Weather Weather

I had a flight today to the Atlanta area and back.  I had thought looking at the forecasts it might be pretty easy with only scattered showers.  I was really wrong.  I woke up this morning to a line of storms forming across southern Georgia.  I thought they might dissapte by the time we left but they defied predictions and intensified.

I was not too concerned as there were gaps and the Eastern edge was not a big detour.  We departed in clear skies and were soon cruiding along and sizing up the line.  Things were changing pretty rapidly but most planes were sliding through over Hazelhurst, GA.  This was good for us as that was our direct course so we just cruised on up and and worked between one small cell to our left and some light rain to our right.

We were through pretty quickly and in person these were not very impressive storms.  Not that I wanted to fly in them but they were not very tall nor big.  

Our arrival into KPDK was a bit different than past trips.  I filed the WRGNZ3 arrival with the WRGNZ transition.   ATC let me fly it!!  In the past, just as we have gotten to WRGZN, they put me on vectors.  The other difference was that we had traffic ahead which required us to swing a bit North of the field and join final at around 3 miles.  It all worked and we soon touched down on 21L and taxied to the FBO.  We were there to visit our daughter and drop some stuff off.  After unloading and checking in we were picked up and headed off for food and visiting.

I looked at the storms and after we passed they started to fall apart.  I thought that was a good sign but around 1:30 I looked at the flight home and stuff was bubbling up everywhere.  We watched it for about and hour and then headed to the airport.  It was unclear what it would do but we figured we could at least get to Southern Georgia.

Our departure was easy but bumpy.  Heading up it was really hazy and the haze had not gotten better so while technically VFR, I was keeeping an eye on the instruments too.  Atlanta approach sent us East and climbed us to 9000 before sending us on our way.

The line of storms was blocking our return and we started making plans.  I initially asked for and was given direct Taylors VOR as there was a good size gap.  By the time we got closer the gap was shrinking and my vertical profile of the storm was showing tops at at least 40,000.  Even with a clear gap I could see through, did not want to mess with potential hail.  

We made the decision to invest 15 minutes of extra flying to be safer.  We updated our request to Valdosta and ATC was very accomodating.  This let us round the end of the line and stay upwind of the storms.  

Behind the line of storms the XM radar was showing lots of light rain.  Onboard radar showed just a little.  We slid around the line and then just had light sprinkles as we worked our way home.  The onboard radar gave us some good clues as to what deviations to request as it was hard to differentiate between haze and rain.

My last concern was whether we would have a storm at home.  That was the only weather forecast that held up.  There had been some sprinkles ealier but we arrived to high overcast and blue skies and soon had the plane away.    The detours and unfavorable winds added about 20 minutes extra but was well worth it to avoid the weather.  In the end it took a few extra minutes but we did go to Atlanta, spend 4.5 hours and get home in 9 hours total so the few extra minutes were not a big deal.

Fireworks

Fourth of  July means Fireworks!!!!!  I am sure there are rules against shooting explosives over you neighbors house but where I live, it seems to be more of a suggestion than a rule.  I have seen fireworks from a distance when flying and they always seemed a bit puny but I had never gotten up close.  Well not too close.  I had heard it was a good show so this year CC and I decided to have a look for ourselves.  Our plan was to cruise out to the beach and circle the show.  Our city used to do one big display but during COVID it was changed to several smaller ones.  This has actually worked well with more people being able to get to see a dsiplay closer to home and allowed us several options.

We headed out to the airport around dusk and were ready to depart about 10 minutes before the show.  This may sound like we were cutting it close but the show was 3 minutes away.  I departed and was handed off to departure where I picked up a code and wandered over to the Beach.  I went up to 1300' so as to provide some seperation with other traffic already circling.  No circling would imply some order, they were mulling.  I was going to need to work hard to avoid them as I was significantly faster than the 70-80 knots they were doing.  

I figured we would all be talking to approach because we were right up against an active squawk and talk TFR but no.  We had 3 planes talking to no one in no semblance of a pattern.  We did a few turns around but I was keeping the controller really busy calling traffic which we had in sight. I was busy lapping them and trying to guess what they would do next.  I decided it would be safer to see another set of fireworks so we cruised a few minutes over to the mall where we had our own private show.  After a few minutes there, we cruise over to the West bank to see that set.  The mall was a bit smaller but the river was as good as the beach.

