Faster than the airlines and better

Google maps says my trip today was 10 hours and 8 minutes of driving.  With stops, at least 11 hours.  I did it in 4 but only 2.6 were in the air.  Samantha, my daughter was in Mt. Pleasant, SC and wanted to stop by home to see us for the holidays.  I also had borrowed some electronics from a person in Georgia which I needed to return.  

Samantha was originally going to rent a car and drive down but since I needed to go to Georgia, I said I could pick her up along the way.  Not excatly along the way but close enough.  The weather was supposed to be good but of course I awoke to 1/4 mile fog at my first stop.  I was not too concerned, the sun had just come up and by the time I departed I was pretty sure it would be fine.  If not I could go to Mount Pleasant first but as I was getting ready, I could see it improving.

By the time I was at the plane, the weather was VFR at my destination.  I had filed IFR just in case and decided to fly IFR the first leg because of all the restricted areas around Savannah.  This meant it would be ATCs responsibility to keep me clear if needed.

Departing the weather was great, the standard departure puts you on a 010 heading and up to 3000.  Checking in, I was cleared to 7000 and told to stay on heading for traffic until reaching 7000.  Not much later I was given direct destination.  So even though I was IFR, I still got an unrestricted climb and basically direct.  My first stop was Plantation Airpark in Georgia.  ATC gave me my descent and I picked up the airport about 15 miles out.  

Winds were about calm, maybe 2 or 3 knots directly across the smooth runway.  With no other traffic, I joined downwind and landed on 5.  I pulled onto the ramp, turned around and pulled off the taxilane.  I shut down, grabbed the stuff, handed it over the airport fence.  It's a short fence so no big deal.  Then I was back in the plane and running the checklist.

I love the Continental 550 because on short stops and cool days it fires right back up.  Mixtures rich, no need to prime, catches on the 2nd or 3rd blade.  The big wait can be letting the AHRS (Attitude and Heading Reference System) re-align.  On a restart this can take 1-5 minutes and I have not found a pattern in when it takes longer.  Today it was quick.  I taxied out, and did a quick run up.  The GPS's aquired signal while I did this and with everything in the green I headed off to Mount Pleasant.

Before starting I texted my daughter so it was now a race to see who would get to the airport first.  Climbing out the weather was good so when I checked in with Center I asked for flight following instead of my IFR.  It's a quick 30 minutes to Mount Pleasant and Charlseton approach had no vectors for me.  The visibility was saying 5 miles but I picked up the airport at about 10 miles.  I told the controller and he said to switch over to Unicom and squawk VFR.  I was still in the class C airspace so I double checked if he wanted me to keep the code until clear and he said no.

The Baron is not a short field airplane in any sense.  That said I wanted to make the middle turn off, about 1,900' so I nailed the approach speed, set the plane down and used a bit of brakes and easily made my turn.  The book has a shorter number but it assumes more brakes.  Samantha had texted me on final.  I felt the buzz but could not look.  Luckily there was some good princess parking up front so I pulled in and met up with her and Tyler.  Tyler was invited to join us but he still had family obligations in Charlseton area so we left him on the ramp.

Samantha loaded up and again I had easy starts.  We ended up behind a trainer which spent way too long deciding which runway to use while blocking the taxiway and then taxied super slow and then took a long time to run up.  I had run my checklist and I have twice the engines.  The irony was they said they would do a quick run up and we were ready long before they were.  Soon enough they departed and I let them know I would depart behind, and they said they were in in right traffic.  I was turning left and I alerted them I would slide by them on their left.  As they departed they did not correct for wind and drifted a good bit to the left.  We departed behind them and as is the case with Baron behind C-172, we caught them quickly.  Even with their sloppy pattern we had plenty of clearance and were soon on our way.

I again elected to go VFR and checking in with Charlseton approach.  I let them know we would be doing a fly by of Fort Sumter.  After doing the Nickel tour for Samantha we headed up to 8,500 for a smooth ride but with headwinds.  An hour later we were back home and the plane away.  In the end a nice day to fly.

