The Flight Back From KMCD

Once at the Airport, I called for a weather brief.

The briefer was very enthusiastic and helpful and suggest flying at 5,000 on the way back to  avoid a lot of the clouds and such on the way.  He also noted there might be some light precip but no issues affecting the flight.  He then filed the IFR flight plan for me, which was rather nice, and it was quickly approved.

We then headed out to the plane and I did the pre-flight, started it up, went to the run up area for Runway 8 and did the run up and then called Minneapolis Center on my cell phone for a clearance. 

I got the clearance and then did a good take-off and started flying back to Pontiac.

Once in the air and at sufficient altitude I gave Minneapolis Center a call and  got cleared to climb to 5,000 feet.

We headed over Bois Blanc Island in the haze.

 We were pretty much under the clouds in the haze most of the way home and we did fly in a fair bit of clouds and picked up some light rain that washed the plane as we flew in them.

 Other than the clouds there was haze.  Lots and lots of haze. I probably could have counted a fair bit of the time ion the haze as IFR as visibility was impressively limited, but just counted the time in the clouds themselves. Leah napped as usual.

We did have ground contact through the haze most of the way, and were only in clouds for about a half hour of the trip  so it was pretty uneventful. We got passed off to Great Lakes Approach and continued on our way.

We then flew over Saginaw Bay.

 

If you embiggen and then look hard, by the second bridge in the river you can just make out the USS Edson in the picture.

The haze continued all the way back to Pontiac, where I did a visual approach to Runway 9R and did what Leah described as a fantastic landing. Completely greased it in nice and smoothly.

That was 1.9, .5 instrument time, a fantastic landing and a great day trip to the island.

Mackinac Island

Walking into town is a nice 20-mimute walk, mainly downhill.

You pass by some nice houses along the trail.

 And walk past a rather menacing sign.

 

 

But instead of being a dangerous hill, it didn't menace us in the least nor try to trip us even once.

We did pass by quite a few horse-drawn carriages.

 We then reached town and had lunch at Millie's on Main, which has the best Fish'n'Chips.

 We then went to sample and buy the Island's most famous export product - fudge!

 We sampled and shopped and brought some home as well.

We then wandered the main street and browsed a bit and then called for a taxi back to the airport.

 The taxi:

More of a ride share than a taxi, it was pretty loaded with a bunch of golfers headed to a course for their tee time, very pleasant people, so we clambered on. 

We went past the Grand Hotel.

 

And then to the airport, with some stops along the way to rest and water the horses.  The golfers wished us a safe flight. 

Heh.

So the French have apparently had a snit over Israel's strike on Iran, and decided to block Israel's exhibits such as that from Elbit Systems from public view at the Paris Air Show.

Israel responded thusly:

And on Social Media:

 Very nicely done.

Saturday Flyday - To KMCD

Saturday morning I got a weather brief, and then picked Leah up and headed to the airport.

Things were,  however, delayed due to some git hitting and destroying the gate mechanism and motor to enter into the hangar area.  So we could not enter through the normal gate.  There was a sign that says to use the Astropark entrance but not saying where the Astropark was located.  Very helpful, that.

So, I had to call Airport Maintenance and find out the alternative entry point and also the access code for same.

Made it to the plane, did the preflight, and filed for an IFR departure and a flight at 8,000.

Got the plane started, got my clearance, which was approved as filed, and after a run-up we got to take off. 

We were soon up on runway heading climbing to 3,000 feet in the haze and on our way.

Detroit Approach had me then go direct and immediately start the climb to 8,000.

We then got handed off to Great Lakes Approach, and were flying over Saginaw Bay in heavy haze.

Right after Saginaw Bay, we entered into IFR conditions.

 Not much to see outside, so I was right on the instruments.

Leah had fallen asleep before we hit the Bay and she woke up inside the clouds which was a tad disorienting for her.  Her first time in instrument conditions in a small plane.  

Thankfully the clouds were happy ones - not much turbulence at all and very stable air for a nice, smooth ride. 

