For those not in the aviation world, it may be a surprise to discover that all aircraft must have an inspection at least every year, where the entire airframe and power plant (engine) are inspected for signs of wear and essential items repaired or replaced when needed. For commercial aircraft, this inspection must be completed every 100 hours of flight. My bird was in for its Annual Inspection recently with Duncan Aviation in Greenville, SC.
Doug has always done a great job for me, and this year was no exception. After 1 week at the shop, all items were complete and the plane ready for pickup. Unfortunately, this was the same day my partner in my medical practice was leaving for vacation, so I had to wait before being able to retrieve the plane. My chance to do so came yesterday.
My hangar-mate, Lee, was free to fly me down to Greenville yesterday, so I met him at the airport after completing morning office hours and we departed to Greenville. There was a scattered layer of clouds at 1500-2000 feet and a high overcast at 4000-5000 feet with scattered precipitation between Wilkes County and our destination. Forecasts were calling for scattered thunderstorms later in the afternoon. We picked up our IFR clearance after departure and quickly entered IMC. Before long we were getting a nice plane washing, but having an overall smooth ride.
En route, we heard an interesting conversation between ATC and another pilot. This pilot was apparently traveling east over the Appalachian mountains on a VFR flight plan and had entered IMC. He wanted to know "if we have passed that big mountain yet." ATC advised him of the minimum IFR en route altitude to avoid terrain and the pilot reported that he would climb. There were a few other interchanges between the two, and we could not believe how unprepared the pilot seemed to be for his flight. Apparently a VFR flight over mountains that were shrouded in low clouds and IFR conditions predominant in the area. When finally he was asked if he was IFR capable, the answer was "negative, but I have a GPS and autopilot, a G1000," somewhat proudly. He was then asked if he was familiar with his destination airport, and that was also a big "negative." Lee and I both looked at each other, almost expecting to hear ATC at any minute announce that radar contact had been lost... VFR flights into IMC are a leading cause of aviation accidents, and this seemed to be a recipe for disaster. However, we were then switched to another controller, and did not hear how this one played out.
On the ground in Greenville, N709RB was sitting in the hangar, washed and looking beautiful after inspection. We reviewed the logbooks and I began my Post Annual Inspection. This is a more detailed inspection of the aircraft than the usual preflight routine to be sure there are no maintenance induced failures that could cause a problem when airborne. This included removing the cowling and taking a look at all the engine components (thanks Turbo Bob!). This was a great learning experience and Doug took time to point out little nuances here and there to look for "under the hood."
With all inspections complete and looking ready to fly, I filed to depart Greenville back to Wilkes County. The overcast remained high at 6000 feet, so I filed for 5000 to stay under it. Takeoff was great with no issues, the bird humming along as usual, but 10 minutes into the flight I was directed to climb to 7000 for traffic. Quickly in the soup, I watched rain pelt the windscreen for the next half hour, but once again nice smooth air. I was vectored for the approach in to Wilkes County and broke out of the overcast to see the runway waiting below. Wheels on the ground, I taxied back to the hangar, glad to have her back home.
View the flight home here.
Saturday, July 16, 2011
Sunday, July 10, 2011
Father's Day Flight
I flew down since I had to be back home the Monday after Father's Day for work, and my wife was planning to spend some time in Georgia for a few days on the way home. My oldest daughter has had an aversion to flying for over a year now, and was not particularly interested in flying at all. So that left me flying down alone and planning to fly home alone. However, as the days wound down on our vacation, she indicated some interest in flying home with me. This got her younger sister interested too and before I knew it, they were both planning on flying home with me on Sunday. The plan was to leave especially early to avoid any turbulence buildup throughout the day and then go to Concord Mall after we got home. I kept a close eye on the weather, because I wanted this to be a great re-introductory flight for them.
On the morning of the flight, there was a slow moving frontal system scheduled to arrive at home by early afternoon. We departed at 7:30 AM for the 2.5 hour flight home from the beach. I had my iPad charged up with some movies on it, so we plugged that into the auxiliary input jack in the back and the girls watched movies during the flight. Smooth climb to cruise at 9000 feet and completely smooth ride all the way a;long our flight path. As we approached South Carolina, it became apparent the the front was moving in to our flight path earlier than expected, so I was able to negotiate a path to the east of Charlotte in order to avoid clouds and bumps. ATC was accommodating and we had no issues avoiding the weather.