We had both of these to ourselves so that was really nice.  We could also see the Downtown ones to the North.  Heading over I asked for a Navy JAX class D transition and approach said there was a blanket approval for the class D transitions but to stay off the runways...  We caught the finale on the West side which was right around 9:20.  There was one more show down in Saint Augustine at 9:30 so off we went.  It's amazing how fast you get around town at 150 mph.  Arriving, there was a sheriffs copter who was talking on the SGJ CTAF and he was already in a counterclockwise orbit.  We joined the circuit and watched a bit.  We then had another plane join and luckily she was talking too.  

Even with the talking she did not quite go where she said she would which meant some careful watching as we lapped here.  It was getting busy in the sky so we cruised back towards home.  While all the official fireworks were going off, there was a constant barrage of backyard stuff.  Some small but there was continuous stream of larger stuff, some going up a few hundred feet.  It was a great show and from above it looked like one continuous show across the city.  It was all fun and games untill we were landing where I had fireworks going off all around the airport.  Maybe they were not shot from the airport property but it looked like they were coming up feet from the fence. 

There was a layer of smoke drifting across final, visibility was still good but it looked ominous and with the flashes, it was all quite distracting.  We still managed to find the runway and have a safe but not as smooth as normal arrival.   Pictures are all courtesy of CC, I was way too busy flying to get any snapshots... 

More taxiing than flying

 

We took a quick flight today down to Saint Augustine to see the Wings and Wheels event.  It was great weather, hot but not oppressive, puffy clouds and good visibility.  We were not the only ones heading out and at both ends there was a line to depart.   Starting up, we had a quick taxi to runway 14 and with the 90 degree temps, the oil and engines were ready for runup almost immediattly.

We were only number two to depart but a plane made a mistake on the runway.  Then a flight of 4 army choppers had to arrive and then a bunch of arriving traffic.  Thankfully we have great AC so we sat back and watched the show.  After the short delay we were off to Saint Augustine, a 12 minute flight.  We were cleared to land and made an early turn off.  I assumed we would taxi down runway 2 but ground was not sure if it was clear so we went all the way to 6 and around.

We parked at Atlantic and shut down to go the the Wings and Wheel show.  The Coast Guard had flown in a chopper from Savannah and I stopped by to see a pilot I know.  We wandered through the show.  They had some cool planes and I saw a bunch of people I know.  At the end we looked at the cars but after a few I was thinking just another muscle car, just another care with hydraulics.  Yup, I'm not a car guy...

We said goodbye to people and headed back to the plane.  I was happy that even in the heat, starting was easy.  We had a quick taxi out to 13 and we luckily joined number 2 for departure.  There was a gaggle of planes hanging out too but I was done with my departure checks so I got in line.

I thought we would be on our way quickly, not much inbound traffic and it was well spaced.  I was wrong...  The controller was taking inbounds but not launching anyone.  To make matters worse the Cirrus that was number one had not pulled up to the line so he was making a mess of the planes behind.  Eventually after a few arrivals he let the Cirrus out.

I was thinking I would get out too but nope.  Then we just sat as people arrived with huge gaps between them and no departures.  After a long time we were released.  We left behind a mess of planes all vying for the next deparure slot.  Again 12 minutes to get home and arriving we got straight in to 32 which was a slight crosswind but a quick taxi to the hangar.

This year our average flight has been 1.5 hours in the air.  We have averaged 8 minutes of ground time for every hour flown.  Today we flew 24 minutes and had 36 minutes of ground time.  I think this is a record and would equate to 90 minutes of ground time per hour flown

I saw the light... ATP Bound

I recieved a call from the airport manager yesterday.  When I saw the caller ID I assumed it had something to do with our building project or the pilots group.  As usual, I was wrong.  It was about the airport beacon.  The beacon has been the subject of much derision over the years.  The airport sits among a sea of lights and is inherently hard to see.  The beacon which should wink white and green to catch your attention was never quite bright enough to do its job.  

Now it could have been it was bright but just pointing the wrong way but standing on the ground 100 yards aways it also looked dim so that probably wasn't it.  Brad told me they would be doing maintenance on the beacon and possibly had found some issues, so could I get some pilot reports on the post maintenance beacon.  