At times we were in between layers which was rather serene and pretty. 

 

We stayed IFR practically all the way to Mackinaw Island.  Minneapolis Center had me descend to 3,000 and we broke out over Beaver Island.

 

Still all sorts of hazy, but I saw enough so I could do a visual approach to the airport and Center had advised that two prior planes had done the visual with no issues.

I then did a nice visual landing on Runway 8 at Mackinaw Island and closed my IFR flight plan.

I parked the plane and we went in and paid the landing fee.  Another plane landed as we did so. 

 

Then we walked into town.

 1.8 on the way up, and 1.2 of that in IFR conditions, and a very nice landing.

Father's Day 2025

Father's Day 2025 began with the kids taking me out to brunch, as one does.

It was a most excellent time with the both in town. 

Leah got me a present:

 

How she managed to get that is the subject of the next post.

Hope all the Dads out there had an awesome Father's Day!.

Great Success, That

So The No Kings "protest" really got results.

No Kings in America before the protest, and none after.

Very well done, really. 

Some Great Places To Avoid Saturday

The Detroit News:  Metro Detroit police preparing for Saturday protests against Trump immigration policy

Since there's always a chance these Democrat/Progressive grievance fests may become, as the media is wont to describe them, "peaceful", its best to stay away from the areas where the grievance-fests will be held. With 30 of them being organized in this state, that's a decent amount of areas to avoid.

The basic theme of the rather inaptly named "No Kings" organized protests seems to be:

 

This is along with a smattering of all other leftist grievances as per the usual. 

Remember, the issue is never the issue.

It's best to be away from such children when they're having tantrums.

Israel Hits Iran

A nuclear-armed Iran is a threat not just to the region, but the world. 

The world's leading sponsor of terrorism, supporting the Houthis, Hamas, Hezbollah, and others, Iran has attacked Israeli and US personnel around the world.

When even the UN finally admits that Iran is on the road to acquiring a bomb, and has been actively hiding its activities from inspectors, it is more than late in the game to stop it.

UN.org: Atomic watchdog says Iran not complying with nuclear safeguards

It's more than overdue that action is taken to stop them from getting a working nuclear device, especially as they have continually worked to enrich uranium beyond the level required for "peaceful" nuclear power and towards the level for a bomb.

 PJ Media: BREAKING: Israel Bombs Iran in Preemptive Strike 

In addition to hitting research sites in Tehran, the main enrichment site at Natanz has reportedly been hit:

Fox News: Israel hits the ‘heart’ of Iran’s nuclear program in Natanz facility strike

Hopefully, the strikes are successful and Iran is setback yet again from its path to nuclear weapons. 

Mexico Dips In To Fight For Remittances

Mexico is concerned that remittances from the USA might be taxed. 

Yahoo News:  Claudia Sheinbaum denounces proposed US remittance tax as ‘unacceptable’

El Paso Times: "This is worrying": Remittance tax would take money needed to support migrant families

The tax of 3.5% (and it should be more, the originally proposed 5% would have been a decent start) would hit the $64.7 billion sent to Mexico from the USA and raise two and a quarter billion dollars to the treasury, helping defray some of the costs imposed by illegals.

This was one of Trump's failures in his first term - had he pushed for, and imposed a tax on remittances then, Mexico really would have paid for the wall.

The remittance tax needs to become a law. 

Well, That Was A Fun Way To Start Off The Morning

 

A quick reminder for people on how to use roundabouts (traffic circles):

 

1.     When the way is clear, you enter the traffic circle.

 

2.     Once you enter a circle you proceed and you do not suddenly slam on your brakes for no damn reason (allegedly because you see a car coming from the other side of the roundabout that isn’t an actual factor), causing the car behind you that was following and had also entered the circle to slam on their brakes.

 

On the upside, speed in the traffic circle is low, and my brakes work really, really good, even with the surprise factor of the elderly lady deciding to lock up her brakes right in front of me in the circle as she apparently got confused as to roundabout operation.

