The Commander Owners Group posted the dates and location for their Annual Fly-In event. Mary and I will be planning to attend in September. The location is French Lick, Indiana. Wait, what....where is that location? You read it just fine. Accommodations are set up for the French Lick Springs Resort, and it looks pretty spiffy.
Our plan is to fly out in one day, maybe even non-stop depending on the winds. Most likely we will make a one stop fuel/bathroom break and go. Looking over the Foreflight planning, a midway stop would be close to Charleston, WV., at the Yeager Airport. There is plenty of runway and approaches if needed. Capitol Jet Center will be the FBO of choice, although I don't remember it under that name on our last visit. Following our fuel and go at CRW we'll saddle up for the last leg, maybe a two and a half hour hop. French Lick Municipal will be a new airport for us and it will serve as the fly-in home base of operations. I'm excited to meet up with fellow Commander owners and hopefully they will have some sort of maintenance clinics. There is still so much to learn about our Commander. I hope to follow up with some additional info on possible clinics and a bit more in depth review of the Resort dubbed "The Midwest's Premier Resort Destination". Exactly what is there to do in French Lick, Indiana???
Mary and I are trying to maintain the appropriate social distance from others and still have some fun. I went out to the hangar Thursday to go through some boxes that have been stored since we retired here in Ocean City. I was looking for my yoke and pedals for flight sim, I must have sold them. I didn't feel like dragging the plane out or putting it away so I did not fly. On Friday, Mary and took our American Mastiff to the airport for some fun play time. We actually gave some thought to flying and taking the beast with us.
Instead we decided on a take out lunch from Five Guys, then parking at the Ocean City Inlet in our SUV. We hope to be flying soon, even if we have to bring chairs with us, order take out, and eat on the ramp next to our plane.
Wednesday 3/25 The bride and I went out to do our regular order late this morning, maybe almost noon. We keep a list on the fridge and when the page is full we go shop (usually three weeks). Away we went, and managed to pick up just about everything on the regular order list. Before we left the house I took stock of our TP situation, which is typically 2 six packs. So I noticed today we were into the last pack and there were four rolls left. So TP went on the list. At the first market, Food Lion, we completed our order, however they had no TP. The second stop was at a Wawa, sort of like a 7/11, but much better. We love their milk and that's the only brand we will buy. Milk purchased. Wawa didn't have any TP nor do I think they even carry it on a regular basis. We drove across the parking lot to a CVS and they didn't have any TP either. We headed across the state line into Fenwick Delaware and hit the first Wallgreens, Food Lion, and Harris Teeter we found. Three strikes, we're out, no TP. Apparently the towns of Ocean City MD, and Fenwick DE are out of TP. Oh, the horror. What is wrong with people? Is it that hard to just fill your typical orders and not go bat crap crazy. I guess tomorrow will be another TP mission, and most likely we'll buy one six pack. If I see someone hoarding I swear I am going to throw in a pepto-bismal bottle for every package of TP they have. I want to be a good neighbor and help with their obvious diarrhea/mental problems. Thursday 3/26 Attempt number two, pun intended. Mary and I once again went to the grocery store across from our community at 7:20 this morning. Food Lion employees said yesterday that they had a truck coming in, so there should be plenty of TP on the shelf this morning. It was gone, every last package, and they had just opened at 7am. Are you kidding me?! So the hunt resumed again today, with the plan to retrace the five stops from yesterday. Thankfully, the Acme on Ocean Highway, maybe seven or eight miles from home, had the much coveted TP. Yes, we hit pay dirt on the second stop! Let's go home. We are now happily back home with two packages secured. I'm thinking we are good to go, even though we felt shame for buying that second pack. My bride said, pull in the garage, I don't want to do the TP walk of shame for buying more then one pack. Recap: Two days driving around - 1/4 tank of gas 3/25 Filled grocery order - Completed Drove around making five stops in two states for TP - Mission fail 3/26 Drove around making two stops for TP - Mission Success
With all this computer talk on the forums I frequent, I decided to finally update what I'm working with. I have been running the same desk top unit for at least 15 years, I know, I'm living in the stone age. What really has driven the update is the need for video editing speed. It was time. It was past time. I purchased a Dell G3 gaming laptop, and I'll reuse my monitor, wireless keyboard and mouse. Here are the specs.
