It was a really early morning. Back when I worked, 6:30 was a normal time but lately that seems pretty early. With DST in effect it was also dark and today it was cold too, 36 degrees. We headed to the airport at 7:00 so we could arrive bright and early in Tennessee to have the heater controller checked.
Thankfully Selmer Tennessee is on central time so it gave us an extra hour. Preflight was cold and a bit dark. I keep many flashlights in the plane and today I looked funny wearing the headlamp but it let me see everything. The one thing I was concerned about was frost on the plane. Luckily it was just warm and dry enough that we were frost free. My other worry, cold soaked engines turned out to be a non issue. The engines were still at 40 degrees so and they started easily all was well.
The tower at Columbus GA is a bit lazier than most, they don’t open till 9 AM. Atlanta has a frequency for clearance so after I started and checked the ATIS, programmed everything and did my final review, I gave them a call and received my clearance. I advised the controller I needed some time and would call again for release. Taxi out was quiet with just one other plane in the area. A FedEx flight had just landed and was taxiing in to deliver the packages that absolutely needed to be there overnight.
After doing our run up, I gave Atlanta a call and told them In was #1 at 31 ready to depart. I got an immediate release to depart on runway heading to 6000 with a 5 minute void time. We were rolling less than a minute later and soon checking in with Atlanta. Climbing through 4000 the headwind was 24 knots and level at 6000 it was 30, right on the nose. It seems lately that all we get are headwinds.
I thought about going lower, but the TAS gain for 2000 feet mostly covered the higher winds, also the plane just flies better up high. It was cold out too. It started at 36 degrees but by mid Alabama we were down to 23. Everything hummed along but my cylinders were running on the edge of too cold.
I like to keep them above 250 degrees F and I was right there. As the temperature dropped I kept adding a bit more gas. When you are running LOP (lean of peak), adding fuel makes everything run hotter. Why do my engines run so cold? I have an upgraded set of aftermarket baffles that were installed correctly and they created great cooling airflow. This is great in the summer, I never worry about the engines getting too hot but is a struggle in the winter.
The flight was smooth and uneventful. We spent most of our time over Alabama but did clip the corner of Mississippi right before entering Tennessee. We touched down in Selmer, TN at 8:20 local and pulled up to the hangar. Before I could get shut down the door started to open and they soon had the plane in the hangar and covers coming off.
The folks at AC services are really nice, they even provided a small heater for CC as she was not loving the cold. I watched them for a bit and discussed the controller issue but then left them to work without interference. CC was hungry as well as cold so we borrowed the airport car and headed to town.
The car was pretty nice by airport car standards, a Mercury Marquis. It was sort of nostalgic, my mom always drove Ford Crown Victorias which is essentially the same car. I had driven her cars quite a bit and I knew where everything was, even the tape player. We drove most of the way to town to get biscuits from McDonalds. They were tasty but not too healthy.
When I came back they were testing the corrections. There were several small issues but taken together they kept the heater from functioning as well as it should. After a bit more testing and showing me how to use the diagnostic mode to see what was happening, they declared the fixing done and put the parts back in the plane. It was not too much to put back, they had opened a side panel to get at some actuators, taken out 2 seats, the spar cover and removed the nose cone.
With the plane back together, I went over each area to make sure it was back the way it should be. Then it was off to the fuel pump to add some gas. The gas in Selmer was a much better deal than Greenville so I bought enough so I would only need to buy the minimum at our next stop.
I have had some issue hearing Memphis center down low in that area so climbing out was surprised to hear them clearly at 1000 feet. I was also surprised that when Memphis was expecting me. Yes we pre filed and the controller should have a strip on you but I had just called with my call sign and did not ask for my Clearance.
He was on his game, he gave me a code and a short time later cleared us as filed. We had endured 2 flights of terrible headwinds, this time we were going in the right direction. As we climbed the wind swung onto our tail. I was expecting 17 knots and at first we were a bit shy of this but we were soon scooting along at over 200 knots.
The route stays mostly in Tennessee and then slices the edge of Georgia before we entered South Carolina. The route also takes you over the beginning of the Blue Ridge mountains. These are short compared to the Rockies but they still command respect. The wind at altitude was 27 knots, enough to create some strong turbulence.
I was expecting a bumpy ride but it was initially smooth. We did get a lot of wave action. As the wind passes over the uneven surfaces it creates waves of updrafts and downdrafts. As we were approaching from upwind, the first part is an updraft. You see this because the plane pitches down to maintain altitude and the speed increase. As you pass the surface peak, the process reverses and you have to pitch up to maintain altitude.
We were watching the nose bob up and down a good 5 degrees and were seeing speed variations of 15 or more knots. Even with the waves it was a smooth ride. It was a smooth ride until we cleared the mountains and started our descent. We were now just down wind and we soon encountered light to moderate turbulence. There was nothing to do but slow down a bit and make sure the belts were tight.
It was a really clear day and we soon could see GSP, Greenville Spartanburg Airport, while still 30+ miles out. The controller took us the long way to final but soon enough we were cleared to land and with 11,000 feet of pavement, had no issues making the middle turn off. On arrival our rental car was waiting for us and this time it was normal size.
The FBO charges a bit more but the rental cars are easy and has good snacks. They even started giving out ice cream. I chose the cookie sandwich. It was quite tasty. In the end it was a very productive day. My heater appears to function much better, we made it to our next destination and I got ice cream. This makes 2 days in a row, I am on a streak.
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