CNBC at 3,500 feet
55R hadn't flown in a month and a half. Sometime in the next few weeks I'll take her to Virginia for her engine overhaul and upgrade (270 hp uprated Continental O-470 - oh YEAH), and having not flown her in so long hasn't been healthy - I've been airborne, she hasn't. So, when my flight lesson canceled tonight - snow in front of the airplane owner's hangar - I grabbed 55R and up we went. She purred as usual, all the systems aboard worked flawlessly, and the performance in the 5 degree air was unbelievable. The moon was up, as was Orion's gorgeous stars. There are benefits to living in the near-Arctic.
I had another motive, though. Some time ago, on a call to refresh my XM Radio subscription for our truck, the salesman pawned a "free" portable XM radio on me. It's been in the van for a while, tuned to Radio Disney, but I stole it and put it in 55R. The radio mounts on Wanda's side of the windscreen next to the door, the antenna sits on the glareshield (away from the compass - there's a magnet in the antenna), and a Radio Shack cable connects the radio to the plane's intercom system through a jack designed for such things.
Tonight, after getting the engine running and the electronics going, I powered up the XM and was blown away. Flying will never be the same.
Imagine: Jim Cramer on CNBC, yelling "BUY BUY BUY" while flightseeing at 3,500 feet over Minnesota snow. Or Hannah Montana on Radio Disney singing to screaming preteens while threading the Colorado mountains. Or CSNY jamming "Woodstock" while winging east to New England this summer. Or Kenny Loggins belting out "Danger Zone" - oh, never mind, 55R's not an F-14. But you get the idea. I'm late to this game, as several friends have had music of some kind in their planes for years. I've never been an early adopter. But here we are, finally.
Oh, yeah. We have a good year coming up.
I had another motive, though. Some time ago, on a call to refresh my XM Radio subscription for our truck, the salesman pawned a "free" portable XM radio on me. It's been in the van for a while, tuned to Radio Disney, but I stole it and put it in 55R. The radio mounts on Wanda's side of the windscreen next to the door, the antenna sits on the glareshield (away from the compass - there's a magnet in the antenna), and a Radio Shack cable connects the radio to the plane's intercom system through a jack designed for such things.
Tonight, after getting the engine running and the electronics going, I powered up the XM and was blown away. Flying will never be the same.
Imagine: Jim Cramer on CNBC, yelling "BUY BUY BUY" while flightseeing at 3,500 feet over Minnesota snow. Or Hannah Montana on Radio Disney singing to screaming preteens while threading the Colorado mountains. Or CSNY jamming "Woodstock" while winging east to New England this summer. Or Kenny Loggins belting out "Danger Zone" - oh, never mind, 55R's not an F-14. But you get the idea. I'm late to this game, as several friends have had music of some kind in their planes for years. I've never been an early adopter. But here we are, finally.
Oh, yeah. We have a good year coming up.
posted by The Minnesota Sheltons at 7:43 PM
2 Comments:
Personally, I'm a big fan of Big Tracks and Fred.
Ah, good point on Big Tracks, but Fred?
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