I had told CC I would take her to Philadelphia in September to see a friend who had moved away. The week of the trip came and so did a significant hurricane. We scrubbed it and then work and life got in the way so we had not rescheduled yet.
I finally have a break from work and have time to fly again. With the girls back we have been staying closer to home but I was looking for some trips to fly. CC mentioned her friend was down in Florida, St Petersburg to be exact, and the proverbial light-bulb went on. St. Pete is much closer to us than Philly. Yes they teach these things to commercial pilots.
A quick text and we had arranged lunch for the next morning. At SPG, St. Pete Alfred Whitted field, there is a restaurant at the terminal, super easy. The place is one of those downtown airports that is now squeezed in by the growth of the city around it. Runways are short but plenty of room for us.
Heading down we crossed the state, direct to Ocala then followed an airway to 40 North of Tampa. The controllers then vector you down the coast to avoid the busy arrivals and departures from Tampa International. Once west of the field they send you the last few miles direct.
The runways are on the West shore of Tampa bay and hidden behind downtown. We were able to identify the Stadium and buildings far out but had to get close to see the runways peeking out from behind. The approach is over a parking garage and the runway ends at the bay. Looks more challenging than it is to fly.
Lunch was very good for an airport restaurant and the place was quite nice. The weather was also fickle though. Heading down it was all blue skies until the last 15 miles then overcast. On the way out we climbed into the overcast as they controllers held us at 4000 until we were North of Tampa. By that time it was back to sunshine.
In the end a good time was had by all, we had a nice lunch, enjoyed seeing the gulf coast, visited with friends and had some fun flying. Coming close to closing out the year. The big question, can I squeeze in one more state or is that a 2018 trip?
