Walk on the beach

This is not Newark at rush hour.  This is Saint Simons on a Monday.  Let me back up.  Sunday the weather was sort of snotty.  That's pilot speak for bad.  I flew Saturday at sunset but the rain was building and by Sunday morning it was a mess.  

Luckily I had Monday off so we decided to take a quick trip to Saint Simons Island for a walk.  Saint Simons is home to Southern Soul BBQ which we skipped today in pursuit of a smaller waistline, though the BBQ smell wafted down the flight line and was hard to ignore.  It was a great day to fly.  Strong Northerly winds but smooth at 3000 feet.

We made our approach from the South and used Runway 34 for a change.  It seems the wind favors 4 most of the time but today the winds were 340 at 12 gusting 18.  On arrival the FBO sent a golf cart to show us where to park and as always the FBO was friendly and professional.  The line man tied us down and offered a ride to the building but we declined as our purpose was to walk.

The approach to 34 is interesting.  You get a great view of a ship on its side being cut up by some massive tools.  When you turn final to the relatively short (3,313') strip, you see the tall trees at the airport fence and what look like massive cell phone towers right on final.  We later walked by them and they look less impressive from the ground.  

Yes the map tells me how tall they are and we had plenty of clearance but I swear they look twice as tall when you need to pass right over them to land.  So we left the plane and headed for the beach.  The first thing you see as you walk along is that Saint Simons is not all luxury housing, though they have lots of that.

The second thing you notice is great sidewalks.  Really wide and well marked cross walks.  State law gave us the right of way too.  Take that motorized vehicles.  The walk to the beach is about 1.3 miles and takes you across the Causeway where you can look out on Bloody Marsh.

It was less bloody today but in 1742, outnumbered British troops defeated Spanish soldiers to thwart an attack on Fort Frederica.  Passing the Marsh we made it to the beach where we enjoyed the sun sand and birds as well as looking at the cutting operation from ground level.

Saint Simons has a nice beach but with the currents, maybe not the best for swimming.  Less shells and hard packed in many places which makes strolling nice.  I liked they reminder to not pollute, a Dolphin made of trash.

After our beach stroll we retraced out steps and were soon back at the plane.  When we arrived the main ramp was pretty empty but as you saw above we had a line of jets next to us upon our return.  Luckily there was no line to leave.  After a preflight inspection, we loaded up and were soon on our way.  Our 25 knot headwind became a 22 knot tailwind.  Not exactly even but at least we had a good push home.  Overall a great day to get out and explore.

Over the clouds and through the Bravo

We were off to see Grandfather.  Not my grandfather, my Dad, the kids Grandfather.  With COVID precautions, we have not been visiting regularly.  We had been looking for a good weekend but the weather had been the pits between the heat and the hurricanes.

While we did have the remnants of a storm Thursday, early in the week it looked like the weekend would be nice.  We planned the trip and then I phoned a friend.  We needed a place to meet that was away from people.  The person I phoned graciously offered the use of his hangar.  at North Perry for our visit.

As we got closer, the weather looked less good but acceptable but we crossed our fingers and waited.  This morning there was rain around the Cape and down in Miami but it was all light so we launched just before 9:00 am.  The initial ride was good though we did get some rain in the clouds around the Cape.  ATC let us dodge the bad looking clouds and we were soon on the standard Miami arrival.

Coming from the North going to North Perry, Hollywood Florida, you will be routed over Pahokee VOR and then South to eventually join the straight in RNAV approach to 10R.  Unlike previous visits we did not get sequenced behind super slow planes and had a quick ride down final.

The weather was not bad but showers were popping up all around and we had a bit of rain on final.  We soon found the hangar, shut down and pushed the plane out of the way.  He has a nice setup with a couch and plenty of room to social distance.  We opened the hangar door, let the breeze in and commenced visiting.

My friend had also clued me in on getting gas and while we talked the truck had topped off the bird.  We chatted for a bit over an hour and then it was time to hit the road as they were getting hungry and the sky was getting darker.

The sky to the North looked ominous but South looked nice.  We would be going West initially and the radar just showed light rain.  Checking in with ground we got the Sheridan departure.  This is a special procedure that allows you to depart VFR but pick up your IFR in the air.  When ATC climbs you above 1500, you are IFR.  

Overall it is a very efficient way to depart some busy airspace.  on take off we rolled behind a Piper who made a very wide turn downwind.  I made a standard turn and ended up inside him, I wanted to keep him in sight.  Coordinating with the tower we agreed on how I would pass.  The tower pointed us out to him and he seemed a bit confused.  Finally the tower told him we were past and going 40+ knots faster.  Pretty soon he was a speck in the distance.

Our initial course took us through some light rain and I was concerned that we would be taken further West where the rain was heavier but ATC was looking out for us.  They turned us North and after keeping us at 2000 to get under the FLL inbound traffic we were allowed to climb to 7000 and head direct to Treasure VOR.  This was basically straight home so we were happy.

One other interesting thing happened on the way back.  The plane ahead of us was going a bit slower and ATC made him move so we could chug along.  They chose to climb so we passed right under them 2000 feet below.  It was a nice view of a 36 Bonanza.

It was cloudy up the coast and we mostly skimmed the tops until right before home when we broke out and were number 4 for the runway.  Training is up and the airport is getting quite busy.