic lunch at Veterans Park. The park had a 10:1 ratio of geese to people. We carefully watched our steps (to avoid goose poop) as we walked to the picnic table. Our presence set off some kind of goose alarm and we were quickly surrounded by moochers wanting a treat. We ignored them as best we could. Luckily, a truck pulled up and a little girl got out with intentions to feed the geese. The “alarm” went out again, and they all waddled over towards her as quickly as their short legs would carry them.

After a quick fill up, we were back on the highway, heading for Memphis, Tennessee. We planned to stop near the river and hopefully see some river boats. What we saw first was truly astounding. We came across Ducks Unlimited Waterfowling Heritage Center, by Bass Pro Shops. It is this immense glass pyramid located near the river. It caught us by surprise because it just appeared from behind the city as we approached. We got off the exit and tried to find a place to park. We ended up parking at the Tennessee Welcome Center.

Ducks Unlimited Waterfowling Heritage Center

After parking, we walked to the Mississippi River Park. From there, we could see the Memphis Riverboats dock. Unfortunately, we just missed one leaving, according to a local who was hanging out in the park. Even so, it was nice sitting in the grass, in the shade beside the Mississippi River.

Enjoying the shade by the Mississippi River

Back inside the Visitor Center, we found statues of two of Memphis’ heroes – Elvis Presley and B.B. King.

Elvis Presley statue

B.B. King statue

Back on the road, we headed for Little Rock, Arkansas. The plan was to stop and briefly visit the capital, then continue to our motel in Conway. In Little Rock, it was lightly raining, but I still wanted to see the capital. I like to visit capital cities and see how similar the capital buildings are to others. We stopped; I took a quick walk around then returned to the car. We ended our day in a motel in Conway.

Arkansas state capital building

Wednesday, July 16

Wednesday morning, we checked out and headed for Kansas. We had various route options, but I wanted to see Oklahoma City. This route was longer, but it did avoid a lot of toll roads.

Our first stop was to get gas. The gas station was located just across the Oklahoma border, right next to the Cherokee Casino & Hotel. I’m not a big fan of casinos, but this place looked cool, and Mom wanted to spend $20 on a quarter machine. Besides that, I had to pee.

We drove over to the casino parking lot and went inside. Given that it was early in the morning, there were few people there. We walked past various tables and machines, then talked to two employees. They pointed Mom to the quarter machines and me to the restroom. I took my time, knowing that Mom had to pull the lever at least 80 times to spend $20. When I came out, she was already finished and not looking too happy. Apparently, she was confused about how to place a bet and bet all her money right off the bat! Oh well.

Inside the Cherokee Casino & Hotel

Back on the highway, we headed towards Oklahoma City. There were two things that I saw on brochures that I wanted to see: Bricktown and the Centennial Land Run Monument. The attraction at Bricktown is the River Walk, where you can ride gondolas along a man-made canal. And the monument just looked cool in the brochure.

As we headed west along the interstate, the sky started to get very dark. I felt like I was in a scene from Twisters. I thought for sure that a giant tornado was going to drop down and sweep us off the highway, never to be seen again. Luckily that didn’t happen. But, it started to rain like you’ve never seen before unless you’ve driven through a tropical storm or hurricane. We made it out the other side, but it was white knuckle stressful there for many miles.

Eventually we entered Oklahoma City. It was all very confusing with roads going in all directions. We found our way to Bricktown but then didn’t see a free parking spot and somehow ended up getting back on the highway! I took the next exit and discovered Riversport Adventures. It had a man-made white-water rapid, among many other attractions. This is definitely a place that I’d like to visit again someday.

We turned around and headed back to Bricktown. This time we found a parking spot that wasn’t too expensive. We entered a local shop to ask questions, then realized that we were right next to the canal. We could either ride the free trolley bus around or take a canal tour. We decided to go for the boat ride.

The boat ride wasn’t really a gondola, but it was a lot of fun and very informational. Our guide took us to one end, turned around, then took us to the other end. Along the way, he described the history of everything that we past.

