Breakfast Hop to KGED



Direct to KGED flight plan

Swapped facebook messages yesterday with Jeff D from Woodbine about a possible breakfast run this morning.  Wx looks great and the VP's TFR starts around noon so I will be good to go and not have to file. I contacted Vince if he wanted to fly right seat since Mary took a pass.

South View

I walked through the gate and loved the chilly breeze blowing, it smelled clean. I went through my pre-flight and had to sump fuel since AeroWays delivered per my request last night. Everything looked great, cleaned off some bird souvenirs and climbed aboard.  Vince texted me saying he would be 15 minutes late getting to the plane. I started up and got the oil warmed then shut down in front of the Red Eagle hangar.  Vince climbed up on the wing and I picked up my check list and proceeded with an engine start.

Looking SE, Delaware River and Bay

I climbed out of Wilmington with a head wind just off the nose to our right and managed to hold 100-102 knots heading south. The Gods hopefully will reward me for not complaining and provide tail winds coming home, we shall see.  Vince wanted to do some radio work since flying was hands off and feet on the floor.  He contacted Dover approach for flight following and we flew together until 10 miles out of Georgetown.

Dover AFB Ramp, C5's

Dover Museum

I have really been working on the shock cooling and now nose over with slight reductions in RPM, sort of stepping down the power or at least trying to be even more aware of it. As we descended below 2,400 feet the winds really kicked in, it was like riding a bucking horse.  There was a Cherokee joining the pattern coming from the south west and he followed me in number two to land. I crossed mid-field and entered the down wind. We each reported our positions and as I turned base to final I had visual contact. Two notches of flaps and riding the winds, dodging a few turkey buzzards just over the trees on short final.  I decided to add a final notch of flaps even though that's not normal for me in gusting winds. Sure enough, I ballooned but made a nice landing with a quick turn around and taxi off to the terminal. The Cherokee followed suit dealing with the winds but his attempt looked better than my landing felt.

On the ramp at KGED

Jeff's Mooney at KGED

Vince and I secured the plane and I talked with the two men in the Cherokee.  I had given him a heads up about the buzzards on final and had mentioned my previous close encounter with the red tail hawk at Wilmington. Small world, he said "you write that blog" ah, yep that's me.  He said he reads along and follows my travels, that always makes it worth my time to document my ramblings. He had mentioned Bill ( Bills RV-7 Project and Travels) from Essex Skypark, one of my favorite reads on aviation.  I hope one day to cross paths with Bill and see his RV7, the pictures are awesome.

The Breakfast bunch!

Jeff and John rolled in in Jeff's immaculate Mooney, I think bugs avoid him.  We had a nice breakfast, good food, aviation chatter and of course watching the planes come an go on the ramp. When we finished up we saw a B25 taxi by, it was Tom Duffy's Take-Off Time based at Millville. It was nice to say Hi to Tom and I did ask about his recent purchase, a Mustang.  The Mustang is being painted and he gave us a snip of info on the scheme.



Tom Duffy's B25 - Take Off Time



I followed Jeff's Mooney out to runway two two and completed my run up. I launched into the gusty winds and bumped along to 3,000 feet and smooth air. No flight following on the way home, just enjoyed the flight and chatting with Vince.  We were spotting some aviation related items; the Smyrna VOR (ENO), Delaware Airpark 33N and a picture for my friend Jeff who moved to Champagne IL, Smyrna Airport - 38N and its grass strip.

Beat the VP TFR, nice tail winds!

I had the ATIS info for Wilmington and made my call. I confirmed, report mid-field down wind runway one nine. I extended so a jet could depart then made a nice landing with enough power to taxi clear on Kilo. Vince cleaned the leading edges and I covered and tied down. A fun day flying and catching up with friends.