iPad - User Waypoints

No new doctor reports to share until after February 2nd. Trying to fight off boredom, I dug through some of my files I put together for the Beech Aero Club newsletter detailing some tips and tricks for iPad use with Foreflight.

User Waypoints

How easy is creating a user waypoint? On the iPad with Foreflight, it’s easy peasy!

This is the typical VFR flight. Well it's VFR you say, who needs user waypoints. If you have a Garmin GPS like I do you can add this point from your iPad with ForeFlight, save it, then transfer it with the FlightStream 210 and let your autopilot do its thing. It’s just nice to have a course to follow and keep you out of trouble.

Today the flight is a breakfast run across the Delaware Bay to Millville NJ from my home base in Ocean City MD. It’s cold out there today and the Bay water temps are close to 41° so let’s limit the crossing as short as we can.

We enter the typical VFR flight direct to KMIV (left).  Next with a point and drag I enter a point just off Cape Henlopen, DE (middle) and then just off of Cape May, NJ (right). This jog limits our crossing from 27 miles to 10 miles.  Do you need to do this, no, just fly point to point.  Do I use these two points on all my crossings, yes. I save the point and drag by just entering MY user waypoints that I saved, when I build the route. Another safety note, this route is where the ferry crosses all day and there are many tankers at the mouth of the bay.  All excellent targets to point to IF you have to ditch and can’t make shore with no other outs.

 

 Save and name the waypoints for future use.

Point to the first waypoint and the replace screen will appear select more. When you select more you have three choices, direct to – add to route –save, select save.  The next screen comes up and you can type in a name, I used CAPEL for Lewes DE and named the other point CAPEM for Cape May, NJ.  At the bottom of the Foreflight screen if you select more and then user waypoints you will see the list of waypoints you have saved.

Finally, Sunshine!

Somehow I persuaded my lovely Bride that Ziva needed to run over at the airport, well, she really did. I managed to use crutches to get me down the three steps into the garage and then remount my trusty knee scooter to roll out to the driveway and load myself in the front seat of my SUV. It's hard to explain but Monday was the first day I felt I had any strength back and had cut off the pain meds Sunday at midnight. I was down to one Tylenol every six hours but went without since Sunday night.

Its been difficult learning to trust the right leg, I have babied it since my accident in 1985. I climb with my left foot first, seem to catch myself standing on it more than my right and use it to get up from a chair over the right without a thought. No can do this time around, the right leg has to pay its dues and carry the left. I know, I'm strange thinking like this but when you have so much time on your hands one digs a bit deeper into the most bizarre things.

The ride to and from the airport was great, the sun felt fantastic! Ziva did get to run, I got to knee scooter around and I got to see the plane. Mary checked on the battery minder for 08Romeo and tried to start the Ranger, it was dead. I am ordering a battery minder for the 12volt and will have it hooked up as soon as it gets here.

The burning, swelling feeling every time I let my foot down is subsiding so that has to be a good thing. My next Doctor visit is February 2nd, staples get pulled, I think I counted at least 47 on my x-ray, hey I'm bored. I'll get a new cast and then keep on keeping on until I am cleared to start Physical Torture.

Oh, not much time spent on my commercial rating. Heck, I've picked up the same book on Alaska bush flying multiple times and just don't feel like reading it. I have watched five of the six seasons of Ice Pilots, again, and I'm getting ready to buy the Flying Wild Alaska series, all three seasons. I think I may have a new line of work. I'm thinking I can price cars since I've watched Classic Cars and What's My Car Worth, every day.

Mary says she still loves me so that's a plus. She hasn't put a pillow over my head so I'm thinking she is telling the truth. My bride has been an Angel, excellent care and great cooking. Despite all the foot BS, I'm really a very lucky guy.

1st Follow Up Visit

 Today was my first scheduled appointment with the surgeon.  First things first, let's get that splint/cast cut off. Off with the ace bandage and then cut the cotton wrap, followed by peeling open the splint.  Ahhh... pure heaven, air on my foot and a vigorous rub was allowed but NO scratching.