9th Generation Intel® Core™ i7-9750H NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 1650 4GB GDDR5 16GB, 2x8GB, DDR4, 2666MHz 256GB M.2 PCIe NVMe Solid State Drive (Boot) + 1TB 5400 rpm 2.5" SATA Hard Drive (Storage) 15.6-in. display I also added a WD Elements 3TB Portable External Hard Drive along with an Anker USB C Hub 4 port. I must say the video editing takes less time and the upload process is much faster. The editing software hasn't crashed and I can actually run the latest version I paid for now that my system can handle it. I know this will sound crazy but I miss my old Windows version. With the social distancing and shelter in place warnings, I am giving some thought to purchasing the latest and greatest Flight Sim. I have no clue where my yoke and rudder pedals are, maybe stored in a box in the hangar. If it stops raining I'll head over to the hangar and look for the controls. Any recommendations on Flight Sim software??
I was in need of fresh air and a change of scenery. I saddled up in my ML320 and ran an errand or two and made a stop at the airport to check on the plane.
Obviously it's been a slow day. I'm trying to keep busy and mostly stay out of trouble. I decided to video a VLog update as a start to my morning and then move on to something geared towards flying. Maybe a video on reviewing an instrument approach plate, or just work on learning more about Power Point. Enjoy your day and keep safe. Mary and I are practicing social distancing. Actually it's a no brainer since most places are closed and her groups have cancelled meetings. At least I still have a safe place in my hangar and getting 3 Tango Charlie in the air will keep me sane.
It was a beautiful day and I had to scratch the itch to fly. Mary decided to pass with a headache starting and airplane talk was just not going to do it for her today. I planned for a 9 am departure and maybe even picking up an IFR clearance for this trip. I arrived at the hangar and decided to take on ten gallons of fuel, bringing the Commander to fifty total on board. I would need twenty-four for the ride south and that would leave me with over two hours reserve, my warm and fuzzy safety place. I taxied out to runway three-two and launched for my first fix, the Snowhill VOR. I took a pass on opening up the instrument flight plan, instead just picking up flight following. Patuxent Approach asked if I wanted VOR today, yes, that would work for me. The ride at eight thousand five hundred feet was as smooth as sitting in your favorite chair. The view down the peninsula and across the Chesapeake Bay was simply amazing. I continued on towards Cape Charles the made a right turn, pointing for Richmond. I was handed off to multiple controllers along the way, each accommodating and easy to work with.
As I approached Richmond I decided to turn direct to Martinsville, shaving a few minutes off the flight. I started my descent and cancelled flight following, wanting to tune into Blue Ridge and set my mental picture of the traffic in the area. It was getting busy so I made my approach crossing over midfield and then entering the left down wind for runway three-one. I made a nice landing and taxied clear at the first turn off for the ramp. I secured 3 Tango Charlie and met Johne at the Simply Sussanes restaurant located adjacent to the ramp.
Johne and I enjoyed our breakfast. The waitress took our order despite it being past the breakfast cut off. Her words were, for you, (Johne) I'll make the exception. After we finished up eating, and talking airplanes, we headed to Johne's hangar. There I got to see Miss Grace up close. What a beautiful Commander 114. here are a few pictures. This is a climb aboard and fly aircraft. I know it breaks Johne's heart to sell her.
I decided I should be heading home and we made our way over to my plane to take a look. Just for a numbers comparison, Johne's 114 cruises at 150kts and has a useful load of 1050 lbs, my 112 cruises at 130kts and has 830lbs useful load. I had to start up and taxi to the pump since there was no low lead truck, just Jet A. I worried about the immediate hot start but also know it's been fine since the right mag was replaced. It was a short taxi back to the pumps from where I was on the ramp. The man working the counter also pumped fuel so I now understood the full serve price being equal to self serve ($4.19 gal). When the man asked how much I wanted I told him all you could fit in, I'm going to tanker as much as I can at that price since its a dollar cheaper then at home. I told him my best guess would be forty five gallons, 3 Tango Charlie took 44.8, I think we are on the same page. I said good bye to my host and climbed aboard for the hot start. I have learned to leave the controls where they were at shut down. I now just add a couple of seconds of fuel pump then crank her over. 3 Tango came to life without issue. I taxied back for runway three-one and departed direct for Richmond. From there I was going to Jamie intersection and then up the peninsula for Ocean City.
