Ziva's First Flight

Thursday 7/18

I bagged work for Friday so Mary and I could launch for the beach tonight.  We had already packed the items we wanted to add to the coach inventory and added provisions for our new traveler, Ziva. I was out the door and high tailing it home  anxious to get to the plane and get in the air before any thunderstorms developed. Mary had set out the thermal inserts for the plane windows, I know I would have left with out them.

I'm happy, going for a ride.

Whoa, stop this bus! I'm going to be getting in a plane???

We were out the door and motoring south for ILG and 08Romeo. I unpacked the SUV and packed the baggage in the plane, I scooped up Ziva girl and set her inside while Mary ran the SUV out and secured it in the Red Eagle lot. I had completed the pre-flight and fuel sump before my Bride relocated the SUV so I climbed aboard to get some air flowing. I repositioned the aircraft adjacent to the Hangar at Red Eagle and blocked Mary's access unless she crawled under the wing.

The fan was indeed turning, most of you will poo poo this but Mary and I briefed prior to even me starting up. I had set Marys Bose headset out on the yoke and while climbing in and dealing with securing the door the headset fell to the floor and she stepped on the right ear cup.  Yep, snapped the bracket clean through in two places. I'll be calling Bose tomorrow for a repair estimate.

Finally secure, we advise Wilmington ground that we are ready to taxi. What's Ziva make of all this so far??? She was sound asleep.

The build ups had started and they were growing rapidly. I requested a thirty degree left change in course to flank the monsters and fly over the Delaware Bay in the clear. The thirty degrees turned into quite the end around. When I finally found a place to out climb the build ups I requested higher. Dover said they were going to give me four thousand shortly so I could descend now if I wanted to. That would work too, so we nosed over and finally turned back on course to Salisbury (SBY).

This ain't so bad.....ZZZzzzzzz

Dover approach handed me off to Patuxent and I checked in with level four thousand and I have current wx at Ocean City. Pax turned me direct Ocean City and off we went looking to make a visual contact. I guess I was maybe six to eight miles when I confirmed the field in sight and decided to cancel in the air at that time. I made an ok landing at OXB and taxied for a tie down.

Dad's got his head under the hood....rut ro...

We headed to the coach in the beach buggy, who's a/c decided not to work, more on this later.  It's a routine just like a pre-flight when it comes to opening the coach. Water on, side storage unlocked, awnings lowered, table and chairs uncovered and set up along with dog water bowl and leash and the most important, get the a/c cranked up. We hung out in the shade until the coach was comfortable.  Ziva went right in her kennel and passed out so we decided to head out for dinner at one of our favorites, Taylors. We also made a quick run to Frontier Town campground to surprise Rob, Becky and the girls.

Friday 7/19

Early morning beach buggy a/c investigation. I checked the fuse and gave it another try, nothing. I also noticed the wipers were dead. I checked that fuse and still nothing. This calls for under the hood testing. I unplugged and replugged the a/c and the wiper motor, gave it another test and everything came to life. A/c worked perfect and well the wipers wiped. I'm not asking how or why, I'm just happy everything is working.

Friday was beach day and we were excited to finally spend some time with the Schaffer's. The plan was to meet down by the inlet and park in the main lot behind the boardwalk. At 8:30 am the lot was pretty much empty and we had the beach to ourselves for a short time. The girls collected shells, yes my girl too. We all dipped our feet into the cold ocean but that was it for me. I did see Rob wade out there and get wet, Brrrr...noway.

We all met back at the coach and enjoyed pizza from Lombardi's for a fun lunch. The girls were looking tired, yes my girl too. I was ready for a nap myself. Rob, Becky and the girls headed back to their campground and we got a few winks in until Ziva wanted out. It's great, she knows to go to the door of the coach and sit when she wants out. Ok, this time she had to bark to wake us up. We hung out for a bit then went over to the park pool so we could bob like two corks. We had the pool to ourselves and loved it!

Saturday 7/20

We planned for another early beach run but then took a pass. Instead we decided on hitting the shops in Berlin, MD.  Mary had been there before with our friend Pam but it was a first visit for me.  I loved the main street with all the old brick buildings dating back over one hundred years. Mary and I made our way through a good many shops, it was an antique gold mine for just about anything you could dream up. We had some laughs seeing items that our parents each had when we were young.

We were getting hungry so we decided on a quick lunch at Si'culi, Rustic Italian Kitchen. The service was very good and the food excellent! We could not finish our order so we boxed it up for a late night snack back at the coach.

