Do You Think Automobile Driver's Should Be Current?

So, it's been a month since last I flew.  That's right, our trip to Lynchburg, VA for Thanks Giving.  Weather, work and more weather just kept interfering with my flying opportunities.  Well, today that all changed.  Church at 9:00 am offered us an early start, but the light snow on the ground was a total surprise.  By the time church was over, the snow was gone for the most part, so home for a nice breakfast with the wife and daughter and then over to the airport.  I had to reintroduce myself to N926GZ since she felt like I had abandoned her.  Wasn't long before we had everything checked out and ready to go.  Couldn't find anyone to go with me today, so it was a solo kind of day.  The plan was to do a couple in the pattern, just to brush off the rust, and then take a quick trip down to Woodbine, KOBI, to check out the campground and trailer and another landing and takeoff.  Then back to South Jersey, KVAY, for a home sweet home landing. 
     Unlike auto drivers, there is something to be said for keeping current when it comes to Pilots.  Touch and Perception as well as a good knowledge of our planes is always important.  So, after the start and run up we were ready for a couple take offs and landings.  The wind was blowing just a little but right down the runway and 926GZ jumped off the runway with wonderful energy on a nice winter day.  As I set up for final, we crossed the numbers and gently floated to the runway.  A second take off was just like the first and I turned towards the south east for Woodbine.  2,500' was a little bumpy and the layer of haze was present which was a little disappointing.  It didn't take long to locate Woodbine and the sky was empty as I dropped down to 1,200'.  Just a little south east of the airport is Pine Haven Camping Resort, the summer retreat for the Stow family.  At 1000' I had a great view of all below and could clearly see our trailer covered up for the winter months.  Everything looked so peaceful but lonely as I circled above our trailer.  After one slow pass, I set up for a direct final to Runway 31 at Woodbine.  A group of guys hanging at the airport all watched as a floated long down the runway and spared the breaks by using the full distance offered.  A couple quick buttons pushed on the Garmin 530 and I was all set for the track back home.
     There was a little bit of a head wind on the way home, but up at 3000' the air was smooth.  I drifted back down 10 miles from South Jersey and crossed over the airport at 2,000' and set up for the 45 for Runway 26.  Downwind to base and then to final and before you knew it, I was floating down onto the runway.  Another day of flying and more memories in the book.  Every chance I have to lift up to the clouds I thank God for the chance to live a dream that only a few in this world know.  Well, until the next time,  "Smooth Travels and Be Safe" my friends.

Thanks Giving Flight Home

So, we delayed our return home for a day due to the forecasts for high winds on Saturday.  We had built an extra day into our travel plans anyway and with the winds at home fore casted at 15-25 with gusts of 30, we decided we would extend our visit until Sunday.  I am the ultimate conservative especially when it comes to my flying.  It's probably the reason that I'm still taking trips like this and filing a VFR flight plan instead of an IFR flight plan.  I know, I know, I just have to get over it and utilized the system.  It's coming slowly.  Anyway, the extra day gave us a chance to drive into Roanoke with Dawn to see her classroom  The ride in was a beautiful ride with the mountains of Virginia on both sides of us.  Just awesome to see.

 

As we arrived in Roanoke, you couldn't help but notice this beautiful city tucked in the mountains.  I remember flying Dawn here for here job interview and as we came over the mountains at 5500', there was the city tucked in the valley below us.  Just spectacular to see.

 

Dawn's class room looked so nice.  We are so proud of both of our girls.  They both finished college and have taken jobs teaching and making a difference in the lives of young people.  Dawn's student are very special young people and need a lot of encouragement, discipline and understanding.



 

It didn't take Lynn long to get busy cleaning and decorating the room.  You just can't keep a good woman down.  Before long the room was clean and decorated, ready for the children on Monday.

 

We spent the rest of the day driving around and looking for some possible housing opportunities in the Roanoke area.  Although the town house in Lynchburg is wonderful, it leaves Dawn with a 1 hour and 10 minute drive each way to work.  She is fortunate to have two other ladies that share the ride with her and rotate the responsibility.  There have been many good friends that Dawn has made during here time in Virginia.

 

After looking at some areas and a nice lunch, it was time for the drive home.  Up on the hill was a beautiful site of a new church that's been built just outside of the Roanoke city limits. 

