Jackson's Rescue

Meet Jackson

It was a typical  work week, dealing with contractors and finishing up paperwork to close a few projects. While working on setting up cost summaries for some new work my email notification went off.  Adam S, MAESSR Transportation Coordinator had sent a request for a possible weekend flight.

" This is another short mission request for a ground transport that is having trouble being filled. This is for Jackson, a 9 year old male who is coming back into MAESSR's care. He's a good traveler and good with people, but less so with other dogs. Take a look and see if this peaks your interest for some weekend flying.

We would like to get the dog all the way down to Louisa, however an I'm putting an alternate drop off location in Frederick MD if that is the better fit with someones schedule. We could get the ground transport to pick up the rest from there. The trip to Louisa is about 175 nm, while the trip to Frederick, is only about 90 nm. This is a Sunday transport. "

I read through the post and decided to give Mary a call before I responded to volunteer our services. Mary was all in, and she was as excited as I am to make the run. I sent my response with information on our availability.

Leg 1  KILG-KSEG

Leg one is from KILG, Wilmington to KSEG, Penn Valley Airport in Selinsgrove, PA. This morning we were heading south for Wilmington ready to have some fun.  Our planned departure is at 8:15am arriving at KSEG around 9:15ish.  The plan is to meet with Ray and Tina and make the transfer of Jackson to our plane. Ray and Tina drove from Montoursville to complete the ground portion of the transport, a big THANKS for making this happen.

I had filed my instrument flight plan early this morning and picked up my clearance with Wilmington ground. We were soon climbing out for Penn Valley KSEG.  Philly approach handed us off to Harrisburg for the ride along to our destination.  I was maybe 8 miles out and canceled IFR with ATC and made my calls to Penn Valley traffic to advise I was inbound. I did ask the man on unicom if a furry passenger had arrived, he said not yet.

We made our way over the last ridge and made a nice landing on runway three five. It was a short taxi in and we shutdown right across from the terminal. I met up with Ray and Tina and gathered some info on our furry passenger. Jackson was full of energy, he was checking everything out. Mary and i took a few pictures and decided it was time to load up for the next leg south.

Leg 2  KSEG-KLKU

I called  Harrisburg on the number the last controller gave me since he advised my next flight plan was waiting for me when we were on our way in to Penn Valley.  I dialed up the number with my bluetooth connected to my lightspeed zulu, what a great tool to have in the cockpit. My clearance was as filed (AF) that was a first for me, no radar vectors runway heading just plain ole as filed.

Mountains west of MRB

08Romeo climbed out of Penn valley departing the area between the two ridge lines then turning on course. Harrisburg gave us the go to climb to six thousand and amended or flight plan. ATC gave us direct SCAPE then AF, ok, not to bad just helping us keep clear of the presidential TFR around Camp David. We were handed off to Washington center followed by Potomac for two different sectors. 

The last Potomac controller had a stuck mic and I heard him ask another person if they can get me direct Louisa (KLKU) and save me some time, what a good guy!!  Sure enough after they figured out the mic was stuck and I got a few vectors for traffic I was turned direct Louisa.  I had entered dog rescue in the comments so maybe that helped. Jackson was still wide eyed, hadn't slept a wink the whole flight. At least he settled right in and was a very good boy. I requested the RNAV GPS 27 approach and ATC vectored me to an initial approach fix BECBA.  Never did figure out why they just didn't give a direct to, who knows. 

Louisa airport is now over the nose as I make my way down the GPS approach. I canceled in the air and switched over to the unicom to announce my position and intentions. Another smooth landing and taxi back to the terminal. April was tracking us on flightaware so she was already waiting for us at the airport.  Jackson saw her walking to the plane and he started singing us a tune. Mary held his leash while I climbed down the wing and opened the baggage door. Jackson was on the ramp, he hopped out the door like a pro.

Mary and I helped April load up Jackson's box of info and get his bed situated in her vehicle. With a tap of the hand and a kennel command Jackson jumped in the SUV and was ready to go, a ball of energy. We said our goodbyes, which is always the hard part, but asked April to give Debbie a big hug from us both. Nice to meet you April!! Thanks for helping us out with the pick up.

08Romeo need some fuel so I took on enough to bring us to forty. I figured it would be an hour and forty-five home and having some extra beyond the required for IFR gives me a warm and fuzzy. I made a call to Potomac and picked up my clearance for home.  This one is pretty straight forward; launch out of KLKU TAPPA PXT ENO and home.

Clear sailing up the Bay

The flight was really smooth, hands off most of the way.  Once north of TAPPA I did log some actual along with a request to deviate around some build ups, I wasn't the only one. We made our way up the Delmarva peninsula and as usual got lower which stuck me in the middle of the layer.  It wasn't bad a first then we got rocking pretty good and it woke Mary up, I asked for lower. Dover always drops me down lower in their area, must be some feeder for Philly.

