Posted Tue Jul 12 21:39:21 PDT 2022
Following the theme, today started quite early: Rob agreed to help me change the oil in the Charger, and I figured we should do it early, in part to avoid too much traffic, since the plane and I are half an hour's drive from each other. So, he very kindly agreed to pick me up at 7, with the goal of getting it into the air for a few circles around the traffic pattern to warm up the engine and get the oil pumping.
Of course, nature had different plans, and the whole Bay Area was wreathed in a low overcast. We made the drive down to Hayward, and ended up having a bit of breakfast at the O Roma Cafe, which was quite good, and just a short distance from the airport. Finally, the overcast lifted enough to allow us to do pattern work at Hayward, where the pattern altitude is just 600 feet above the ground for the big runway.
Got Rob settled in to the front seat, and myself in the rear, quietly wishing I'd worn long pants, for the day was cool. I taxied us over to the compass rose and tried to adjust the compass, but it was a useless effort, without the tail raised. I'll have to work on that later. That compass is wildly out of calibration.
Then we were off, and I did some of the best landings I've done in the plane so far, which was gratifying. I also did one of the most swervy take-offs I've done since my very first time shoving the throttle forward, so that was good and embarrassing.
However, we got about 6 landings done in 0.7 hours thanks to the very low pattern altitude. In the cool weather, the plane absolutely leapt up to 600 feet, even with the two of us aboard. Then it was off to the maintenance hangar, where we drained the old oil and added new, all of it AeroShell W100. I decided that trying to take out the strainer screen in this particular circumstance didn't make much sense. We really weren't equipped for it, and I've had no indication of problems, so I feel like it's safe to leave it until the next oil change.
By the time we finished, after waiting for the weather, it was almost noon. It was great to have all that time to get to know Rob better, and share my own stories. Once again, I am amazed at the generosity and friendliness of the aviation community.
Then, it was off to Berkeley to spend time with my cousins and aunt. We get to see each other so rarely, it's always a treat. I rode the BART light rail up to Berkeley (I'd forgotten how much I enjoy public transit just for the downtime of having literally nothing else to do except read a book), and we spent much of the afternoon wandering around Berkeley and catching up as we went through some interesting shops. We finished off the evening at home, eating burgers from Nations (sorry, Giant Burgers from Nations).
Now, I'm back at the hotel, and planning my departure for the morning, which will be blessedly late, thanks to the morning fog and overcast that's going to resolutely keep me from leaving early. If the schedule works out, I hope to be in Eureka (or near Eureka, the marine layer being a serious consideration there), probably for the evening, hanging out with my friend Alex and her partner. Then it will be off for Bend the next day.
I'm reaching the end of the trip, which is unthinkable, and so welcome, while also being so disappointing. It's an odd mix of emotion: on the one hand, I'm ready to just be home, in my own bed, with something like a stable schedule again. On the other, the idea of sitting down at a desk and doing "work," whatever that is, is so alien I can't even conceive of it. All good things must come to an end, and it's premature to be regretting the end of a trip that's still got many days to go, but this feels very much like the home stretch.
Better concentrate on enjoying it while it's still happening.
Copyright © 2022 by Ian Johnston.