A nice Cardinal

by Ollie Crinkelmeyer

On April 8 at about 8:30 in the morning Dan Badwey and I departed GTU for Sun 'n Fun in our 1976 Cessna Cardinal. We had been discussing going together for a few weeks, but we were not sure that we would be going until a few days before we departed. It would be the first trip to Sun 'n Fun for both of us.

Because of a low cloud deck, we had to depart IFR. Soon we broke out on top and climbed to 9500 to try to take advantage of forecast tail winds. Our first stop was Opelousas, LA. We had planned the trip for three two and half-hour legs. As we got near the airport, the clouds below us went from overcast to broken, and finally to scattered, so that we ducked through a hole and made a visual approach. After a quick refueling, we were off again with Dan in the left seat. The next leg was a straight shot for Crestview FL. At Crestview (Sikes), we ran into about six other planes headed for Lakeland. We had a brief lunch and stayed for about two hours. We had to time our departure so that we did not get to Lakeland before the airshow ended.

On the third and final leg, we followed the VORs that skirt the West Coast of Florida. Dan was sharp enough to point out that our original flight plan (done on Flightstar) routed us through the corner of the Tampa Class B. So we made a slight eastward deviation. When we were first able to pick up the Lakeland ATIS the airport was still closed, so we pulled back the throttle and relaxed. Sure enough, before we got there, the airport opened, and we made the arrival with planes spaced closely in front of us and behind us.

After a long taxi at Lakeland, we set up camp on the west end of the field. The tent was pitched with no problems, other than I had forgotten the tent stakes. It's a good thing we carry a lot of screwdrivers in the plane. The facilities were better than anticipated. We were able to have a nice shower and secure a few beers before we turned in for the night.

On Tuesday morning, we awoke early to a 182 departing from a nearby campsite. A 182 sounds a lot like a warbird when you are just waking up. However, the noise got me up and out of the tent in time to see the sun rising and the powered parachutes covering the sky like gnats. We registered and took off for the exhibits. We stopped by to say hello to Mark Frederick, who seemed pleased with way the show was going. Then at 11, we went to a seminar presented by the men who man the Cardinal email system and the web site (maybe the best type club web site out there). They gave an excellent program showing recent problems that have come to light on Cardinal airplanes. We met with Keith Petersen, the web manager, and made a date to visit with him at our airplane on Wednesday.

We then took off in separate directions. I attended a welding workshop, and discovered that you could not learn how to do TIG welding in an hour. Even so, it was interesting and got me started. I went by the Van's booth to look at the RV7 (Dick Smith had told me I had to report on the plane). The main difference between the 6 and 7 seems to be a little more wing, a little more foot room, and a kit that is much faster and easier to build. I was unimpressed with the people in the booth who either quickly sized me up as a non-buyer, or have enough business and do not need any more.

Then, during the airshow, I took a stroll through the antiques and classics, which are always of interest to me. There were Wacos and Stearmans that were perfect and looked new. I made the mistake of taking a few photos of my favorites, but forgetting to write down exactly what they were. The day concluded with some bad air show food, and a trip back to the tent. Keith Petersen, the Cardinal guy, stopped by the tent later, and we went together to inspect a '69 Cardinal that was parked near by. The plane had a damage history, and Keith was sharp enough to point out that it had one '68 wing and one '69 wing (not a serious issue since there were only minor differences).

Wednesday morning was beautiful. At sunrise, the Ultralights and powered parachutes were again filling the sky. I started the day going through the exhibit buildings and looking for a deal on a variable speed air drill (didn't find one). Then I did my souvenir shopping and returned to the plane to meet Keith at 11:00.

We inspected our Cardinal and another RG that was parked nearby. Although we developed a list of about sixteen items that needed attention, none were major. I felt much more secure in the plane after such a knowledgeable person had looked at it.

The afternoon was filled watching the airshow and talking with some of the people who were bringing out new planes. Adams is still working on their composite twin with the twin tail. They say their performance is better than any twin on the market, but they are still two years away from certification. I also saw a 337 converted to single engine, with a rotor on top that is driven through a gearbox. You shift the plane to power the rotor during takeoff, and then switch to road gear to power the prop on the front. The 337 tail was also on the plane upside down. Weird!!

Wednesday concluded with dinner at a nice Lakeland restaurant. Dan and I and Craig Barnett, an airplane graphic designer from New Jersey, treated the Petersens since Keith had looked at both our planes. The steaks were good and the beer was cold. Right before bedtime, I ran into Bruce Oliver in the shower building. Bruce had been in the RV park for several days and was planning on leaving Thursday for his daughters' house in Florida.

We decided to leave at noon on Thursday. We first attended a safety seminar on off airport landings (how to avoid them and what to do if you have to do one). Then I went off for a quick trip through the homebuilts, a weather briefing, and some more time with vendors. I looked at the Garmin and UPS instrument stacks and concluded that Garmin still has the edge. We also paid a visit to the museum that is on the field at Lakeland. About 11:30 I headed for the plane to break camp and prepare for departure.

The trip home was fairly uneventful but a little different. We stopped at Crestview again (where we ran into the couple from western Oklahoma that had camped next to us) and then we flew to False River, LA. The landing over the Mississippi was very scenic. We had to endure headwinds of up to 20 knots all the way home. The final leg home got interesting. Just before College Station we ran into solid IFR conditions, and I had to fly the NDB approach at GTU. When we saw the runway lights just before we reached MDA, we knew we were home, and we were glad to be on the ground when we landed. It was a great trip. Sun n Fun proved to be as advertised!

Stearman

Under the Hood