Member Benefits

January 25
Eastbound for Round 1
The last long cross-country with the old 18729

MULTIMEDIA
Join AOPA Pilot Technical Editor Julie K. Boatman as she takes the Catch-A-Cardinal sweepstakes aircraft on its first cross-country.

My first flight in N18729 was a brief one on the chilly, gusty afternoon of our prepurchase inspection last fall. The next time 729 and I got together, in early November 2006, we had just signed the paperwork and I was launching east toward Griffin, which lies just south of the Atlanta metro area, a 650-nm journey.

With a cold front stretching from West Virginia to the Gulf, I tried making an end run around its thunderstorms and low layers of scud, but found on day one that leaving Texas was not in the cards. After an overnight in Mexia, Texas, (where I purchased a stepstool for the airplane at the local Wal-Mart and had a great Mexican dinner at a local joint) the next day broke clear all the way to the Atlantic. Even with a somewhat-dated panel, I could still track my progress with the twin VOR receivers and Apollo II-Morrow GPS 360 — and pull weather from the Garmin GPSMap 496 in my lap. But who needs all that navigational horsepower on a clear-and-a-million day when you've got a perfectly good compass and a chart?

As it turns out, the only piece of equipment that failed on the trip was the one deemed least likely to do so. As I crossed the border into Louisiana, a wave of something that smelled an awful lot like WD-40 came over me — and then vanished. I chalked it up to my heightened sensitivity in flying the airplane cross-country for the first time. Until it washed over me again. Then the dripping began. I looked up to find its source (totally confused given the blue skies overhead), and found the compass leaking a petroleum distillate onto my knee.

I laughed. Strike one for the dead-reckoning crowd.

The Cardinal and I made one stop for fuel on day two, at Jackson, Mississippi's Hawkins Field, a leg that lasted 3 hours even. We took on 33 gallons of fuel for a burn of 11 gallons per hour — the old girl liked running a bit rich, and without anything but the stock exhaust gas temperature gauge, I worked with her as best I could. Old plugs also cursed me through this initial flight — we had looked at the ovaled-out plugs back in Dallas and deemed them airworthy enough, but I fought them during every mag check and couldn't wait to trash them. They seemed to take mere nanoseconds to foul, no matter how aggressively I leaned in the air and on the ground.

The clear skies followed all the way across Alabama and into Georgia, where I dialed up Atlanta Approach mostly to listen for traffic — I'd used flight following most of the way and I always appreciate the extra set of eyes. Especially on a blue fall day when everyone should be out flying — and was!

I landed at the Griffin-Spalding County Airport after 8.9 hours on the Hobbs over two days (all my hunting around Texas for a hole in the line the day before just gave me a little more time to get to know the airplane). I'd averaged about 124 KTAS at 24 inches manifold pressure and 2,400 rpm while at 7,500 feet for most of the journey. When I taxied up to the hangar waiting open for me, I was tired but excited. N18729 had proven itself to be a straight, solid flier, and now we would transform it from the longerons out into the prettiest bird on the block.

You can win
As in years past, you get one chance to win the Cardinal simply by joining AOPA or renewing your membership. But wait — you can increase your odds of winning in several ways what soon will be a truly beautiful airplane inside and out. You can sign up another pilot for AOPA membership and get another chance, or join AOPA's automatic renewal program for two more spots in the drawing.

Phase one of the project is now under way: airframe refurbishment (we're down below the floorboards here, folks) led by the seasoned airframe and powerplant mechanics from Air Wrench, avionics installation by the first-rate Sarasota Avionics, engine un-install and accessory assessment from powerplant specialist Don's Dream Machines, and prep for the paint process at a newly debuted facility — Advanced Aircraft Refinishers.

We launched the project with a team barbeque at the Griffin hangar belonging to our on-site project manager Dan Gryder. Cardinal 729 took center stage on the last evening that the airplane would stand intact for several months to come — a few folks offered to fly off with her right there! But we have big plans for the refurbishment, and those plans start with a couple of wrenches, a couple of drills, an illustrated parts catalogue, and some whitewashed shelves and racks. Stay tuned for the next installment, when we dive into the airframe.

—Julie K. Boatman

E-mail the author at julie.boatman@aopa.org.

FEATURED CONTRIBUTOR
Scheme Designers
Craig Barnett's first airplane was a 1964 Cessna 150; he currently flies a 1978 Piper Lance. His experience since 1980 as a pilot and aircraft owner inspired his current business, Scheme Designers, which provides custom design services to aircraft owners, manufacturers, operators, and airlines. His goal? To create a work of art — the airplane — for each client.

Barnett has provided paint schemes for AOPA's sweepstakes aircraft since 2000, gracing our Millennium Mooney, Bonanza, Twin Comanche, Commander 112, and Piper Cherokee Six with unique, engaging, and dynamic designs. Scheme Designers creates a special Web site for each client and uses this tool to develop the final scheme with the customer. Then Barnett provides detailed drawings and specs for the paint shop to use in its application of the scheme. Contact Scheme Designers at 201/569-7785 or visit the Web site for samples of the company's work.