See the flight track here
With about 15 minutes left in the flight, we did have some mild turbulence, but the girls were unaffected by it. By this time, they had stopped watching movies and watched the Charlotte skyline pass to our left. We descended over the Brushy Mountains and entered final for the runway at Wilkes County. We touched down and taxied to the hangar, glad to be home. Just as we shut down and exited the plane, the first rain drops fell. We got in the car and headed for the mall. As we left, I queried my elder daughter on how she enjoyed the flight. "Not bad, Dad, I think we can do that again" - probably the best Father's Day gift I've had in some time. Spending time with them was great - 2:45 flight, then all day at the mall, getting in two movies as well. We got home tired, but having had a great day.
We have now made plans for two upcoming family flights based on the success of this one and the girls' renewed interest in flight. Niagara Falls and Baltimore. Will let you know how those go.
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Angel Flight #4
I had a surprise day off on Monday. I discovered this last Thursday, and quickly decided that it would be a flying day. I had not ben able to fly at all so far this month due to work, and the previous weekend that I had off had been filled with bad weather and me feeling under the weather, so a flying day was long overdue. So, when I determined I could fly on Monday, I went to check out the missions page at Angel Flight to see if I could help out. All missions for Monday were filled, but I let the mission coordinator know that I was available if something should come up. On Easter Sunday, I found out about a flight taking a patient home from Augusta, GA to Cleveland, TN.
Robert is a 54 year-old factory worker who was cooking last Fall and had his shirt catch fire from his range. He suffered significant burns on his back and has required treatment at the JMS Burn Center. His latest treatment involved having skin grafts taken from his left leg and placed on his back. He had been in Augusta for several days for this last treatment and was looking forward to get back home to see his family. As he explained to me, since he has been unable to work, his wife has had to work more to keep the family afloat, and is unable to take the time off to travel with him, so he was alone and ready to be back home.
After touchdown in Augusta, I found him standing outside the terminal building waiting. He is most comfortable standing due to the location of the burns on his back and the recent skin grafts from the back of his leg. Sitting for any amount of time is not comfortable and the transition from siting to standing causes a great deal of pain, so he stands much of the time to avoid this. Fortunately, our flight was going to be right at 1 hour, versus 5 hours in a car to make the trip home. He was very grateful to have reduced time being uncomfortable while traveling.
Robert is the most appreciative passenger I've had yet. As soon as we met and shook hands, he thanked me twice for volunteering to fly him home. I lost count of the number of times he thanked me during and after the flight. I've never questioned the impact Angel Flights have on those they serve, but if anyone had any doubts, Robert would be sure to put those aside. He spoke of the ways Angel Flights have really been a blessing to him, allowing him to have world-class medical care far from home in a more convenient fashion. He spoke of the flights he has had so far, and how much he has become interested in flying and enjoys learning about how it all works. He spoke of perhaps becoming a pilot himself one day, and volunteering to provide Angel Flights to those in need.
Robert is very talkative with a great attitude, despite his current injury. We loaded up for departure and found a place for him in the back seat where he could stretch out and ride more comfortably. We departed Augusta with direct routing to Cleveland. Robert chatted the entire trip, and I learned about him growing up in Louisiana, then spending time in Alabama, before moving to Tennessee. He has had several different careers, including managing a number of the portrait studios located in Wal-Mart stores and being a cross country commercial trucker. His current job is working at the Mars candy factory, where he can eat as much of the candy he wants while there, but he has grown tired of all the sweets for now.
We cruised at 8000 feet and had a ground speed of 188 knots for the 1 hour trip. We had a broken undercast for the flight and found scattered building cumulous near the destination. We were able to easily avoid the turbulent clouds during descent and other than being slam dunked into the airport by Chattanooga Approach, had no real issues with the flight. Robert remarked at how quickly the Cirrus was able to reach cruising altitude and how advanced the cockpit was. He enjoyed listening to my interactions with ATC and made several inquisitive remarks about the air traffic process. He asked me to explain the aerodynamic forces that cause lift from the wings. He had heard some different explanations before but had a hard time grasping it. I explained it to him from a pressure difference perspective which seemed to allow him to have an "a-ha" moment and get a better perspective on what was happening.
