With the increase in COVID numbers we continue to stay closer to home. I have been training and taking local flights but trips are on hold for a bit. Usually we fly somewhere so we can enjoy the many incredible sights this country offers.
Today I had to look closer to home. Or in this case closer to the airport. Just 6 miles Northwest is our local Arboretum and Garden. Arboretums are collections of trees and they had many of these, I think they say and garden to cover themselves because they have nice flowers, shrubs, moss, lichens and much more.
I was a bit strategic about my plans. CC and I left mid afternoon. This provided us plenty of time to walk 4 miles through the winding trails and still have time to fly. Actually I wanted to fly at a specific time, sunset.
While I am night current, I actually would not be exercising my night privileges as we would be returning before 30 minutes after sunset. With this in mind we enjoyed strolling the Arboretum and Gardens. The trails were mostly empty and we had a great time enjoying nature.
Our target was to start at 4:45 with sunset at 5:26. We arrived a bit early and took our time readying the plane. One extra check today was the lights. Usually the first thing I do is open the hangar but today I kept the door closed and while I tested each switch, CC confirmed the various lights were working. I also prepped flashlights within easy reach just in case we got caught out later than we intended.
With everything prepared, we spun the prop at 4:43. We were soon airborne and headed South down the coast. It was a bit hazier than I expected but it was a smooth and cool evening. While sunset was 5:26 at the surface, it was around 5:33 at altitude. South of Saint Augustine we headed back to the river and then North.
We watched the sun's disk slowly touch then slip below the horizon. One nice feature of my current camera is the electronic viewfinder. With a DSLR you have to be careful to not look at the sun. With the EVF, you are just looking at a picture of the sun so the danger is only to the camera.
Once the last sliver of the sun disappeared we headed home. I took a detour to avoid overflying the tall antennas and to get a few more minutes of flight. Just after sunset you are bathed in a gentle light. The cockpit lights have a nice glow and the city lights are just beginning to flicker on. The combination creates a serene landscape.
I called in about 7 Southeast and was told to expect 14 or 5. 14 is closer to the hangar but a straight in to 32 would be even better so I requested it. The winds were calm but a training flight was just maneuvering to land on 14 so it was not clear how the sequence would work. I started slowing down to build space and the controller had me continue. The departing plane requested a left turn out and with good spacing the controller cleared me to land.
We were watching the plane climb out towards us. I intentionally had not lined up directly as I wanted to give him room. As we got closer, he still had not turned. The controller told him to start his requested turn to which he replied he was going straight out. This did not go over well with the controller and he more forcefully told the plane to follow the instructions.
We had the traffic in sight so I advised the controller of this and that we could avoid. This reminded me of Tuesday. I was leaving Saint Augustine and the plane ahead was told to make left traffic. I was told to keep to his right. As I was overtaking him, he turned right. As I had the traffic in sight, I coordinated with the controller to pass on the left but he was none too pleased with the plane that did not follow instructions.
Tonight, I could tell the controller was less than happy with the other plane but we had good separation and plenty of room to make a dogleg final. We were soon past the traffic and rolling down the runway in the fading light. I miss traveling but sometimes a simple flight and enjoying nature is just as good.
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