Finally handed off to Philly followed by the Wilmington tower, we're almost home.  I reported a right mid-field down wind for runway one nine as directed and finished off the day with a short field landing that was oh so sweet. I had to add power to get to taxiway Kilo.  We buttoned up 08Romeo and headed for home. I did drink water along the way but we didn't make a breakfast stop this morning. With 5.4 hours flying today we were hungry and thirsty. We decided on Johnnies Hot dogs with some root beer that hit the spot!!  Thanks to my lovely Bride for all her help and thanks to the folks associated with MAESSR !!!!

08Romeo Spa Time

I decided to bag a day of work and use up some of that vacation time I have saved up.  I wanted to get 08Romeo's wheels cleaned up and painted.  I also wanted to touch up a few scratches on my handle above my door and a few along the top of my door.  At least I had some sort of plan and I decided it was more important to clean up a few things on the plane then fly for breakfast.

I pulled into Red Eagle and this aircraft was staring me in the face.  The plane looks like a Northrop F5B but with the Canadian designation CF5. I only say this because one of the containers had Canadian express on them. The wing was locked in a jig on the opposite side of the truck with multiple boxes tucked on the flatbed trailer.

Ok, enough distraction, I need to get some work done.  I uncovered 08Romeo and commenced to the dirty cleaning part of the operation. I completely cleaned both rims and prepped them for painting. A few times with a scotchbrite pad helped even out any chips that were there, yeah, there were a few.

Before

Pictured above is the before shot, man that was dirty. I did notice some wheel bearing grease squeezing out and I'll keep an eye on that. It was a multiple step cleaning process, remove excess grease and dirt then spray parts/brake cleaner after protecting the hub and bearings.  With a bit of a parts cleaner buzz I completed step one.

Step two required a steady hand around the tire and a new small 1" brush. I started from the outside in on the first rim and that didn't work out so well.  It did allow a second coat along the face of the rim but also made it hard to steady my hand close to the rim itself.  Wheel two was painted inside out, this worked out great and it took half the time. Take a look at the finished product.

Not to bad, if I must say so myself.  I touched up a few small areas along the pilot side handle above the door and a few along the top of my door.  They looked ok but I would later get a number for a professional painter located at Wilmington to make it right.  At least I have the metal protected.

The test flight...

Of course there has to be a test flight! I called Vince and he was available to make a flight today. Short hop, knock out a few landings, help the paint dry and come home.

We launched for Cape May and enjoyed the cool 64 degree temps at only 3000 feet. Millville was quiet for the most part and it wasn't real busy at Cape May.  Vince got to fly and he did very well, transferring controls for my pattern entry and landing. We didn't shut down, instead we taxied back for a short hop to Millville.  We waited for a Diamond to land then departed north for KMIV.  We had traffic in the area, a King Air landing ahead of us on runway three two.  I was number two for a full stop and taxi back.

Diamond, short final

We taxied for runway three two behind a Cessna and a Mooney.  I announced crossing runway ten-two eight and followed the Mooney.  The Mooney pilot decided to do a run up with his tail hanging over the hold short line which left me sitting well across the hold short, on the runway side! I made at least four calls for him to move up the taxiway so I could clear, nothing.  Finally I moved to the pilots side inching closer and still calling.  The right seat passenger held out a thumbs up but still no movement.  I called again and he finally moved.  I acknowledged with a thanks but held my tongue since Vince was in the plane. After a CH47 Chinook passed by on the ILS runway 10 low approach and our Mooney driver departed, we were finally rolling down the runway for home.

"Take Off Time" - B25  on the ramp at KMIV



It was windy but a fun flight home. Vince once again did a nice job and this time I had him make the calls to the tower at Wilmington. He nailed all the info, brief, to the point, no ahh's or uhh's, a really nice job.  We were directed straight in runway three two report jersey shore line, Vince acknowledged. We transferred controls for pattern and landing, Vince pointing out we're low on the vasi's.  (rolls eyes)...I held my altitude and in a blink the lights were split. I must say Vince is pretty sharp, fun to fly with and someday he'll make a great pilot. He did tell me today he'll fly Mary and I around. Great, does that mean I'll be to old or unable to hold a medical? Vince just laughed.

Final Runway 32

We secured 08Romeo and cleaned up the leading edges. The painter is going to contact me in the next couple of weeks, his schedule is pretty busy. In the mean time I have a number to call so I can get 08Romeo detailed. Vince and I headed to 58M, I know, why didn't I fly you ask, it honestly slipped my mind. I picked up my sticker for my adlog entry for the previous oil change and scheduled my annual for the first of November.  I think Mary and I will be flying out for turkey day on some vacation so the plane needs to be back online by the second week of the month. Maybe we'll finally make it to the Keys!