The flight passed quickly with Robert's congeniality and we touched down at his local airport. It took several minutes for him to slowly stand and depart the plane, but we got in to the terminal with no issues. He thanked me several times again and headed home.
I departed feeling pretty good at being able to help Robert get home. He provided some much needed encouragement for me. His great attitude in the face of a burn injury was inspiring. He saw this as a minor bump in the road and is not going to let it slow him down for long. If we could all approach life's problems in this way, we would thrive much better than we seem to at times. Any problems I may have pale in comparison to Robert's challenges, and I am better able to deal with them, using his inspiration.
Robert is a 54 year-old factory worker who was cooking last Fall and had his shirt catch fire from his range. He suffered significant burns on his back and has required treatment at the JMS Burn Center. His latest treatment involved having skin grafts taken from his left leg and placed on his back. He had been in Augusta for several days for this last treatment and was looking forward to get back home to see his family. As he explained to me, since he has been unable to work, his wife has had to work more to keep the family afloat, and is unable to take the time off to travel with him, so he was alone and ready to be back home.
After touchdown in Augusta, I found him standing outside the terminal building waiting. He is most comfortable standing due to the location of the burns on his back and the recent skin grafts from the back of his leg. Sitting for any amount of time is not comfortable and the transition from siting to standing causes a great deal of pain, so he stands much of the time to avoid this. Fortunately, our flight was going to be right at 1 hour, versus 5 hours in a car to make the trip home. He was very grateful to have reduced time being uncomfortable while traveling.
Robert is the most appreciative passenger I've had yet. As soon as we met and shook hands, he thanked me twice for volunteering to fly him home. I lost count of the number of times he thanked me during and after the flight. I've never questioned the impact Angel Flights have on those they serve, but if anyone had any doubts, Robert would be sure to put those aside. He spoke of the ways Angel Flights have really been a blessing to him, allowing him to have world-class medical care far from home in a more convenient fashion. He spoke of the flights he has had so far, and how much he has become interested in flying and enjoys learning about how it all works. He spoke of perhaps becoming a pilot himself one day, and volunteering to provide Angel Flights to those in need.
Robert is very talkative with a great attitude, despite his current injury. We loaded up for departure and found a place for him in the back seat where he could stretch out and ride more comfortably. We departed Augusta with direct routing to Cleveland. Robert chatted the entire trip, and I learned about him growing up in Louisiana, then spending time in Alabama, before moving to Tennessee. He has had several different careers, including managing a number of the portrait studios located in Wal-Mart stores and being a cross country commercial trucker. His current job is working at the Mars candy factory, where he can eat as much of the candy he wants while there, but he has grown tired of all the sweets for now.
The flight passed quickly with Robert's congeniality and we touched down at his local airport. It took several minutes for him to slowly stand and depart the plane, but we got in to the terminal with no issues. He thanked me several times again and headed home.
I departed feeling pretty good at being able to help Robert get home. He provided some much needed encouragement for me. His great attitude in the face of a burn injury was inspiring. He saw this as a minor bump in the road and is not going to let it slow him down for long. If we could all approach life's problems in this way, we would thrive much better than we seem to at times. Any problems I may have pale in comparison to Robert's challenges, and I am better able to deal with them, using his inspiration.
Monday, April 4, 2011
Learning About the Weather
Weather is the one thing that has a bigger impact on pilots than any other single factor. As pilots, we are constantly having to monitor the weather forecasts, current conditions, and how this could affect out flight plans. Unfortunately, current FAA training does a poor job of getting a pilot prepared for real-world weather observation and what that means to flying. After getting my Private Certificate, my understanding of weather was limited to only flying in VFR conditions and relying on forecasts to determine if those conditions exist. If they did, I could fly. If not, I was grounded. Pretty simple and basic understanding, I guess.