It was a bueatiful day witn great weather so I couldn't resist, I had to go look for myself.  This would be a late flight, sunset was 8:18 PM so we had to start at 8:48 or later.   I also had another goal in mind.  I don't have my ATP (Airline Transport Pilot Certificate).  It's true I don't need one.  I have my commercial but fly no commercial operations. That said, I have always toyed with the idea.  The basic requirements include being 23 years old, 1500 hours total time, 100 hours of night, 500 cross country, 75 intrument and 250 PIC.   

I have exceeded all these requirements for quite some time except night.  In fact I was at 99.7 hours as of yesterday.  So 18 minutes after starting up I tecnically became eligible to take the next steps along the ATP journey which includes studying, practicing, taking the ATP CTP program, a written test, an oral exam and a checkride.  There is one other criteria which is that one must be of "Good Moral Character".  Not sure how I will satisfy that one but maybe they will give me a pass.

Will I get the ATP, not really sure.  Part of me says, it would be good training.  Another part says I already am training to this standard and I will never ever actually use it.  My goal was to have all the basic requirements done this year so I can cogitate on it for a few months and decide if I want to go ahead with it next year.

Oh and the beacon.  That sucker is pretty bright now.  It was easy to see at 12 miles even with all the adjacent light clutter.  We also looked at some other local beacons and now ours is brighter than 2 others and looks about the same as a third.  Overall a great night flight.

Yup, Soggy Again

 

All that bad weather was supposed to have moved through by end of Sunday leaving an easy VFR flight home.  Well, Sunday night the forecast was for widespread low IFR most of the morning.  I was not happy about this but it would all burn off eventually and unlike Friday we had all day and even the night to get home.  When I awoke around 7:30, the KHEF was 200 overcast.  Not a great start but better than nearby Dulles at 100 indefinate.

The entire region was low but, I was not worried as the sun was rising and would heat the air and make things better.  Samantha picked us up right on time at 9:30 and we were off to Manassas.  I checked the weather as we travelled and we were up to 500 with 6 miles visibility.  Charlottesville which is about 50 miles away was VFR.  We had what we needed for departure so we had a decision to go but I knew things would get better.

We arrived at the airport and did a leisurly preflight, I saw an incoming crew and they told me the tops were a bit over 2000 and bases 700.  This matched the latest weather so we fired up, copied our clearance and headed for the runway.  They are doing a bunch of construction and the runway end was cut off.  This meant a back taxi to get full length.  We had one other IFR ahead of us so by the time he back taxied and departed, we had to sit about 5 minutes while he got out of the way.

Tower cleared us to back taxi and go and that's what we did.  We flew the standard departure with climb via except to stop at 2000.  It's an easy departure, straight to 800, climbing right turn to 2000, then proceed over the fix, the VOR and then another VOR.  Like advertised, tops were around 2500, I hand flew it until we started our climb above the clouds. Like previous trips, after the first fix, we got a vector and some step climbs and were soon at 10,000 or to be precise one zero thousand.

I chose 10,000 for the better tailwind but it was slightly better at 8000.  We stayed there becasue it kept us over all the clouds, we were making close to 200 knots and it was smooth.  We had plenty of gas to get home but I wanted to try a new fuel stop.  MidCoast Regional just South of Savannah is a joint use field.  They were advertising cheap gas and it had great reviews.  I wanted to check it out.

Approaching Savannah are I expected to start down about 70 miles out.  The reality was they kept me high until around 40 miles.  This meant a steeper than normal descent which the Baron excels at.  We came down around 950 fpm which is more than I like especially with passengers.  CC being seasoned was good with the slam dunk and we were soon touching down and rolling up to self serve.

The reviews were right on.  The equipment was good and the facilities fresh and clean.  I saw that after hours you can enter with a code which is always good to know.  Out bound we were stuck behind a student that was taxiing much slower than a person can walk. Everyone has to learn and after a short delay we were cleared to back taxi and depart.  This runway does not have a taxiway to the end so you take half or back taxi.

