Photos/Video
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Blue Skies!
 Heading out to N1180A... |
 I was "co-pilot," helping Scott go through the pre-flight checklist... |
 Taking off vent covers... |
 We were scheduled to use the plane from 7am to 9am... |
 100 LL - 53, which means we took 53 gallons of 100 low lead fuel... |
 Checking the oil to make sure it's clean and that there's enough... |
 The fuel we are using is colored blue, so that it doesn't get confused with other fuels. Scott's making sure it's clean with no water or particles. |
 Checking the flaps to make sure they move properly... |
 Adjusting fuel mixture... |
 "HIT IT!!!" |
 Nervous but ready... |
 The plane has GPS, the "G1000 Integrated Flight System," so that it's easy to navigate... |
 Calling ground to get VFR flight following clearance to fly to KVNC (code for Venice Airport)... |
 Scott's ATIS, or surface weather observation, notes. "Tango" stands for the hour of day that we went. It goes alphabetically, so the next hour was called "Uniform." |
 At take-off, you can see downtown Tampa in the distance... |
 Going over the Howard Frankland bridge... |
 Turning and heading at 270 (which is west), maintaining 1,600 feet altitude along the beaches... |
 The G1000 shows us exactly where we, and other aircraft, are. "Clear direct Venice!" |
 Sky bunny! |
 Adios, Don Cesar! |
 Pass-A-Grille Beach, where we're headed later in the day to hang with our friends! |
 My first time flying alone with Scott! |
 Looking through the back window at the Sunshine Skyway... |
 Anna Maria Island... |
 We passed Sarasota and could see the Venice airfield... |
 Scott's new David Clark headset.
Thanks, Dad! |
 It was kind of a cloudy sunrise, with the ceiling at 10,000 feet... |
 Looking at Sarasota (KSRQ)... |
 Here's the Venice airfield... |
 We had to overfly the runway, then circle around to approach. This was turning left 45 for runway 22. |
 On final at the Venice Airport, runway 22... |
 A few minutes later, departing runway 22... |
 Scott's "TPAR" notes, which stands for aircraft type, position, altitude and request. That's what he has to tell Tampa approach when he enters their Class Bravo air space. |
 Along Anna Maria Island, headed back toward St. Pete... |
 The sun was peeking through the clouds... |
 The sunlight from the water reflected on the wing... |
 Time for "GUMPS," which means it's time to check the gas/fuel selector, under-carriage, mixture, propeller and seat belts. |
 Downtown St. Petersburg... |
 It's about 8:50am at this point... |
 I found the Regions Bank building, two blocks from our house! |
 We've got the St. Pete-Clearwater Airport in sight... |
 Final approach on runway 35R... |
 Lining up... |
 Coming in for landing... |
 We got back at 8:58:40, 1 minute 20 seconds before we were due to return the plane! |
 A successful morning! Time for Starbucks!!! |