I climbed out, making my way to seven thousand five hundred for the return trip. Approach was once again easy to work with as I went through multiple handoffs along the way.
Richmond
After turning for Jamie I made my way to the Bay and was offered a shortcut for home. Apparently the Restricted areas were cold so I accepted the offer and amended my flight plan.
Potomac handed me off to Patuxent and we road along until just fifteen miles from home. At that point I cancelled and wanted to listen to the local CTAF and set that picture of the traffic for Ocean City.
Crissfield, MD
There were two planes to contend with, one in the pattern and one approaching from the north. Both pilots did a great job on the radio and we all managed to enter the pattern and land without a delay or issue. It was a fun day flying and it really helped me feel comfortable in 3 Tango Charlie. I am feeling more at home with the avionics and her overall flight performance. I am ready to stretch it out a bit and get back to serious travels.
With Mary's recent doctor visit confirming she will not need surgery for her neck and back, we have decided to get back in the air. Barring any issues during our April annual we will finally get back to traveling on our magic carpet.
The heart of the plan is to attend the Bonfire event out in Olathe, Kansas. We have missed the last few years and really want to get back to visiting our friends from the flying world. Day one we will make a fuel stop in the Asheville, NC area then push on to Memphis. We should arrive early enough to enjoy a good part of the afternoon and evening exploring.
Day two will be more exploration and maybe even a visit to the Kings home, Graceland. Of course we will have to sample good eats along the way. The plan for departure will be in the afternoon with a short few hour hop to Olathe, KS. Here we will get settled in for a two night stay and secure a rental car for attending the Bonfire event.
Mackinac Island HarborPhoto: Alamy
Day four will present us with multiple choices. The plan for now is to head north for Mackinac Island, MI. Mary and I could just as easily do the southern spin for another visit to Waco, TX, a four hour flight. Weather and temps will also play a critical role in deciding if we fly north or south. For planning sake we will keep Mackinac on the map. If we do head north we will try to catch up with my friend and fellow pilot Jeff and his family for a short visit before continuing north. Day five will be spent enjoying and exploring the Island. We may even add an extra day on this stop. The final leg will be the return home. There will be one or two fuel stops along the way as we head south east, through Ohio, Pennsylvania, and back to our home state of Maryland. The Southern Spin...
The southern spin would take us to (27K) Paris, KY as our first overnight stop. Paris Kentucky??? Yep, one of my bucket list items is to visit Claiborne Farms and the final resting place of the greatest horse of all time, Secretariat.
Following the overnight we would head out to the Bonfire event in Olathe, KS. After a fun time spent with friends at the bonfire, we would head to Waco Texas for a day or two of tours and good eats at Magnolia Market. With home calling and missing our Ziva girl we would push for home. There would be one more overnight stop in Memphis to visit Graceland and then finally back to the beach.
Am I a glutton for punishment? A few pilots that frequent Pilots of America forum decided to meet up at Katie's, located at the Cambridge Airport. Yes, the same place we met for the BAC Fly-in, and had long wait times for seating and food. See my previous blog post. My day started as usual, feeding the Ziva princess then watching her go back to bed while I updated my banking and then flight prep. 3 Tango Charlie is plugged in, getting her oil and cylinders warm and toasty since noon on Saturday. The temps here in Ocean City this morning are stuck in the mid thirties. 011053Z AUTO 30004KT 10SM CLR M03/M10 A3023 The NOTAM search provided procedure notes for both airports and added obstruction notes for OXB due to construction cranes. The weather is looking perfect all day with winds favoring runway three-two at OXB and three-four at Cambridge.