 

I filed both VFR and IFR for the flight home on Sunday.  Our plan's were to head out around 10:00 am and be home some where's around 12:30 or 1:00 PM.  With an early start, we were at the airport by 9:30 am and took care of our gas bill, did the pre-flight for the plane and load and started for the ride home.  VFR conditions on the way home, kept me on the VFR path.  After a little warm up and a good mag check we were cleared for departure on Runway 22.  Winds were variable and 926GZ took flight about 1/3 the way down the 6500' runway.  I decided to level off at 5500' and we moved along nicely with a good tailwind at 145 knots.  There were times when I looked down and saw the 530 reading 149 knots.  Not too back for my nice little Cherokee 235. 

 

As we said goodbye to the mountains we cautiously watch a layer of clouds above us at about 7500'.  This layer stayed right there all the way home.  Over Pautuxent the turbulence was light and I continued to watch for unpredicted situations.  A layer of few clouds over Dover turned into broken over the Delaware and the winds had picked up a little to 260 at 10 with gusts to 19.  As we slipped over the Delaware I decided to make a nice slow descent down to 3500' through a nice opening in the clouds.  Philly approach cleared us to South Jersey and we communicated with a Cessna departing South Jersey to the south as we headed north.  With no one in the pattern it was a very easy ride into downwind from crosswind for 26 at South Jersey.  After a nice easy base to final turn, we floated gently down to the runway and declared another wonderful flight home.  Thinking about it,  realized that we just spent a holiday weekend making a 12 - 15 hour driving trip in a 4 hour flight.  This makes all the training so worth wild.  Til the next time, enjoy your flights and stay safe!





Thanks Giving in Lynchburg

Wow, it seems like it's been forever since I have posted on here, but finally we took a trip.  After all, when your daughter and mother move away to Lynchburg, VA, what else do you do for the Holiday's but travel.   We watched the weather all week and it went from looking bad to looking great.  Tuesday I stopped over and check 926GZ all out and had fuel delivered.  Since we were traveling with our oldest daughter, Danelle, I did my weights and balance calculations to give us as much fuel as I could without over loading.  Wednesday we were all packed and loaded by 12:00 noon.  After receiving a Standard Briefing everything was a go.  By 12:30 we were rolling down Runway 8 and lifting off into the clear blue sky.  McGuire gave us flight following for just a few minutes and then handed us off to Philly.  Philly approach was soo busy that they put us on hold.  As we traveled south, it became more and more apparent that they was no way Philly Approach was going to be able to help us.  We had commercial flights all around us as we continued our path south across the Delaware Bay and towards Dover.  By the time we reached Dover, we were able to pick up flight following with Dover Approach. 

As we flew over Dover, we could see some military aircraft working below us.  It was quite a sight. The air was smooth at 6500' and with a little tail wind we moved along nicely at about 139 knots.   A couple of freq. changes and we were soon coming up on Patuxent Air Force Base we made our turn to the west and headed towards Lynchburg.  Just over one hour in the air and we had one hour to go.  As we turned towards the west, we couldn't help notice how beautiful the Chesapeake Bay and the marina's looked below us.  Danelle got this wonderful picture with her I phone.

The turn towards the West slowed us just a little, but not much.  As we crossed over I-95 I couldn't help thinking how if we were driving we wouldn't even be to Baltimore yet.  The closer we got to the mountains, the more I noticed the thickening of the layer of haze below us.  Still able to see the ground, we could tell that there was temperature difference going on as we moved further inland.  About 30 miles out, I began and slow gentle descent into Lynchburg.  May have started a little early, but I was a little concerned about the layer of haze.  Of course about 10 miles out and at 2,500' we began to feel the mountain effect.  Still the haze began to clear and everything looked beautiful below.  Roanoke Approach switched us over to Lynchburg Tower which asked us to report midfield downwind for Runway 4.  I moved a little lower and prepared for the pattern.

Liberty University peeked just over the mountain as we prepared for our entry into the pattern and before you know it we were pattern level and midfield.  I reported the same to Lynchburg Tower which cleared us for Runway 4.  A nice gentle descent and turn to Runway 4 and we touched down just beyond the strips.  After being handed off to ground we departed the runway and rolled over to Falwell Aviation.  Just a little over 2 hours and we had made the 360 mile trip from South Jersey Airport to Lynchburg Regional.  We were ready for Dawn to pick us up and head to the town home for a wonderful Thanks Giving.  We all have so much to be Thankful for and at this special time of the year I pray that each of you that reads this takes time to REMEMBER what God has blessed you with.  Enjoy the day, enjoy your family, but don't forget to REMEMBER.  HAPPY THANKS GIVING!

