I was able to fly several times last week. Both before and after work. One evening I even flew with my door open. The view was incredible and the wind was not bad at all. The temperature was 80 so it was very comfortable although a little unnerving to have nothing between me and the ground. The ground was very far away. This was my last week of work by the way. I officially retired on Friday and am looking forward to not having to sit in front of a computer screen while the weather is perfect for flying. I headed out to the airport early on Saturday morning and got in a quick flight before the winds kicked in. I was at my hangar working on my airplane when Margaret stopped by. She was hoping to fly to Huntsville, TX for a fly in. So was I but the winds were already stronger than forecast and they were forecast to be 15-22 knots of direct crosswind at Coulter’s only runway. Something was said regarding the more than occasional occurrence of unlimited ceilings and visibilities and sucky winds. I won’t repeat exactly what was said but you get my drift.

The next day, Sunday, was more promising and I was in the air by 8:00 in the morning. I headed over to my practice area and worked some more on ground reference maneuvers. Not sure what to do next, I headed over to Caldwell, TX to do some landings. Being only about a half hour drive from my home, Caldwell is not the sort of place you need an airplane to visit. But what the heck. I made an excellent landing. I was really pleased. I have been told that I’ll make 100 landings in my new airplane before I make a good one. What a surprise as this was only about my 70th landing and it was just what I am hoping to be able to do regularly, I would mention that I have made a couple other nice landings but that would be bragging.

I taxied up to the ramp to see what sort of service Caldwell airport provides for the itinerant aviator. Caldwell airport is fairly typical of hundreds of small town airports across the country. They provide tie downs for visiting aircraft and as I taxied by I realized that N90HS had never been tied down before so this was a first. There are steel loops at the top of the wing struts for just this purpose and there are ropes at the tie downs.

There is a terminal building complete with bathrooms, a sofa, computer, wireless internet and a desk.

There are even refreshments for the thirsty pilot and crew. All nice an cold.

A courtesy car if you want to go into town to eat or check into a hotel. I have seen some pretty dilapidated courtesy cars in my travels and this one is fairly nice. Looks like a good use for a ready to retire police cruiser.

Self service fuel at a fairly decent price.

And finally, this warning message. Which, by the way, was not at the fuel pumps but over the toilet in the men’s room. So, basically everything a pilot needs for a quick fuel stop or even a longer stay.  After checking out the airport and seeing not another soul the entire time, I climbed back into N90HS and took off. I headed back to Coulter and practiced some take offs and landings. We won’t talk about that but I am sure looking forward to getting past my first 100 landings.  The sun was getting higher and heating the earth and the resulting thermals were making the ride bumpy so I called it a morning and put her away.

I came back out in the evening and went flying again. Just flying around and enjoying the freedom it affords. I stayed up until just after the sun set and it was a beautiful evening. The  thermals of mid day were gone and the ride was smooth as silk.