I again enjoyed hand flying the departure through clouds from 2000 to almost 6000.  We cruised along mostly just above the clouds, but dipped into a few.  Again we had a steep arrival but we were number one and landed smoothly on runway 5.  Maybe I am getting better?  

So after all the preperation and contingency plans, I openned the hangar, got in the car, and the battery was dead.  Not totally dead, just mostly dead.  I pushed the car out while CC steered so I could get the plane back in.  The FBO  manager came by, found some jumper cables and the car started right up with the extra juice.  Another successful trip in the books and I even got the battery replaced a short while later.

Graduation

Graduation takes 2.5 days. A lot longer than I remember from when I did it but as the parents, you sort of go with the flow.  It also involved way more clothe than I typically wear in a month. As someone that thinks that nice shorts are good enough for a formal event, I was in for a shock.  We arrived at our hotel and switched out of our flying clothe and into business casual clothe for the first event.   We did sneak in a snack first.  You will find that eating and changing are recurring themes of graduating.   I went Vegan for about 20 minutes as I ate a falafel from the place next to the hotel.  It was quite good but my Vegan adventure did not last.  After that it was off to the Law Campus to begin the graduation process.

We attended a reception to celebrate the students that had contributed to a professors book, our daughter included.  We had light appetizers here and they offered cake but I passed.  It was vanilla, whats the point in that?  This was followed by the first of two graduations that we would attend.  The school does 7 graduations over 2 days by law class section.  The advantage is that they are fast.  Each lasts 35-40 minutes and graduates around 100 students.  Section 2 kicked off at 5 PM and we were there to see Sam’s boyfriend. 

After the ceremony there was another reception where we had heavy hors d’oeuvres.  We then headed back towards Sam's place, picked up dinner along the way and brought it back to her apartment where we all ate and congratulated the first graduate.  

After our early start Friday we slept in Saturday. Saturday had started very rainy. We had good luck with the weather from a flying perspective, less so with graduation.    Keeping with the food theme, mid day we grabbed some snacks and then headed over to graduation two a bit early to get good seats.  The rain came down but we had borrowed a hotel umbrella so we stayed mostly dry.  It was deja vu all over again as the two ceremonies were quite similar.  Samantha walked across the stage and just like that, she graduated.  If I knew it was that easy, I would have snuck in line.  Graduation is high tech now.  Each student was given a QR code.  As they reached the stage, the code was scanned and the name which was pre recorded was read.

We again attended the reception and had the same food options as a Friday.  This time we knew what was tastiest so we focused on the best food.  Sam gave us a tour of the library and showed us all the places she supposedly studied.  Not sure I believe that she did but we went along with the program.  We had just enough time to head back to the hotel, snack, clean up and head out for the graduation Gala. 

The Gala was at the a National Portrait Gallery. The building has a stunning courtyard which was transformed for the event.  We arrived on time and at first it was open and empty, a bit later it was chock full of people.  After another meal, some photos and two dessert, we headed off to see the portraits.

We have been before but I alway enjoy the gallery, especially the Hall of Presidents.  It was quite popular, I was not the only history nerd present.  We then cruised the other halls enjoying the art.  After a while the lady’s complained that their feet were starting to hurt, I was fine but then again I wasn’t wearing heels.  We headed back to the hotel to rest up for Sunday.

Sunday we had to be up early, we were supposed to depart for Georgetown the campus at noon. Commencement was at 3 but it’s about 20 minutes away and Sam had to check in at 1:30. We would use the time to stroll the area.   We have always spent our time touring around the national mall so this was new to us. We departed not quite knowing what to expect. She already graduated, what would commencing do?  Also it was supposed to have Jerome Powell but we were told he got COVID so we continued on blind faith. 

Samantha drove us to Georgetown the area and we found a parking garage. We wandered a bit and then sent Samantha to check in.  We hung out and ate lobster rolls and then cruised the area a bit before making our way over to the campus.  It was all set up on a nice green lush lawn.  The only issue is that it has rained all Saturday and the ground here is not like Florida which is sandy and tends to percolate quickly. This became one big mud puddle.  

After crossing through some squishy ground, I found us some of the few seats on a brick path under the tent. I was quite happy with our selection.   The graduates started marching in slowly about 35 minutes before three, this was good as all the butts were in the seats by 3 PM.  The ceremony was interesting. They bestowed an Honarary degree on an alumni that had among other things argued Loving vs. Virginia at the Supreme Court. 

