Hampton Roads, VA Trip

Dom is a good friend of mine and I actually learned to fly in his 172 at Crewdawg Aviation.  But due to an unfortunate landing, Dom's plane has been totaled and now he's looking for a new plane and considering a Cessna 182.  So we've been trying to plan a trip to Virginia Beach to check out a possible purchase.  Finally, Friday, March 30th looks good so we plan our departure for 9:30 AM.  Another check of the weather says everything looks good.  A call to the briefer again confirms that things are suppose to be okay all the way down and back.  Our plans were to fly down possibly with a nice tail wind, check out the plane, have lunch and then fly home with a possible tail wind.  Always a pilots dream.  Never do dreams go completely the way you like them to.

   Friday morning and all is good to go.  By 9:30 we are wheels up in N926GZ and talking to Maguire for flight following.  Up to 4500' feet and it seems like the tail wind is there.  After a hand off from Maguire to Atlantic City to Dover and then Pautuxet we begin to seem some clouds and the ground speed slows a little.  The high over West Virginia has moved a little faster than expected to the east and we are now experiencing a head wind.  Over the Chesapeake the ground speed slows even more to allow us about 105 knots, but it's still a beautiful ride.

Well, we approach Norfolk and the sites are fantastic.  Langley Air Force Base is to our west and we fly right over Norfolk Naval Base.  Since we were cleared down to 2500' we have a real good view of the sites.  With Hampton Roads (KVBG) just a short 10 miles away we clear the Norfolk airspace and begin our decent down to patten altitude.  Our arrival is smooth and scenic.  Hampton Roads is a really beautiful airport with all the accommodations that a Pilot would want.  Hanger space is available for $275.00 a month.  Can you believe it!  Really worth the trip.

Dom hooks up with the guy selling the Cessna 182 and we walk out to the hanger to check out the plane.  Its a 1972 Cessna with nice paint and interior but very little in the way of avionics.  Dom even takes a ride in the plane at my encouragement and really enjoys the power and lift that the 182 offers.  Of course it's not as nice as a Piper Cherokee 235, but that's a discussion for another day, right!  Any way, its such a nice day it's worth the time to take the ride.  After some discussion with the owner, who is also a salesman, Dom's offer and the Owner's concession is about $6,000.00 apart.  Well, there are plenty of planes out there and it's a buyers market so it must be time for lunch.  A nice little restaurant at the FBO gives us a chance at their turkey special.  Sure I would have much rather had craps and shrimp, but I wasn't buying so we make the most of it.  By now the clouds have moved in and I can tell it's going to be an interesting ride home.  After a quick fill up we taxi out for a back taxi on Rwy 10 and immediate departure.  As I climb up out of pattern altitude I contact Norfolk Approach for clearance into the Class Charlie.  We settle in at 5500' and receive our clearance and we're on our way home.  As we approach the Chesapeake Bay the layer below us becomes solid and the clouds above us at 10000' put us in the middle.  What a sight to see.

We continue our ride home with a nice tailwind.  I love flying along in smooth air with 140 knot ground speed.  Dom and I talk about the aircraft that we just saw and the autopilot with altitude hold and the GPS take us for the ride.  Over the mainland the clouds break a little and we experience a beautiful site and as stratus clouds separate to show us the Delmarva Peninsula below.  Just an awesome site from 5500".

Of course the ride home continues as usual except for a series of showers just below Salisbury.  I think Dom was a little concerned when the visibility dropped down to about 1 mile in showers, but the layer of clouds above us stayed at about 8000' and the plane needed a bath anyway.  As we cleared the Delaware Bay we could see the edge of the front and the shadow of the line on the surface of the ground.  Over Millville, we began a nice slow descent and by the time we were at South Jersey we were handed off by Philadelphia Approach and set up for a nice crosswind entry for Runway 26.  Back on the ground at 4:30 PM.  What a great day.  Although Dom didn't find his new dream craft, we still had a wonderful day and who can complain about going from Medford, NJ to Norfolk, VA and back in 7 hours.  Got to love it!

Lynchburg and a New Tip Tank

Wow, it seems likes it's been so long since I last flew the plane.  So, when my youngest daughter, Dawn, tells me that she wants me to come get her for Spring Break, who can resist.  Only problem is my right tip tank has had some major cosmetic issues since I bought the plane and my mechanic, Bob at Crewdawg Aviation has finally taken it off and given it to a fellow who does unbelieveable fiberglass work.  Wednesday the tip tank arrives, but Bob is deeply rooted in working on an Archer that is having an electrical problem.  Thursday comes and goes and nothing gets done.  Friday the weather is looking great for Saturday, but Bob is still working on the Archer.  6:30 PM on Friday night and still N926GZ is sitting outside.  I go back over at 9:00 PM and Bob and Pat have the tip tank on and they are aligning it.  By 11:00 PM the trip is on and I head home to get some rest.  Bob is there until 2:00 AM to connect the fuel lines and change a tire that he is not happy with.  NOW that's a mechanic that every Pilot wants.  The results are fantastic.

They even painted the tip temporarily with a can of spray paint that Bob had that matched beautifully.  Finish paint job will come later.
     So, 11:00 AM Saturday, my brother and I are off the ground and flying for Lynchburg, VA.  A little windy down low, but when we hit 6500' the air is smooth as silk and the tail wind pushes us along at 145 knots.  Not bad for a 235.  We sail over Patuxent and head west for Lynchburg.  About 22 miles out I begin our descent and prep for landing.  Lynchburg is using Runway 4 and I gently bring her down on the numbers and taxi over to Falwell Aviation.  Now I get the picture of a life time when 926GZ goes one on one with the big boys.   "GO AHEAD, MAKE MY DAY".

    Well, after a nice lunch with Dawn, we load up and prep for departure.  The winds aloft don't favor us on the way home, but once again the air is smooth at 7500'.  Somewhere just below Washington, DC we loose the jeppesen card on the 530W.  So it's flying VOR's on the way home.  After turning north from Patuxent, we ask to move to 5500'.  Not much different, but at least our ground speed was in the 3 digits again.  Over the Delaware Bay we begin our descent down for South Jersey Airport.  A nice turn and we were on the 45 for runway 8.  A nice landing on runway 8 takes us right back to Crewdawg Aviation.  Five hours of flying, down to Lynchburg, VA and back!  All in all it was a fantastic day to be a Pilot!  Safe flying everyone!!