Flight #1085

Smooth as butter all the way to 6000 ft.

This was my fifth flight in so many days. Like yesterday I went for altitude but this time I wore a flight jacket over the red suit. It was probably the laziest flight I’ve ever done. I let the torque steer do the work while I made lazy circles up to 6000. Initial climb rate was 260 but it decreased to a bit under 150 at 6000. It took almost exactly 30 minutes to get to 6000 making the average climb rate 200 ft per minute. Next time, I’ll try to note the time for each incremental 1000. Temp was 74 degrees at the surface with 99 percent humidity.

The view from the top was wonderful. I could see the whole harbor and the Myakka and Peace Rivers feeding it. The sun was rising behind Punta Gorda, as I climbed, it began to reflect off the canals sparkling like jewels. There was one lonely sailboat south of fish haven. Just a silhouette in the glare of the sun.

The takeoff was flawless and so was the landing, except that I had been so lazy and such a “passenger”, throughout the flight that I had to admonish myself to wake up and pay attention. The landing zone came up fast and I had to hustle to get my hands in the toggles to be ready on the first pass.