We hit a few more shops and called it a day. It's a short drive back and we soon settled in for a nap, hey, we're on vacation so naps are good. The plan was to hit the pool and then get showered and dressed up for dinner back in Berlin at the Atlantic Hotel.  We were meeting Mary's cousin and her husband, from Salisbury.

We made reservations while were shopping today and it was a good thing, the place was very busy. The Drummer's Café at the Atlantic Hotel has quite the history. Dinner was excellent, service was perfect. I had the 7oz filet with three huge scallops, baked potato, carrots and asparagus. Mary had the soft shell crabs and she said they were excellent.

We had a blast tonight and catching up with family made the night perfect. We are so looking forward to doing dinner at another new to us location.

Sunday 7/21

The plan was to depart Ocean City around 9am and for the most part we stuck to the schedule. Actually the wx looked better this morning than what was forecast. We decided to stay with the plan and head north early, beat the heat and have a chance to get a few things done round the house.

I filed and launched on a 270* heading as directed until radar contact was established with Patuxent.  Once they had me I was directed to SBY, not my original plan but what I was given by clearance delivery while on the ground. I did get some IMC climbing into a layer and riding along until cleared for higher.

Ziva was once again in doggie dream land and my lovely Bride was off in her own dream land too. The air was smooth and the view perfect as I made my way north.  Pax handed me off to Dover and they soon handed me off to Philly. I had to contend with the Mig that flies out of Wilmington as he was zipping around the area but I was eventually cleared for the visual 27.

As I started my descent and closed on the Wilmington pattern I had not been cut loose by Philly.  So, instead of waiting and getting jammed into the pattern I requested a switch over to the Wilmington tower. Philly thanked me and gave me the tower frequency 126.0 and I was handed off.  Wilmington cleared me for landing and had another aircraft in the pattern fall in line number two to land. I made a nice landing and tried to keep my speed up for the traffic behind me. I took advantage of the high speed taxiway, KIlo 5 and cleared the runway.

Three Hops and IMC

Text messages were traded between Mike, Vince and myself last night in order to plan for some flight time today.  Conditions were calling for IMC on our intended routes and no thunder storm activity, that was the big plus.

Climbing out of ILG

The plan was a go and the meet up time was scheduled for 9:30 am.  I picked up Vince on the way to the airport and we started to uncover 08Romeo as Mike walked across the ramp.  I had filed for our flight to KGED, Sussex County Airport in Georgetown Delaware. I contacted Wilmington ground and picked up my clearance.

Cleared - KGED
Route - RH V29 ENO direct
Altitude - 2000/4000 in ten
Frequency- 119.75
Transponder - 6631

Flying in the milk jug

IMC

We were soon climbing out of Wilmington and handed off to Philly.  Philly gave me four thousand and direct ENO (Smyrna) then handed me off to Dover. Dover called out multiple targets along the way and each time I had to respond 08Romeo is IMC. Once I reported having the wx info at KGED I was lowered to 2000, direct BOYSE cleared for the GPS 22 approach.  I acknowledged and added I would be doing the procedure turn as published, Dover confirmed.


Entering the PT at BOYSE

I did a real nice job tracking for the procedure turn and the approach. I even tied a bow on it with a smooth greaser of a landing.  I know its good when Mike is quiet and I think I heard him say "super". I was happy, it's always a good thing to impress the CFII.

Jeff flying Harv's Mooney

We enjoyed a great lunch at the new Arena's restaurant located in the terminal. I had Chili and a half BLT combo for around $8, Mike had a large bowl tuna salad that looked great and I think Vince also had a BLT.  As we walked out of the restaurant we bumped into the Woodbine bunch and had a few minutes to catch up with Jeff D.

Mike flying GED-OXB, extreme outside temps

We did a brief walk around and sumped fuel. 08Romeo was good to go and we taxied out for KOXB, Ocean City, MD in the high temps.  We filed while eating lunch just in case we needed the cloud clearance but ended up making out just fine.  Mike was left seat for this short hop and he did a nice job knocking out the GPS 14 approach.

The three amigo's decided on a trip to the boardwalk so we piled in our beach buggy, the VW Cabrio and headed east.  Of course we got the top down, at least for a few blocks. It was so stinking hot we decided to put the top back up and crank up the AC, we didn't even get off the airport property. :)

The boards were packed but we did manage a few stops. I picked up fudge for my Bride and Mike and Vince each got a Kohrs soft serve ice cream.  We strolled around for a bit then headed back to the car so I could show Mike and Vince the homes Mary and I are looking at. After the real estate tour we headed back to the airport and tucked the Cabrio back under cover for this weekends next visit.