I took on twenty-two gallons of fuel yesterday bringing my total on board 3 Tango Charlie to fifty. I also did my preflight with the remaining item of sumping fuel left for this morning. As an avionics note I updated the JPI fuel selection without an issue, having added a flow chart to my checklist booklet. I just kept hitting the wrong sequence of buttons, which drove me nuts.
I was ready to go and taxied for runway three-two here at the home base, OXB. The flight west to Cambridge was thirty minutes in a constant head wind. Those winds better be there for my tail wind flight home.
There was plenty of activity around Salisbury KSBY this morning. I stayed on the north side of their airspace and continued on for Cambridge.
I made my way into Cambridge by circling to the south and entering an extended down wind for runway three-four. I think I was third to land.
George from POA landed shortly after I did and we met up inside the terminal. We were quickly seated and our order taken. Nothing like last week. The food and conversation was very good. George belongs to a club and flys a Cessna 182 when hauling the family around. His 1950 Cessna 140 that he owns and flew today is a real head turner.
After lunch we headed out to check out both of our rides. George needed to take on some fuel and I had planned to make the hop to Delaware Coastal to meet up with Charles G. After I got the fan turning I sent Charles a text to let him know I was taking off, but he was still with a client. I decided to head straight for home base and be done with the bumpy rides for the day.
The return trip was much like the west bound leg. This time I enjoyed the tail winds and pulled the power back for a quiet bumpy ride.
There was one aircraft that landed and another heading north up the coast so I had the airport to myself. I made a nice landing and taxied clear, happy to be on the ground and done with the rodeo ride.
Today the Beech Aero Club (BAC) flew into Cambridge Airport (KCGE) for brunch. I had fuel from yesterdays trip home from Wilmington (ILG) so all I needed to do was tug the plane out and saddle up.
The plan was to set up my in cockpit video along with the tail hook camera. I wanted to check if my gear doors were starting to open once the gear was tucked up in the gear well. I launched off runway one-four and left the airport on the down wind, pointing west for Cambridge MD. Total flight time each was was maybe thirty minutes and it was another beautiful day to fly.
Rant On....
The ramp was full of planes, which is always a welcome site for the restaurant. Recently I think the daughter bought out Mom and Kays turned into Katies. I for one miss Kays. Typically the food and service is excellent, today was a nightmare. We had a large group and we all understood it takes time to accommodate when they are so busy. The only fly in their pie was that they had three square tables empty, that could have worked for our group, but instead made us wait at least twenty minutes for a round table. The problem was the round table was full of a pilot group, and they should not have been rushed. It would have been a tight fit for our group even if they added a table. Eventually we were seated, at the round table and then waited at least another thirty minutes for our food. The table of five that came in after us was served at least ten minutes ahead of us. Mary will tell you when I'm hungry, i'm grouchy. I was hungry, ticked that they did not use any common sense for the seating and was so slow with the eats. Ok, I'm off my soapbox.
Members L-R - Gary, Les, Paul, Joe, Rob
We assembled out on the ramp for our group photo and chatted for a bit. I was complimented on the Commander and hung out with two pilots that flew in and really liked my plane. The one pilot flew a Sierra that he refurbished. Yes, we asked him if he was a member, and to rejoin the group since he let his membership lapse.
I eventually saddled up and got the fan turning for home. Plenty of traffic today with pilots taking advantage of the perfect day to fly. I made my way to the home base and made a straight in for runway one-four.
A great day and fun time meeting up with friends and fellow club members. Thanks to Les for setting this one up, our Mid-Atlantic Regional Director and BAC for picking up our lunch tab.
Mary and I made plans to fly to Wilmington Delaware to visit family. Mary's brother hasn't been feeling well, and it was time we headed north to check in. The plane was fueled and the pre-flight completed earlier this week so I just needed to sump and tug 3 Tango Charlie out on the ramp. It was a bit nip this morning, there was slight breeze and the forecast temps were calling for fifty degrees. The sky was an absolutely gorgeous blue, void of clouds. It's a perfect day to fly.
