CASCADE FLYERS

TIME TO BUY YOUR OWN AIRPLANE-AIRCRAFT FOR SALE AND AIRCRAFT LOANS

I was just talking with CF member, Norm, who called me by accident but offered to chat for a moment. He mentioned that not too many Cascade Flyers own their own airplane. I said that many members have come and gone who have been airplane owners, that it can be somewhat cyclical with the economy and so forth.

This got me thinking about airplane ownership. Right now many airplane valuations are down quite substantially depending on the seller's situation. Your can find some incredible performance from a used airplane out there in the marketplace for some very low prices.

Plus, aircraft financing terms are quite excellent from a historical perspective.

Aopa and Bank of America are teamed up to offer very competitive financing. The folks who run the Bank of America aircraft loans department have weathered a few dozen buyouts and mergers over the years - but they are very knowledgeable and the process remains quite straightforward for new and used aircraft financing.

 

I just called the Bank of America Aircraft Loans department for a quote. In general, for a used airplane valued from about $55,000 to $99,999 they offer 240 months (20 years), at 6.75%, with a $495 closing fee.

The loan calculator at Bankrate.com says the payment would be: $494.24/month

They also have an excellent process for re-financing - when a new engine is needed, for example. Nonetheless, Google and/or Bing are your friends for shopping the market place for aircraft financing and new and used airplanes.

A Google and/or Bing search brings up in a microsecond all the major aircraft for-sale listings.

 

So very quickly you can scan the market place for an aircraft that you may be able to enjoy and afford.

   

 

Plus, there are MANY other resources available to you, namely - us - the Cascade Flyers and NGPA.  Many in the club already own airplanes or, have owned planes in the past. These members will often be your very best resource. 

Someone once said, "Nothing will make you become more intimately involved in general aviation, piloting, aerospace, mechanics, new-products, the FAA and government over-regulation - as owning an airplane yourself", who said that? Oh yea - it was me.

AOPA on-line is another tremendous resource for looking into aircraft ownership.

So - if you have or have not been thinking about owning your own airplane - think about it! A great way to spend some surfing time while at work.

Plus, many Cascade Flyers members would like to share costs and go for a ride!

THE APPLE iPAD AND THE FOREFLIGHT APPLICATION FOR AVIATION PRE-FLIGHT PLANNING

 
 

Matt F and Cees V were lined up at the University Village Apple store twice, on the first day the iPad was released, and again the day the 3G version of the iPad was released. During a visit Matt and Cees demonstrated the ForeFlight application that they installed on their iPad(s).

OK - the iPad and ForeFlight is nothing short of INCREDIBLE! I would say this is the first giant leap in general aviation pre-flight planning capability since DUATS was made available on-line. 

 

It looks like all the information available on a typical DUATS type weather brief and flight plan are available literally at your fingertips on the iPad but in a spectacular graphic display.

Cees so graciously sent some example iPad/Foreflight screen shots of a proposed flight from Boeing Field to Orcas Island/Eastsound. 

Here is a screen shot with a radar overlay - not much to see on this day.

Here is the menu for some other possible overlays, including satellite imagery, wind charts, cielings, sky coverage, visibility, temps, ifr/vfr - even lightening!

 

Next we can look at weather information for our origin and destination. 

Of course your fingertips are simply tapping the screen to bring up this information. It's like having Duats or some other flight planning service along with AOPA's airport guide or a similar guide. 

Below is a screen shot showing the airport information that is available. Notice sunrise/sunset times are shown - so you will know when to leave the Madrona Grill in Eastsound for the walk back to the airplane - to catch the sunset after takeoff...priorities.

At your fingertips is the VFR sectional chart...

 

And the approach procedures...

 

You can check the latest and recent weather conditions, maybe at your plane at the airport.

And winds aloft information in an easy-to-read format:

If you are using the iPad Foreflight app please submit your comments via our Cascade Flyers email list. This new technology will likely have issues with cell coverage and who knows what else - but initially - it looks fantastic.

WHY WE FLY - PART TWO - OCEAN SHORES, WASHINGTON

 

On spectacular day number two, two airplanes with Cascade Flyers pilots Milo O and Craig S flew to Ocean Shores, Washington, to the beach along with their passengers, co-pilots and friends.

photo by Anthony V.

Washington State Department of Aviation does such GREAT work for our precious airports.

 

photo by Anthony V.

photo by Milo O.

Happy pilots!

 

The beautiful beach gives way to a rugged rocky coastline that you can really only see and appreciate by air!

 

These photos show "why we fly"!

WHY WE FLY - PART ONE - SIEKU, WASHINGTON

Photo by Chip G.

A gorgeous Seattle weekend, several Cascade Flyers went flying to the coast of Washington State. 

 

Photo by Anthony V.

Milo took a DA-40 airplane from Galvin Flying. The photos clearly show "why we fly".

   

Photo by E.O.

The first day they went to the northern part of the Olympics, over Crescent Lake.

Then landed at the small airport of Seiku, Washington on the Northwest Coast and the Straight of Juan de Fuca. 

 

A spectacular day and stunning scenery. This is one reason, "why we fly".

CARBON MONOXIDE AND SMALL AIRPLANES

 
This special bulletin from the FAA was issued recently because of an accident involving a pilot that became incapacitated because of carbon monoxide poisoning.

Many of us pilots spend lots and lots of money on safety equipment such as extra hand-held radios. But is "nordo" really an emergency that can kill us, our passengers and destroy our airplane?

The FAA recommends that mufflers be replaced every 1,000 hours. I'm replacing the muffler on my Cessna during the annual inspection next week.

 

The bulletin also recommend the use of a CO detector. In our club many of us pilots and passengers fly in rental aircraft or ride along in somebody else's plane - it costs less than 10 dollars to carry along your own CO detector!

   

I'm going to place these in my plane and put one in my flight bag as a back up and for riding in other planes. These can be obtained at the local pilot shop or on-line at places such as Aircraft Spruce and Specialty.

 

A very inexpensive but vital piece of safety equipment perhaps!

SEAPORT AIRLINES TO/FROM PORTLAND AND SEATTLE

Don't forget about SeaPort Airlines when flying to/from Portland and Seattle. I'm flying them today - fast, easy, good value - a common theme.

HOW TO RETRIEVE AN OBJECT FROM A CESSNA 172 FUEL TANK

SUCCESS!   That is what Cascade Flyers pilot Craig S. exclaimed when he randomly activated the flexible retrieving tool into the fuel tank to retrieve the fuel quantity dip stick that one of his passengers accidentally dropped in there a few months ago. If this happens to you Craig says an auto supply store carried the flexible tool.