Once I started working on my Instrument Rating, weather became a bit more tricky. In IFR conditions, you are allowed to fly into clouds, so figuring out what is going on with clouds and how they affect your flight become more important. Of course, I knew not to fly near thunderstorms, as these can prematurely end a flight, and not by getting you to your destination quickly. As a general rule, 20 mile circumnavigation of thunderstorms prevents entering conditions that can lead to loss of control or catastrophic structural failure of an airframe. The biggest surprise to me was learning about icing.
Looking up in the sky, those clouds we see are composed of collections of water vapor. Take into account that any increase in altitude typically results in dropping temperature. At some point, the temperature will reach freezing or below, which means the water vapor freezes, especially when coming into contact with a cold airframe, leading to ice accumulation. During the winter, with temperatures near freezing on the ground, it doesn't take much altitude to find that one cannot enter the clouds at all due to the risk of icing. Many times, in my part of the world, winter means flying in VFR conditions only due to this problem.
With completion of my Instrument Rating, I had a better working knowledge of weather, figuring out how to avoid icing and conditions that can result in reduced visibility while flying. However, it was still a rudimentary understanding of how to figure out when to fly and when to stay on the ground.
I have found one resource that has been absolutely essential in my gaining a better understanding of weather and how it relates to flying. Aviation Weather Workshops has a collection of on-line courses that really break it out for pilots to learn all the nuances of forecasting weather and collecting vital information to make a flight as safe as possible. It has been an invaluable resource for me this past year in expanding my aviation weather knowledge. Yesterday, I spent time doing multiple modules on utilizing Skew-T Log(p) Diagrams to predict various weather conditions along a route of flight. It is beginning to move me from one who solely uses the forecasts and predictions of others to being able to use this additional tool to supplement my understanding of conditions that may be encountered during a flight. I am continuing to work on these diagrams to observe and predict weather conditions. I would encourage other pilots to consider joining Aviation Weather Workshops to learn more about weather and flying.
Once I started working on my Instrument Rating, weather became a bit more tricky. In IFR conditions, you are allowed to fly into clouds, so figuring out what is going on with clouds and how they affect your flight become more important. Of course, I knew not to fly near thunderstorms, as these can prematurely end a flight, and not by getting you to your destination quickly. As a general rule, 20 mile circumnavigation of thunderstorms prevents entering conditions that can lead to loss of control or catastrophic structural failure of an airframe. The biggest surprise to me was learning about icing.
Looking up in the sky, those clouds we see are composed of collections of water vapor. Take into account that any increase in altitude typically results in dropping temperature. At some point, the temperature will reach freezing or below, which means the water vapor freezes, especially when coming into contact with a cold airframe, leading to ice accumulation. During the winter, with temperatures near freezing on the ground, it doesn't take much altitude to find that one cannot enter the clouds at all due to the risk of icing. Many times, in my part of the world, winter means flying in VFR conditions only due to this problem.
With completion of my Instrument Rating, I had a better working knowledge of weather, figuring out how to avoid icing and conditions that can result in reduced visibility while flying. However, it was still a rudimentary understanding of how to figure out when to fly and when to stay on the ground.
I have found one resource that has been absolutely essential in my gaining a better understanding of weather and how it relates to flying. Aviation Weather Workshops has a collection of on-line courses that really break it out for pilots to learn all the nuances of forecasting weather and collecting vital information to make a flight as safe as possible. It has been an invaluable resource for me this past year in expanding my aviation weather knowledge. Yesterday, I spent time doing multiple modules on utilizing Skew-T Log(p) Diagrams to predict various weather conditions along a route of flight. It is beginning to move me from one who solely uses the forecasts and predictions of others to being able to use this additional tool to supplement my understanding of conditions that may be encountered during a flight. I am continuing to work on these diagrams to observe and predict weather conditions. I would encourage other pilots to consider joining Aviation Weather Workshops to learn more about weather and flying.
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Angel Flight #3
I did my third Angel Flight on Friday. This was to help transport Mary back home to South Carolina from her chemotherapy in Philadelphia. She has been doing this for over a year, making most of the trips back and forth with Angel Flights.
