First flight in three months! It's been a hard winter for grass strips
in New Hampshire.

My intentions were excellent, but I soon as I ran down the runway I
knew I would not be staying in the pattern and practicing landings.
Instead I toured the beaches down to Plum Island MA and returned by
the interstate highway. No wind to speak of, and no clouds either, a
perfectly gorgeous day.

I came in on the 45 from the west to find that everyone was landing to
the south. So I crossed the field at pattern altitude (I used to hate
it when people did that) and what with one thing and another came in
on the high side and slipping like crazy. I kept waiting for the
bounce, but it turned out that I was already on the ground with the
tail high. Alas, I used so little runway that nobody on the cafe deck
could applaud this smoothest of all landings.

Hampton uses automotive-type gas pumps. Over the bottom window was
pasted: $3.15/gallon. Over the top window was pasted: Calculated
Inside. I guess the machine has to be rebuilt in order to price out
gasoline that's north of three dollars a gallon. (The MoGas is still
$2.85.)

The engine was on exactly one hour by my watch (no Hobbs in the Cubs).
I burned 3.2 gallons (so there, Jay!).

The charge was $75. So the rental has gone up 50 percent in the seven
years I've been flying.

-- all the best, Dan Ford

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