Another Soggy Return (The reason I train so much)

When we departed for DC, the trip home was forecast to be easy with good VFR weather until near home and then the chance of marginal VFR. I had been tracking the weather each day and the forecasts were changing each time I looked and not for the better. I was not obsessing for 2 reasons. First, I couldn’t do much about it and second, none of the forecast presented any real problem…

By Saturday afternoon, it looked like the forecasts had been way off.  We would have much lower clouds and more rain than the early guesses. The low pressure offshore would create a classic Nor'easter with strong winds from 030.  The issue is that runway 5 has no approaches so the likely active, 32 would have a strong crosswind.  I filed for an 11 AM departure via the ARSNL5.GVE departure. This was based on past experience and some advice from local pilots. 

Lots of rain between us and home on Saturday but it was moving East quickly.  Heading off to sleep, the rain was moving out of the way but the clouds were still forecast to be low in the morning. I was thinking that by mid day most of North Carolina would be VFR and maybe even some of South Carolina. The arrival home would likely be IFR but nothing too bad with ceilings better than 500 and good visibility.

Checking weather at 8AM the front had moved through and the storms were South and East of our track.  That was the good news.  The less good news, there were low clouds starting in North Carolina and extending through Florida.  Our home field was 700 overcast, not great but not a big deal, we could even circle to avoid the 25+ knot crosswind.

By the time we headed to the airport at 10, home had gone to 400 overcast with rain.  Now the rain had moved off everywhere except right over our destination.  I figured it would clear by the time we arrived but started thinking about crosswinds and diversions just in case.

Startup and departure were smooth.  As expected we got the expected departure but were to climb via until 2000 then stay put.  Of course once we checked in, the controller just sent us on our way and we had a mostly unrestricted climb to 8000.  We even had a tailwind.  DC had been cold overnight and it was in the 20s at altitude but we were warm, the heater was flawless, the last trip was well worth it.

We cruised South with a TAS of 190-191 knots and 205-212 ground speed.  As you can see we went from clear to progressively not clear.  I kept watching the weather reports waiting for the 400 to improve.  The airport 6 miles North East of home went to 1300 but Craig stuck at 400, with worse visibility and rain.  The one saving grace was that the 70 degree crosswind was just 19 gusting 25 and not more.

I have shot the GPS 32 more times than I can count but I briefed it twice, this was for real, we also discussed the miss scenario.  Cecil just across the river had better weather and the wind right down the runway.  If we missed, we would head there, get gas and re-evaluate our options.   We had left behind the clear skies and had been in and out of the clouds once we passed Savannah but very little rain, just some occasional light mist.

JAX approach gave us direct JEVAG, the IF about 30 miles out and then a vector, there was a jet ahead of us on the approach and I started monitoring the tower to see how they did.  The approach controller must have been distracted as he gave me a late turn to intercept final.  He then amended it to continue the turn onto final.  With the crosswind blowing us South, we ended up about a half dot left coming out of the turn but that was easily corrected.  

Crossing ADERR, the FAF the rain and turbulence picked up and we had a over 20 degrees wind correction.  Gear was down, approach flaps set and we continued down.  The jet had reported the runway at 600 so I was hoping that we would have the same luck.  CC had been briefed that the runway would be to our left and not straight ahead.  I started calling out height to minimums as we passed 1260, 1000 to go.

600 came and went with nothing and down we went.  Minimums were 260 today due to a NOTAM so we were getting close.  I was still on the gauges or in today's world the flat panel when CC acquired the runway right at 500.  I looked up and saw it too, I was expecting it to be clearer based on the reported visibility but with the rain visibility was around 1.5 miles.  I made a novice mistake of relaxing the crab a bit and started to drift left but soon locked back on the centerline.  I added full flaps, kept some extra speed for the gusts and had my hands full with the turbulence.  The crosswind was interacting with the tree line making the last few feet sprightly.

I was concerned with the wet runway and the crosswind and the fact that others before me had slid off the edges or the end.  We touched down smoothly, upwind wheel first.  Wet runways make everything softer.  I knew the wind would help me slow and I used a combination of left rudder and right engine to keep straight.  the right aileron was fully deflected up as I ever so gingerly used the brakes not wanting to slide on the rather slick pavement.

We made the 3000' turn off and taxied in slowly.  The real challenge was getting the plane in the hangar with the cold blowing rain.  It was a great trip and while I like the challenge of these types of approaches and enjoy the training, I think I would have been happier with a calm sunny day.  The plane did get a wash and we even stayed a few extra minutes to wipe her down so I didn't get water spotted.  