Sadie's FURever Home

I had followed a few posts criss-crosing the Mid-Atlantic English Springer Spaniel Rescue (MAESSR) email system this past week.  I thought maybe if the wx was looking good and Mary and I could get back home by 3pm we could fill this mission request.  Friday wx checks looked like there was a very good chance we could get this done, now to fit us in the schedule.  I connected with Adam and Renee and they coordinated to have Sadie at Dinwiddie Airport in Petersburg VA between 9 and 9:30am.  The last piece of the puzzle was to have Maggie, Sadie's new Mom, meet us around 10:30 at KESN, Easton MD.  The plan is hatched!

Sadies Story

Mary and I got up early and headed to the airport after taking care of Maggie, our Italian Mastiff.  We agreed on a Dunkin Donut stop for water and  flat bread breakfast sandwiches. We arrived at the plane and went through our well rehearsed routine. By the time Mary was headed out the gate I was mid pre-flight.  We also had to pull the two backseats and get the moving blanket in place for our passenger.

I got 08Romeo started so we could get some air moving and turned on the high power blower to help circulate air in the cabin. I had filed a flight plan last night for 7am and called ground to pick up my clearance. Using the CRAFT mnemonic I jotted down what was read to me.  Cleared PTB, Runway heading, Radar Vectors to intercept V29, Smyrna (ENO), V16, Patuxent (PXT), As Filed. Great! I had already chugged and plugged that route in the Garmin 530, we were ready to roll. I was cleared to taxi with my take off clearance given as soon as I finished my run up.

Patuxent NAS

Richmond VA

The air was smooth as we made our way south despite fighting a fifteen knot headwind punctuated by a thirteen degree crab for the entire leg one. Philly cleared us to six thousand and eventually handed us off to Potomac, Patuxent then Potomac two more times. Potomac cleared me for the GPS 23 approach and I made the changes to the 530 and made my way in. There was one plane in the pattern at the time so we followed number two to land. I didn't know it at the time but it was David in Cessna 18November Sierra.

KPTB - Final 23

I made an ok landing and let 08Romeo roll out, I always try to save brakes. We taxied to the ramp and there was our passenger waiting. Carl, what a gem, made the trip from Henderson NC to have Sadie at the airport ready for us to pick up. Thanks Carl! Your extra effort was appreciated and it will help us make our commitment at home this afternoon. 

Me with Dave, Carl & Sadie 

Dave getting a close up.  Carl and Sadie

Getting ready to board

I needed to top off on fuel and the price was cheaper here than at ESN so I went to the slots plus five on each side.  That combination gives me 50 gallons and will leave almost thirty in the tanks when this mission is completed. David B was on the ramp and it was nice to finally put a face to a forum member and facebook friend.

Dave's Cessna

With the fuel bill squared away it was time to saddle up and get this cute little girl to her new home. Mary and I said our goodbyes and climbed aboard. Again, special thanks to Carl for his trip north to have Sadie there and thanks to David for taking time out of his day to meet up.

Passenger getting comfy

I got 08Romeo started and attempted to make contact with Potomac on the Ground communication outlet (GCO) but had no luck. Thanks to the zulu headset I used the blue tooth and called Potomac to pick up my clearance north. This one was easy, cleared to ESN, As Filed.  Life is good! Maybe it was the comments "Dog rescue flight".

We were off and heading north for Easton, MD.  Our first ATC asked if I had canceled when we had landed....UGgghhhh....I had not, and confessed. ATC was very nice and just said it's a reminder, no harm, there was no inbound IFR traffic. So noted and I won't let that happen again. Potomac cleared us to five thousand direct TAPPA and that saved some flight time. At least we were enjoying a nice tailwind cruising along now in the 125 knot range.

PAX NAS

PAX NAS Close up

Sadie settled in and eventually fell asleep, Mary even took another nap. We skimmed along the cloud tops and were in and out for a few minutes until we got close to the Chesapeake Bay. From the Bay to Easton was smooth sailing with a few clouds placed here and there. I was handed off to Patuxent and cleared for the visual approach runway three three.  As we got closer we had a traffic call out in front of us that we could not see. Eventually that traffic also headed into Easton, we were number two.  The spacing got close and I tried some 'S' turns but that didn't cut it.  I requested a right 360 and that was granted which worked out fine for spacing.

Mary handing off Sadie to Maggie

Sadie checking out Jeff. Hey, any treats?