Foggy Mornings

The forecast was for good VFR the last two mornings.  The reality was different.  Both days I awoke to Low IFR.  I did not despair, I did take my time getting ready.  Yesterday I planned to leave between 9:30-10:00, I ended up firing up just after 10.  It really looked VFR when we started the engines but the beacon is broken so we could not tell for sure.

Taxiing out to where ground could see us, the ATIS said it was still IFR and speaking to them, they agreed.  What do my lying eyes know?  To be fair the official report is based on an average over time so when it goes VFR, the box is still behind.  I took a chance and taxied out.  I figured it would change soon.  I also had to wait for the engines to warm, it was cold for this Florida boy and the engines.

I had left the ATIS playing on the number 2 radio and on the way to the runway, we got our VFR weather.  The weather was good over the field and to the South but the further North you went the lower it got.  Our flight was nice and uneventful.  We got our stuff done and I headed home with the thought that at least Wednesday was supposed to start clear.

Today I woke up to a bunch of pink all over the map.  The clear skies were a lie.  Today I was heading to Montgomery, Alabama.  Not only was it foggy, but it was also cold.  Today I would be IFR so I could take some clouds but widespread 200 feet or less was out.  I knew all we needed was for Mr. Sun to come out.  Sunrise in Montgomery is about 26 minutes later than home so I expected things to improve.

Again, I did not rush.  I was sort of surprised that our local weather did not improve as fast as I expected.  It did go to 900' and 10 miles which met departure needs.  Heading out, I departed 32 and popped thru a thin layer.  After that there were some occasional clouds but it was mostly clear.

Arriving in Montgomery it was clear and after finishing our business, we were headed home.  On the way up I fought 30 knot headwinds down low.  On the way back I climbed into a nice 40 knot tailwind.  Other than having to avoid some military airspace both ways it was a smooth run.

Returning home the weather was saying 1000 overcast still.  As we got close it went to 1600 Broken and approach wanted to send me onto the ILS which was out of the way.  Crossing JAX it was clear and I had the field in sight so I requested the visual.  Approach obliged and we headed down below the broken clouds which were higher than 1,600 by then.  We sequenced into the pattern and were soon shutting down.  By the time we got out it was clear above the airport.  

The lesson, the forecast may be way off, patience is your friend, and don't let an old weather report make you fly a bunch of extra miles when you have good VFR.

Cloudy With a Chance of Hot Dogs

 

Weather planning is essential to most of my flights but today we didn't plan to fly.  Weather was still key as it was our annual Holiday party.  The last few years I have been leading some airport social events and educational events but this year I had many distractions so I had really slipped.

A few weeks ago, my partners and I from our hangar construction project decided to throw a holiday party.  The problem is you just don't get to pick your weather.  You set the day and get what you get.  I had been watching the forecasts and initially it looked like we would have a rainy day but in the end it was just cloudy with some occasional mist.

We had a nice turn out.  Oddly you would think free food would make pilots appear spontaneously.  The reality is that some people don't seem interested in airport BBQs.  We had about 40 people which makes a nice size event,  You get a chance to visit with most of the people and we had a good variety of sides and desserts provided by the attendees.

It started as a Hot Dog BBQ,  I like fully dressed dogs so I made some grilled onions, Hot Kraut and Chili.  There were also raw onions for the purists.  As with most endeavors there was scope creep and we added grilled chicken teriyaki and pulled pork to the menu.  My partner has a smoker and he started yesterday so that we could enjoy true BBQ today.

We also had a special presentation.  One of our local pilots received the Wright Brothers Master Pilot Award for 50 years of being a good pilot.  Congratulations Jim!!!!!

When it was all done, we had eaten most of the pork, 36 hot Dogs and 6 pounds of chicken.  We had a lot of leftover desserts, I called the tower and we dropped off a good bit of the extra.  Tower should have a good sugar rush for the next few days.

Date Night

I let my night currency lapse over the summer but with the early sunset, I headed out last week and completed three take offs and landings to a full stop.   Now that I was current I could once again carry passengers at night.  Who better than my wife so I planned a date night.  

