I got to cruising altitude I levelled out, brought the throttle
back then leaned the mixture. The examiner said "There's a
man who owns his own plane."...he was referring to leaning
the mixture, something I'd always been taught to do from day
one of my training.

I never leaned as a renter pilot. I thought that red knob was only there so
you could shut the engine down. (I remember my instructor pointing it
out to me, explaining its function, learning about leaning for the practical
test, and then virtually never touching the thing again.)

I also always ran at full throttle. When you're paying by the hour, wet,
there is simply no reason to do otherwise.

Funny how buying your own gas and paying for engine repairs changes your
perspective.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"