Awesome Cory & Allen-

I'm up in Fish Haven this weekend and didn't hear you guys fly over but I think Cory said you will fly North of here going to Afton???

09Z is in for Annual right now but I wished it was up here this weekend as the flying would have been spectacular. Glad you enjoyed it.

Looks like you guys had a great time! Nice pictures.

Thanks! It was a lot of fun.

Lanny, we need to go do some flying! Let me know when it's out if annual.

You know what, your right! Sprocket didn't make the trip. I think Adam was more concerned with playing the iPad/Nintendo and making sure the sleds came that he forgot about him. However, Tyler had his!

It was a great trip, thanks Cory. And I agree, I think Noreen was happy we went again. She loves that place, and the people, too.

It's been a while since I posted. The reason is worth its own post and I'll get that done soon. On Tuesday, Allen and I converged in SFO at rfinkle's house to pick up my new plane the next morning. I had been out there the week before to do a prebuy. I can't thank Rich Finkle, Bob Hawkins, and Doug Lumgair enough for their help in vetting this plane. True friends and another reminder about the great friends I've made on this site. Rich in particular has been a great mentor and friend through buying and owning a plane. I know I couldn't have done it without his help.

Anyway, Wednesday morning was absolutely gorgeous in the Bay Area and Bob and Rich gave us rides up to Sonoma County Airport. With papers signed, my next chapter of airplane ownership started. Since we were so close and it was such a beautiful day, we decided we had to go see the Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz. That was a lot of fun and one of my flying bucket list items done.

Once done sightseeing, it was time to put some miles behind us since Dee needed me home that night. We stopped in Truckee for some fuel for the plane and had a great lunch at the airport cafe. I'd never been to Truckee. What a cool place! I really liked the airport. GA friendly, cheap gas, and great food! I plan to go back! From Truckee, we made great time back to Utah with 170-190 mph ground speeds the whole way. Thanks to Allen for coming along to keep me company. It was another fun flying adventure we've had together.

The plane is a C205 with an IO-520 in it. It needs a little tweaking to get it backcountry ready...and yes the pants will be coming off when it gets new shoes. Overall it's an upgrade and the added 25 hp is noticeable. I think it will fill 40Z's shoes well...and then some once I get it tweaked. I've got a renewed appreciation for owning an aircraft and am so happy to be back in the air. Looking forward to seeing you all soon!

Our rides to pick up the plane.


Picking up 82Z. I'm it's 4th owner in 53 years. The first was a dealer out of my home airport, OGD, that bought it in 1963. Then it was sold to a place in Provo, UT. They had it for 13 months before going to STS where it spent the next 50 years.


Sightseeing in the Bay. The advantage of having a professional photographer on board.



San Francisco


Crossing the Sierras.



Tahoe


Lunch in Truckee.



Great company on a great trip.


Making good time.


82Z at its new home.

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Sounds like a fun trip to pick up a nice looking airplane! I like that blue and white paint scheme.

Congrats Cory! Beautiful pictures as always, Allen.

We had a great trip, and I'll second Cory's appreciation of Rich and Bob - It's amazing the people and friends I've made through BCP and flying. We both wished we would have had more time to spend and meet up with other bcp friends, but we'll be back!

The new plane is pretty nice, although the blue and white paint will no longer match the brown and white of my 170b. With just the two of us and minimal baggage it climbs really well, and the bigger engine will be nice in the mountains. Once Cory ditches the wheel pants and puts on some bigger tires it will slow down a bit in cruise, but it will still out run my 170, even with the throttle at idle! And it will do it with Corys family and camping gear inside. I'm still amazed at the room and carrying capacity of the 205's.

California is absolutely gorgeous right now. All the recent rain has made everything green, and even the reservoirs and lakes we flew over looked mostly full, which is good news. I'd never flown over the Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz and that was really cool. I wish we could have done it at sunrise or sunset, but that will have to be on another trip.

A side note: I got more train time on this trip than I've had in my life combined. I took the Frontrunner (Utahs new light rail commuter train) to SLC, the the BART from San Fransisco to Concord to Rich Finkles place. Then we had to go to Ogden instead of dropping me off in Provo, so I rode the Frontrunner again all the way home. Conclusion: Trains are cool, airplanes are much cooler.

Grassstrippilot wrote:
Picking up 82Z. I'm it's 4th owner in 53 years. The first was a dealer out of my home airport, OGD, that bought it in 1963. Then it was sold to a place in Provo, UT. They had it for 13 months before going to STS where it spent the next 50 years.

I'll say it again here - that is a gorgeous C205, Cory! I hope it carries you and your family as safely and faithfully as your old one!

Dunno if this is a sore subject or not, but what happened to the one you had? That was a 205 also, eh?

That story is coming soon in another thread. Short version: I screwed up and bent my 205. So, I'll post the tale...part penitence of sorts, part hoping to help others, and part because people will have questions as you did.

Nice trip report! Nice new ride too!

Grassstrippilot wrote:That story is coming soon in another thread. Short version: I screwed up and bent my 205. So, I'll post the tale...part penitence of sorts, part hoping to help others, and part because people will have questions as you did.

I was wondering the same... While that sucks, I'm glad you're ok and your new plane looks great!

Congratulations Cory. I knew you were looking. Glad you were able the find the right plane, and we're all looking forward to more family trip reports. You're trip reports are best in show in the family truckster category. Awesome that you could share the trip home with another BCPer. I couldn't do it. I wouldn't want someone there for those "what does this do... oh shit! turn it off!" moments.

Brett

LOL! Luckily I flew it the week before and went through most of the equipment to see that it worked. Also, most of it I've either flown with before and/or had it in my last plane. So no surprises. It was great to have Allen along to keep me company and to help fly the plane when I wanted to fiddle with something.

Congrats on the new plane Cory! Looking forward to learning from your next thread.

Nice!!! I looked the N number up on the FAA site and like the way Cessna designated it---- 210-5(205).

hotrod180 wrote:Dunno if this is a sore subject or not, but what happened to the one you had? That was a 205 also, eh?

Eric's not one to beat around the bush.

Great looking plane, congrats! I've always thought that your 205 was such a great fit for your family......now one with a 520?! Even better!