Riding a boat in the canal at Bricktown

Some of the things we passed included murals made of thousands of tiny pieces, apparently designed by school kids. Another was Toby Keith’s I Love This Bar & Grill. And the surprising thing we passed was the Centennial Land Rush Monument. The monument represents the crazy day in 1889 when 50,000 people rushed into the Oklahoma Territory to stake a claim to free land. According to the website, the monument consists of:

47 statues spread across a distance of 365 feet.  All are cast in dark bronze, at one-and-a-half life size… so a standing human would be almost 9 feet tall, and a horse and rider over 12 feet.  In all, there are 38 people portrayed, plus 34 horses, three wagons, a cannon, a dog, and a frightened jackrabbit.

Centennial Land Rush Monument

After the boat ride, we stopped to get some souvenirs at the Brickopolis. Outside, one of the passengers on the boat ride took our picture.

David and Bobbi, and a bison

By now it was getting close to lunchtime. As per the plan, I started looking for a nice park to have a picnic. Well, after the fiasco with the geese and the fact that it was over 90 degrees outside and that we’d been in the heat for over an hour, Mom wanted to stop at a restaurant. I noted that we’d seen a lot of signs for Braum’s Ice Cream & Dairy Store, so we looked one up and had lunch there. I must admit it was nice sitting down in an air-conditioned building to have a burger and a shake for lunch.

After lunch we continued north to Wichita, Kansas. I wanted to see where Boeing has the 737 fuselage manufactured. I called Andrew and asked if he could tell me where to find the building. He found the exit where Spirit Aerosystems is located and that’s where we headed next.

In Wichita we got off the exit that Andrew said and found Spirit Aerosystems. The first thing we saw when we drove by was the railroad cars that carry the 737 fuselages to Renton, Washington for final assembly. Unfortunately we couldn’t find any railcars that were loaded. Also, we could not find a spot to park that didn’t require a badge. We drove around the enormous plant (they also build Airbus parts at this factory) and came around for a second attempt. This time I saw what looked like a visitor parking lot. I quickly parked, took a picture, and got out of there, just in case.

Our final destination for the day was a motel in Salina, Kansas. The motel was about 7 hours from Denver International Airport. And better yet, this segment of the drive crossed into the Mountain time zone. We needed to get Mom to the airport in time to catch her flight back to Orlando. I wanted to be there by 1:00 PM, so leaving six hours prior should do it. That meant we could leave at 7:00 AM. I mentioned this to the lady at the motel, and she gave me this horror story about traffic between here and Denver. I was thinking to myself, “What does she know about traffic?” But still, it made me a little nervous about our departure time.

Thursday, July 17

Thursday morning we got up a little bit earlier than normal to guarantee an early arrival at the Denver airport. We were packed and on the road before 6:00 AM. This meant that I had to miss out on the free motel breakfast… bummer.

The weather was very low and overcast – something we hadn’t seen the entire trip so far. I was wondering what it would be like in Denver. The forecast seemed fine, but who knows.

We drove across Kansas and entered Colorado. The weather had not improved at all, but I’m happy to report that we ran into absolutely no traffic thus far, as expected. We stopped briefly at the Colorado Visitor Center then continued westbound. As some point we realized that we were going to be over an hour early. We decided to leave the interstate and take a more scenic route. By this time the sky was clear above us, but there was still no sign of the mountains on the horizon.

Back from our detour, we drove directly to the airport. Traffic actually was becoming a factor. We were not concerned about being late. It was just that there were so many cars. On top of that, the speed limit was 75 mph, there was a lot of construction, and we didn’t know exactly where we were going. We managed to find the airport entrance road and eventually arrived at a parking garage. Of course, the signs made it sound like all levels were full… and they weren’t exaggerating. We drove to the top level of a garage and found a spot after going up and down a few rows. I took a picture of the spot mostly to remind myself of where I parked later.

Inside the airport, we got Mom checked in and arranged a wheelchair to take her to the gate. The guy got her seated, then took off through the crowd. I had to struggle to keep up with him. Luckily for me, he had to stop to catch the elevator, and I caught up with him. At security we said our good-byes and watched him push Mom through.

