Much Needed Flight Time

With hurricane Sandy in the record books and 08Romeo returned to her normal tie down it's time for us to get some flight time.

Yesterday I got most of the motor home ready for her winter slumber. Mary and I took a last run and filled the propane tanks then cleaned up the inside.  This morning I emptied out some clothes I had left in the closets and stored the items we left sitting on the bed when we traveled north from the beach.

The view across the field this morning with the sunlight beaming through

Today is airplane day! I was thinking about getting night current this evening but even with the time switch I'm not sure if I feel like heading back to the airport and uncovering.....that hangar sure was nice.  I headed to the airport early with the hope of catching up with the breakfast bunch out of Woodbine or Quakertown.   First on my list was some wash/wax all to take care of a few bird deposits and to clean the windows, I was lazy and put 08Romeo away without cleaning them. I at least did all the leading edges, including the main and nose gear after the the BAC Fest trip the end of September.  September, wow, it's been a month since I last flew!

I swapped Facebook posts with Jeff from Woodbine and he confirmed that the group was heading to the Georgetown Airport, KGED for the Sunday buffet.  I grabbed my flight bag and headed to the plane. It was good to see 08Romeo and spend some time cleaning up and doing a very comprehensive pre-flight.  Everything looked great and I climbed aboard for an 8:30 start up time. 08Roameo came to life, she had to be needing the flying fix as bad as I was.  I taxi out to the Red Eagle ramp and sat so my oil temps could come up. I plugged in my flight plan and tuned the vor for some tracking today.  I did notice that I lost the number display in the collins vor, the last digit to the right. I did order a spare when I replaced the nav radio display that went dark not long after purchase.

Another new voice in the tower today and the broken english is pretty bad but I can understand her.  I am directed to taxi all the way across the field for the runway heading into the wind, runway three two.  Please, the cross wind for two seven is six knots, I can handle that and save fuel. As I reach to key the mic the tower comes right back and gives me two seven at Mike via Kilo, that's more like it.

08Romeo climbs out at 1200 feet/minute, she's feeling frisky in the cool air. I play along and we enjoy the climb to our cruise altitude of three thousand today. The sky didn't look to good but the forecast was telling me it was going to clear, I road along south.  The tops were sitting at three thousand eight and I had some bumps along the way.  I decided to pick up flight following with Dover approach since they seemed busy launching heavies this morning.  I didn't want to be a bug splat on a C-5.

I dropped flight following about ten north of Georgetown and switched to CTAF.  I made my position calls and crossed midfield for the left down wind entry for runway two two.  I was looking at a good crosswind componet but I needed the practice.  I'm sure anyone watching would have compared this landing to a kid dipping one toe in the water at a time as I felt for the runway with my right main.  I ballooned a bit and dipped the toe in again, up a tad then slowly sinking with touchdown.  I made for a short roll followed by the left main and nose immediatly following.  I was down and making the turn off to the ramp relieved to get the first one in the book after a month off.

The Woodbine bunch made their way first Joe from Cape May then Jeff.  I did get a shot of Jeff banking to enter left base to downwind for two eight. About the time Jeff taxied in a Guard Blackhawk started up and taxied out, I was glad he was not going to taxi past my plane. With everyone here we grabbed a table and enjoyed a great breakfast in the terminal. Plenty of food on the buffet and the service was perfect as always.  I had taken on some fuel so I had 08Romeo filled back to the tabs, especially since you get a discount if you eat at the restaurant.

The sky had cleared but the layer had moved north.  This was what I was looking at heading home. Tops were reported at three thousand eight and I once again road along under the layer, not enjoying the bumps.  The good speeds enjoyed heading south were paid for with headwinds the whole way home. I was only making 106 to 110 knots ground speed with 120 indicated. As always I enjoy the time in the left seat and taking in all the sights below so time really didn't matter.