Vince and his favorite jet at OXB

We filed for five thousand  for the ride home to Wilmington, KOXB ATR ENO DQO KILG. There was a cloud layer that was building, base around fifty five to six thousand and we didn't want to be stuck under it getting beat up. I called clearance/delivery from the ramp and noted the following info.

Cleared - KILG
Route - As Filed, fly heading of 270  upon entering controlled airspace
Altitude - 3000/5000 in ten
Frequency- 127.95
Transponder - 6525

That works, we were number one for the back taxi on one four and turned 08Romeo into the wind and launched. It was a smooth ride with some thirty degree deviations for build-ups as we worked north of Georgetown towards Dover.  Dover handed us off to Philly and I checked in with five thousand level, have wx at Wilmington. As we passed near the Salem nuke plant we were lowered to three thousand and with confirmation that we had the field I was turned over to the tower. Another smooth landing into Wilmington and the end of a fun day flying with friends.

Dinner Hop

Sunset at KMQS

Mike and I swapped a few text messages and agreed to meet at the airport by 6pm for a dinner flight.  Mary wasn't feeling good so once she was settled in I headed to the airport for some flight time.

C17 on the old Boeing ramp

Speaking of flight time, I took a few minutes to review my year to date totals on MyFlightBook.com, I'm not very happy.  So far I managed to squeak out 29 hours, yes, you read that right, just 29 hours.  This has been my least productive year. I'll blame it on the wx and hope that mother nature starts to cooperate so I can get back to my normal accumulation of hours and most important, experience.

Mike walked in just after I got started on the pre-flight having just taken on fuel from Atlantic.  The plan was for a quick hop, KILG-KMQS with a dinner break in between approaches.  I taxied out and flew 08R to New Garden, N57, while helping locate an ELT that was bleeding over the airways.  We reported in with Philly approach but they asked me to stand by. I switched back to Wilmington and gave them an updated report on the signal then continued on towards MQS.

Mike shot the ILS 29 and did a real nice job. Radio calls were hard to make out with the ELT blaring every time someone keyed the mic on the MQS CTAF, 122.7.  We made this a full stop and ate dinner at the Flying Machine Cafe'.

We saddled up for Wilmington and climbed out of Chester County pointing 08R south east. I decided to change my glasses to the clear version and tuck my flying sun shades away. Hmmm, I guess I forgot my clears. I passed on shooting an approach and instead informed Wilmington that I was nine out and inbound full stop with no ATIS info due to the ELT drowning it out. I confirmed the winds and altimeter setting along with acknowledging report three miles right base for two seven.

that's all I can show, it's a family blog!  :)

It was an ok landing at best, felt like I was dropping in from ten feet but managed to arrest the sink rate with some throttle in time to recover. We taxied off and decided to make sure it was not 08Romeos ELT.  In the process of removing the right rear fuselage ELT access panel I was attacked by mosquito's. I came home with eighteen bites just on my back!  No, my ELT was not the problem, at least it didn't change by switching my unit off and on.

OCMD to Wilmington

We departed early Sunday morning due to wx heading up the Chesapeake Bay. We loaded 08Romeo on the ramp then parked our airport car back in the main lot.  Preflight completed we got the fan turning and taxied out for departure.

I had filed just in case but the wx looked good enough to make a VFR flight home. We launched of runway one four and climbed out to the north. I had some mist at one thousand and it looked thicker up ahead and despite maybe 5-6 miles visibility the horizon was now lost.

I made a call to Dover and opened my instrument flight plan. I was cleared to ILG from present position direct DQO, climb and maintain 5000. I made a nice climb to altitude at 90 knots indicated and ground speed of 111 knots.  I leveled off at five and we road a very nice tail wind to the tune of 130 knots. As we approached Dover I heard other traffic reporting IMC at six and above. I could just start to make out the Salem nuclear plant steam and soon had the cooling towers in view.

Dover handed me off to Philly and I checked in with five thousand level and had the wx at ILG. Philly stepped me down to four then down to three which put us just east of the middle of the belching cooling tower and a few good bumps. I reported the field in sight an was dumped of to the Wilmington tower for the visual runway one nine.  A super smooth landing and taxi to tie down ended our beach weekend.

Destination 2 - KOXB

After a fun filled day flying with Mike it was time to load up and get to the beach for a long weekend.  Yes, I bagged another day and have tomorrow (Friday) off too.  Traffic was moving pretty good and we made it back to the airport pretty quick.  Mary and I loaded up our golf clubs, extra clothes for the upcoming fourth of July week and a few provisions for the new pup Ziva's arrival next Saturday.

