Traffic 12 O'clock

Today I decided to do some training.  The mission, Fly 90 miles North, shoot an approach to KAMG (Bacon County) and then return to Jacksonville.  The morning had been cloudy but it was predicted to clear.  I did all the preflight work and was ready to head to the airport.

295 North was a mess, I could see something in the distance slowing traffic but it was not until I got off that I saw my traffic.  A police chopper on a trailer being towed.  They had not bothered to secure the rotor though and instead had a man hanging onto it as they towed it. Not only this but they blocked all lanes and wouldn't let people pass.  It took 6 police cars to escort this one chopper.

Don't see it?  Click on the image and look just left and above the trucks mirror.

Once I got past the traffic jam it was smooth sailing.  I got to climb through a deck on the way out and shoot a real approach.  I topped off and by the time I left the weather was much better.

These small airports can be quite nice.  Bacon has a fully stocked fridge for transient pilots.  They have a bucket of money to pay on the honor system.  I did not see the price list but they are usually very reasonable.  The overall facilities are also quite nice so if you need to divert for weather, you have a nice place to wait.

Outbound, even with full fuel the plane climbed 1000 feet per minute all the way through 7000.  At 8000 I enjoyed 20 knot tailwinds and made better than 190 knots.  It was a quick trip home. 

Returning I asked for a visual approach and the controller brought me down to 3000 and vectored me right through the deck.  When I was close he dropped me down and 100 feet later I had the field in sight.  I had to slow down as I was sequenced number 3 but soon I was touching down and back at the hangar.

You can go back

Just about a year ago CC and I went to 09J (Jekyl Island) to enjoy the cool red buggies. Today we just went for a nice flight and to take a stroll.  One year into the 48 state project and I have done 12.  One quarter down but my rate of new states has fallen off quite a bit.  The reality is that work and life have gotten in the way.

It will likely be second half of 2018 before I can start adding states again but until then I can visit some of the closer places again.  Today we landed and did not borrow a buggy, rather we did a walk along the waterfront.  It was unseasonably warm, a year ago we were chilly in our heavy jackets, today we used the AC.

Rachel and Gang

This weekend has had some strange weather for this time of year.  Every morning has been quite foggy.  Rachel had wanted to take some friends for a ride in the plane and we can usually set a firm time the day before.  Monday it was anyone's guess when it would clear.

We waited until the sky started turning blue and then she went off to get the passengers and I to get the plane ready.   By the time we were ready we had blue skies.  It was a bit bumpy inland so our tour of the their school was not as smooth as normal.  The view from above did not raise their excitement level for the school.  In fact I heard comments that the roof looked dumpy.  So much for a new perspective.  

We cruised out to the beach and saw the sea fog hanging on the coast.  From there it was a smooth ride to Saint Augustine where we cruised over  downtown.  My right seat passenger got a chance to fly and did a nice job circling.

Meanwhile my back seat passenger was busy snapping pictures.  All but the first image PC goes to J. Cortez.

Coming back, it was quite busy,  several planes were all arriving at once and the traffic system was quite useful.  We sequenced behind a Cirrus and followed him in.  The tower did a nice job of working the traffic push and while not quite Atlanta Hartsfield we were number 4 at one point.  Our turn came quickly and once back at the hangars we completed the tour by raiding the hangar fridge for sodas and water.

The plane looks nice and shiny but it is a bit deceptive.  It too has a layer of yellow pollen like everything else in town.  I thought about a post flight wipe down but decided to wait a week for the pollen to abate.

Back in the air

So annual took longer than I liked.  It was a combination of the shop being backed up, mechanics being out because of the flu and a delay getting some parts.  Overall the the plane was in good shape.  Nothing unexpected.  New brake pads were needed, the nose tire was ready to replace, the mufflers had worn, I got new spark plugs and I did a small upgrade.

See those three little green lights?  They signify that each wheel is down and locked.  On my plane the wheels come up to decrease drag during cruise.  It is important to remember to lower them when landing.  The switch is low on the right side and the lights are right above the switch.  During landing we check multiple times that the wheels are down and locked.

The original lights work fine but require you to turn your head at a critical phase.  These new LEDs repeat the factory bulbs and put the lights right next to the airspeed and right where I am looking during landing.

Yesterday CC drove me down to the shop and I flew the plane home.  Today I had to wait for the fog to burn off but after that it was an hour flight to recheck everything.  I had done a thorough preflight yesterday before taking the plane and did an extra long one today looking for anything that might not have been tight.

I then went up and rechecked all the electronics.  Finally I flew at known power settings and fuel flows to confirm the plane was still flying straight and at the proper speeds.  Everything checked out and I returned to the hangar after an hour.  The weather was great but the beach still had sea fog hanging out.

Shop time

I have written a great deal about flying the plane but have not discussed maintaining it.  Since you can't just pull over if something goes wrong you need to keep on top of maintenance.

Now most maintenance must be done by a licensed mechanic but pilots are allowed to do some specific tasks.  For example oil changes which I have started doing myself.  I stay strictly within the rules and actually just do a small portion of the list.  Just because you are allowed to do something does not mean you should.  Before I started doing my own oil changes I watched the mechanic several times and then had a friendly mechanic walk me through the process to make sure I knew how to perform all steps correctly.