As you can see the winds were pretty strong as I passed by Salem nuke plant  approaching Wilmington. I made my position call with ATIS info and was directed to enter a left base for two seven. I acknowledged and made ready for landing. There was a blackhawk landing, an experimental heading in on the opposite down wind number two behind me and I was looking to grease this landing.  I needed to slip to get there and add a touch of power to hold off the sink rate but it ended with a smooth roll on to the runway, no squeak, no bounce just the hum of the wheels rolling.

I buttoned 08Romeo up and wiped down the leading edges. It felt GREAT to be back flying.  As I was locking up a Falcon jet landed, a Guard C130 took off and a CAP Cessna landed.  A busy airport this morning.

3rd Times the Charm

With Hurricane Sandy heading to the tri-state area there was a scramble for hangars and getting planes moved to a safe location.  I made calls Friday to Wilmington Airport since they had hangared me during the last bad storm. It was a simple process, provide proper insurance with the Authority named as insured, pick up a key and get your plane in.  It would prove to be a longer process the past two days to get 08Romeo sheltered.

I followed the new procedures in place for obtaining a hangar for the duration of the storm. I sent an email to the Airport Director and he in turn would now need to get approval from the COO.  While that process was moving forward I contacted my insurance company to provide a cover sheet with the policy info and name the operating authority on the policy.  I received the file from Aviation Insurance and quickly forwarded it to the airport.  Shortly after my email I received a call to tell me I could not lease a hangar for the storm duration, five to seven days, because they only do thirty day leases. For real? there were eleven open hangars and they were not going to be available for people that wanted to get their planes sheltered for the storm.  In fairness I should add that all but one of the hangars did not have electricity on, the hangar doors would need to be operated with a generator.

I quickly got on the phone to secure a new spot.  After a few calls I had two offers, one graciously provided by Red Eagle Avionics and the other by a airport tenant that had access to hangars on the field.  I thanked Dale at Red Eagle but did not want him to have to move planes for me so I went with the T-hangar.

Mary and I had started our Saturday bright and early.  We took care of her Mom's patio furniture then grabbed some dunkin donuts breakfast and headed to the airport.  As we were uncovering 08Romeo a fellow ramp neighbor and long time ham radio friend Bill walked over to say hello.  Bill was looking for hangar space too, I said I thought I could hook him up. I made a call to the man that was helping me and he said he may be able to get him in too.  Mary drove around to the west T's via the local roads while Bill and I taxied our planes across the field.

I was directed to a T-hangar and quickly got 08Romeo settled in.  Bill had to move to a secondary spot since the first had a wave runner that would not allow his Cherokee to fit. Bill was in and we were set, I felt the stress lift off my shoulders. We were invited to come back for the T-Hangar cook out and we agreed that if we got everything done we would return.  Meanwhile we were still hoping that our generator could be fixed that we had dropped off last night at the local shop.  We checked in on the generator and got the bad news, it needed a spring in the carbs fuel bowl, this was a show stopper.  No fear, we have the motor homes 5000 watt genset that we could use and a small 800 watt unit too.

We finished up the few errands we needed to take care of, a stop at Walgreen's and a fuel top off for the SUV.  While Mary was getting her scripts filled I got two calls, one was my brother and sister-in-law in Florida letting me know they had a ride to the house tonight when they get into Philly airport. The second call was the man helping us find hangar space.  We had to head back to the airport to move our plane out of the hangar since the owner had already promised it to another pilot, a simple communications mix up.  We  got back to the airport and swapped hangars, easy peasy, we were covered.  We walked around to the cook out area and said our hello's and goodbyes so we could get home and get the genset hooked up.  As we were leaving I  was told the hangar I was in was an airport hangar not a leased hangar.  This is not good......I immediately made a u-turn and headed back to pull the plane out. Sorry 08Romeo but it's back to the ramp, I can't stay in a hangar that could cause me problems.