Now all that was left was to find my condo in Erie... assuming I could find the car. Before leaving the airport, I found the train station on the lower level. I hoped that I would have some free time to ride it to the airport during my stay. Then I returned to the parking garage and walked straight to the car. Actually, it was a little farther away than I thought, which gave me a minor panic attack.

I entered the address of the condo in the GPS and headed for Erie. I arrived about 45 minutes later. I used the secret code to open the front door. There didn't appear to be anyone there. I went upstairs and unpacked in room C, my new home for the next two weeks.

After four days and nearly 2,000 miles of driving, I was in Erie, ready to start my OPH time building adventure.

Flight Time–Alto NG Checkout

After flying the Alto NG once, I knew that I would need to get checked out in it. Voyager's insurance policy requires five hours of flight time with an instructor before they can rent the plane. With 0.9 hours already in my logbook, I scheduled my first checkout flight for June 23.

Voyager Aviation's Alto NG at Merritt Island Airport

June 23 - Checkout Flight 1

For this flight, we left the traffic pattern and flew to the practice area. Taylor had me demonstrate a power off stall. This is a good way to feel what the plane will do when approaching a stall during an approach to land. With that out of the way, we returned to the traffic pattern. My first landing was a power off 180. This simulates losing power and gliding to a precise spot for landing. Then I did a no-flaps landing, which you may have guessed, simulates a landing when the flaps are not available. I did a few more normal landings before wrapping up for the day.

June 24 - Checkout Flight 2

For this flight, we did a short cross-country flight to Arthur Dunn Airport (X21), where I landed, taxied back, then took off. We then returned to Merritt Island Airport and did some touch-and-goes.

June 26 - Checkout Flight 3

For this flight, we departed the traffic pattern to the west and tested all of the autopilot modes. I also tried changing a few things on the Dynon display, but it was not obvious what to do. For example, the map screen was showing in night mode on my screen, but day mode on Taylor's screen. I tried to change mine to day mode, but I couldn't figure out which menu to select. At this point, I decided that Dynon displays should only be used in "toy" planes built by amateurs, not in manufactured planes. It is more of an engineering tool than a flight instrument. Clearly, I prefer the Garmin G3X. On a side note, the Garmin G3X is very well modeled in Microsoft Flight Simulator, so I can practice using it at home. There is no trainer available for the Dynon.

Back at Merritt Island, I did a short field landing and a few more normal landings before calling it a day.

July 7 - Checkout Flight 4

Today, I flew my final checkout flight. Over a week has passed since my last flight. Susan and I spent last week in Virginia with her family. I considered flying while in Virginia, but the weather was bad the first few days, and the rental prices in Richmond are pretty outrageous.

For this flight, we departed the traffic pattern and flew south before turning back to enter the pattern. The airport was landing on Runway 29, so I wanted to see an approach from this direction. On my first attempt to land, a plane was on the runway, so I did a go around. The next three approaches were off a little at first, and I didn't know why. Then we realized that the wind was a direct crosswind. This was causing the base leg to be faster than normal, which resulted in me being a little too high on final approach. Also, the lack of a headwind caused our ground speed to be faster, which reduced the amount of time available for descent. Once we figured this out, the remaining approaches became much better.

I now have over five hours in the Alto NG, so I can reserve it without an instructor. I have reserved it for Saturday morning. There is an airshow over Cocoa Beach at noon on Saturday, so I may have to deal with a Temporary Flight Restriction or cancel the flight entirely. We'll see.

The flight tracks are shown below. NOTE: I didn’t have Foreflight set up to receive location data from the GPS during the first three flights, so there are only flight tracks from the last two flights. Also, something is missing from the last track. I know we did some circling to avoid traffic, but I don't see it on the track. The track says the flight was only 45 minutes. I'm thinking it stopped recording after one of my touch-and-goes.

Checkout Flight 3

Checkout Flight 4

Flight Time: 4.6 hours
Total Time: 745 hours