It has been about six weeks since I last flew.
Stinson top cowlings have a central spine; the left and right cowlings are attached by piano hinges and lock down with two quarter-turn fasteners. The front of the piano hinges were each missing a couple of hinge fingers. A mental image of the cowlings unzipping in flight was enough for me to not fly.
Then came the comedy of maintenance and scheduling. The wrong parts were sent. Obtaining aircraft parts in July can be fun, as the suppliers are gearing up and going to Oshkosh for the big EAA show. It also was ungodly hot for a few weeks, which reduces the time that the mechanic is in his hangar, working on airplanes.
But it was done late yesterday. Talked to the mechanic for a bit, did a preflight and went up. (It was outisde his hangar; he was appreciative that I turned the airplane around before starting it so that, when I turned to get on the taxiway, I wouldn't blow schmutz into his hangar.)
Got the oil warm, then shot three landings; two on the pavement and one on the grass. If I can break free this afternoon, I'll wash and repeat, for the weekend weather forecast is basically shitty.
Funny thing, when I don't fly for awhile, I think about hanging up my headset. But when I can fly, then I stop those thoughts.
The airplane behind mine in the hangars is this one:
It had a hard landing, slammed down on the nosewheel and it may be totaled. There are a lot of photos here. The firewall is wrinkled, so is the cowling.
Sad to see that. Unless someone takes that on as a rebuild project, 932's days are numbered.