Once again we were headed home, this time with a sick feeling in my gut knowing 08Romeo would not be safe.  Back at our ramp there are multiple jets in the process of being made airworthy along with their parts on the ramp, nothing is secured.  Most of the jets are on blocks, no wheels, except for nose gear.  These aircraft are going to be projectiles, I can only hope our baby is far enough away.

We made a liquor store stop and then headed home to get the genset cabled for our sump pumps, refrigerator and entertainment, all the while thinking of our plane.  We ordered pizza and as much as I wanted a double captain and Pepsi I held off.  I still had hope that I would get a call and my contact at the airport would find me a hangar.  The cell phone rang around 5:45 and he found me a spot! I confirmed we were on our way back to the airport, I would meet him there.  This was the fifth trip today but this one was worth it.  Mary and I uncovered 08Romeo, I fired up and taxied back across the field, the tower folks must of thought I was nuts.  Mary hustled the SUV around the airport and met me at the west T's.  08Romeo was safe and secure, I felt like a weight was once again lifted off my shoulders.  On trip six we were finally headed home!  Mary did her little female plane voice and said how happy she was that she would be warm, dry and safe and that she knew we loved her.  Yes, we really do love our plane and I can sleep good tonight knowing she is safe.

Special thanks to the man that made this all happen, I owe you big time. Also a special thanks to the man who owns the hangar. This man moved his plane out of his hangar and secured his plane in a larger two plane hangar so that 08Romeo could have his for the storm.  Pilots helping pilots, the brotherhood in action. I'm a luck guy to have such friends! Time for that 'double'captain and Pepsi.....

Weekend Plans

Since the summer beach runs are done for the season we are gearing up for a few get-away weekends.  We started our list and have added two locations almost instantly. 

Mary and I want to visit our friends in Rome NY so that will be an easy sprint for 08Romeo. Approximately 240 miles and 2.5 hours airtime. 

Next on the list is Cape Cod and the Christmas Stroll.  There are two we would like to visit but will concentrate on the Hyannis Main Street Stroll first.  We already did the Nantucket Christmas Stroll Weekend and it was perfect. Accommodations are to expensive for my pocket so we'll stay on the Cape and fly over to spend the day, if we run out of things to see and do in Hyannis. The trip to the Cape is also approximately 245 miles and 2.5 hours airtime. 

Airplane Utility!

It's not only nice to own a plane for saving travel time to a specific destination but even sweeter when you need a lift to solve logistics. I offered free flight time in 08Romeo to and from Ocean City in order to get Mary and I there to bring home our beach buggy/airport car. Instead, Mike insisted on taking the Diamond DA40. Who am I to argue?

The DA 40 will shave some time off the normal 45-50 minute trip and he can shoot an approach or two while I safety pilot for him. We scheduled for an 8:30 departure this morning from Red Eagle.  Mike was gracious in meeting us there since I can not get back in the West T-hangar gates when we come home. Yes, I work at this airport but I do not have access to the west T's. 

We departed runway one four and climbed out to five thousand five hundred. We faced quartering headwinds of 35 knots through the climb, tapering off to just 12 knots or so at altitude. Mike shot the GPS 14 approach and we had a pretty good crab angle on our way in. A super sweet crosswind landing with the right main touching down followed by the left main and finally the nose gear, textbook stuff.

Mike took on some fuel since it is just $5.50 self serve at KOXB.  I helped out then drove the airport car, our Cabrio, over to the terminal to pick up Mary.  We were headed north. Mike was going to have some fun with the tailwinds, at least until he let down for Wilmington then it would low level shears.

We made a few stops along the way, Lombardi's for lunch then Lewes, DE for the Bake Shop and Loyd's Market for Milton sausage. We also made a quick stop to visit my Brother and his wife but we missed them. They answered our text but we were already back on the road heading north.  A fun day even if it was ground pounding for the ride home.

THANKS Mike B for the hop, you're the man!!

