A pleasant after-work diversion this evening was 1.3 hours of flight time, including .8 at night and .6 under the hood. Flew an ILS into a local regional airport, followed by an ASR approach. This is only the second time that I've flown a radar-based approach, and the first time at night.
I usually don't ask for them, they are extra work for the controllers. But someone else did, and when they got the OK for it, I asked for one too. Sometimes you get what you want.
It was fine. I got established on the inbound course, and dove to the MDA. Once I leveled off there, I was able to fly the approach course without too many correction instructions from the final approach controller. Got to two miles before the runway (which was 1.5 miles from the MAP), lifted the foggles, and transitioned to a visual approach for a stop and go. Then it was back home VFR. With three night landings, I'm night current for the Alaska trip. And with the two instrument approaches, I'm IFR current until late August. (If I fly a hold, then I'll be IFR current until the end of September).
Our home base had an accident today. The twin apparently wasn't climbing out very well, and struck the "barber poles" that are located across the street from the approach end of the opposite runway. Thankfully, as I understand it, the occupants of the plane are OK. The plane, on the other hand, won't be. This, just a month after the only complex trainer at the field struck a deer on takeoff at an airport in Tennessee, substantially damaging it.
At least there's fuel in the tank...
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