Technically this would not be a full night flight.  We would depart just after sunset which does not count as night, night starts at 30 minutes after sunset.  Landing currency only counts an hour after sunset.  As you can see from the pictures, It's not really dark right after sunset.    We headed up to the airport around 4:50, gave the plane a good preflight and checked the lights.  We spun the props at offical sunset, 5:26 which meant it was still rather bright.  

I went ahead and put on all the internal lights as darkness sneaks up on you and it's best to be fully set up.  On departure we headed North up the coast.  I was hoping to make the sun rise.  You can bring the sun into view by climbing if it's just after sunset.  You are just playing with the geometry but today we had solid clouds out West so there was no bringing the suns disc back into view. 

Heading to Saint Simons we went from twighlight to darkness and by the time we were making our turn to head home, the people on the ground were in the dark.  We still had a gentle glow at 3,000' but it started to fade quickly.  Soon it was really dark, night had arrived and it was time for us to land.  My landing was good, not perfect but not jarring and with no other traffic, I let the plane roll down the runway and saved my brakes.

The taxi back to the hangar was quick.  I had dimmed my hangar lights which was good as there was plenty of light to see but it was not blinding.  We had the plane put away, the chocks set and the hangar closed in short order.  Part two of the date was dinner at Safe Harbor seafood.   It's been a while since I have gotten back to the place and it's still great.  Fresh seafood and I like sitting out on the river.  We even got to see a large car carrier making her way out to sea.  And yes the iPhone does make night look like day.

I really enjoy night flight when I have a second engine and we started strategizing dinner locations for future dates.

They investigate under blue skies

I had to be down South Monday morning.  When I planned the trip the forecast was good but going to sleep Sunday it was calling for Fog.  At 7 AM it was Foggy with 1/4 mile and 200'.  JAX was calling it 100'.   Saint Augustine was clear so I knew I had a good alternate if I could get out.  And yes, under part 91, legally I could depart in this weather.

I took my time and ended up at the airport at 8:00.  At the house it was foggy but heading up the highway it was clear until I got near the airport and then it was foggy.  The fog often clears quickly so after snapping a few pictures, I started getting the plane ready.  

We got a slight breeze about 8:20 and parts of the field started clearing, I also heard a few departures.   At 8:24 it was clear at my hangar but not the runways and after being able to see the golf course, it had once again become hidden in a blanket of fog.  

While I had a strong desire to get going, I reminded myself that the NTSB will most likely investigate your fog based accident under blue clear skies.  I took a short walk down the taxiway to better assess the conditions and stretch my legs.  After watching a bit I saw that the North West side of the field was possibly worse but that like my hangar, runway 23 was clear.

Satisfied I had a way out, I fired up, grabbed my clearance and requested a 23 departure.  Winds were 320 at 4 so it was a bit of a crosswind but not really.  Lining up for departure, there was a wall of fog at the departure end of 32.  Ahead of me I had better than 6 miles visibility and no clouds.  I had a clear runway I could return to just in case as well.

On departure I could see the fog bank covering the from the end of 32 to the river.  It was not thick and likely on departure would have been in the fog only 10-15 seconds.  Though I had a VMC departure, enroute, I did get to cloud surf a bit until the skies cleared South of Saint Augustine.  I was a few minutes behind schedule but I was happy with my decisions.

Atlanta Day Trip - Bugs bugs bugs

We decided to go visit our Nephew and while I have typically flown into Peechtree, PDK, the fees and fuwl cost seemed a bit high to just stop by for lunch.  Also I wanted to take them on a qiuck ride and PDK can be a pain to get in and out of due to the volume of traffic.

I decided to try Gwinnet county airport.  It was 10 minutes farther for my brother but 5 minutes closer for us.  On the fee side the fuel minim was 20 vs. 30 gallons and no other fees compared to PDK which also had a parking and Security fee.  Gas was also almost $2 less per gallon.  Traffic wise, it was easy in and out and when we went on the ride it was quick.  They have rental cars so this may be my go to in the future.