BAC Fest 2012

 

Wednesday

Hours of flight planning have come to an end and it's now time to begin the journey.  Mary and I decided on leaving one day early so we could enjoy the festivities and get some added beach time together. Day one flight plans will take us south, along the east coast route with a planned stop south of Raleigh NC, KTTA  and a second top off stop in Perry GA, KPXE then into Gulf Shores AL, KJKA.

wheels up!!!

Looking down the Delaware river

We dropped off Maggie at 7:30 for boarding and made a stop for sandwiches and water with the plan to eat along the way.  Our stops were strictly for fuel, stretch the legs and nature calls. We were both excited to get going and we quickly uncovered 08Romeo and loaded the bags, lots of bags. I had previously went through my check list for aviation needs and the Garmin 530 and 496 were up to date along with my iPad and iPhone.

We were moving along, on time, now ready to get the engine started. As soon as I got 08Romeo started I had to chug and plug today's flight plan in for the first leg.  The key is to "save" the plan in case of a problem so you can recall it. With the electronics set and checked we picked up our clearance to KTTA, Raleigh Exec Jetport At Sanford-Lee County. The first leg was a good flight with many hand off's to various approach controllers to keep me busy. Final hand off was to Raleigh Approach and I was cleared for our arrival, a visual approach runway two one. First Leg was 3.5 Hours.

Raleigh

short final TTA

With a quick gas and go we were headed back out to the plane.  I did a sump for the fuel and a quick walk around.  With everything in order we launched for KPXE, Perry Ga. This was the strangest clearance I have received to date. Instead of the typical cleared to destination airport and my planned route (SDZ V155 IRQ V56 MCN KPXE), on this leg  I was given "cleared direct LEECO". Who? Where is that? I was wondering what was up.  I had my iPad up and running just in case I got something different or a last minute change and quickly found this new fix.  Hmmm...I'm cleared a total of five miles.  OK, we'll give it a go. 

I announced on CTAF and coordinated with a Cirrus pilot inbound for a practice ILS approach, inbound opposite direction.  The cirrus was going to do the procedure turn at LEECO at around 1,500'  I was climbing out to 3000 feet.  I had comm two set up so we could communicate our positions while I had Approach on comm 1.  Everything worked out and as I approached LEECO I was cleared as filed for the remainder of my routing. I also passed along a thanks to cirrus pilot as I made contact with him opposite direction passing my ten to five o' clock low. 

Short final one-eight at PXE



This leg was as smooth as the first, hands in my lap, looking out at the scenery and adding an occasional tap of the rudder to remain on course.  Nothing beats a smooth flight and today's flights, so far, have been perfect. KPXE was the last planned fuel top off before turning towards Gulf Shores. Mary and I were having fun listening to the tunes and taking in the beautiful views.  We decided to grab a bite to eat enroute and opened up the sandwiches we picked up this morning.  It was fun, cruising along at six thousand feet having a better meal than the spam can airliners sharing the skies around us.

On the ramp next to us at PXE

FBO

The second leg of the day clocked in at 3.2 hours. Our arrival into Perry Georgia was simple and smooth. This airport was really nice and the folks there were as friendly as could be. Mary stated many times during this trip that if most companies could take a lesson in customer service from the airport FBO's it would go a long way to increasing their business, maybe she is on to something here.  We took on fuel for the last hop of the day and headed out to the plane. With the sump check and walk around completed we climbed aboard. Once again this hop will be as filed, gezzz....I love when they say that.  KPXE RRS V241 CEW NUN KJKA.

