Sage1 Solutions

I had the distinction of being airborne over central Florida a few miles north of the Kennedy Space Center when NASA launched Discovery on its last scheduled flight. These are the photos I snapped using a borrowed iPhone while at 33,000 feet (10,058m) on United flight UAL304. The pilot was very helpful and lifted the right wing to track ...

If there is such a thing as the aviation mecca, it would have to be First Flight Airport (KFFA) in Kill Devil Hills, NC. We were unable to land there due to weather the last time we flew to the area a few years back, but the weather was extremely cooperative this time around and I was able to make a logbook entry for ...

After many long months of development and testing, FlyteLog 2.0 has been released to the public. This is the follow-up to the first version originally released in 2003 with the last update made almost two years ago. (Wow, how time flies.) You can find more information on FlyteLog here. I've also released FlyteBalance 2.0 - the follow-up to ...

Old and busted: New Hotness:

Finally! For the first time since 29 August 2006, a member of Blue Ridge Flyers flew N2871R - and it was the same one who was the last to fly it. I'm still not sure if it was a honor bestowed on me or if I was voted to be the guinea pig, but I was quite happy to be at the controls once again. Luckily, not much rust had set in on my skills and ...

Getting oh so close. The plane is almost completely put back together. Only wheel pants, Skylane emblem, and various fasteners remain to be dealt with. There's a chance we'll get the plane back by Tuesday, 2/6. We'll see if the weather cooperates for the test flights between now and then.

More progress on painting (behind schedule, as usual).  

Finally, some progress is being shown on N2871R! They finally got the base white coat on the main body. Control surfaces should be done 18 Jan and, if all stays on schedule (not a given, by any shot), final assembly should be 19 Jan with striping outlines on by 22 Jan.

The annual should begin this week. In the meantime, everything is stripped and filled (minor dings/dents). Also, the final assembly of the horizontal stabilizer neared completion.

"Stripper cooked overnight and now the scrubbing begins."