Pilot Section
General
Another beautiful day in USA! No point in hanging around, so I made my way back to Tech Aviation before 0900. N238JG had been fuelled, moved and tied down overnight, but was ready to go. A number of people in the FBO were also looking her over – this was the first SR22 G3 to make it’s way across from Duluth and she was getting lots of admiring comments!
As usual I used the FBO facilities and filed my Flight Plan by phone in what was becoming a familiar routine. Weather en route to Lancaster could not have been better. I was started up by 0930, and called for clearance. This was the first airport in the US I had experienced with a Clearance Delivery Frequency which I called. They already had my plan on file and I was cleared “As Filed” to Lancaster.
I took off to the West from Niagara Falls runway 24 getting another great view of the falls to my right before being vectored by ATC round to the East, climbing up over the city of Buffalo to my cruising altitude of 9000ft.
Once in the cruise the countryside below started to change. Ever since Duluth I had been flying over the flat lands around the Great Lakes. Sometimes very remote wild country in Minnesota and Michigan, and occasionally over big cities such as Cleveland, but always flat. Now the country was transforming into the ridges of the Appalachian mountains and spring was here too. The spring colours of the trees made for a lovely picturesque scene below.
This was also the shortest leg of my trip so far, and all too soon I was talking to Harrisburg Approach and descending towards Lancaster. I had meant to do an instrument approach for practise ILS into Lancaster and I had set everything up in the aircraft for that, but I was also feeling a bit deflated that the first leg of my journey was coming to an end and when ATC offered me a visual approach to runway 8 at Lancaster, I took the easy option.
At 1120 I was shut down at Lancaster Avionics and unpacking my luggage from N238JG. 
The stop at Lancaster had been planned for a long time, and they were expecting me. Over the next few weeks Lancaster Avionics will fit a Satellite Phone, a standby CDI Instrument, upgrade the avionics cooling fan, and wire in a power source and aerial for my portable Garmin 296. Once these things are done N238JG will be ready for the long distance legs ahead of her, and better equipped for flying around her future home in SE Asia.
After running through the work to be done with the people at Lancaster Avionics, I said goodbye to N238JG. It will be six weeks before I see her again. I hired a car from the airport and started my drive to Newark Airport en route to Houston - Back to work!
I was aware that Lancaster was in Amish Country, but hadn’t given it much thought and I was amazed by what I saw on the first part of my drive East. I passed through lovely rolling farmland with all the work being done the old fashioned way with teams of Shire horses, and horses drawn buggies on the road. A fascinating end to the first leg of my trip!!
Pilot Section
Here are the details of today’s flight for other pilots and people interested in the details:
Departure Airport: Niagara Falls International (KIAG)
Departue & Handling: Tech Aviation provided usual excellent US FBO service. Aircraft was moved, tied down overnight and refuelld by the time I arrived. Used their Internet facilities for weather and Notams check, and filed IFR Flight Plan by phone. Niagara has Clearance Delivery frequency that I called after startup and was cleared as filed to Lancaster.
Avgas Price: US$4.70 / US Gallon paid by Visa.
Detailed Route: KIAG Runway 24 – BUF – ELZ – SFK – FQM – DIANO – LRP – Visual APPCH RWY 8 KLNS
En Route Altitude: 9000ft
Flight Time: 1 Hour 50 Minutes
Cruise Performance:
|
Baro Pressure
|
Altitude
|
Power %
|
Manifold Pressure
|
Outside Air Temp
|
Indicated Air Speed
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Fuel Flow
|
Ground Speed
|
|
1030
|
9000
|
62%
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20.6
|
7oC
|
144
|
12.4
|
153
|
Note: The above figures were achieved using the standard Cirrus / UND method of mixture leaning. I intend on later legs to use the COPA “Big Pull” method of leaning and measure any differences in performance.
Arrival Airport: Lancaster (KLNS)
Arrival & Handling: Lancaster Avionics, 500-U Airport Road, Lititz, PA 17543
Tel: 717-569-1953
Fax: 717-569-1722
Web: www.lancasteravionics.com
Kids Section
Did you Know : lancaster County is the centre of the Amish Country. The Amish people are strongly religious and believe in maintaining a traditional way of life, farming and living their lives without the use of modern machinery. They use horses for transport and for working their farms.
Fun Fact: The Amish came to America from Germany and Switzerland in late 1600s where they were being persecuted for their strong religious beliefs. They settled in Pennsylvania because the governor of that state (William Penn – who gave his name to the state) was opening his state to all faiths and encouraging religious freedom.
Quiz:
Answer to yesterday’s Quiz: The Horseshore Falls at Niagara Falls drop 188 feet or 57 metres.
Today’s Quiz: When I took delivery of N238JG in Duluth 1 week ago it had flown 3.5 hours of Cirrus factory testing . How many hours total do you think it has flown now that we have arrived in Lancaster? (Answer on the next Daily Diary!)
Hallin Marine (