Chattahoochee River

The start of the build up's

Gulf Shores Coastline

We launched for KJKA, Gulf Shores, as excited as two kids on a first date. We could not wait to get some beach time in the warm Gulf waters. Ok, I needed to tone it down and get back to business and I took off my hat with the propeller and put the captains hat back on.  This leg, unlike the first two, was not a hands in your lap flight. We had some bumps along the way and had to dodge the many huge build ups.  These towering clouds were thousands of feet, it was like driving in downtown NYC looking up at the skyscrapers (Marys description). With deviations left or right and reporting back on course it seemed to take forever to reach the Gulf. Pensacola approach offered me a direct to KJKA and I accepted, this was to easy. Sure enough here we are riding along fat dumb and happy at 4,000 and about two minutes into our "direct" approach tells us he needs me at 8,000 for holding traffic.  Ughhh...save time direct with a long climb on a full belly of fuel or trudge along here at four???  Leaving 4,000, climbing 8,000, 08Romeo. There, the deed is done, I guess that's not to painful. We did pick up a tail wind and the ride was smoother but the distant wall of building clouds did not look good.

Short Final KJKA runway 9

I had asked for lower knowing I could not out climb the towering monsters that blocked my path to vacation like an offensive line protecting their QB on game day. We crossed the arrival path of Duke Field,(Eglin AF Aux NR 3) (EGI), Whiting Field Nas North and South and finally Pensacola Gulf Coast Regional (PNS). I finally did get lower and was relieved to pass under the layer which provided a clear line of site west south west towards KJKA. I cancelled in the air and entered on a 45* for the left downwind runway nine. It was great to see the Gulf coast and even better the runway on short final, we were on vacation!

I have to add this, although Mary will give me the NCIS DiNozzo head slap.  When the line guy asked how was your flight in Mary responded that "I'm not sure but I think I left my Arse in Georgia"  Yes, all those hours in the saddle made for numb butts.

Wednesday night we had all went out to Bubba's for dinner, it only gets an "ok" rating from Mary and I. Sure, there was plenty of atmosphere and the service was very good but we were not impressed with the food, I think everything was fried; I had the shrimp po boy and Mary had the oyster po boy, we give the food just two stars.

Thursday

Mary and I are up pretty early and headed down to the hotel cafe' for breakfast. Good service and good food. Both of us had two eggs over medium, grits with cheese (yummy!)bacon and raisin toast. With full tummy's we tossed aside the old wives tale about waiting thirty minutes before swimming, heck we were care free and on vacation, lets be dangerous.

We rented to lounges with an umbrella and parked it on the beach. I can't explain how soft the white sands were, maybe like baby powder since each grain was so small. The sand actually squeaked when you walked across it, very bizarre. The sun was hot, the crashing waves were perfect and I had the perfect company, my Bride.

We need a few Corona's

We spent plenty of time jumping through the waves, we had a blast! I think the last time we spent this much time in the water was our trip to Myrtle Beach back in 2007. The sand was scalloped and made for walking like a drunk, which took the attention away from the next wave that knocked us under. We saw fish riding the waves, as if body surfing, almost every time the next wave crested. We also saw stingrays and were instructed to shuffle along so we didn't step on them.

I headed back to change so I could get over to the airport for arrivals. As of today there are 15 planes in Gulf Shores, 10 fixed gear and 5 retracts, more expected on Friday. I hung out with fellow BAC members and finally headed back to the hotel.  I headed up to the room to change so I could swim for a short time before we had to shower and get ready for dinner.

Dinner tonight as a group was scheduled for Lambert's, home of the "throwed roll". Lambert's is located in Foley, Alabama., eight miles north of Gulf Shores. 59 BAC faithful made it to Lambert's, not a single person left hungry! Mary and I ended up at the "Sand Bar" in the hotel and capped off the night with a drink. Good times tonight and looking forward to Fridays events.

Friday

Another early start for me since I am going to attend the retract seminar back at the airport. Mary slept in for a short while then headed to the pool. Marty did a great job explaining the retract details of what to look for and maintenance issues.  I know I'm happy with my fixed gear but it was nice to get a look at the Sundowners sister, the Sierra.