Approaches and Practice

Well, I finally got the chance to go up and do some practice approaches.  My fellow pilot friend, Don Berliner, called me and offered his assistance to fly late Wednesday afternoon.  The weather looked great and since I was anxious to get up, we set a time and met at South Jersey Airport, (KVAY) at 6:00 PM.  The plan was to depart and contact MaGuire Approach and do the ILS 6 at Robert Miller, KMJX.  Then go missed and return to Coyle VOR to set up the VOR 29 into Trenton-Robbinsville, N87.  We would go missed again and back to the Robbinsville VOR to set up doing the RNAV 26 back into South Jersey Airport, KVAY.  This should be a good work out and a flight that I have done before.
     After pre-flight, we boarded and headed out to Runway 26.  After a nice departure I contacted MaGuire with my requests.  MaGuire was having a really busy night, so even though we had them on the radio we were pretty much on our own.  After stabilizing at 2200', I set up the procedures for the ILS, tuned in the appropraite radio frequencies for the Maguire VOR, Coyle VOR and also the ILS.  Couldn't get the Atis to work at Robert Miller, so we used the alternate of MaGuire altimeter setting and increase 60'.  As I approached the ILS, I turned inbound but could get the glide slope to come alive.  OH, need to switch the GPS to LOC.  That worked and the glide slope came alive showing me a little high.  Pulled the power a little and did my GUMPS as we prepared to intersect THOMS.  McGuire approved me for the frequencies change and to report on the miss and down we went.  As we reached decision height I began to set up for the missed and climbed to 600' before beginning a turn back to coyle.  With MaGuire back on, I started my set up for Robbinsville.
     Don wanted to see the autopilot approach, so I stabilized the plane on the heading bug and cleared the present flight plan and entered Trenton-Robbinsville and then the VOR approach.  Once set up, I click the GPS setting and began the turn towards Robbinsville VOR with a call to MaGuire.  We were advised of the Restricted area and remained clear of it to the east.  As we approached the hold, the GPS slipped us into a nice turn and I began the set up for the inbound.  Radios set, speed set, all go as we turned inbound.  At Robbinsville VOR we began our descent and MaGuire again cleared us for the frequency change. The sun was right in our eyes as we descended toward the 620' decision height.  I never did see the runway, although Don told me we were directly over it when we began our missed approach.  A climbing right turn to 1700' and we were on our way back to Robbinsville.  Two down and one to go.
     The RNAV 26 is a new approach which is exciting to fly with my 530WAAS gps.  A few pushes of the buttons and we were set to go.  Don had all the work since this approach takes us right over the end of Flying W.  A few turns and we were on final to 26 at South Jersey.  A nice touch down and easy roll to the ramp and a good nights practice came to an end.
     Still wanting to get up in some actual, but at least I'm staying current and still flying the plane.  Til next time, fly safe and have fun!

Roanoke, VA

     My youngest daughter got a call to do an interview at one of her student teaching schools.  Rivermont School is a disciplinary school in the heart of Roanoke, Virginia.  So, we began our plans for flying to Roanoke on Wednesday, July 10th.  Now, I've never flown into Roanoke, but it just happens to be one of those examples used all the time when they are trying to teach you the pitfalls of fly IFR and not paying attention.  GREAT!  The weather kept going back and forth from IFR to VFR to possible IFR.  Finally on Tuesday we made the decision we could go.  I filed a VFR flight plan down and back just to be safe.  Wednesday morning came and things looked pretty good.  Some stratus clouds at 4000 wouldn't be a problem especially if we flew down at 6500'.  Light showers were reported down near Patuxent, but they would probably move out by the time we got down there.  Scattered Thunderstorms were posted for the PM in the Roanoke area, so if we could just get out of Roanoke, we would probably be okay.  I had gone over on Tuesday and prepped 926GZ and all was ready.

     Wednesday morning we headed to the airport and I called for a Standard Briefing.  It's been a little while since I've flown so I hoped it wouldn't take too much time to brush the dust off.  By 10 am we were on our way climbing to 6500' with flight following.  The air was smooth and scattered clouds below us.  A little bit of a tail wind pushed us along at 137 knots ground speed. Wasn't too long before we could see the mountains through the haze.  Now Roanoke is situation down in the valley between the mountains.  Roanoke approach vectored us right in over the mountains and into a downwind for runway 4, even though the atis said they were using runway 34.  Anyway, since I was a little high I did a long pattern in and dropped down on the runway.  Roanoke was very friendly and helpful as was the FBO Landmark Aviation.  Fuel was a little expensive at $7.10 a gallon so I just had them put in 10 gallons.  This would be plenty since I had filled the tips at South Jersey, VAY.  The FBO even had a crew car for us which was a new Toyota corolla.  The car cost us $25.00 because we had it more than 2 hours, but still cheaper than a rental car. 