I hurriedly finished up seeing patients in the office that morning and got out and on my way over to the airport by 11:40. Grabbed a burger through the drive-in and preflighted the plane. All was good and departed Wilkes County to South Hill, Virginia. This was the designated drop-off point for her first leg from Philadelphia. I was picking her up here for her final leg home to Hartsville, South Carolina. The flight over was good, as I had a 2000 foot thick overcast layer to get over and then beautiful sunny skies all the way there. I also had a 35 knot tailwind giving me a ground speed of 200 knots all the way over. Descended thought the cloud layer and landed uneventfully. The airport here is configured in the same direction as that at Wilkes County, 19/1, but about a thousand feet shorter than home.
I got to the terminal and found Mary and her sister, Bobbie, having a snack and talking with the pilot from their first leg, Richard. We signed the necessary waivers, loaded the luggage and were off to South Carolina. Bobbie sat up front as co-pilot. She has no formal training but was very interested in the way everything worked. I was happy to explain it all to her. Mary sat in the back just taking in the scenery. We had to penetrate the cloud layer again to get up to cruising altitude and this time, encountered some light ice accumulation during the final 400 feet. My TKS system performed flawlessly, with the only ice accumulation seen on the wing tips, which is not protected by the TKS. Once we were above the cloud layer, the outside temperature quickly rose to 9 degrees C and the small amount of ice was gone.
We were able to get direct routing to Hartsville, which took us over Raleigh-Durham International at 8000 feet. With a solid cloud layer below us, it was exciting to see the departing commercial airliner traffic pop up through the layer and continuing climbing en route to their destinations. ATC was great at keeping us direct and preventing any issues with traffic conflicts. About an hour into the flight, the solid undercast broke into clear skies, just as we were beginning our descent. We announced our arrival to Hartsville, and touched down, taxiing to the terminal for drop-off. Mary departed and thanked me for the ride. Bobbie needed a lift to her home in Concord, NC, which was directly on my way home, so we loaded up and departed for Concord. Takeoff allowed us to overfly the nearby Robinson Nuclear Power Plant. After a short, 20 minute flight, we touched down at Concord, and I walked Bobbie and her luggage in to the terminal.
With my passengers at their destinations, I departed on a VFR flight back home. This was my first VFR flight in quite some time, as I usually file and fly an IFR flight plan, regardless of weather. However, the weather was great for the short hop home. As I stayed below the Class B airspace of Charlotte, I marveled at how fortunate I am to be able to have flying as a break away from the ordinary and as a way to enjoy exploring the country. Being able to quickly get to different places and met new people is an extremely rewarding experience. Crossing the Brushy Mountains, I had the airport in sight and entered the pattern to land on Runway 19 at Wilkes County. Having flown 450 nautical miles since lunch, I was home in time to take my kids out to dinner at their favorite Japanese Steakhouse.
I hurriedly finished up seeing patients in the office that morning and got out and on my way over to the airport by 11:40. Grabbed a burger through the drive-in and preflighted the plane. All was good and departed Wilkes County to South Hill, Virginia. This was the designated drop-off point for her first leg from Philadelphia. I was picking her up here for her final leg home to Hartsville, South Carolina. The flight over was good, as I had a 2000 foot thick overcast layer to get over and then beautiful sunny skies all the way there. I also had a 35 knot tailwind giving me a ground speed of 200 knots all the way over. Descended thought the cloud layer and landed uneventfully. The airport here is configured in the same direction as that at Wilkes County, 19/1, but about a thousand feet shorter than home.
I got to the terminal and found Mary and her sister, Bobbie, having a snack and talking with the pilot from their first leg, Richard. We signed the necessary waivers, loaded the luggage and were off to South Carolina. Bobbie sat up front as co-pilot. She has no formal training but was very interested in the way everything worked. I was happy to explain it all to her. Mary sat in the back just taking in the scenery. We had to penetrate the cloud layer again to get up to cruising altitude and this time, encountered some light ice accumulation during the final 400 feet. My TKS system performed flawlessly, with the only ice accumulation seen on the wing tips, which is not protected by the TKS. Once we were above the cloud layer, the outside temperature quickly rose to 9 degrees C and the small amount of ice was gone.
