Breakfast Flight and Traffic Pattern Issue

Yes, I know it can get repetitive but with great eats at Katie's we just cant help ourselves.  Mary and I decided on a quick flight to Cambridge MD for breakfast then home for some antique shopping. 

Ocean City was busy with transient traffic and the jump plane. As I tugged 3 Tango Charlie out on the ramp I heard voices. No, not voices in my head and not God steering me in a specific direction, just meat bombs doing their thing.

I twisted my neck and looked over my left shoulder and then up at the sky and sure enough a bright red white and blue canopy and two guys chatting like they were sitting in the FBO. At least it wasn't the typical yeehaws or woohoos.  Insert eye roll. 

We taxied out for three-two and launched for the short hop west. The ride was smooth, the temps a cool sixty-eight degrees and my bride was right seat. Life is good.

I made calls for ten, five and short final then followed with a real nice landing on three-four. Once  3 Tango Charlie was secure we headed inside to grab a table, watch the hummingbirds swarm the feeders, and place our food order. 

The restaurant only had a few tables filled so we were quickly seated. Mary ordered the sausage gravy over biscuits and I ordered my favorite, creamed chipped beef over home fries and added a side of scrapple. 

Katie's has the BEST sweet tea anywhere and it always comes out in a mason jar.  The servings were way to big for us so we boxed up half of  our plates and now have breakfast for tomorrow morning. 

We somehow managed to waddle out to the plane and climb aboard. The plan was to launch for home and maybe fly the shore line south from Fenwick Delaware south to home base, Ocean City.

As I taxied out a plane landed on the grass on my left side between the runway and the parallel taxiway. It was interesting to watch the plane set up and I wanted to make sure it didn't drift our way with the winds. I completed my run up and rolled for take off on three-four. A pilot called entering the downwind so I would be clear of him.  A Cessna called a 45 degree entry for three-zero, I figured she was landing on three-four. As I climbed out I made my crosswind call and that Cessna called entering downwind and flew right above and in front of us. Thankfully I had visual contact and immediately stopped my climb and nosed over. Crisis averted, always keep your head on a swivel. I did apologize to Mary for the quick weightless maneuver, explaining why I did that and no it wasn't to revisit our breakfast. 

We enjoyed the former headwinds now sporting a comfortable tailwind for the ride home. I made my calls for Ocean City and decided on runway three-two for our landing. I landed a bit long and let 3 Tango Charlie roll out for the final taxiway just before crossing two two-zero.

Mary helped clean the bugs off the leading edge while I cleaned the windscreen. With the help of our tug I pushed the plane into the hangar and ended our airport time, until our next visit.

We bugged out and pointed for Route 50 and one of our favorite antique shops. Mary added a couple of items to her collection and we headed home to relax in the AC.

Hold Entries, Keeping it Simple

Once again reading the flying forums I felt the urge to post on my blog.  Todays topic, hold entries. The pilot in training wrote about his frustration with selecting the correct entry for the hold. Talk of using a pencil and dividing up the directional gyro to help select the entry brought back memories of the King IFR course. 

I never liked that process and it seemed to complicate matters even more. Instead, my instrument training had me visualize the entry. What does that mean? Let’s start with the basics, the approach plate is oriented north up. We have the best pointers on either hand, pick one.  Follow that natural pointer (finger) on you flight path heading to the fix and make your choice. This is all made easier if following a published hold but a random fix with a quick sketch will provide the same tools necessary to make your selection.

After watching the uploaded video I noticed I did not address 'how' to perform a teardrop entry. The teardrop entry starts by crossing the holding fix, then turning 30 degrees from the outbound leg (towards the protected side). After flying outbound on the 30 degree heading for 1 minute, turn toward the inbound course and intercept. I reloaded the corrected version to YouTube. 

Here is a short video explaining the simple process and how I go about the entry selection.

The Retired Life, My Week

Monday 7.11.22

Monday morning and there is nothing on our calendar. I had thoughts of getting some flight time, but, my bride asked if I wanted to go to the beach with her this morning.  I got out of my PJ's and threw on a bathing suit with some sort of pirate t-shirt and off we went. We keep two beach chairs and our beach umbrella in Mary's SUV so it's always ready to go during the season. We use my SUV for the grocery getter and Ziva transporter. 

We enjoyed our beach time, Mary in the sun, and me in the shade. I swear I tan just walking to and from the beach from our parking spot. I got to read through the flying forums and even watch a flying video or two. Of course the most fun is people watching.

Mary and I could not get over all the "equipment" people take to the beach. We do fine with the umbrella and two chairs. Most people we watched set up had tents of some sort. These folks looked like they were setting up for an overnight camping trip. We even saw two couples set up a wall system that was maybe three feet high. I guess these days one must set up a compound of sorts. 

We reminisced about our family beach days growing up. Mary and her family vacationed in Wildwood NJ as did my family. I never remember chairs, it was towels on the beach, get coated with some sort of sun screen, and get in the water. I think my Dad did set up an umbrella. Of course my mother, stood on the beach worried sick if we went in above our knees. My dad had to constantly calm her, and reassure her we would not drown. Mary's family was much the same; beach towels, umbrella and good family times. Mary remembers the pork roll sandwiches from the boardwalk and I remember the ice cream between the rectangle waffles. We both made the comment at the same time...Ice cream...Get your fudgy wudgy here...laughing as we remembered the ice cream guys toting that freezer box in the hot sun.

