Vyctor at 8000′!

I was feeling decent today and the weather was great, so Mike and I went for a flight. Over ten years ago, I took Vyctor up to 10,500 feet. After that, he wouldn’t climb (air is less dense). We tried it again today. Unfortunately, I was having to put on my carb heat every few hundred feet we gained in altitude. I was having to use it too much for comfort. Ice in the carburetor decreases engine performance and can actually cause it to quit. We made it to 8000′ and then he would hardly climb anymore.

The view of Niagara was pretty neat at that altitude:

I had to contact Toronto Terminal on the radio to let them know I was up there. As large commercial planes come into Toronto from the south, they often fly over St. Catharines above 6000′.

We flew over a few places to see how many folks were out shopping. Lots at the Outlet Mall in Niagara-On-The-Lake:

The PEN Centre in St. Catharines. I can’t wait until we can go back there!

Mike and I went for a walk at Sunset Beach not long ago. It was night and pitch black. We were surprised how many fences were up on the beach and we almost walked into three of them. They’re quite clear at 1800′ during the day:

It was a great flight. The first 25 minutes were spent trying to climb to 8,000′. Mike tracked it with ForeFlight. The climb data at the bottom is rather amusing:

Today’s symptoms: I finally slept well last night and felt quite good today. Yesterday was the opposite as I hardly slept the previous few nights. I seem to be experiencing a lot more pain than usual over the last month or so. Mainly crushing pain in my arms and hands. How rude!

Boo and I Want to Start a Band…

The Sphynkles will be the name of our group.

What do you think? Are we ready for the big stage?

I’ve been up for a couple flights over the last month. One was with my little mother. She hadn’t been up in a while. Here we are approaching the Niagara Skyway on an overcast day:

It’s weird seeing the bridges crossing the Niagara River into the States. We haven’t seen traffic coming or going for almost two years:

The Falls was looking as spectacular as ever. That’s one thing I never get sick of seeing and always take my passengers over it as well.

The Outlet mall seemed to be rocking with shoppers. I can’t wait to be able to go back there:

That’s about the extent of my updates for now.

Today’s symptoms: I’ve been having quite a few ups and downs lately. I really try to take advantage of the good days, but since I rarely leave the house, there’s not too many things to put those good feelings towards. I know things will get better though and having that hope is quite motivating. It also helps to have Christmas to look forward to. For the last few days, I’ve been dealing with a much worse headache than usual. I think not sleeping well has contributed. Tomorrow will be better!