Did I miss the Era of GA?

There aren't many other light singles that will take a family of four
and baggage without exceeding weight and balance. That Cherokee is a
mighty workhorse.

At every fuel stop, the line guys were amazed that I wanted all four
tanks topped off, after seeing the gang (and stuff) that came out of
Atlas. After watching one poor Bonanza driver in Myrtle Beach trying
to figure out how to keep his beautiful steed inside the envelope with
three people and fuel, I spent the rest of the journey counting my
blessings.

That guy may get their quicker -- but he'll have to make two trips to
carry what I can haul in one!

I found that on long legs at high altitude, mild hypoxia insidiously
impacted my abilities just when I needed them most, at the approach
and landing phases of flight. I started carrying a small oxygen
bottle just to sharpen up when it was necessary. Have you got one of
these? http://www.mhoxygen.com/index.phtml?...=23&news_id=13

Nope, but it's a good idea. On this trip, after spending 4 hours at
8500 feet, I felt just fine -- until I tried to compute how far out I
would have to start my descent in order to reach pattern altitude
properly. Suddenly I realized that mild hypoxia had robbed me of my
(already normally challenged) math skills.

It took greater-than-normal concentration to come up with the answer
-- which alerted me to be very careful with my other decisions. (Yet
another advantage of a two-pilot cockpit. I can tell Mary to keep an
eye on what I'm doing, just in case.)
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"