I had filed direct and the computer gave me direct.  I did not believe it.  PDK means taking the WRGNZ3 arrival and even though it would be just as easy to just vector for LZU as it is further East, they don't.  We did the normal, JAX APR, JAX Center, ATLCenter and just before ATL approach I was asked to look up the WRGNZ3.  I said I was familiar and to go ahead.  Frankly did not really care as the difference was less than a minute.  

The funny thing is that once you cross WRGNZ and start the arrival they almost immediately vector you.  You just need to go through the gate.  We had great weather except for 25 knot headwinds but it was smooth so all was good.  It's a short 251 miles so the headwind only added 10 miuntes.  Actually, all was good until we were established on final.

We were cleared to land, configured, stable and then I saw the first splat.  Then it started pouring bugs.  My recently cleaned plane got pounded.  Upon landing the wings, engines, spinners, nose, windshield looked like they had been hanging out in Florida during love bug season.  I cleaned up the windshield and took my passengers for a quick ride and once again outbound and inbound we got covered.

Returning to the airport, I cleaned the window again and some from bugs from the nacelles.  We headed off for some BBQ  and I hoped that later in the day the bugs would move.  That was wishfull thinking.  on departure we picked up another set.  

We had filed direct but was given radar vectors EATWO MADDI DBN direct.  On departure we were given 180 heading and 3000, then direct MADDI, which is pretty on course, before long it was 9000 and direct home.  All these fixes that we never really go to.  I was curious weatehr EATWO is supposed to be EAT - WO or EA TWO.  I sort of liked EAT - WO.

The good news was that we had a nice tailwind. The trip only taking only 1:18 in the air.  That time we saved was then spent removing bugs.  I sprayed, let them soak, wiped, added a bit of soap, wiped again and then CC followed up with more water and wiping.  Overall a great day and nice to have easy weather.

Appalachia

We had had a good time visiting Northern, West Virginia a few years back but we had missed some sights down South.  I decided we would head to Blacksburg as this would allow us to sightsee both West and Regular Virginia.  When we arrived Sunday, the weather was going South fast but we still had goals.  

We drove West to the Appalachian trail.  The trail is almost 2,200 miles long and crosses 14 states.  We would not do the entire trail, in fact we would only do a miniscule portion.  We joined at the foot of a cool suspension bridge, walked all the way across and all the way back and then about 10 feet more.  So in absolute terms I can now say I have walked the Appalachian trail.

After the strenuouse hike we headed about a mile down the road to Dismal falls.  That weather was coming and it started to drizzle but we persevered.  We made the super easy hike, about 500 feet to get to the falls.  Compared with the online pictures, the water flow was very low so Dismal was an apt description.  It was actually a nice area but lacking in falling water.

After an arduous trek back to the car we headed off to a covered bridge and then finished at the Virginia Tech gardens.  They were quite nice but those skies were getting really dark.  We found a local place with good reviews, Taqueria El Paso.  It is a grocery and restaurant.  We ordered some tacos and Carnitas and shopped while the food was prepared.  

We headed to our hotel to eat and watch the rain roll in.  Luckily as the storms hit the mountains and broke up so nothing severe hit us, just some rain which cleared out quickly.

We awoke to severe clear skies and headed South to the Blue Ridge Parkway for a scenic drive.  We started at Maybry Mill which was constructed in the late 1800's but frankly was not much of a mill due to low water flow.  It is known to be quite picturesque and while it was nice, it is a bit oversold.  The shutdown meant some of the bathrooms were closed but some were open so it was not a big impact.

We headed East along the parkway and enjoyed some nice overlooks and some nice fall colors.  This was not technically a foliage trip but we arrived at a good time so we enjoyed the colors.  We ended in Roanoke at Mill Mountain where we strolled the garden, looked at funny bikes, enjoyed the view of the city, saw the Roanoke star up close and personal and took a quick hike.

Our next stop was Roanoake downtown, it was quaint bit underwhelming.  The city boasts the city market which was billed as a food mecca.  In reality is has 8 shops and only 3 were open.  To be fair they sell the city hard in the online info. it would be better to say they are a nice friendly midsized town.  The rest of downtown was a nice stroll and we walked over a bridge to see the MLK statue.  The bridge is over the railroad tracks and as we returned we saw the Amtrak train pulling into the station.  Given the paucity of train service in the USA, it was an unusual sight.

