Leg 20: Cuyahoga County, OH to Chautauqua Co Dunkirk, NY 116 NM 0:55:00 ETE
Another long haul as we head East, this time aiming to finally land in Western NY and the beginnings of New England. We’re on the home stretch.
For a change of pace, I fired up the Pipistrel Virus SW121. It’s still quirky in both performance and avionics. Fortunately, a true VFR day, so no need for too much instrumentation. Follow the road! Highlights included the quirky named town of Ashtabula, the last stop before Canada and freedom for the Underground Railroad, the lakside city of Erie and it’s very visible and large penitentiary. Good thing I read the PIREPS on the Virus - it’s true, flaps are pretty ineffective on final (they will make you float), better to look up and - hey, what’s that lever? Yep, this is an LSA with speed brakes. pull on that and adjust as needed to burn down speed, just DO NOT deploy it over 100 KIAS. Slow down first using throttle/RPM. Then deploy as much as you want on final, point the nose and adjust to taste.
