They Lied!!!

I woke up at 6:30 AM today to stay ahead of the weather.  I might as well have slept in.  I was going down to Marathon in the Keys and back.  The weather was supposed to be clear down South and storms in central Florida after 1 PM or 2 PM depending on location.

Our departure at 8AM was into scattered clouds and we were soon cruising down over Ocala and Lakeland.  The arrival into Marathon was easy and in short order I was heading back North.  I had started with partial fuel and non stop I would have had only a bit over 1 hour reserve for the return.  I skipped the really expensive fuel in Marathon and planned a stop in Wauchula.  They had cheap self serve gas which in theory meant a faster stop.

Crossing the South shore of Florida, I could already see the storms building.  ATC re-routed me over RSW which kept me West of the rain and I was soon planning my descent into Wauchula.  I had the radar running and the little shower South of the field just kept growing.  Checking in with Miami I asked for a descent which got me below the clouds and I cancelled IFR.  I could see the rain and skirted East of the storm, staying dry.  Rounding the edge I had the field and cancelled flight following.

The pump was a new challenge.  I tried to authorize 120 gallons but it had an 88 gallon limit.  No problem, I filled the left tank and shut it off.  I then went to start a new transaction on the right and it said the pump was still in use.  I looked around carefully and no one was using the pump.  I waited a few minutes and then called the office.  They said to wait a few more.  I did and it decided to sell me more gas.  Having mastered the pump, I checked my gas and fired back up.

The radar was showing a good path over Lakeland and then North East.  Airborne, I received my clearance and fired up the radar.  It too showed a path and Miami had cleared me LAL direct home.  All was good until I checked in with Tampa and he wanted me to go North or West after LAL.  That was not going to work and I said I needed East.  He said, that's Orlando's turf and they probably won't take me.  I think he took a hard look at his radar which showed no path to the West.  He came back with good News.

Orlando had accepted me, I could turn due East and talk to the controllers that watch over Mickey Mouse.  They usually don't want piston aircraft but with the storms they made an exception.  Eastbound there was only one cloud in my way which the radar showed as safe.  I was only in the clouds a few seconds and then I was back in clear air.

At 8000 I have been amongst some tall clouds but had stayed outside of anything dangerous.  The controllers plan which looked good on my screens was to pass Winterhaven and then head North.  I did sort of go through one more cloud.  It was a big cloud but it had a hole in the middle so I was able to squeeze through the gap.  Looking back, the storms had turned darker and  I was glad to be through.  

I watched them for a bit after I landed.  They of course started falling apart right about when the forecast said they would start.  In the end it all worked out.  I always had a good escape route which I thought I might need but thanks to the controllers I was able to safely work my way home.

Chesapeake

I start watching the weather a few days out on a trip. The forecast for Friday had been for rain along the North South Carolina border. It was supposed to start mid day and I had contemplated whether we needed to leave earlier than noon but the morning forecast said no rain before 7 pm so we stuck with our planned 1130 departure.   I had a class to attend Saturday and part of Sunday. Class was scheduled to end at 1300 Sunday so ideally we would arrive around 1500 so we could avoid an extra day of car rental.

Our departure was interesting. We took off runway 14 with a right turn to 280. On course was 20 degrees. This roundabout path was due to some slow moving traffic inbound from the North. On a positive note once we checked in with departure, we were given an immediate climb to 9000. Passing 3000, we were cleared on course. Always fun to make a 240 right when a 120 left would have done. We did confirm that two rights can make a left though…

Other than wasting a few minutes and some gas, I couldn’t complain too much. Weather was good and we only had a slight headwind. We cruised up to Savannah and made a gentle right to head for Lumberton, NC, our fuel stop. We didn’t need gas but I couldn’t turn down a cheap fill up and it gave us some more options for the later flights.  

CC and I had first stopped at Lumberton in 1995 on a trip to Bar Harbor. We had not intended to stop there but heading North the intended airport was low IFR under a storm and Lumberton was clear. We were met with friendly service and since then I have used the airport as a fuel stop multiple times.

Arriving on the ramp, I called on Unicom for gas and soon after shutting down the truck was pumping away. We took a quick break, payed for the gas and fired back up. While on the ground I had checked the weather and during our short stop some storms had started popping. If you believed the forecast, they were both in the wrong place and time.

We were soon cruising at 7000 with a 7 knot tailwind. All was good but we did have some rain ahead. It didn’t look like much on the satellite but the active radar showed some strong activity. Luckily our path took us North of the weather and we just got a nice view.  The sky was a bit hazy as we approached Chesapeake but at about 15 miles we saw the runway and made an uneventful approach. Tie downs were not the best but I got the ropes on the plane and headed in to get our car.

They have a local car rental and I had booked it weeks ago and confirmed it Wednesday. Even so, the car was not there as they had a slight scheduling SNAFU. Luckily, they had a slightly more expensive car which we took.  They were very nice and waived our parking fee which was a bit more than the additional cost of the car. After grabbing some food, it was time to sleep and head to class. 

Saturday, I went to class and CC met up with an old friend and gallivanted about Virginia Beach.  The class was good, but I confess, strolling down the beach on an 80-degree day would likely have been much more fun.  Sunday was only a half day so at Noon we headed back to the airport.

Everything checked on preflight and the weather as far as South Carolina looked stellar.   While it was clear, it was not smooth.  We started at 6k but soon I was ready to try 8k.  8k took us just above the clouds and increased the tail wind but as we headed through North Carolina the clouds melted away and the tailwind became a 14 knot headwind.  

I decided to try 6k again and we picked up a small tail wind netting us about 20 knots but the ride was less than smooth.  We discussed the ride a bit and over time it smoothed out.  Our fuel stop was Allendale, SC.  We have stopped there before, it is known for friendly service, cheap gas, good candy, clean facilities and a slow gas pump.

All the way down we had been watching the remnants of the tropical storm.  There had been a line of rain from Savannah to St. Augustine, but it had been moving West and had started to diminish.  The Savannah controllers were quite helpful letting us deviate around some heavy rain and then putting us just offshore.  As is typical in the afternoon, the land side was dark and foreboding and the sea-side was pretty clear.

We had an uneventful arrival home and soon had the plane away.