Heading to the Terminal

We taxied in and saw Maggie, Sadie's new Mom waiting on the ramp. Jeff D our friend from Woodbine flew to ESN for lunch so we could also meet up, I didn't know he was going to be there. Jeff made contact with Maggie and together they were waiting on us, thanks Jeff that was very nice to keep Maggie company. Our sleepy little girl had awakened from her slumber and was looking for her exit from the plane.  Such a sweetie, she never forced going by the front seats instead she patiently waited and let me lift her up and help her exit the baggage door. No sooner that little girl was on the ramp her tail was wagging!

Ready for her ride home

Maggie was excited and so was Sadie, lots of positive vibes here. Sadie's tail was going a mile a minute and she was checking out some folks sitting in the terminal as if showing off her new Mom. Mary and walked out to make sure she got in Maggie's car ok then parted after good hugs all around. Both Maggie and Sadie looked happy, we wish them the best!!!

Our mission completed we decided to grab a quick lunch at the Sugar Buns restaurant in the terminal.  We each had and iced tea and lobster roll, it was very good. Jeff sat and chatted with us for a bit then saddled up for home. His Mooney was blinding as it taxied by the restaurant, who cleans that plane so nice?? Mary and I settled up the bill and headed out to take a look at the war birds that were gathering on the ramp, a special treat.

The crew!!

I opted not to file since the VP's TFR didn't start until later this evening and instead decided on a VFR flight, I didn't even pick up flight following.  I did have Dover approach tuned in and listened for traffic but it was nice just to sing along with the country hits and enjoy the view. I made the call to Wilmington as we passed over Summit, KEVY. With the wx info noted, I gave my position, stated intentions and was directed for a left base runway three two.  That didn't last long and I was changed to downwind two seven. uneventful landing and taxi back to Red Eagle. Our day is done, we put the heat shields in the windows and I promised to return tomorrow to give 08Romeo a bath and reinstall the seats.  For now, time to head home, download some pictures and work on this write up.  We have a graduation party starting at 5pm that should make for a nice ending to our day.

THANKS to everyone at MAESSR that made this happen!!

Paperless Cockpits

I must admit I am guilty of following multiple online flying forums over the last few years.  Each forum provides a different spin on aviation topics but yet each valuable in my opinion. Lately, I have been following the buzz about "paperless cockpits" and I must say it presents a wide range of variables to choose from.

CFI and CFII post about the need for new students to use the paper, make use of all information available to flight plan.  I agree with this method since I myself went through it. However, the endless access to information electronically is so much easier, much lighter to haul around and it beats unfolding and folding while in flight.  Ok, you folks that learned to fly without all the electronic goodies are saying have the charts folded prior to the flight.  Yep, I agree and that's what I was taught to do too.  Trust me on this one, it's much easier scrolling through the pages with a swipe of the finger. 

I watched a few friends use their iPad to view VFR sectionals, IFR Low Enroute charts, the green book (AFD) and Instrument Approach Plates (IAPs).  My last instrument instructor aslo used the iPad and that really sealed the deal. I was hooked, I had to have one for my flying. I'm not into the movies or books but just simple flight tools to make my flying life safer and easier.

I decided to run a few numbers just to compare costs for each method, paper vs paperless. I needed to find a cut off so I picked everything east of the Mississippi. Here is the breakdown:

PAPER = $846.00

3 AFD's @ $5.00 each, every 56 days, say six orders -   $90
12 IAP's @ $6.00 each, every 56 days, say six orders - $432
10 ENR's @ $3.00 each, every 56 days, say six orders - $180
12 VFR @ $6.00 each, semi annual - $144

PAPERLESS = $149.99 w/iPad $800.00

ForeFlight HD (1 Year)

Moving map, weather, plates, charts, AF/D, and filing. $74.99
ForeFlight Pro (1 Year)
Adds geo-referenced instrument procedures and diagrams  $149.99
* Lets figure in the cost of an iPad with Wifi-3G, 32GB   $650 
**The cost of foreflight includes the ability for radar, satellite, IFR enroute (high or low), VFR sectional, fuel prices, flight rules, winds, temperatures, dew point spreads, ceilings, sky coverage, lightning, and more for the entire US.

The initial cost for the electronic "paperless" is still cheaper and the following years you will only have to subscribe to foreflight at $75 basic and $150 geo-referenced a year vs the paper trail expense of $846. 

I have flown with the iPad long enough and decided that I will go paperless. I still have a few of my favorite expired paper charts and may update the local sectional at least once a year just to have it.  I would have added "as a back up" but my iPhone takes care of that since foreflight lets me download the same full copy to it, at no extra cost.

What are your thoughts on the subject? Paper? Paperless? Look forward to hearing from you!

Fathers Day

"....Remembering them is easy, we do it everyday. There's an ache within our hearts that will never go away."

Gone but never forgotten.......Happy Fathers Day to my Dad and to Pop (Mary's Dad).