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Back a few years back when I used to have a boat, there was an annual raft-up which was my favorite day of the year. At the raft-up's peak, I believe there were around 50-75 boats in total. Everyone in the water enjoying the sun and drinking beer. Today was the day of the raft-up and I was boat-less, however, I decided to attend for a couple of minutes from 1,000' AGL. Getting to the hangar, the signs of recent aerobatics were apparent on the floor. Pools of oil!   In order to fly through the SFRA, a special VFR flight plan needs to be filed, specifically, a DC SFRA Flight Plan. I filed electronically via ForeFlight which was a piece of cake, My entry and exit points were the WOOLY intersection, and my route was CUTOP-POLLA-CUTOP. In the remark section I noted "Sightseeing" in order for the controllers to decipher my interesting routing. I blasted off from KDMW and attempted to contact Potomac Approach on the frequency. I couldn't understand the reply Potomac approach was giving me back on my Garmin 430W NAVCOM. I switched to my ICOM A210 and I could understand the controller much better. I stated my request, got a squawk code and was able to proceed into the SFRA, however, I needed to stay clear of Class Bravo.  I flew by Laurel Racecource.  This is Tipton airport - KFME. I learned to fly here ages ago.  I lived in Annapolis, MD for about 3-4 years so I knew the area well and decided to overfly some places I haven't seen in a while. I used to keep my boat at this pier.  I used to live here.  Looking up the Severn River. Annapolis is on the far shore.  Approaching Lake Ogleton.  I located the raft-up, however, it was much smaller this year. Apparantly the water police didn't think 50 boats tied up together was considered safe, so the organizer down-sized it this year. I counted about 8 boats total. Still, it was a beautiful day to be in the water drinking beer.  With my mission objective complete, I headed back to KDMW. Another shot overlooking Annapolis.  South River.  NSA  My folks live within 1 mile of the SFRA. Since it was on the way home, I did some circles around their place.   Not to leave anyone out, I also flew over my cousins house near the airport. I could see many people utilizing their pool. I was tempted to land on the field nearby and take a swim.  One thing I noticed today were my CHT's were higher than usual. This can probably be explained by my relatively low altitude (1,200-1,500' AGL) and the high temps (85 degrees at altitude). However, I had some time and I decided to take a look.  This part of the baffles broke off some time ago, and some air could sneak out of there.  The other side had a small hole as well. Everything else seemed in tact.  My solution was to goop some RTV on the plenum. In order for it to stick to the plenum and not the baffles, I put some packing tape around a shim and applied wax to it. I then put some RTV on it.  I put the RTV facing side towards the plenum. The idea here is for the RTV to stick to the plenum and not the baffles. We'll see how this works out tomorrow.  It was also a good opportunity to cut open the oil filter to inspect for any metal.  I found a few small slivers of metal in the filter, but that is normal. Otherwise, it was very clean. 
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Last Modified: August 13, 2023 |