I guess we finished up around lunch and made a stop for Italian hoagies at the local deli, before heading home. After lunch we took a drive to drop off Mary's SUV for service and take my SUV to the airport with Ziva on board. After a short run time we loaded back up and headed for home.

I did see one beautiful mouse on the ramp and I knew the plane but just couldn't place it with the owner. Memory, gettin' old sucks. As we were leaving Mary saw the pilots at the plane so naturally I had to stop. Sure enough it was fellow BAC member Bob Prange and his son Andrew. They were dropping off their Maryland airport passports to our airport manager since they both completed the Explore Maryland by Air program. Congrats!

Tuesday 7.12.22

What started out as a beautiful day with Mary and I planning a breakfast flight turned into a stay on the ground day.  The zoo was taken care of and we decided to head across the Delaware Bay to Cape May, NJ for breakfast. When we arrived at the hangar I felt sick and decided to cancel the flight. We regrouped and once I felt better decided on a short drive north to our favorite breakfast place, the Frankford Diner. Tummy full, feeling better and now planning another flight for this week. We spent the day cleaning house, running errands, and playing with the zoo. 

Wednesday 7.13.22

Get out and vote the primary! We have early voting here in Maryland so Mary and I took care of that duty early.   

I then decided to shop the local gun shop for a good concealed carry piece since Maryland opened up the permit process following the Supreme Court decision. I’m thankful for Governor Hogan instructing the Maryland AG to make it happen. 

The temps are rising today along with the humidity so we are going to stay inside and enjoy the AC. The plan for this afternoon is to make sugar cookies together. Yummy!  

Thursday 7.14.22

Wow, I slept in until 7:30, that’s late for me. Mary was already up and took a pass on her typical morning walk due to the high humidity. I got breakfast started, fed the beast (Ziva), then got cleaned up and ready for my day. I am driving my bride to her dentist appointment in Snow Hill, just over a half hour drive each way. We really need to find a dentist closer to home.  

Today is also get Gary IFR current day. That's right, time for me to climb into the full motion sim at Ocean Aviation and knock out six approaches, a hold, and do some tracking.

A positive outcome, IFR current once again! Thanks to Zak at Ocean Aviation for the workout this afternoon. Today I flew the Red Bird full motion sim set up as a 172. Steam gauges with a Garmin 530 & 430 for something different. Different provides distractions and shooting approaches in a plane I don't fly much ups the difficulty level.

Friday 7.15.22

Friday was our planned make up breakfast fly day. Mother nature had different plans and it was raining pretty steady when we got up. Not a problem maybe we'll get up and out tomorrow instead. 

Mary started her wash, I watched Leave it to Beaver and then did our online banking. Hey, I have my priorities. 

Mary decided to make some Italian pizzelles and I had to be available to taste test. The rest of the day was pretty lazy and we are both ok with that.

House Issues

The last few days we noticed a plumbing problem in our master bath with a slow flushing toilet. Life is not good when you have to get up in the middle of the night and walk across the house to use the guest bathroom. I made an early call to RYT Plumbing and they were out here at the house bright and early. Problem fixed with a new Kohler Cimarron Comfort Height 1.28 GPF unit.

Next weeks forecast is calling for above average temps and high humidity. I’m not sure what we have planned but keeping cool will be a top priority for me.

Quick Flight - Get the Oil Pumping

I decided that 3 Tango Charlie and I both needed some air time. A quick hop, in the heat, to get the oil pumping and for me to shed some more rust. I shot the RNAV GPS 32 Approach into KOXB.

By the time I cleaned up the plane and tucked it in the hangar, I was drenched. I did have fun today. What I really need is to find a safety pilot to reset my instrument currency. I may be forced to head back to the full motion sim.

Happy 4th of July from the Beach!

Reprinted from Dictionary.Com

The federal government of the United States officially designates “Independence Day, July 4” as a “legal public holiday.” Independence Day is also widely referred to as July 4, July 4th, the Fourth of July. Data indicates that, of the terms, Independence Day is most common, but keep in mind that is likely because many other countries around the world observe their own independence days, marking when they became independent from a foreign power. That said, Independence Day is widely known in specific reference to the US’s national independence.

The term Independence Day is recorded as early as 1790, but the term Fourth of July, in reference to the US independence, is found as early 1779. Of course, the Independence Day/4th of July commemorates the events of July 4, 1776, when the Second Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence, which declared the Thirteen Colonies to be free and independent of England.

The Second Continental Congress, which formed after the start of the American Revolution in 1775, voted to declare their independence (sovereignty) on July 2, but the Declaration of Independence, the document largely authored by Thomas Jefferson explaining this vote, was adopted on July 4th. When the Founding Fathers actually signed the document, however, remains disputed. American independence from the British monarchy was secured in 1783, marking the end of American Revolution in 1783.

After the July 2 vote, John Adams famously wrote to Abigail, his wife:

The second day of July 1776, will be the most memorable epoch in the history of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival. It ought to be commemorated as the day of deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations, from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward forever more.

Indeed, Americans commemorate their independence this way—but on July 4th, of course.