The second honorary degree was for Jerome Powell.  I guess if you speak you get a degree.  Note to self, don't waste time on school, just talk at the commencement.  Due to Jerome being COVID positive, he attended remotely, or more precicely, pre-recorded.  He had an interesting speech which didn't go too long where we learned he is a Rocky Horror fan and knows the time warp.  Not sure what the market will do with this tidbit.

To conclude,they had the JDs stand and the degrees were confirmed en masse.  I wonder if the registrar was watching live so that they could make it official right way.  I am thinking no, and that it will be several weeks before they actual show as graduates in the school system.

DC Bound, Again

I don’t like waking up early.  Very few things willl get me out of bed before 7AM but flying and daughter graduating motivated me to be up and going at 6 AM.   We needed to get moving to join her for graduation celebrations.  This is the worst type of trip because we really needed to be in DC on Saturday morning, latest.  Most flights if I scrub I might lose a hotel deposit but that’s about it, vacations can be rescheduled and same for  meetings.  Graduation is a must go.

Since it was a must go, we had backups. We could grab a commercial flight, there are many each day or even drive.  It’s around an 11 hour drive so that wouldn’t be pleasant but with 2 people, not too hard.  We later learned that the driving backup was not as good a plan as we thought but that's another story.

I had been watching the weather and we looked good.  Even the most pessimistic forecasts were well within our go criteria. It was possible that we would have marginal VFR on arrival but that would not be an issue.  The wildcard is having a mechanical issue.  That’s why we went a day early and had two backup plans.  In the end everything checked out and after my super early wake up, we fired up around 7:20 and taxied out.  

We were soon climbing to 9000. I did notice the plane was not as peppy now that it's warmer.  We had full gas and some extra luggage combined with the warmer temperatures which meant longer ground rolls and slower climbs.  I have gotten used to getting to 9000 in less than 8 minutes, today it was close to 9.  As usual we had a small headwind.  We also had weather moving in from the West, another reason for the early departure.  I had decided to grab cheap gas along the way at Rocky Mount in North Carolina.  We have stopped there before and it’s a great fuel stop.  Easy in and out, long runway, good approaches, cheap gas, good pumps and clean bathroom.

They have always been friendly but today as we shut down at self serve, a golf cart arrived to provide us iced waters and a ride to the restroom.  We gladly took the water but turned down the ride.  After sitting for 2 hours a short walk was what we needed.  While I was fueling the line guy noticed a large turtle. I stayed focused on the fueling but CC wandered over for a closer look.

We are pretty good at quick turns and Flightaware showed us on the ground for 20 minutes.  Not a record but pretty darn good.  Climbing back to altitude takes some time but you save a bit on the descent to land.  Overall a fuel stop like this costs 25 minutes and about 6 gallons of gas.  Overall, this stop only saved us around $65 after accounting for the extra fuel but it made the trip a bit more comfortable.  Some stops can shave up to $200 off a route.  

Our arrival into Manassas was interesting.  They were calling it 2000 overcast and we were given direct to BRV for the GPS 34R approach.  I programmed everything and then began my briefing and double checking.  Things looked good until I proceeded to check the fixes and they seemed wrong.  I took a second look and realized I had loaded the 34L approach.  

I reloaded the correct one and re briefed, this time everything lined up and we were ready to go.  We flew the BRV transition  but as we neared BRV we were given Direct HANOK and descended to 2000.  HANOK is the Initial Fix and as we passed  3300 we dropped into the clouds.  crossing HANOK, we tracked inbound and leveled at 2000.  We were still solid IMC but as we began down the clouds parted and around 1800 the field appeared.

The final approach is not directly aligned with the runway but it’s close enough so after a slight turn we were good.  I did a great job rolling the plane onto the runway.  I am getting more and more greaser landings but I still am not as consistent as I was with the Bonanza.  The others aren’t bad per se, just not as good.  We easily made the high speed taxiway and we’re soon shutting down at the APP Jet Center.  My daughter had tracked us and arrived just as we did and pulled up plane side to load our junk.  After checking in we were off to begin the graduation festivities.