Life is a Cabaret

When we landed Thursday it was close to 90 degrees out, walking back from the play that night it was down to 60. Luckily we had remembered Jackets. So that front we had raced had come through and  dumped a bunch of rain just before the show, it was then supposed to leave.  But it decided to hang around and drip on us Friday morning.  Should have been a hint that the forecasts were all wrong.  We braved the rain and walked down to the Air and Space Museum where I had reserved some entry passes, it still is being refurbished so it is only half of the museum.

The Air and Space is always fun but the experience changes.  As a child when I visited, I dreamed of some day flying a plane. This visit I had flown my plane to get there, so it was a different perspective.  I also knew most of the exhibits without reading the labels.   After finishing we hopped over to the natural history museum, Samantha wanted us to look at the rocks, must be a civil engineering thing.

The combination of the holiday weekend, spring break and the rain had made the museum a zoo. They do have some nice rocks like the Hope diamond and other jewelry. They also had some massive Crystals and other colored rocks. We decided to head out and get some coffee and then took a nice stroll through the city.

We did drop in on the national Portrait Gallery. It’s a cool building (Atrium below) and I enjoyed the Presidential Gallery the most. They had all the presidents along with some history for each. The early Presidents had it good, without photography, they could have the artist depict them as they wished. Sorta like early Instagram filters. We picked up some nice Sushi for dinner and then being the favored candidate for Father of the Year, we went to the play a second night and Samantha again stole the show, you didn't see that coming.

We met Samantha the next morning so she could shop her local farmers market. I am all for farm to table but the apples were more than twice the cost at Safeway so you sorta wonder if it’s a great model of efficiency.

After shopping we were off for a hike. Samantha had chosen Great Falls park. It’s an easy fall, it was a longer walk from the car to the visitor center than on to the falls. They have 3 fall views and they tell you that they get better the further you go.

My personal opinion was that view 2 was the best.  Not only did we have the water to watch, there were some kayakers running the falls and providing some great entertainment.  After the viewing, we headed out for a hike, Sam said the river trail was 30 minutes and really flat. We need to work on her definition of flat and her perception of time.  It was rather rocky and close to an hour.

After the hike we grabbed some ice cream and then it was back to town where we helped her with some chores and I started looking at our way home. I was not liking what I was seeing.  The good weather we had been promised by the forecasters had a big asterisk.

Traffic Jam

I am working on father of the year so I can’t miss any school events, especially a play. Back in February my daughter mentioned she would be the school play. When she was young these things were easy, drive down the street and sit a bit.  Now that she's in Law school, it takes a bit more effort.  

Regardless, I grabbed a hotel room in DC and penciled the event onto the calendar. The trip is only about 560nm or 3 hours in Baron time so off we went to see a play.  The production was done by the Georgetown Gilbert and Sullivan Society. It is apparently the only theatre group in the country with its own law school. 

This was their 50th year and they had chosen Cabaret. Samantha was playing Sally Bowles, a British flapper swept up in the 1930 Berlin party scene. Tragically the party is ending with the rise of the Nazi party, yeah it's not a fun light play.

Really wanting to be at the play puts extra pressure on the flight. This is also not the easiest time of year for the trip. We have been enjoying a steady stream of strong frontal systems pushing across the country. I couldn’t do much about the weather but I did stack the deck a bit.  First I bought tickets to two nights of the show so if we were delayed, we could still see the show. We also cleared Wednesday in case we needed to get ahead of any weather. With backup plans in place I planned our flights and started watching the weather.  

There was a strong front moving in but forecasts had it arriving after 2PM. The weather at home was nice but the mid part of the flight would be low IFR in the morning. Balancing these two factor, I chose to depart around 9:45. In theory this would get us in ahead of the rain and allow the fog to burn off.  The flight home would be easy though or so I thought at the time.

Preflight and packing the plane were uneventful and I soon had the props spinning. 5/23 was closed and 14 was active. As I pulled out of the hangar row and turned towards the taxiway, I was greeted by a line of planes more suitable to Newark.  We received our clearance and joined the conga line. At one point I counted 18 planes waiting to depart. We joined at position 12 I believe. The controllers did a nice job and even with the line and several arrivals, we were on our way in 15 minutes.

The flight up the coast was smooth and we soon started planning our arrival for a fuel stop. The weather had been 1000 overcast at 9:30 but by the time we arrived it was just scattered at 3000. That was over the field though. It was more broken to the South, so I requested the RNAV 05 and was cleared for the approach. Just after passing the FAF, I broke out and cancelled IFR.

