"Sorry" for the Inconvenience

Last week, I posted about an unfortunate incident that took place at the Wickenburg Airport on December 23rd. Someone "allegedly" trying to hand prop a Cessna 175 and it got away from the pilot. It crashed in to a very nice Piper Archer II that belonged to some folks visiting Wickenburg from California for the holidays. I wrote "allegedly" because the story of the 175 pilot has since changed. Apparently it started all by itself as he was trying to tow it.

When I got to Wickenburg today, the FBO clerk told me more about the story. The aircraft was from Van Nuys and belongs to a G-IV pilot. He was overseas and his wife and daughter flew to Wickenburg for Christmas. When they came to fly home, they were hysterical. Since then, the insurance adjuster has been out, declaring it a total loss surprisingly enough. It is scheduled to be dismantled and taken away tomorrow. Luckily, I learned how to use the camera in my new "smart" phone. Here are a few photos. The tail number was obsured to protect the victim's privacy.

I feel bad for these people. This Archer was well-loved.

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New Aircraft to Log

Today I rented a plane I had never flown before. It is a 1978 Cessna 172XP Hawk. I don't know a whole lot about the history of the plane, but I think 172 XP's were basically a 6 cylinder 172 with a constant speed prop. I think the "Hawk" portion of the name is an STC (Supplemental Type Certification) for a 210 Horsepower upgrade. Anyway, the FBO's checkout policy states that if you're checked in a 182, you're checked in everything below. The whole fuel setup on the XP makes it seem MORE complicated than an plain old 182, but that's just me.

Whatever it is, it is a nice flying aircraft. The starting procedure is different than anything I've ever flown. It's kind of complicated, but if you follow the proper sequence, it starts instantly. It only has about 1500 hours TT and it flies wonderfully. The interior is a pimped-out electric blue velour, but the avionics are nice. It has updated King NAV/COM's, HSI and VFR GPS. I had it cruising at 140 knots. Not too bad! It handles like a 172 (other than increased nose weight from the 6 cyl. Continental) and performs like a 182. Lots of fun.