Finally

I did not get to fly for 14 days.  That a long story but other than maintenance, this has been the longest break in over 2 years.  I flew on September 2nd with Cecilia and we had a nice flight around town at night.  I was planning to fly again last Monday and when the storms rolled in early afternoon, I figured it would be a great night for a flight.

Usually early storms means a nice night.  The storms were lingering as the sun set and I drove out to the plane just in case things got good.  Well to the North it looked great.  To the South and West, not as good.  I sat around waiting a bit to see if maybe it would change but the constant lightning sent me home.

As I was driving home I watched an amazing lightning show and then drove into significant rain just a few miles from the airport.  It was a good call even though I really wanted to fly.

So today everything lined up and I was out before the storms.  It was just me and the plane.  Everything fired up normally and I completed my run up without any issues.  I ran through my departure briefing one more time and recited the Drill.  The Drill is what you do if you have an engine failure on departure.  The theory is that in an emergency you will likely perform only as well as your latest training/practice so I practice this often so hopefully when my brain is saying, what the heck, my muscles will do their part to execute the procedures correctly.

I launched Northbound and enjoyed great visibility as I cruised up the coast.  After inspecting Georgia a bit, I headed South to Saint Augustine and then back towards home.  The plane is quite roomy by yourself.  In fact in this picture it looks like there is no one even there.  I promise you I was still in my seat flying.

After 2 weeks off I ran my landing checklist a few extra times and really made sure that I had the gear down.  Three green and the nose visible in the mirror.  My touchdown on 5 was smooth and I let her roll to the end to save brakes.  Tower even let me taxi down 32.  Shutdown checklist done, I had successfully completed my flight.  While I don't think I was too rusty, flying is a perishable skill so hopefully I won't have many more long breaks in my flying.