We were able to get direct routing to Hartsville, which took us over Raleigh-Durham International at 8000 feet. With a solid cloud layer below us, it was exciting to see the departing commercial airliner traffic pop up through the layer and continuing climbing en route to their destinations. ATC was great at keeping us direct and preventing any issues with traffic conflicts. About an hour into the flight, the solid undercast broke into clear skies, just as we were beginning our descent. We announced our arrival to Hartsville, and touched down, taxiing to the terminal for drop-off. Mary departed and thanked me for the ride. Bobbie needed a lift to her home in Concord, NC, which was directly on my way home, so we loaded up and departed for Concord. Takeoff allowed us to overfly the nearby Robinson Nuclear Power Plant. After a short, 20 minute flight, we touched down at Concord, and I walked Bobbie and her luggage in to the terminal.
With my passengers at their destinations, I departed on a VFR flight back home. This was my first VFR flight in quite some time, as I usually file and fly an IFR flight plan, regardless of weather. However, the weather was great for the short hop home. As I stayed below the Class B airspace of Charlotte, I marveled at how fortunate I am to be able to have flying as a break away from the ordinary and as a way to enjoy exploring the country. Being able to quickly get to different places and met new people is an extremely rewarding experience. Crossing the Brushy Mountains, I had the airport in sight and entered the pattern to land on Runway 19 at Wilkes County. Having flown 450 nautical miles since lunch, I was home in time to take my kids out to dinner at their favorite Japanese Steakhouse.
Saturday, March 19, 2011
No Post In Almost 2 Years?!?/Angel Flights
Looks like I am not a very prolific poster. What's happened for me in the flying world during this time?
I've gained over 100 hours more experience in my Cirrus SR 22. That's not bad considering that I leased it to a friend for 6 months last year while his aircraft was repaired after an unusual accident. Got my bird back in November and have been taking every opportunity to fly when not having to fulfill work obligations.
I have made 2 Angel Flights so far this year. My first was in January, flying the second leg of a trip for a woman from Dawsonville, GA who was in Tampa for specialized treatments. I picked up the patient and her daughter in Thomasville, GA and we had a very nice flight to Gainesville, GA, where her husband was there to take her home. Apparently, if you draw a more or less straight line from Thomasville to Gainesville, you will pass through Cordele, Macon, and Bethlehem. Our flight took us right over my hometown (where my parents still live), the place I attended undergrad, medical school, and got married (hello to the in-laws, who still live there), and almost directly over my sister's house. So I gave an aerial tour of the state with personal history during our 1 hour and 15 minute flight.
My second flight was last weekend, when I picked up Will and his mother in Charlotte to fly them to Cincinnati for a checkup with his specialist. He is a 12 year-old who was quite a pro at these flights in small planes. He stopped counting his trips after reaching 60 flights. We did fly directly over Wilkesboro, but both Will and his mom were soon asleep in the back. We departed mid-morning on a Saturday into some of the strongest headwinds I've encountered while flying. At one point, we had 70 knots blowing in to us and my ground speed was just under 110 knots. I felt like I was flying the old 172 again. After beginning our descent in to Cincinnati, we saw some incredible flooding of the Ohio river with many buildings surrounded by muddy water. We also encounter some significant low level turbulence that made for an interesting approach. However, we were fortunate to be landing on a crosswind runway that had us directly in to the wind on final approach.
After dropping off Will and his mom, I refueled and had lunch at the Sky Galley restaurant. Nice fish and chips to recharge and then back in the air to get back home. Now, with a 60 knot tailwind and climbing to 13,000 feet, I nearly doubled my groundspeed to 208 knots, and made it back to Wilkesboro in just over an hour. Coming across the Blue Ridge Mountains and beginning my descent, ATC advised me to be on the lookout for reported mountain wave activity. I tightened the seatbelt, preparing for the last bit of turbulence for the day, and at about 8500 feet, hit the first wave. Being sure that I had the power reduced to maintain normal operating speed, I endured several minutes of downdrafts and updrafts making my way over the mountains, getting the field in sight at Wilkesboro, and touching down uneventfully.