Looking across the Delaware bay towards NJ

OCMD

The layer Mike and flew through had blown through south-south west and my path down along the Delaware River and Bay looked clear. I didn't bother to file, instead decided on a VFR flight and a pop up if needed to get into Ocean City. I did decide to contact Dover for flight following since he seemed busy with military traffic and I would be just over his airspace.

sunset west bound RT 90 bridge

A fun uneventful flight to the beach followed by dinner at OC Steamers. Dinner was ok, I guess having a steak at a seafood place wasn't the brightest thing to do. The NY Strip tasted great but I could have driven a nail into the floor with it, live and learn. At least we got to kick back at the motor home and enjoy a beautiful sunset.

Ricmond, VA - Columbia Shopping

I wish I could write this post with a straight face and tell you all "I" am Columbia shopping, sorry, no can do.  My friend Mike is looking at planes and he really likes the Columbia.  Now Mike was a cirrus guy but I think I may have talked him off that cliff and turned him on to the Columbia.

I won't go into all the particulars of cirrus vs Columbia or all the investigations of our day. I will say it was sweet to get an education on the aircraft and to finally get the up close inspection I had always hoped for.

I bagged a day of work and met Mike at 08Romeo by 8am. I had pre-ordered fuel and sure enough she was topped off as directed. I did my pre-flight and sumped as Mike walked across the ramp. I was right seat for this flight working the radios and navigating.

Mike had filed for KILG DQO ENO PXT TAPPA KRIC.  The wx was so nice we decided on a VFR flight south. When I picked up my taxi instructions the controller didn't ask if I wanted to pick up my clearance and instead just rattled them off. I had to break the news we were not going to pick up the clearance and instead choose to enjoy a VFR flight.

Our flight went smooth and we eventually worked our way into the pattern at Richmond sandwiched in between jets taking off and one up our six. Mike made a nice landing and with airport taxi diagram in hand and the Garmin 496 taxi screen up we made our way to Richmond Jet.

We got a nice tour of the shop and Mike met Russ who showed us the Columbia 300 that is for sale.  The shop was packed with Columbia aircraft, the drool factor was very high and I had to work to control my stupid. A nice plane for sale and Mike took plenty of photos and notes.

We finished up and headed back out to 08Romeo so we could make a short hop north, all of ten minutes, to Hanover, KOFP.  There was a Columbia 350 listed for sale and Mike figured he would check it out since we were pretty much next door.

KRIC

After an extensive walk around and photo session Mike made some notes and went through the log books to make sure they matched what he was sent electronically. Stop two was complete and it was time to head home. I still wanted to fly to the beach tonight and I didn't want to contend with rush hour traffic.

We made the flight home VFR but once north of the Virginia state line we would need a pop up to get through north of Dover. I took over the flying while Mike got us the pop up and off we went.  Of course Dover 'always' requests a descent to four then three thousand and this trip would be no different. I guess I added .2 to my IMC totals and it felt different but fun flying from the right seat and bugging new headings.

We got back to ILG and I headed home to pick up my Bride.  Mike cleaned the windscreen and left 08Romeo uncovered but secured for our quick departure. A fun day flying with Mike and drooling over planes, it sure beats working!

Another no-go

We were off to the beach on Friday but our 7pm departure did not have a nice welcome planned for us at Ocean City MD.  The REAL problem is that I am not night current and could not push the flight back to wait out the wx. We gave leaving Saturday morning some thought but we were packed and ready to go, besides I wanted to play a round of golf on Saturday morning.

Yes, sigh, we ground pounded once again.  I may have to change my blog to Gary's Driving Journal if this trend keeps up!  It was a 2.5 hour run to the motor home and a good nights rest after a Royal Farms chicken dinner.

Saturday was beach day for Mary and her friend Jo Ann, I caught up with my friend Ted and played a round at Assateague Greens Golf Center. I shot a 48 on a par 27 course.  My drivers are a bit out of control but my irons are getting better. The ladies and I finished off the night watching the movie Broken City and called it an evening.

Hey, look at me!

Sunday we got up early and I made breakfast. While we sat an ate up the pancakes we watched a second movie, Guilt Trip, some good laughs indeed.

No close up's

Ziva meets Dad

Eventually we got on the road and headed for North East MD.  We made arrangements to meet our new pup, an American Mastiff.  We picked out her name and left a deposit, Ziva will be coming home on June 29th!!

N/A Puppy Update

The Girls are now 4 weeks old.  We are scheduled to visit this Sunday and meet them both.

First the Fawn female at 4 weeks....

And now the Apricot female now 4 weeks....

We would take them both if we could!