djmolny@cuae2.UUCP (DJ Molny) (01/08/86)
Here goes with another autobiography (sorry, no autographs): After a childhood filled with plastic & balsa wood model airplanes, my flying bug remained dormant until 1982, when I made the mistake of clipping a Cessna Test Flight coupon from United Airlines magazine. The results were predictable. I received my private license (SEL) in the summer of '83, and my instrument ticket last September. My logbook shows about 290 hours, spread across Cessna 152's, 172's, and Cutlass RG's, Piper Warriors and Arrows, a Grumman Tiger, and a Mooney 201. In early 1985, I switched from FBO rentals (tired of renting broken airplanes) to a club based at DuPage (DPA, ~20nm west of O'Hare). I was sufficiently impressed with the quality of the club's management and pilots to purchase a Mooney 201 and place it on leaseback. (Some of you may recall my request for Mooney information last November. Thanks again to those who responded.) N9609U is a 1981 model, 630TT, silver with red, gray & black trim. The avionics are all digital, including KNS80 RNAv, dual glideslopes, encoding transponder, Century 31 coupled AP, and a fuel totalizer. After just two cross-country flights, I'm spoiled rotten. What a beautiful airplane! Memorable flights: Chicago skyline at night. Fly north under the Chicago TCA past O'Hare, turn east to Lake Michigan, follow the lake shore south again and call Meigs tower for overflight approval. The street lights and skyscrapers glitter like jewels. New York skyline. I did this once (in daylight) on a return flight from Long Island. Flying south along the Hudson at 500 MSL lends an interesting perspective to Manhattan (the World Trade Center in particular). Enroute to Mackinac Island, Michigan. The air was so clear that we could see Lake Michigan, Lake Huron and Lake Superior *simultaneously* from 7500 feet (visibility 60+ miles!). Grand Canyon. Between shifts at '84 Las Vegas Comdex, I went on a charter tour of the Grand Canyon in a C-206. The pilot flew us upstream above the Canyon, then descended into the Canyon for the return trip. The scenery was beyond compare, and the pilot demonstrated perfect knowledge of the local terrain. (I wouldn't have flown into that crack for all the tea in China!) Contrary to my expectations, the flight was very smooth. -- Regards, DJ Molny ihnp4!cuae2!djmolny