My next Angel Flight is scheduled for Friday, when I will take someone from Virginia to South Carolina. Tune in next time to hear all about it. I will try to be better at keeping this updated.
I've gained over 100 hours more experience in my Cirrus SR 22. That's not bad considering that I leased it to a friend for 6 months last year while his aircraft was repaired after an unusual accident. Got my bird back in November and have been taking every opportunity to fly when not having to fulfill work obligations.
I have made 2 Angel Flights so far this year. My first was in January, flying the second leg of a trip for a woman from Dawsonville, GA who was in Tampa for specialized treatments. I picked up the patient and her daughter in Thomasville, GA and we had a very nice flight to Gainesville, GA, where her husband was there to take her home. Apparently, if you draw a more or less straight line from Thomasville to Gainesville, you will pass through Cordele, Macon, and Bethlehem. Our flight took us right over my hometown (where my parents still live), the place I attended undergrad, medical school, and got married (hello to the in-laws, who still live there), and almost directly over my sister's house. So I gave an aerial tour of the state with personal history during our 1 hour and 15 minute flight.
My second flight was last weekend, when I picked up Will and his mother in Charlotte to fly them to Cincinnati for a checkup with his specialist. He is a 12 year-old who was quite a pro at these flights in small planes. He stopped counting his trips after reaching 60 flights. We did fly directly over Wilkesboro, but both Will and his mom were soon asleep in the back. We departed mid-morning on a Saturday into some of the strongest headwinds I've encountered while flying. At one point, we had 70 knots blowing in to us and my ground speed was just under 110 knots. I felt like I was flying the old 172 again. After beginning our descent in to Cincinnati, we saw some incredible flooding of the Ohio river with many buildings surrounded by muddy water. We also encounter some significant low level turbulence that made for an interesting approach. However, we were fortunate to be landing on a crosswind runway that had us directly in to the wind on final approach.
After dropping off Will and his mom, I refueled and had lunch at the Sky Galley restaurant. Nice fish and chips to recharge and then back in the air to get back home. Now, with a 60 knot tailwind and climbing to 13,000 feet, I nearly doubled my groundspeed to 208 knots, and made it back to Wilkesboro in just over an hour. Coming across the Blue Ridge Mountains and beginning my descent, ATC advised me to be on the lookout for reported mountain wave activity. I tightened the seatbelt, preparing for the last bit of turbulence for the day, and at about 8500 feet, hit the first wave. Being sure that I had the power reduced to maintain normal operating speed, I endured several minutes of downdrafts and updrafts making my way over the mountains, getting the field in sight at Wilkesboro, and touching down uneventfully.
My next Angel Flight is scheduled for Friday, when I will take someone from Virginia to South Carolina. Tune in next time to hear all about it. I will try to be better at keeping this updated.
Saturday, April 4, 2009
Cherry Blossom Trip
We had a nice flight from Wilkes to Macon on March 20 and 22 for the first weekend of the Cherry Blossom Festival. For both the trip down and back, we had afternoon flights, which always lend themselves to bumpy rides. Sure enough, leaving North Carolina Friday afternoon, we were in a light chop with a few choice bumps at 6000 feet until we could get higher over Greenville/Spartanburg. Once we got up above the PBL, things smoothed out and it was fairly uneventful down to Macon. Once we approached the pattern, heard a gyrocopter call out on the CTAF, but I never saw him. He said he would be low and slow, under pattern altitude.
The flight back was Sunday afternoon and we had to get to 9000 before getting out of the chop. Landed at UKF in time to run in to Matt Hall walking the lenght of the taxiway for his exercise. The MXS-R aircraft that he had been flight testing for a few weeks was getting packed up to be shipped to Abu Dahbi for the first Red Bull Air Race in April.
The flight back was Sunday afternoon and we had to get to 9000 before getting out of the chop. Landed at UKF in time to run in to Matt Hall walking the lenght of the taxiway for his exercise. The MXS-R aircraft that he had been flight testing for a few weeks was getting packed up to be shipped to Abu Dahbi for the first Red Bull Air Race in April.
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