I was directed to x-ray for a few pictures then scooted my way back to the initial office. Doc gave me a very good report and wants to see me in two weeks.  I was now getting a cast to replace the splint along with fresh medicated bandages on my staples. 

After letting the cast set the Doc didn't like the small ledge just above my heel, it had to come off.  After sawing a cut on each side the Doc used spreader tool to open the cast. This cut was followed up with removal and a fresh wrap of cotton and gauze toe booty.

Round two and the fresh cast applied is now good to go. I rescheduled for two weeks and will return to go through the cast removal process, staple removal and recast. 

Thanks to my Bride for getting me in and out of the house and for transporting me, no easy task. For now everything is on track and looking good. 

Post Foot Surgery

Day one at home following Surgery...

I'm trying to eat and gain some strength.

Mary drove me home Sunday afternoon, a great job in such crappy weather. My Bride really pulled it all together, making a call to the company that does the plowing, she explained her mission.  The owner agreed to have our driveway cleared and ready for our return.

We made it home and I used a walker to get myself across the garage floor, one with wheels would have saved some work and much needed strength. I managed the first two steps with the walker and ran out of gas. I was beat, hard to believe foot surgery would wipe me out like this. I needed to get up the last step into the wash room and awaiting wheel chair that would take me to our bedroom.  I tried crutches and the walker a few times, I was exhausted, soaked with sweat, and gasping for air. I sat myself down and dragged myself in the doorway but that was it. Thanks to my neighbor Barry, along with the men and women of the Ocean Pines Fire Dept., they got me in the chair and into bed. Yes my Bride is right...I am a hard head.

The pain meds are keeping me ahead of the curve but my appetite is not really there yet. The scooter seems to be the transportation of choice, the walker is hard work and the crutches I thought I would be dancing around on, PFfftt.....I'm not as young as the last time I danced with those sticks.

More reports to follow...I wish it was flights instead.

First Flight 2017

My package came in the mail yesterday, a new 64GB SanDisk ultra for the Garmin VIRB to replace the 16GB. The recording time has increased from 1 hour and 53 minutes to 5 hours and 21 minutes with the picture capability now increased from 3000 something to 9999. That will work just fine for what I need. Now if I could get the battery to last more than an hour. Ordering two spares tonight.

The weather is looking good for a new year first flight this morning. I've traded some text messages with Charlie at N57 New Garden and he was thinking about a flight too.

No problems on the way to the airport today, Ranger work truck does a fine job.  I preflight and sump since I took on fuel when I got in yesterday following my camera test flight. Everything checked out and the fuel looked perfect, I was ready to tug 08Romeo out into the sunshine. One last check on FaceBook for any messages to see if anyone is flying today and then it's start up time.

I picked up the wx and noted winds favored runway three-two.  A few planes had taken off as I was getting started but as I sat at the hold short all was quiet. I launched for Delaware Coastal, KGED, took a few pictures and chatted it up with the sound hopefully working on the VIRB. The ride was bumpy today with just a slight headwind.

I entered the pattern for runway two-two and made a nice landing. The ramp was full! I made enough calls this morning trying to find an airport restaurant that would be open. Millville, Cape May and Cambridge were all closed, Delaware Coastal was the only game in town.

I enjoyed the brunch buffet solo, catching up on my people watching. Obviously they were trying to turn over the tables so I finished up, paid my check and bugged out. The sun really felt good today as I slowly strolled out to 08Romeo. The winds had changed and pilots were now crossing the main runway and heading out to runway two-eight. I followed in the conga line, number three for departure. As I waited at the hold short a Mooney announced he was going to back taxi on two-eight, we swapped calls and I departed first. As I climbed out I thanked him.

It was another bumpy ride home but still fun to be flying. I picked up the weather at Ocean City and decided on a straight in for runway one-four, if traffic allowed. I was on short final when a Cessna asked my location, they confirmed visual and I floated on past for a long landing.

Only an hour of flying today but it was good to get up in the air. I'll try again this week to get the audio squared away. I missed a setting on the camera unit, internal vs external audio supply, duh. I also think this somehow will interface with the flightstream 210.  More testing will be in order before putting 08Romeo to bed for three months.