I have an update to my avionics install at Causey. It's now been 8
weeks-and still not done. The mechanics at Causey are amazing-pushing
planes in and out everyday with great speed. Avionics on the other
hand, I've never seen molasses move so slowly. When I was told the
plane would be ready today at 1pm, I get a call at 11am saying-well,
there are some problems, maybe this coming friday. This is what I've
heard every week for the past 4 weeks. I'm starting to think I should
put my plane in a museum becuase I'll never be able to fly it again. In
other news, I found a hangar at Johnston County for $275. It's quite
nice-motorized door, no flooding problems like 5W5. Plus, the airport
has an ILS, a mile long runway, quite a nice place. Hope everyone else
is having fun flying their planes.
Patrick



Dave Butler wrote:
Hi Patrick,

It's been a long time since I've been into 5W5 at night. I'm a RDU kind of guy,
and tend to avoid the short, obstructed, etc. airports. Your comfort zone may be
different from mine. What I remember is nonstandard runway markings, nonstandard
lighting, and the trees under the approach. Those trees are enough to raise my
pucker factor in broad daylight. IIRC the lights are only on part of the runway,
no lights toward the south end at all.

I couldn't find any pictures of the flooding, but if I can find them, I'll put
them somewhere for you. Not sure whether it was hurricane Fran or Floyd, but one
of them put the airport under several feet of water. There was a nearby dam that
burst.

Hurricanes and airplanes can make for strange stories. I think it was Hugo, the
only airplane damaged at the RDU airport was one that had been flown in from
Wilmington to get it out of the way of the hurricane. There have been hangars
that collapsed on top of airplanes that were hastily hangared to keep them safe.
You never know.

Haven't flown myself to Bahamas yet, but it's on my list of things to do.

Thanks for the info on Causey.

Dave

patrick wrote:
dave
causey is real nice. real great people. donny is the mooney specialist,
knows what he's doin. if you hang around long enough you'll see their
jets come in and out-real impressive. work should be done shortly.
haven't been at 5w5 at night-any experience there? tell me all you know
please. haven't seen the pictures of flooding, if you have any i'd be
real interested in seeing them. my insurance stipulates i have to leave
hurricane watch or warning areas, so I will be sure to leave 5w5. i've
been wondering lately on flying out of the country. whats the deal with
flying to the bahamas? obviously cuba is embargoed, but the other
nearby caribbean countries. thanks
patrick


Dave Butler wrote:

patrick wrote:

Avionics shop is over at Causey (2A5), install rate is $45/hr. The
hangar is at Triple W (5W5) and hangar rent is $225. Piece of crap
airport, but finding a cheap hangar around RDU has been a tough task so
I'll take it. I get my plane back today from the shop, should be a real
nice stack now.

Thanks for the info. I've heard good things about Causey's shop. They supposedly
have a Mooney specialist there. I'll be interested in hearing how you like the work.

Yeah, 5W5 is some piece of work. Been in there at night yet? Have you seen the
pictures of the flooding there after one of the hurricanes (Fran?)? IMO plan on
moving out of there if there's a hurricane coming.

Dave




--
Dave Butler, software engineer 919-392-4367