When we drove through the tenant gate I turned towards the terminal to see if Charles had left yet. Our friend flew into OCMD Thursday, but I didn't hear from him, which means he is doing Real Estate business. I couldn't resist the temptation and sent him a text advising someone must have stolen his plane and they left it here on the ramp in OCMD. I knew this to be true because a friend would have at least texted if they were in town. I did manage to get a laugh out of him and he acknowledged he was indeed busy with clients. Charles always gets a pass. He deserves it, for all the help he provided getting us back in the air.
With that bit of fun complete it was time to get 3 Tango Charlie ready to go. I shut off the pre-heats and pulled the cowling covers off, also unplugging the extension cord that is connected to our Switchbox. I disconnected the tug that had been charging, and positioned it at the nose gear.
Once I closed up the hangar Mary and I climbed aboard. It took a few minutes to set up my iPad and video camera for the flight. With a call for clear prop the fan was soon turning and we were ready to taxi.
We launched off runway three-two and headed direct to Wilmington, KILG. I picked up flight following with Dover approach, south of the Waterloo VOR. My initial communication was a mess. I mumbled through that first call like a newbie...oh brother, it was embarrassing. The headwinds north Ocean City were 11 kts, approaching Dover 24 kts and north of the C&D canal 34 kts.
It was slow ride north but as smooth as any flight we had ever taken. With a quick call I cancelled flight following, and at ten south of ILG, made my call to the Wilmington tower. This communication was spot on, typical of my radio work. I felt better after that.
ATIS - Whiskey with the scratch pad feature
Wilmington directed me to a left base entry, number two to land following an Archer. I complied and made a nice landing, turning left on runway one one-nine, Bravo 4, Bravo to taxi into the FBO. FlyAdvanced added 15 gallons of 100LL as directed, and we took advantage of the courtesy car (Van) to head to Mary's brother.
We were greeted by Mary's two great nephews, which really made my brides day. We visited for a few hours before having to return the van to the FBO. It was special to catch up with Mary's brother and both of the nephews and their parents. The two boys are growing so fast.
The Return Trip With the van returned, and our fuel bill paid, we loaded up for home. I had to change a video battery in the VIRB XE and then I got the plane started. The toasty engine temps from this morning had already turned to a chill. We sat at idle to build up some oil temp while I reversed our initial flight plan on the Garmin 480. With a call to ground noting current ATIS info, we were soon given our taxi instructions. Easy Peasy, taxiway Alpha to runway two-seven. I haven't taxied by the commercial terminal since Frontier airlines left, funny thing is, they are returning once again in the spring. We shall see how long they stay this time around. Insert eye roll.
We launched off two-seven and climbed out for home. Answering the towers question of our on course heading for Ocean City, I responded 175 degrees, 3 Tango Charlie. We were good to go and soon advised to change frequency. I swapped the back up com, Dover approach, and monitored before requesting flight following for the ride home. The headwinds were now tail winds but nowhere near as strong as this morning. We did enjoy 11-17 kts heading south but the ride was brutal compared to the ride north. Mary and I were getting a pretty rough ride.
We had some traffic passing Dover and then again around Delaware Coastal KGED. Once clear of GED we canceled flight following and tuned in to Ocean City's CTAF.
It really got rough as we let down for the pattern, crossing midfield to enter the downwind. There were two Cessna's holding short at three-two as we crossed the numbers and made our landing. With a call to advise clear, we were home.
Since Mary and I scrubbed our Wilmington flight on Saturday, I decided I needed to fly today. What I really needed was to knock out approaches and reset my instrument currency. Charles G and I swapped text messages Saturday about catching up today for breakfast. This morning he had a client he is meeting with so we pushed for lunch after his meeting was done. I headed out to the airport to get 3 Tango Charlie ready for today's flight. Once my pre-flight was completed I tugged the plane out on the ramp and gave some thought to flying to New Garden to meet up. Charles and I connected on a phone call and he really wanted to fly, so we decided on Cape May NJ (KWWD). Charles also offered to be my safety pilot so I could get my instrument currency reset. I was going to turn into a pumpkin in just 13 days, the end of the month. Since I still had some time to kill I made a quick drive over to the terminal to pick up my Oxygen tank that had been filled. I have two bottles so one will be going up for sale soon, most likely the M size, 22 cf.
