Good Neighbors, Clear Skies, Storms and Wind

Yes, I have the Baron but it is not home yet and I am not trained.  I am still flying the Bonanza.  Yesterday I took a nice flight with CC and this morning I decided to head out solo.  Well it was getting windy when I left and the forecast was for windier.  It was accurate.   It was also bumpy below 2500 and really bumpy below 1500.  I flew around a bit and decided with the strong surface winds to get gas at Palatka because Saint Augustine was a significant crosswind.

Arriving in the area, there was a Cirrus a few miles ahead.  As he cleared the runway, he said he was heading for the self serve fuel.  That was my destination as well.  I asked him if he could pull forward enough so that I could position for fuel after him.  He said he would.  Palatka has only a single pump and many people pull in short of the pump so if another plane arrives after and shuts down they are too far away to fuel without restarting or pushing themselves closer.

The Cirrus did a great job and he left me plenty of room to pull up so that when it was my turn the hose would reach.  After some fuel pump chatter, topping the tanks and checking the fuel, it was time to head home.

The headwinds were actually tailwinds now and I scooted along at 170+ knots ground speed back to Jacksonville.   The sky was blue and cloudless above but off to the North and West, you could see the outline of the approaching front and the rain in Georgia.  

Arriving home the tower put me on downwind for 23.  I asked for a tight approach but tower wanted me to follow a Cirrus on a 5 mile straight in approach.  I was not sure why, he was going 120 ground speed which meant he was 2.5 minutes from the runway.  I would be off the runway in 1.5.  The tower has final say, so I extended and the Cirrus promptly slowed down to 70.

I joined behind the slow moving traffic and held a good sequence but when the Cirrus landed he somehow did not make the middle turn off and then took his time getting off the runway.  I slowed a bit to build space  and when I got to 500 a hawk decided to circle right over the end of the runway.  I had been watching him and either he didn't see me or didn't care.

Not wanting to meet the hawk, I decided to go around.  I did and the tower put me behind a Skyhawk.  Again I was amazed the little Cessna, could not stop by the mid turn off and went to nearly the end of the runway.  The wind was 25-30 knots on the nose and I landed in just a few hundred feet and had to add power to get to the close turn off.  It all ended well with the plane full and safely in the hangar though. 

A new addition

The blog has been a bit quiet the last few weeks.  I have to admit I have been a bit unfaithful.  While I was still flying my Bonanza, I had my eye on a pretty Baron.  Today we planned to fly down to New Smyrna to close on the Baron but the weather was quite foggy.  We drove instead, it was a good decision.

Our new addition is a 1991 Baron 58.  The Baron has two 300 HP engines compared to one on the Bonanza.  Its faster but only by about 15-25 knots.  It does have significantly more redundancy and room.  During the purchase process we identified a few areas that need to be fixed so the plane stays at the mechanic for a bit.  

After this it will be Baron school for me.  I am rated for this aircraft but have never flown this exact model.  The insurance company requires some hours before I can head out on my own.  This was not a big deal as I had planned a more extensive program before I got the requirements. 

I started the blog to document our travels across the country and since the Baron is also a Beechcraft, the name still makes sense.  I may not land the Bonanza in each state but the Baron will hopefully let me complete the quest.

A lot more to come in a few weeks once I start training.

A cut above

Sunday started with some marginal weather which actually made me feel a bit better about having a work meeting at noon.  Once done with my call though, I looked out and the sky had begun to turn blue.

I decided it was time for the proverbial Sunday ride in the country.  We have been watching that ship in the Brunswick sound for quite a while and I saw on the news they had actually made a cut and removed a piece.  We headed up to Saint Simons to see for ourselves. 

While they had removed a piece and actually made another cut, most of the ship was still there. You can see in this picture the cut and how the section has been moved away from the main section and lifted slightly.

It was actually a pretty busy day up at SSI with a good bit of local traffic.  Luckily they were all arrivals when we showed up and they were using runway 22 which kept us well separated.  We also stayed up at 1500' to provide some extra margin.  On our second circle a Baron was departing but we modified our turns to stay well away and provide him plenty of room for his departure and turn North.

The excitement is now at the stern which left a nice view of the bow cut.  You can clearly see the cars still scattered between the decks.

After 2 times around, we headed South and enjoyed the views on our ride home.  Taking apart the ship is taking longer than originally planned but it does appear that they will be able to slice it up like they said.

There were a slew of small boats that looked like they were trying to manage the debris.  Hopefully they can complete the job without making an ecological disaster.

Train, Train, Train

I like to fly on holidays.  January 1, 2021 is a new year and a new chance to fly.  My hours were down in 2020 about 20%.  This was mostly due to cancelled trips.  I have been doing a good job training though and I wanted to keep that going.  With great weather I decided to start the New Year off with some more practice.

It pays to keep sharp.  On December 31st I had taken a quick run South with CC to visit another airport.  The winds were gusty and a direct cross wind.  Combine that with trees by the runway edge, low level wind shear and turbulence and you are one busy pilot landing.  This is why we train a lot.  Though challenging, it was well within the plane's capability and other than a really bumpy ride from 300 feet to 20 feet which we anticipated, everything was quite nice and I was even rewarded with a smooth touchdown.

Given that this was a holiday I decided to practice the things I really enjoy.  After clearing the area, I started with some steep turns.  Those went well.  You know because you hit your wake as you complete a 360.  It is pretty cool, because you can't see the turbulence you create but if you do a good circle and stay on altitude, you come back around and get a satisfying bump as you roll wings level.

After steep turns I did Chandelles.  This is a maneuver required on the commercial check ride.  You roll into a 30 degree bank and then smoothly increase pitch while turning 90 degrees.  In my plane this leaves you at 15 degrees nose up.  You then hold that pitch while smoothly rolling out of the bank.  If done correctly you complete 180 degrees of turn just as the plane reaches a speed to activate the stall warning.  Doing them left and right is quite different because the engine torque requires right rudder  so combining this with the different direction banks changes things up a bit.

My final maneuvers were slow flight variations.  I practiced flying just above stall and then worked on turns just above stall at increasing bank angles.  I worked up to 45 degree bank turns with partial flaps with the stall warning chirping as I made 180 degree course changes.  It was a glorious day and it was good to work on my basic airmanship.  When flying with passengers you try to limit the pitch and bank to optimize the experience in a good way.  Training has you practice a much wider range of the flight envelope.  In both cases, a smooth fluid flight is ideal.

Hiking and flying

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.

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.