Phoenix Gets a New Look

Pretty snazzy don't you think?

 

 We can now offer custom graphics for the Phoenix.  We can ship the graphics to existing Phoenix owners, or we can have them installed on new planes before it gets picked up.

 After the new graphics were installed, I took the plane up to see if it flew better.  Boy did it ever!  Well, I thought it did.  Here we are over Orlando International.

 

 Then the storms moved into Melbourne and I had to land at Merritt Island and wait for it to come after me there.  Then a quick hop out over the ocean and in the back door at Melbourne as the storm moved to the NE.

 

 This is what the Dynon Skyview ADSB weather looks like.  It is very bright with great contrast; I love it!  Also with the new 6.0 software update, the autopilot is now fully functional with flight director and vertical nav functions.  You can't see any traffic displayed on the screen because I was the only one stupid enough to be up in that weather.

And here is the Garmin Aera 560.  You can see that the weather image is not nearly as good as the Skyview's.  My Aera will now be relegated to XM music.  I don't need the weather subscription any longer.  Cool, another $38/month towards the beer kitty instead!

Russ Owens flew 517kilometers in the Phoenix!

Jim -

Yesterday I flew a 517 Km flight in the Phoenix here at Parowan. It's posted on the OLC for 6-27-13. Last I checked it was the 5th highest scoring flight in the world for the day.

My flight earned me 1000 points here at the ASA motorglider fly-in and a pefect score for the day for the Stevenson trophy competition, formerly given for the motorglider national championships.

She's a sweet little plane, but I miss my 45/1 glide at 80 knots in the 26E!!! Still, lots of fun, and a good cross country touring machine for two also. The Phoenix CAN fly a XC soaring flight!

Best Wishes.

Russ



 

 

John Sepulveda

 John has been working with Phoenix Air for the last 2 months.  He has been a huge help so far on ground ops, and we are working with him on his commercial and CFIG glider ratings.
John's attention to detail, and his work experience on the Shuttle program have been evident from the start.  For instance, when he asked how long to stir a batch of epoxy resin, I answered "twice as long as you think you need to".  John replied, "Well at NASA, we had to mix the epoxy on the heat tiles for 3 minutes", to which I replied, "OK with me to do it the NASA way!". 
I'll let John introduce himself to you:

I went to Florida Institute of Technology (now Florida Tech) and graduated with an A.S. in Flight Technology where I also earned my Commerical, Instrument, and Multi-Engine ratings. After graduating, I was picked up by Lockheed Space Operations to work as a TPS technician on the Space Shuttle heat tiles and blankets, then as an electrical technician on the orbiter's payload bay, a lead technician overseeing a crew of 15 techs, and finally as a Space Craft Operator where I worked on the flight decks of Altantis, Discovery, and Endeavour controlling and monitoring the orbiter's systems during testing, launch, and landing operations. I've crawled through just about every compartment of the orbiters doing mods, repair work, and testing.

 While earning a B.A. in Organizational Management, I ended my 22 year career at KSC in 2010 where I went to work for Lockheed Martin as an aerostat field engineer in Afghanistan supporting our troops in the field by providing overwatch for them.

 I currently work as an operations engineer for LM on the PTDS program and jumped at the chance to be around airplanes again when Jim called me earlier this year to work with him.

 

The Phoenix is a great airplane and I look forward to being a part of this organization and meeting all our customers in the near future.

Phoenix Wins Best LSA at Sun n Fun!

The Sun n Fun judges re-confirmed what I have been telling people for a couple of years; the Phoenix is the best light sport aircraft flying!  In 2011, the Sun n Fun judges awarded the Phoenix "The Outstanding Fixed-Wing Light Sport Aircraft" (as differentiated from Flexible Wing such as fabric and rib ultralights).  This year the award says "Best Commercial Light Sport Aircraft" which is another way to say that the Phoenix is the best production built LSA!  We did not attend Sun n Fun in 2012 due to the arrival of a new Phoenix to unload and certifiy, or maybe the Phoenix would have won that year too.

 Our booth in Paradise City next to the runway allowed us to fly 18 demo flights during the show.

 New employee John Sepulveda holds the long wingtip while Kathy shows the fitting of the short wingtip.  We'll have a report on John soon.

 We tied the Phoenix to 3' long circus tent stakes during the night, with thoughts of the 2011 tornado destruction still in our minds.

 Swapping wingtips was always a crowd pleaser, and everyone wanted to see just how Phoenix Air accomplishes this magic.

 We had shade and cold drinks available for our visitors while they talked planes and flying.



Florida to California

Arrived in Hollister, CA yesterday, to deliver N40HB to Hugh.  It was a beautiful flight, full of great sights, fairly good weather except for headwinds, and almost perfect performance from the Phoenix.  Why not perfect?  Had a flat tire in Boulder City when I stopped for fuel.  So it became an overnight stop to fix the flat, and then tackle the Sierra Mountains in 50kt winds aloft.
I'll post a trip report as soon as possible.  In the meantime, a few photos:

 The green rolling hills of Hollister are a different shade of green than Florida, due to the yellow flowers mixed with the grass.

 Hugh

Hollister airport

Hugh's home and landing strip

Florida to California

I'm off to Hollister California tomorrow (Feb 20) to deliver a new Phoenix to Hugh.  Based on current wind information, the route will be this way on Skyvector:
http://skyvector.com/?ll=36.78652159322156,-118.09739685284992&chart=301&zoom=2&plan=V.K7.MLB:A.K7.KTLH:A.K4.9X1:A.K4.KLBB:A.K2.KSAF:A.K2.KCVH

Bogota Flight Leg 5: Cartagena to Bogota

 Up at sunrise to get an early start due to predicted cloud buildups on our route later in the day.

 The crew at Cartagena was friendly, courteous, and helpful.  Matter of fact, that is what we found at every stop on the way.

 Departing SKCG.

Andres took one look at the towering clouds ahead and asked what do we do now?  My response: Climb!

We finally topped out at 13,500'.  There were mountains in those clouds as high as 12,000'.  The little Phoenix U2 Spyplane ate up the sky!

 Then the clouds opened up allowing an easy descent to Bogota.  Perfect!

 Approach to SKGY, Chia Airport, at 8000'msl.

The police must ok every take off and landing.



Mauricio was one of a dozen friends who had to try on the Phoenix.  Mauricio is working on the software for a similar program to Foreflight for Columbian airspace.

 Phoenix shares the hangar with Andres' other plane, a Navajo.

This trip of a lifetime for me was made possible by my new friend Andres Lisocki.  Thanks Andres!!!

Trip stats:  360nm  3.5 hours  103kts average speed

Total trip length:  2301nm

Total time: 20 hours

You can view the flight paths on my favorite flight planning website, Skyvector.  Click on the link below to view the flight route on Skyvector.  

http://skyvector.com/?ll=4.787023512162626,-73.97351074599638&chart=301&zoom=3&plan=V.K7.MLB:A.K7.KEYW:G.23.734398721312192,-82.50109863632281:G.22.8531451913247,-84.32116699563407:A.MM.MMCZ:A.MZ.MZBZ:A.MH.MHLM:V.MN.MGA:A.MR.MRPV:V.MP.BDT:A.MP.MPMG:N.MP.TPL:A.SK.SKCG:V.SK.BUV:A.SK.SKGY