    Dawn and I did lunch with a friend of hers who had driven to Roanoke from Lynchburg to meet us and then it was off to the interview.  Dawn feels the interview went well, but now we wait to hear.  By 4:00 PM we were heading back to the airport with some dark clouds looming to the south.  After finishing up with the FBO, I called for a briefing and was told the same.  Once past the Lynchburg area, we would be okay on the way home, just a little headwind now.  We loaded up and got our clearance and off we went on runway 4.  Maintaining a heading of 55 until 4500 feet was the last thing I was told and as we split the valley between two mountains, I could see why.  WOW, you could almost reach out an touch the tops.  We climbed to 7,500' for the ride home which was fine except for a short time when I climbed to 8400 for some build ups.  Smooth ride home except for a problem with the talk switch on my side of the yoke.  After some time I realized that if I switch head gear positions with Dawn, I could talk to AC using her yoke switch.  As we approached Philadelphia, we were handed off to Philly Approach.  Since it was about 7 pm now, Philly was really busy and it wasn't too long before I felt like I was in the way.  About 15 miles from South Jersey I requested descent and they moved me east to get out of their routes and we headed down.  Winds were calm down low as we circled for a 45 entry to downwind for runway 8.  Base to final and we glided down the runway to the far end where our tie down is located.  Total flight time was about 5.5 hours with 2.5 hours down and 3 hours home.  All in all a great day of flying and now just hoping for a call back for Dawn.  Until next time, be safe and live life to it's fullest.

Boston Bound

A good friend of mine has been searching for a new plane.  He's been looking at the Cessna 182 and after taking him to Norfolk, VA about a month ago, he finally decided to purchase a 1968 Cessna 182 up in Boston, MA at Laurence Hanson Airport.  After completing all of his paperwork it was time for us to fly up to Boston to pick up his plane.  So a couple of Friday's ago we found the time and the weather appropriate to fly.  Dom, the buyer, and Steve, his CFI, and myself boarded 926GZ around 10 am for departure.  There was a fairly nice tailwind for the ride up and a layer of partly cloudy skies at around 5500.  My idea was to climb to 7500' with flight following and fly direct over the New York Class Bravo to Hanson.  The estimated flight time was about 2 hours. 
     We lifted off and after avoiding a couple of big puffy clouds, climbed to 7500 and had flight following with MaGuire Approach who then handed us off to New York Approach.  The flight was a nice gentle flight with only a little climb to stay out of the clouds as we crossed the bay.  Hanson is a large former Air Force base that now serves as a hub for some major corporate jet centers.  We were fourth in line for landing as we contacted Hanson tower.  A really nice private jet was in front of us.  With a little crosswind landing, we touched down nicely and rolled off the runway onto the intersecting runway and over the to the Jet Center.  The guys were really nice to put me in a wonderful spot that really showed off N926GZ!

Yea, that me right behind that big beautiful private jet.  I sure hope he doesn't decide to take her out for a test run.  Anyway, after fueling up a little, ($7.75 a gallon), we sat at the FBO waiting for the arrival of the seller.  The nice thing about an airport like this is there is always something going on.  Take for instance the P-52 that took off being escorted by an F-16.  Now that was a sight to see.  Man, those guys could fly.  Anyway, it wasn't long before the seller showed up and took us around to the private hangers where his plane was waiting.  The plane had new paint, new interior and a five year old engine that had just 17 hours of time.  Nice!  Well after a very very through checkout, Dom and Steve took her up for a little test flight.  I guess they were satisfied because it wasn't long before they were back on the ground and Dom was signing the papers and handing the guy a check.  New plane for Dom!  Way to go!

The ride home was going to be a lonely one for me.  Although I kept in touch with Steve and Dom on the radio, they had departed a few minutes before me.  Well, it gave me a chance to fly solo for a little while.  After going through my checks, we got the ATIS and started up by contacting ground.  A little confusion on the taxi ways on the way out, but soon I was ready for departure and climbing to 8500" for the ride home.  Bradley Approach picked me up for flight following and away we sailed.  A thick layer of clouds below me at 7500' really kept me on my toes.  Not much site seeing on the way home.