The group was headed to the Pensacaola National Naval Aviation Museum, I took a pass.  Mary and I decided that we would see the museum in our future Florida trips, besides I wanted more beach time. I headed back to the hotel and caught up with my Bride. Mary was pool side chatting with a couple of ladies she met. The sisters were on vacation and frequent the Island house, they say it's the best on the beach. We decided on lunch at the hotel cafe' and then more swimming. Mary and Bo had chicken salad on a croissant and I had a tuna salad. The croissants were fresh and tasty!

We called it a day at the pool then headed up to get ready for the BAC reception tonight. We made a quick run out to the Pottery place we saw on the way to Lambert's last night. We were disappointed, it was more of a Christmas tree shop than a pottery place.  No worries, Mary brought something home, a gift for Mom and a brightly colored rooster for our kitchen, yes you read that right, a rooster, sigh.

We made our way back to the hotel and spotted two places we were interested in for dinner tonight. LuLu's, Jimmy Buffet's sisters place and Steamers, we'll see what the other BACers want to do for chow. The head count tonight at the reception was 66.  As a side note the 19th baby beech also arrived at KJKA. As Brad put it best, "Gulf Shores is rockin with BACers!"

Saturday

Today we got up and after a late night assessing wx I confirmed my decision to bug out a day early. Sadly we will miss the banquet dinner this evening but safety is my first concern, not the cost of tickets.

We were out early and pulling into the local Waffle House for breakfast at 6:30.  I wanted to be wheels up by 7:30 and Gulf Air was going to have the Sundowner pulled up out front waiting.  I enjoyed my pecan waffle and an order of scattered smothered and covered. Mary had sausage gravy over biscuits and grits w/cheese.

Departing KJKA

I made one stop to top off the rental car and then we were off for the airport.  I checked oil and added a quart since I was down a half after the 9.4 hobbs hours day getting here. We bumped into a fellow BAC flyer heading to Florida, he was bugging out early too. We saddled up and got the fan turning keeping the air moving while I plugged in the new flight plan.

Goodbye Gulf Coast.....

The first leg of the journey home was planned as follows; Black was the intended route and red was the new route/shortcut. A great start to the flight home and a time saver!

I monitored wx along our route and when I was closing in on Tullahoma (THA) I made the decision to divert to Smyrna, KMQY.  Leg one was 3.7 hours with some IMC time and breaking out well above the MDA. We were number two behind a Diamond Star and made a smooth landing.

Short final at KCRW

We topped off our fuel and made a quick turn around for the next stop KCRW, Yeager Airport in Charleston, WV. This leg lasted 2.8 hours and we road along at 7,000.  ATC was good, we had some munchies and water to keep us going while we enjoyed the view. Indy did move us to 9,000 for traffic followed by the next controller descending us back to 5,000. Overall not bad and we had CRW in view making our way to final and keeping our speed up as requested for jet traffic behind us.

Another turn and burn for a fuel and nature call then back out to the plane. The folks at the FBO were great and I got to see some football scores while getting the fuel bill squared away. We were soon off for the last leg home. This flight had some cloud layers and made for some interesting deviations to avoid the major build up's.

ATC moved us up and down for traffic and kept me busy but eventually we were handed off to Philly and I knew home was close. We crossed the Susquehanna and could see down the Chesapeake Bay.  Another aircraft headed into ILG passed overhead and we mirrored his path and calls. I spotted ILG and the twin spans when I was handed off to the tower. I was cleared for the visual runway one but requested straight in runway nine. Another nice landing and taxi to our tie down.

LOVE tail winds!

Home at Sunset

I'm not sure how or why but I had a burst of energy after we got out.  I cleaned up the plane while Mary got the SUV. We loaded the bags, I installed one of the back seats we had removed and got 08Romeo covered. With a pat on her side I thanked her for getting us home safe.

Flight Time - 18.7 hours
Miles Flown - 2010
New Airports - 5 (KTTA,KPXE,KJKA,KMQY,KCRW)
New States - 1 (Georgia)
IMC - .3 hours