By taxiing the airplane onto the rose and pointing it north, you can compare your actual northerly heading to what the compass is reading at the time. Next, you try E, W, S, and other headings such as 150 degrees, 330 degrees, etc. The compass may never be 100% accurate, but in order for the airplane to be airworthy, you must write down on the compass card what the compass actually reads when the airplane is heading north, south, east, west, etc. There are also two adjustment screws that you can use to calibrate the compass, but with two degrees of freedom, it is difficult to calibrate the compass perfectly. I spent over 1/2 hr on the previous day just taxiing around trying to optimize this calibration. The problem with this is that the airplane is being operated at near idle for an extended period of time. This can cause plug fouling, particular for the spark plugs located on the lower side of the cylinders.Unaware that I had fouled some plugs, I got into the airplane, bid Jim farewell, received my IFR clearance, and taxied to the active runway. During the engine runup, I noticed that the left magneto was running very rough. I've dealt with plug fouling before and know that if you run the engine at high RPMs while leaning aggressively, you can normally burn off or clear up whatever has built up on the plug electrodes that are causing it not to fire properly. I spent some time attempting to clear the plug, but was unsuccessful. Failing this magneto check meant a certain no-go! I called ground, asked them to cancel my IFR clearance and requested to taxi back to the ramp. Jim and his friend were waiting for me as I pulled in. They called their local on-field mechanic and had me taxi over to Jim's hangar. Unfortunately, I didn't have a plug socket,
something I had meant to obtain prior to the trip. Plug issues are fairly common and it is nice to have the ability to swap in a spare plug in the field. I looked through Jim's tools, but many of his tools from Albany hadn't arrived yet, so I still did not have the proper plug socket. I began asking some of the folks in neighboring hangars while we waited for the mechanic. I was able to borrow a socket and began the process of removing the spark plugs that ran from the left magneto. The mechanic soon arrived and we removed all the plugs so that he could bring them back to his shop and clean them properly. He noted that my plugs should be replaced since the formerly round 
center electrode was oval, indicating quite a bit of wear. Upon returning, he told me that one of the plugs wouldn't fire properly at all and he gave me a replacement. We put all of the plugs back in and the airplane was running smoothly again. The tower held my IFR clearance and I was able to continue on to the west coast. I bid a fond farewell to Las Vegas and got one last look at the Las Vegas strip before heading into the mountains on my way to the west coast. Farewell Sin City!
My first stop today was Montgomery Field in San Diego. Here, I was to have lunch with an old friend from St. John's Prep School, the high school I attended in Danvers, MA. Martin Furey and I had known each other in high school and worked on the school newspaper together. I knew that he had attended Williams College as an undergraduate in Williamstown, MA, a town where I would later spend much time myself. After that, I had lost track of him. We hadn't really seen each other or spoken since graduation day in 1984, so a full 25 years had passed since we last met. Nevertheless, Martin picked me up at Mongomery Field and we headed out for lunch 
at Island Prime C Level, which provides spectacular views of downtown San Diego over the bay. I enjoyed a Lobster & Fontina BLT with a side of sherried lobster bisque. I should have expected no less from the self-proclaimed campus epicure!After enjoying a wonderful lunch by the bay and despite my being late, Martin indulged me with a trip through Balboa Park, which provides a wonderfully relaxed atmosphere for people to gather and enjoy museums, street performers, and people watching. He told me that this was the site of the highest density of museums you will
find in the United States. It is touted as the nation's largest urban cultural park. There are 13 museums here, ranging from art, photography, automotive, Japanese friendship garden, model railroad, and of course my favorite, an air and space museum, complete with a SR-71 Blackbird parked out front, the second I've seen on this trip. Even if museums are not your thing, the sheer beauty of the architecture and the freshness of the happy folks strolling the park will tickle your fancy. In addition, the park features one of the largest outdoor pipe organs in the world at the Spreckels Organ Pavilion. Martin says that he has come to enjoy several of the free 
organ concerts featured on Sundays from 2pm - 3pm.I really enjoyed my visit with Martin in San Diego and got to experience some of the best the city has to offer in such a short period of time. I thank Martin for taking extra time out of his work day to give me a tour of Balboa Park. Anyone visiting San Diego must stop here and experience this wonderful place. From here, Martin returned me to the airport where I activated my flight plan to Los Angeles. Breakfast in Las Vegas, lunch in San Diego, and dinner in LA. Wow, life is good.
So, I departed San Diego and headed north
towards Los Angeles. I would land at one of my favorite airports, Van Nuys (KVNY). This airport is the subject of the amazing Brian Terwilliger documentary, One Six Right, named after its primary runway. I was cleared to land on 16R, the very runway romanticized in Brian's movie. I met Brian at Oshkosh after viewing it on the largest digital projection system and screen. I mentioned my friend Larry and he remembered Larry right away, as Larry worked on some of the audio for the One Six Right DVD. It was my friend Larry Benjamin who was there waiting for me as I taxied into Pentastar Aviation. I can tell you, having flown across the entire country, there 
is nothing better than seeing a good friend awaiting your arrival after many hours of cross-country flying. In the photo to the left, you can see Larry's perspective as he photographed me taxiing in. I buttoned up the airplane and Pentastar parked me on their ramp next to some business jets. I was amazed that I was parking my airplane in LA and there was no ramp or parking fee! Van Nuys truly welcomes and caters to general aviation pilots like myself. No fees and yet they offered us complimentary beverages at the FBO.We returned to the Benjamin house where I met up with Larry's lovely wife Diana and his son James. We enjoyed a wonderful dinner outside on the patio and I entertained everyone with card tricks, as usual. James couldn't believe that the card he picked magically ended up INSIDE the fish tank, facing out at him. How did that card get through the glass? It was delightful to be in LA with one of my best friends and his family. We would enjoy several days together before I moved on to Thousand Oaks, not far from LA, to be with my friend Ron.
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