Somewhere over West Chester, New York I had a first time experience.  Seems a Bonanza east bound for Boston from Teaneck was at 7000' and was having engine trouble.  I heard him contact NY ATC and ask for vectors to the closest airport.  NY was sending him to West Chester which was about 10 miles away.  The pilot was very calm and collected, but a few minutes later I heard him tell ATC that they were at 4,000' and still didn't have the airport.  ATC told him they were only about 5 miles away, but shortly after that I heard him come on and tell ATC that they weren't going to make the airport and were putting the plane down in a grass strip next to a road.  WOW!  ATC lost radar contact and another pilot asked if ATC wanted him to make a pass to see what was going on.  It was just then when ATC changed me to another controller.  WAIT, What happened??  I had to find an app on my Ipad that night for ABC NY news to find out that they two guys walked away from the plane after landing on the lawn of an IBM plant.  Thank God and good ending.
     The rest of the flight was uneventful and by the time I got to Trenton, the skies cleared and I descended to South Jersey and caught up with Dom and Steve.  Another great day, four hours and an experience to put in my book.  I love this flying stuff!  Till next time, fly safe and live life to the most!

The Ipad & WX Weather

So if you're like me, you've gone out and bought an Ipad.  I actually think it's a great Pilot resource.  My main reason was the new apps that were coming out giving you all the information and maps you could possibly need.  My app was Foreflight and it wasn't long before I stopped buying charts all together.  The free trial to Foreflight sold me on something that was just awesome.  I know, I've heard all the arguments of paper charts.  I even had one get sucked out the door while in training and flying solo.  A lot of good that paper chart did me.  Anyway, since the FAA has approved EFB's for Part 91, why not take advantage of the technology.  It's not like you can't find the ground?  The more I used my Foreflight and my Ipad the more I loved it.  Then Foreflight came out with GPS capability with a little device called the "Bad Elf".  Another great investment for just $75.00.  It pays to shop around!  This tiny little plug in brings my Ipad to life and I've had the opportunity to match it against more expensive plug in GPS units and it performed just as well as the big guys.  You got to love that!

So, after using my Ipad for about a year it was time for my IFR check ride.  I showed up that day with my flight plan, a paper chart and my Ipad.  As we progress through the ground check, I could tell this was going to be an interesting test of my Ipad use.  My CFII was very thorough and old school.  At one point he asked me if the use of the Ipad was legal.  We walked out to a local computer and after going on the AOPA site I searched EFB and sure enough the FAA circular authorizing the use of EFB's came up.  He jotted down the number and we headed to the plane.  In the air I was lucky enough to have my Garmin 530W and my Ipad.  But more importantly was the knowledge that I had of how to use those two instruments.  I think that's the key guys!  Know what you have and know how to use it.  This is what keeps us straight and safe!
    Well, now Foreflight has come up with a team effort with Baron to provide weather on your Ipad.  I took advantage of the promotional offer and bought the system this past December, but I hadn't had the chance to use it yet.  The Baron product offers two units.  One is an XM weather receiver and the other is a WiFi transformer that broadcasts a signal to your Ipad.  This past Easter I finally had the chance to try it for myself.  You also need a subscription to XM weather.  Here's where the expense come in.  XM offers three packages, Aviator lite, Aviator and Aviator Pro.  You need to check this out and see which package suits you.  I found out that they were offering a deal on the Aviator that buy purchasing it for a year I saved enough to make it just as affordable as the Aviator Lite package.  Next step was setting it up in the plane.  For now, I just plugged the unit into my lighter plug and set it behind my passenger seat.  Later, I'm going to do something different, but I wanted to make sure this thing worked to my satisfaction.  The weather receiver plugs into the WiFi transformer which supplies power to the weather receiver so you only need one plug in.  Wala, I had weather.  I also had metars, Terminal Forecasts, winds aloft and all the choices on the map of getting cloud cover, flight rules, winds, even fuel prices.  WOW!

I did find on the way down to Lynchburg that antenna placement is important.  At first I just wasn't getting a good signal.  There is a way to go into your foreflight and even check your signal strength and satellite reception.  After moving the Weather antenna around a little, I found on the front dash was the best location and they give you plenty of antenna wire to run the thing from one end of the plane to another.  Our flight for the weekend took us to Lynchburg, VA which is a two hour flight in my plane.  All the way down and back I had great reception and was able to switch back and forth from local airport metars and forecasts to winds and even TFR's.  A great relief from guessing and switching radio frequencies to see whats going on.  All in all, I am very happy with the system that I have now.  I know that Foreflight has now teamed up with Sporties to put together another system called, Stratus ADS-B weather.  This system uses the free ADS-B provided by the FAA and a battery operated unit.  It comes out later this month and is subscription free.  My only thought here is that I hope XM weather subscriptions come down when people start making a jump.  Anyway, we will see and for now, my unit is working just fine.  Thanks for checking in and fly safe!