We got a quick turn from the staff at Harnett Jetport, in Erwin NC. They are under a major rebuild so the ramp was a mess but even so they did a great job getting us turned and on our way.  The second leg to DC was smooth and easy. Our clearance was waiting for us and though we had a deviation to avoid some restricted airspace, we were soon direct Manassas and cleared to land. The APP jet center helped us with our stuff. We not only had our luggage but had hauled up more stuff for my daughter.

While we avoided the weather on the trip, while grabbing a quick dinner the storms arrived. Luckily they were mostly done by the time we finished and we headed over to the play. I can say totally unbiased, Samantha was the best and she rocked the role.

Decisions, Decisions

We had canceled our trip West due to the atmospheric river pummeling California. Greenville was our backup trip.  Wednesday morning we awoke to near perfect weather, clear, cool, dry with light winds.  Who says you can't pick your weather?

Cecilia had chosen our planned hike at Jones Gap State park.  It’s a rather popular destination and on weekends you need to make a reservation.  The drive is about an hour North and with our late start the morning chill was done by the time we pulled into the lot.  While the park website warns that you will be turned away when the lot is full, mid week is a great time, we had our pick of spaces.  

After donning our hiking boots we set out along a nice smooth path to the visitor center area.  We had traveled about a quarter mile when it occurred to me that I had not grabbed our water bottle.  I asked CC if "we" had brought any water and luckily "we" had.  This "we" thing is one of the perks of being married.  That is until she tells me that somehow "we" backed the car into the garage.  

Properly provisioned we continued on.  Our goal was Rainbow falls.  On paper it is a 4.4 mile hike but from car to falls and back it is really 5.0 miles.  It is also a climb, you gain 1181 feet on the way up.  I was aware of this fall for a while but the walking and climbing to fall ratio was a bit high, usually I try and find waterfalls that are no more than 3 miles per fall with less elevation change.  

It’s also a bit deceptive.  The first .9 miles are a gentle up slope following the Saluda river on the Jones Gap blue trail.  The Rainbow falls red trail also has a short section that is pretty easy but once you cross the river it gets hard. The terrain is rocky and there are lots of tree roots.  Oh, and it is pretty steep.  

We both work out and past uphill walks have not really pushed us, even at higher elevations.  This trail is a combination of steep slopes and stairs.  There are some flatter sections but not enough to keep our respiration low.  We took several breaks on the way up, mostly to enjoy the view and just maybe to catch our breath.  It rates as moderate on All Trails and that seems like a fair call.

The falls are really nice.  You have a running river section with a small fall and the main drop above.  You can safely cross the river on a series of stones and walk up to the main falls.  The water makes a cool swirl pattern as it falls as well which makes it a bit more interesting,

The morning had been cooler and there was still a bit of ice clinging to the rock face.  Another benefit of the mid week visit was that we had the falls to ourselves.  We hung out watching the water and taking pictures for about 25 minutes before heading down.  

Heading down took a lot less energy.  It is a bit hard on the knees but overall we came down much faster than up.  The trail is a good workout, it is not difficult in the sense that you need any exceptional skill. It really is all about how fast you can push yourself up 1000 feet.

We had considered visiting a second fall but decided we had gotten a good workout and thought that we deserved a snack and a rest.  We headed off for some food and relaxation and then spent the evening having dinner with some old friends.

We had originally planned to come home Friday afternoon but I was watching the weather and it looked like Friday was going to be a wash out with deteriorating conditions in Greenville starting at 8AM.   We really enjoy our hikes but only because we pick our weather.  Hiking in rain and mud is just no fun for us, we are not outdoorsy enough.  The rain and low ceilings actually arrived around 10AM  Friday, right around when we would have been pre flighting.

We only had the forecast on Wednesday but after discussing our options, we decided that we should head out a day early.  Had we departed by mid day Friday, we would have contended with low clouds, rain and possibly a bumpy ride.  

Thursday morning CC headed off to see some friends while is did some work.  We headed to the airport around noon.  I pre-flighted on a warm sunny afternoon.  We departed in clear skies and even had 2-3 knots of tailwind.  Heading home we could see the front forming off to the West.  

Other than a steep descent due to a busy controller, we had an uneventful and smooth ride.  In the end, it was a bit disappointing to have not visited 3 iconic National parks.  Yosemite was a lost cause though, the park was closed for the entire time we planned. That river dumped lots of rain and snow which made the roads impassible.  All was not lost though, I did get my heater fixed, we had a fun time and we are home safe.  In the end some good decisions.

Headwinds Suck

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.