Ocean City MD Skyline
When the Ox bottle was secured in my SUV I climbed aboard the plane and got the prop turning. 3 Tango Charlie had been plugged in since the early morning hours on Saturday so she was plenty toasty. For cold starts I give a second or two of fuel pump then crank, it works very well. Today the winds favored runway two-zero so that's where I taxied for my run up.
Rehoboth Beach DE
Cape Henlopen DE
I climbed away from Ocean City, once again absorbing all of the beautiful Eastern Shore views. This view NEVER gets old. As I crossed the Delaware Bay I was trailed by a Cessna below and to my seven/eight o'clock position. The Cessna was crossing the Bay at just two thousand feet. I hope they understood how cold that water was in the Bay beneath them.
I let down for Cape May, having to circle to lose altitude before entering the pattern. Winds favored two-eight and I made a nice landing. When I taxied to the Flight Deck Diner I parked next to a beautiful tail dragger who was just getting ready to taxi out.
I arrived ahead of Charles but he soon arrived and taxied in to park next to my Commander. We enjoyed lunch and the airplane chat as usual.
Thank You Charles for buying today. I tried to explain the guy under the foggles buys for the the safety pilot and he responded he will let me buy when he comes to Ocean City this week. Hmmm...seafood dinner, he obviously has given this some thought.
It was time to saddle up for some approach work. The plan was to shoot two at WWD, four at MIV, each with AP and then without.
The first approach was the RNAV GPS RWY 32 at Millville (KMIV). This first approach went as planned with the autopilot. I did the procedure turn at LAYIB and headed inbound for a low approach only. After going missed I climbed out and set up for the ILS RWY 10, again with the AP.
Rinse and repeat both approaches a second time but with no autopilot. My ILS was good as far as tracking the localizer, but, my glide slope really stunk, at least in my opinion. I flew all approaches with the plane configured clean, no flaps or gear, so my speed was a bit faster the normal.
Sporting those sexy foggles...NOT
After finishing up at Millville we pointed for Cape May. I was setting up for the GPS RWY 19 approach with the AP.
Pointed to Cape May
I enjoyed a short break from the foggles as I set up for the Cape May GPS 19 approach. The plan was to go direct KAGYS, do the procedure turn and fly a low approach only.
Parallel entry at KAGYS
KAGYS - red dot
This was another good approach disconnecting from the AP around five hundred feet and then going missed. At least I was feeling better about shedding the rust and staying ahead of the plane. Once again we went missed and climbed back out for one more approach. This time headed to Woodbine (KOBI) and the GPS RWY 19 approach, running a Vectors To Final (VTF) scenario.
I headed north past the Final Approach Fix (FAF) NARVE so I could make turns or vector for the final approach. Just using the AP heading bug, I made a nice approach followed by another missed.
It was time to wrap this session up and head back to Cape May. This time I set the foggles aside and made the approach and landing on runway one-nine. Charles heard Chris (based at New Garden) in his Mooney so they swapped calls and we were all going to meet at Cape May. I made a nice landing and taxied for the FBO, wanting to add some fuel for the ride home. My gauges were showing half tanks, I thought I should have burned more. With a ten gallon top off on each tank I now sat at fifty gallons which calculated to a ten gallon an hour burn flying to WWD and shooting all those approaches. A total of 2.4 hours.
Charles and Chris planned on meeting up across the Bay at Delaware Coastal for a sandwich and soup, they invited me along. I was beat, and had a headache from lack of fluids. I took a pass today and instead headed for home.
I headed for the coast having to circle and climb to gain altitude for the crossing. The cloud formation and the setting sun looked beautiful as I was just crossing over the shore at Rehoboth, DE. Why do we fly? For the VIEW!
I had a fun day flying with Charles and I can't thank him enough for enduring the right seat safety pilot time. I am once again current and now good until August 31st, resetting the clock for six more months. Now the key is to work on my proficiency.
