Larry, Bob and I got to ferry two new Stings from the SportairUSA facilities in Little Rock to the US Sport Aviation Expo in Sebring in January. The trip was fun and exciting. Larry got the plane with the new TruTrak EFIS with full, integrated autopilot. I got a cautionary landing!

We studied, packed and prepped for two weeks. You might think it would be simple to load the planes and just head south-by-east for a few hours. We all really worked late every night getting the details organized and trying to remember all the items it takes make a good show. I finally packed my bag at 3 AM on morning of departure. Matching socks? Who needs matching socks? We planned a “wheels-up” early 7am departure; of course we finally left at 9am because a good breakfast is important. I try to keep in mind that it is neither the departure nor the arrival but the in-the-moment trip enjoyment that counts. Carole even packed each of us an in-flight goodie bag of fruit, cheese, crackers and cookies to sustain us during the arduous journey.

Our newest customer, David St. Clair, permitted us to use his new Sting S3 for the trip, to display this latest development from the TL skunk works. What a great guy; he even flew N595L from Dallas to Little Rock for us. (Customer support keeps us on an even keel.) It is a very well equipped aircraft and I got to play with dueling Dynons for the first part of the flight. We had the Dynon talking to the Garmin 496 for winds aloft with small arrows that even this driver could understand. That plus the display of GPS track and true airspeed in an EFIS instrument display make it very easy to do those pilot things: aviate, navigate and communicate.

Properly briefed, our little formation departure out of KORK was uneventful and we climbed together turning southeast for the first leg. We changed radio frequency to Little Rock Departure control and obtained flight following for Sting2 flight of two direct to Sebring, Florida. Our onboard XM weather check for winds showed 5500 seems to be the best level-off altitude. A bit lower than I like to cruise but Memphis Center confirmed that we had a good tailwind of 20-25 knots. So, who could complain?

The TruTrak EFIS, ready to fly.

Speaking of communication, the climb out was completely uneventful except for the radio problem that required some head scratching and a major troubleshooting effort. The other plane, which carried two pilots and a full Garmin radio stack, was just not transmitting very well. Marconi was precocious. He knew that radio problems start with the ears and sure enough out problem turned out to be a short between the headsets. When the other pilots traded headsets the problem was magically cured. Turns out it helps to be wearing the headset that is connected to the PTT switch on the stick you’re holding. Doing that pilot thing is tough sometimes.

Our Sting2 formation flight proceeded direct to Cross City, Florida then direct to Sebring for a dogleg that would avoid any over water flight above the Gulf of Mexico. About half way to Cross City my GreenLine Engine Monitoring System alerted, with a bight yellow LED bar and the master caution alert light indicating oil pressure had suddenly increased to 99 psi. Not a heart attack issue but difficult to explain to the new owner if I ignored it. So the Garmin GPSMAP 496 gave us a direct route to the nearest airfield and Center said they could care less if we deviated a bit. Back to idle rpm just in case and started doing that 60 thing. (For those of you who have completed a check-out with us in North Little Rock you know what I mean.)

After slow-cruising about 12 miles off course we coordinated a landing order and we circled down while Larry and Bob landed to wait and grade my touchdown. Oil pressure at 99 is not as high as the Rotax engine can tolerate but any major change of engine parameters dictates a landing to analyze the conditions. Because it changed so quickly that we did not get a gradual change of pressure indication for the GreenLine EMS, I suspected a loose wire. Sure enough the wire to the oil pressure sensor was vibrating in the cooling air intake wind and had become frayed which increased the electrical resistance. So an apparent shift in the oil pressure was only a loose wire. But taking a human environmental break for is always a good reason to land and stretch. Moral; if it might be a problem in the air, always trouble shoot it at your leisure on the ground.

Back to Memphis Center for flight following as Sting2 flight. Now because of the unplanned landing we would have to refuel short of Cross City at Brewton, Alabama. Atlanta center took us there for a really good Italian lunch at the local (empty) commercial air terminal. After refueling both human and aircraft tanks we re-launched semi-direct for Sebring. During our the first part of that leg we heard Fred Hoese, who would join us later in his Sting, as he departed Tallahassee, Florida, airspace about 100 miles in front of us. We tried to call but he dropped off the frequency before we made contact. His plane has the extended range wing tanks which are really great for longer cross county travel. He kept going as we prepared to turn the corner to head south at Cross City.

We were watching a strong line of weather grow and move east in a solid line completely across Florida from Sarasota through Orlando. There were a few breaks in the line but it was moving fast and changing shape. At that point a friendly voice popped up on our formation frequency with some weather advice. It was Lynn Garner who heard us chatting about the weather and was just heading north from central Florida to escape the storms. So we got a real time weather update from a trusted, experienced pilot who knows the Sting well. She had to go north to pick up her plane and return to Sebring and was not sure that she would be able to get back because of the strong line of storms. Our nice tailwind was her headwind, so we continued our plan to find an opening that would give us a good 20 mile clearance from any thunderbumper.

Through the Storm

A nice tailwind is always high on my list when working to beat the sunset and changing weather conditions. The list got shorter when the tailwind dropped to nothing as we descended between the airspace controlled by Orlando approach control to the east, and Tampa to the west. The line of storms continued to grow and move east while the siren call of the breaks between cells kept us headed south. We threaded around and between clouds to remain VFR and received helpful assistance from Orlando approach control. The intense sunset was really fabulous. The reflection of the sun rays from the bottom of the clouds always reminds me that I am not really in control and should keep in mind who is.

We headed for a small window with 20 mile clearance south of Orlando; things looked good to get us through the line. Due to our lower groundspeed as we got closer the hole closed so we kept a safe 20 mile clearance and turned west to follow the north face of the front. Changing to Tampa approach we asked for their assistance and radar analysis.

Tampa did not like the Sting2 call sign; they wanted to know what kind of military aircraft they were working? For hundreds of miles and many approach frequencies this had not been an issue, but this was not the time to fuss with the guy who owns the airspace. We needed him and could not complete a safe flight without his help and our onboard XM WX satellite weather  display. He was happy with our new call sign, N595L flight-of-two, and within a few minutes helped us with an advised immediate left turn to a heading direct to Sebring. Checking our on board WX interpretation, we concurred and made a run for it. What started as a real serious frontal penetration became a fully VFR horizon, with overcast but good visibility all the way to Sebring. We moved with the front in a large hole and landed as the tower closed. (See photo)

Sebring - The Morning After

Everything was locked and it was a really dark night. Operations, airport office, restaurant, Sebring Expo offices, and maintenance were all shut and dark. With flashlights we found a pile of chocks and a long row of rental cars. We tied the planes down for the night and formed a row so Fred could join us in the morning as a 3-ship line. Next we had to find our rental car.

There were three cars with keys, one had warm coffee and some change, not ours we guessed. There was only one logical decision since there was no car with our name. We borrowed one. Now we launched into the night by road. The only problem is that we could not find our hotel (too many navigators!) so we toured the back woods of Sebring extensively. Taking a long way around caused a near riot for beer time, so the destination changed and we headed for a fine seafood dinner. It was so good we went back three times during the week. We are a food committed dependable group as long as we are well fed. A good day. A good flight. A good airplane. A good meal, and we found the hotel. All is well.

Fly Safe-Fly Fun

Go back to the Owners page