 

Not even a scratch on either car, nor any injuries, which is nice.

 

Startle response and blood pressure increase to start the morning off, not so much.

So This Makes Sense To Them

Let's see if we get this straight: 

The rioters are rioting against being deported from the USA.

They are rioting because they do not want to be deported back to the country whose flag they happen to be proudly waving around at the riots.

So they proudly wave a Mexican flag around while they burn cars, burn American flags, and assault police officers to protest their being deported back to Mexico after being here illegally, from Mexico.

 This apparently makes perfect sense.

Range Trip - IWI Carmel

I went to the range with Spencer today, and I brought along a new rifle I had just purchased to try out.

It's the IWI Carmel.

The Carmel is a short piston operated semi-auto rifle in 5.56.  Fully ambidextrous, it also has a folding and highly adjustable stock where you can adjust the comb height as well as the length of the stock.

The Carmel can also be easily fired with the stock folded. Due to it being able to do so, and with its overall length with the stock folded, it has the interesting dual identity of being a rifle under federal law but a pistol under Michigan law. 

This means that with a CPL, you could have it loaded in your vehicle or elsewhere where you normally must keep a rifle in unloaded condition in Michigan.  Rather convenient, that

 

I put a Vortex 1-8 LVPO on it, and likely will add a red dot mounted in an offset mount  soon.

Shooting 62 grain 5.56 I bought from Widener's at a good sale price, I soon had the scope zeroed in at 25 yards.

It's very fun to shoot, easy to handle, and recoil impulse is even less than a comparably sized AR-15. Accuracy was excellent, and the trigger is darn nice for a box-stock trigger.

Spencer also liked it quite a lot as well.

Right out of the box, with just a little lubrication applied to the bolt and carrier, 200 rounds through with zero malfunctions or any issues, as would be expected.   Shooting it with the stock folded was no problem, either.

Spencer also had a new to him SIG MCX in 5.56 that he had purchased used.

 The rattle-can paint job came with it.

  It worked fine for the most part. but had a weird habit of the bolt locking halfway back which caused lots of issues.  

Hitting the bolt catch, you could lock the bolt so it was half of the way clear of the ejection port and then you'd seat a mag, send the bolt home, and it obviously would not pick up a round, as the bolt was on top of the rounds in the magazine and not behind it. You then had to work the bolt all the way back to do so.  I haven't seen that before and it may be due to it being used and someone may have messed with it, or it is a quirk of the MCX.  Still, it is quite a nice firearm, even with the recoil impulse being noticeably different, than the Carmel, but still not bad, just a bit more thumpy, as much as a 5.56 gets thumpy, which isn't much.

In any case, we zeroed both rifles, shot them, and enjoyed the experience. 

I'm rather liking the IWI Carmel and its quite a fun, reliable (200 rounds isn't much, but it's a positive start), and accurate rifle so far. 

Import The Third World And All That

Arabs have a tradition of cranking off rounds into the air to celebrate things. 

They combine this with a very Insha'Allah attitude as to where the rounds may end up.

This tradition has serious issues when it meets in modern society, especially when done from a vehicle, on a highway.

The Detroit Free Press: Gunfire from rented Lamborghini during wedding procession in Dearborn leads to arrest

A wedding celebration shifted from festive to dangerous when shots were fired from a purple Lamborghini Huracán on the evening of Sunday, June 1.

The celebration involved a procession of honking vehicles that stretched from Canton to Dearborn.

Dashcam footage captured the moment someone fired a handgun out the passenger-side window of the luxury sports car near Ford and Evergreen roads, prompting an investigation by Dearborn police.

Officers tracked the festivities to a banquet hall in Dearborn Heights, according to Dearborn police. The rented Lamborghini was impounded, and an anonymous tip later led to the arrest of a person of interest now facing a charge of reckless discharge of a firearm.

No matter how happy you are that someone tied the knot, you don't drive down a highway cranking off rounds into the air, flashy car or no.  The article has a heckuva nice picture of the shooter in the Lambo cranking off some rounds.