We headed back to Blacksburg and took a hike around campus and saw the war memorial.  The Virginia Tech campus is pretty as campuses go.

When I started the idea of visiting all of the lower 48 states I had intended to go to Beckley, WV for two sights.  Well we ended up going further North for our WV visit so it was just lingering on my list.  As a child I remember taking a coal mine tour and thinking it was very cool.  I also learned during that tour thatno way would I be a coal miner.  In the 1950s the town of Beckley bought a coal mine and turned it into a tourist attraction.  The mine originally was only a few feet high as it followed the coal seam.  I can imagine it was miserable.

After acquiring the mine, they cut through the rock to make the tunnels 5-6 feet tall.  They added lights and made the place quite nice.  Arriving, we bough tickets which included a small museum and more.  We had some time till the next tour left so we soaked up some coal mining history.  Coal mining historically was more dangerous and very poorly paid.  The companies required the miners to buy their own equipment, including the black powder to mine the coal.  

Then the company rented the miners there homes, paid them in fake money and made them buy their supplies from the company at inflated prices.  Miners then got to work in terrible conditions that were always attempting to kill them.

Luckily by the time we arrived, the miners had unionized and instituted safety measures.  The tour was conducted from a small coal train.  We rode down into the mine and learned about its inner workings.  At one point they turn out the lights and you really learn the meaning of dark.  After the mine tour we visited some replica buildings showing how the miners lived in the 1900s.  

Our next stop was the New River Gorge Bridge.  It is a national park and we were surprised to find the visitor center open.  We took in the bridge views and then took a scenic drive down to the river.  To show the height of nerdiness, we drove to a bridge, parked and walked across the bridge so that we could get a better view of the bigger bridge.

We also stopped along the way for more bridge views and finished our outdoor sightseeing with a quick walk to a another less than impressive waterfall.  The trail had a nice bridge over a nice stream but the waterfall was small and you stood at the bottom which made the view sub optimal.

Our final stop was back in Beckly at a local arts center.  It was billed as unique artists, it was nice but not so unique.  They did have a good variety of arts though.  We grabbed some Thai food on the way back to the hotel which was quite tasty.  As we returned some un-forecast rain rolled in but we were warm and dry.

On our final we headed day past Roanoke to the Natural Bridge State park.  Natural Bridge is pretty much like it sounds.  They have a nice welcome center where you pay the park fee and then you walk down 137 steps to get to the park lower store.  Here you can either show your receipt or if you forgot to pay, you can buy admission.  From there it is an easy .1 mile hike to the bridge.  Think Arches but taller and much less orange.  Also there is a stream that runs through it.

A historical sidenote, George Washington surveyed the area and it must have been his rebellious youth phase as opposed to his rebellious, rebellious phase because he carved his initials in the arch.  Beyond the Natural Bridge the trail continues another .9 miles to a waterfall.  The fall is "mid" to use the vernacular of our youth.  The walk is nice along the stream though.

There are several cool sites along the path too.  There is a lost river where some of the stream runs under the rock.  Way back when, miners broke through the rocks and exposed a portion so they could have access to the water.  There is a cave where revolutionaries dug salt peter to make gun powder and there is a nice crossing of the stream where we saw a Grey Heron.

After the Bridge, we continued up to Shenandoah National Park.  We were prepared at the entrance gate with our America the Beautiful park pass but the ranger managing the station waved it off.  Apparently during the government shutdown they don't collect fees.  We drove the South portions enjoying the fall colors and stopping along the way to look at the views.  For Winnie the Pooh fands, we can say this was really a Windsday.  We decided not to hike due to immitted time and the fact that most of the hikes were pretty long.

Overall Appalachia is beatiful.  The people were friendly, the infrastructure good and lots to see.  I think after some of the parks out West the East is having a hard time competing.  Don't let my grumbling above stop you.  We had a great time, it was relaxing and loverall a great trip.