In addition to ad hoc maintenance the plane must have an inspection annually.  The inspector goes over the plane from top to bottom looking for issues and assuring the plane is airworthy.  During this process they open the plane up by taking out parts of the interior and opening all the inspection panels.  Most maintenance you should do right away but some things you might defer to the annual when the plane is open. 

For example a few months back while pre-flighting the plane, I found the right brake caliper had a drip of brake fluid on it.  That was a have to do right away type of thing and it went right to the mechanic for new O-rings.  Another example, the struts on the landing gear have fluid and Nitrogen gas in them.  Over the last several months I have noted that that the struts are a bit lower, they were set near the top of the spec and over time some nitrogen leaks out and but the plane was still within normal specification.  While the plane is on jacks for inspection, I will have them serviced and brought back to the top of the spec.

Some things we do proactively.  The alternator has been working perfectly but given its age and number of hours in use, it will come off the plane this year and get overhauled back to new limits and then re-installed.  This is not required but proactively replacing things on a schedule leads to better reliability.  Generally it is easiest to do this during the annual as the plane is down anyway.

The plane has been delivered, I dropped it off 2 days early because of my schedule so now it is a waiting game while the work is done.  The shop was quite busy, I counted 25+ planes there for work.  It is about a 30 minute flight South but a friend was nice enough to fly me home.  Not a Beechcraft but a good looking Cirrus.

Winter Break Meat Up

Winter break is drawing to a close for Sam.  The rest of us were back to school or work long ago but she has still been bumming around.  I had planned to take Sam and Maggie to Georgia BBQ but they close for a week for staff vacation and this coincided with Maggie's visit.

Sam heads home Monday and we finally had great weather if not warm weather.  We all slept late and then headed off to the airport.   Saint Simons lets you park for free if just stopping for lunch.  Very nice of them.  We arrived and parked just down from a classic DC-3.

We then walked over to BBQ and of course even though vacation is over, we arrived at 12:45 and it was cool out, there was still a line out the door.  Luckily it moves fast and I stared down an elderly couple and soon they gave us their warm table inside.

I have to take a picture some day before I eat but it is so good that my brain goes to eating mode before it can return to picture mode.

After lunch we headed back for the flight home.  Sam had me take her by the Brunswick Bridge so she could compare it to the Jacksonville bridge.  Must be a civil Engineering thing.

We passed the Jacksonville bridge on our way in.  Our's is bigger and better.  So much for fun, back to work, back to school.

Warbirds and Manatees, a strange combination

I flew less than I wanted last year.  Work had become 7 days a week for a few months which cut into weekend trips and taking vacation.  I have been trying to make up for it this week and today marks the end of vacation and my return to the real world that includes work.

I tried to make the most of it with two aviation events.  The cold weather has kept me from heading North but other than some screaming winds, the weather has been nice here.  Yes 30 is cold for me but I can do it.  Today we hit mid 50s and it was quite nice.

Saturday I headed South to New Smyrna where American Aero Service hosted an Open Hangar day.  This company restores war birds.  I have no idea who funds this work but they do some amazing restorations.

I went a few years back and there were a lot of fly in planes, Saturday the winds were 20-30 knots and more aloft.  Only a few planes showed up but we had a fun time looking at history, taking pictures and talking airplanes.  They had a TMB,  Corsair,  B-24, B-17, C-54 and most of a PBY.  They also had a variety of military vehicles including a scud missile launcher with a missile.  I assume it was disabled unless they are planning to get into it with Daytona Beach.

There were also a few interesting civilian fly ins including a C-195, a light sport and some Swifts (not pictures)

Sunday it was time for CC and I to take a ride.  I was curious as to how the West Coast had recovered so we flew over to Crystal river to take a look.  Things looked good and as we flew around we saw clusters of Manatees up against the shore in the shallow water.  I assume that is the warmest part and they were looking to stay warm.

After surveying the coast a bit we stopped at Williston to tank up for the quick ride home.  We went VFR so I needed to watch for all manner of airspace.  The military has some restricted areas mid state which we maneuvered around both ways and the playoff game had started so we made sure to come in from the South and stay well clear of the restrictions around the stadium.

It was nice to finally go flying again and not have my hands freeze.  Sadly it is back to work Monday but I have started planning the next set of trips.  More states to get off the list and more places to see.

Better than the Blog

Usually the readers do not get involved in the actual blog activities.  Today was different.  Sam had a friend visiting who I am told is an avid reader of the blog.  I had planned to take them to SSI for BBQ but Southern Soul is closed for a week so we decided to head South to Flagler to sample airport fare.

It is still brisk here, around upper 30s with 20 knots of wind from the West.  Luckily I had planned ahead and plugged the plane in so the engine was nice and warm for the start.  The gusty winds brought light to moderate turbulence below 3000 but it was surprisingly smooth above.

On the way down we enjoyed 20 knot tail winds but it had intensified for the return with 31 knots headwind.  The wind was actually 38 knots but not directly on the nose.  Our guest got some flight experience and we all had a nice lunch.  Given the turbulence and winds, we did limited sightseeing but the excellent visibility let us cover Saint Augustine and Downtown.

Upon landing I asked how she liked the flight and if it was like the blog.  The answer... Better than the Blog.