You're responsible for every round that leaves your firearm. It's not just unacceptable to hoof rounds into the air in traffic (or just about anywhere else for that matter), it is irresponsible and indeed criminal to do so.  So, don't.

Tuesday Fly Day - Now With More Instrument Currency!

I got up early this morning and met up with Joel at the airport.

It was time to take the Dakota up as the Archer has some maintenance being done.

Did the pre-flight and then headed to Flint to get some approaches in.

It was quite hazy at 3,000 feet and above, likely due to the Canadian wildfires. Haze got impressively worse but we still had six miles of visibility but good luck seeing anything farther away than that.

I first did the ILS 27 at Flint, then did the RNAV 18 there for a change as the wind was favoring that, even as it was getting a bit gusty.

Both approaches went well, then I headed back to Pontiac and did the RNAV 27L in even more haze and a very gusty crosswind of 15 knots. I rode the glidepath like it was on rails and it was a great approach and landing.

Joel complimented me on my landing, and didn't scream even once during all three approaches, so I must have done something right.  Tower had me roll to the end, cross 27R, and then head back to the hangar.

The approaches went very well and I'm now current for another six months. It was worth getting up early to get a nice and useful flight in.

That's 1.2, 1.0 simulated instrument time, 3 approaches, and one very nice landing. 

Well, At Least They're Only Commiting Vandalism So Far Around Here.

The Red-Green Axis are essentially vandals and indeed can be rightly called terrorists.

The Detroit Free Press: Hundreds of peonies cut, pro-Palestinian signs left at popular Ann Arbor garden

The Detorit News: Pro-Palestinian messages left at scene of flower vandalization, UM police say

Apparently it was  not hundreds - but thousands vandalized. 

Yes, some leftist progressive idiot destroyed hundreds of flowers in an arboretum at the University of Michigan.  

For Hamas, of course. 

Because nothing says you support Hamas terrorism like destroying property. 

This follows quite a string of acts of vandalism by Pro-Hamas scum around the University and at private residences to boot. 

It could be worse, the Red-Green axis has set fire to the Pennsylvania Governor's mansion,  Killed two Jews in DC, and most recently an illegal alien Egyptian pro-Hamasnik attacked Jews with a flamethrower in Colorado.

Getting rather sporty out there with Leftist violence on quite the uptick.

Sunday Flyday - Instrument Currency Work

Yesterday was our flying club's Wash 'n' Wax and General Membership Meeting.

The planes were washed and waxed to a shine and then we held our meeting and took care of business. 

So this morning, I got up early and got to the Airport at 7:00 am to get some club paperwork handled. I then met James at 7:30 at the airport and we did a preflight of the Archer and then headed off to Flint so I could get some approaches in that would count with him along as a safety pilot.

It was a beautiful morning to fly, with a light crosswind of 5-8 knots from 300 degrees. 

 I put the foggles on after takeoff and got setup with Detroit Approach and the Great Lakes Approach.  I had got the ATIS at Flint, checked in and requested the ILS 27 as the first approach with a  full procedure.

I got it and did the hold and then did a good approach.

Then I went missed and got vectored for the RNAV 27, and was first lined up on it and then vectored off it for spacing which was fine.  I got vectored back at the final approach fix so things got a little fast but it was a decent approach.

I then did it again for a fantastic approach nice and smooth and on the glidepath perfectly which was nice. 

We then headed back to Pontiac and I did the RNAV 27L and I got vectors from Detroit Approach, and passed by the airport to get to the fix.

 

I then rode the approach like it was on rails, and it ended with a smooth full stop landing.

We then pulled off and switched seats and James did two touch and goes and a full stop in 0.4 to keep his VFR passenger currency active.

 

He did some good patterns on 27R, even as he had become a little rusty, but all was well and he got better with each one.

That's 1.7 for me with 1.5 simulated instrument time, 4 approaches, a hold, and 1 great landing. I still need a couple more approaches done  in the next 30 days to stay current, and I'm gonna go get them.