JG Ginther's Blog (9)

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Moddy in Waddy

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Added by JG Ginther on August 28, 2010 at 9:00pm — 6 Comments

Opportunity Cost: Mods or BRS System

As I continue to meditate on the recommended grounding of my 601XL, I find myself more frequently browsing the ads in Barnstormer. One caught my eye today for a Ballistic Recovery Chute for $1200. My mind then wandered to a concept learned many years ago in an Economics class. The concept of opportunity cost - if I spend my money on mods, I will not be able to spend it on other things. Whatever I don't buy because of the mods represents an opportunity cost of the mods.



I still don't… Continue

Added by JG Ginther on November 13, 2009 at 2:30pm — 4 Comments

Cash for Clunkers: What is my Zodiac Worth?

Unlike many of you, I didn't build my Zodiac. It was built in a factory in the Czech Republic and I wouldn't have it any other way. I have the bent bicycle wheel that I attempted to straighten and the cable tv box I blew up with a little handy homeowner outlet I installed. No one wants me building or fixing an airplane. So I read the letter and learn there is going to be a tidy little "kit" to install and exorcise the demon in the machine. A kit sure sounds pretty easy. I then turn to the… Continue

Added by JG Ginther on November 9, 2009 at 10:43am — 7 Comments

The Zodiac Solution: Training Wheels on a Motorcycle

I flew my Zodiac three hours Saturday enjoying a breezy fall morning following the ridge line of the Shenendoah. The plain flew beautifully, hands-off for the most part, and passed its four hundredth hour of flight (70 with me at the helm). Little did I know that it might be my last flight for a while. As I was dancing in the clouds, others were buy putting the finishing touches on their effort to ensure my "safety." The NTSB, FAA, Zenith, The Associations and several foreign bodies had… Continue

Added by JG Ginther on November 9, 2009 at 10:04am — 8 Comments

Zenith Wheelbarrow

I had set off for a day of pattern practice in the hopes of smoothing out my take-offs and landings in the Zenith. The events of the day proved I needed the practice and I learned something about the Zenith 601 XL in the process.



It was my second trip around the pattern at Warrenton-Fauquier airport (HWY) in rural Virginia. It is the airport where I earned my wings in 2000 and seemed like a good place to practice in my new airplane. On this particular landing, I touched down OK but… Continue

Added by JG Ginther on June 12, 2009 at 10:51am — 3 Comments

You can smell it from 500 feet at 90kts

There is the Garmin, pilotage, dead reckoning and now the nose. My flight was to the eastern shore of Maryland's Chesapeake Bay and a little town called Crisfield. I had read about Crisfield and thought it would be a perfect place to locate my boat for the season and fly there for mini vacations. All of the descriptions I read about Crisfield commented on the charm of a "salty" fishing village. At 500 ft a different tale was told - something missing from the descriptions. Crisfield smells. As I… Continue

Added by JG Ginther on May 29, 2009 at 9:36am — No Comments

Zen on the Farm

It was easy to find the Farmville, Virginia Municipal Airport (right next door to the Farmville Municipal Golf Course) because it was the only thing down there in the very heart of Virginia. My trip was 109nm from my base at Potomac Airfield in Maryland but in contrast with my home in the DC suburbs, it is a million miles away.



I went down to visit my son, Colin, a graduating senior at Longwood University. I wanted to try the trip before graduation day May 9th. A car trip to… Continue

Added by JG Ginther on April 27, 2009 at 11:00am — 3 Comments

Marketplace Hysteria

I found this today on Trade-a-Plane:



2008 AMD ZODIAC CH601XL. Like new. 50-TTAE, Dyno dual glass panel. Garmin VHF, TXP, GPS-396, XM Weather, many other extras. Was $89,000, now $69,000.



Is this rational or is it fear? Without knowing anything about the owner's circumstances, I would have to say it is fear. Fear is not reality! There are rational fears that lead us to self preservation and irrational fears that cause us to limit ourselves in usually foolish ways. As… Continue

Added by JG Ginther on April 22, 2009 at 12:43pm — 7 Comments

Golden Zen

I flew my Zodiac XL from Potomac Airfield across the Chesapeake Bay to Cambridge Maryland. It was my first long flight in the airplane since purchasing it and the first flight since learning that the plane was recommended for grounding. It seemed I was carrying a lot of extra weight on the flight. The weight of some buyer's remorse, the weight of anxiety of learning and flying my very own airplane (my first) and the weight of dread over whether or not the wings were going to fall off or that… Continue

Added by JG Ginther on April 20, 2009 at 10:05am — 10 Comments

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