Sunday dawned a wonderful flying day with 7,000 ft ceilings, calm winds, and 30 miles of visibility. Steve and I were itching to get in the air. We decided to fly to Lancaster, SC (KLKR), then zip over to Chester (9A6) for a quick bite. Home base (KJQF) has been undergoing work on the taxiways - resulting in many changes on the ramp. They have taken a number of the aircraft tiedowns away and moved Aggie a couple of times. This would come into play after we returned home.
After a quick pre-flight, Aggie started right up with me in the left seat. We taxied to Rwy 20, performed a run-up and were cleared for departure. We took off on 20 and made a slight left, straight for 4 antennas, the highest of which is 2,000 feet up. The good news is we had plenty of time to climb above them before we got there.
Charlotte departure was cooperative and allowed us a direct route to LKR, a brief 40 nm trip. Aggie was her usual stable self after we leveled off at 3,000 feet. As we approached the town of Lancaster, we had some difficulty seeing the airport - it's right next to the Catawba River. Once we had it spotted, we entered a left downwind for Rwy 6 at pattern altitude (it sure seemed low). I set us down with another greased landing. We taxied by the FBO which looked closed, so we decided to just taxi back and head over to 9A6. I nice departure role on 6 and a left turn and we were headed to chester at 2,500 feet.
As we approached Chester, we noted a very low layer (about 300 feet) just west of the airport. Just as we were setting up to land, I decided there was too great a chance we would be grounded by weather, so we did a 180 and headed back to Lancaster. 8 minutes later, we were on the ground, though my landing wasn't nearly as soft.
We taxied in and found the FBO now open. We got to talking with the manager and learned they do a Saturday lunch - we'll be back. The folks there were friendly, though I wish the runway was in better shape (lots of weeds have broken through, though they are dead and at least cut.
After 20 minutes in the FBO, we jumped back into the aircraft. With Steve in the left seat we took Rwy 6 for departure and headed back to JQF. On the flight back, clouds were starting to close in a bit, but not enough to impact the flight home. With a short Easterly detour, we let up for a left downwind for Rwy 20 and Concord. Steve put us down with one of his better landings. We taxied to the first available tiedown, 2 over from where Aggie normally resides. The first two spots had helicopter carts, one occupied, the other empty. Right after we tied down, N999xx, a beautiful Bell 407 landed right next to Aggie. No offense, but I hope the choppers are back on the north ramp soon. I don't like having them lifting off and landing right next to my plane.
Anyway, a lovely 1.4 hours in the air.
Monday, August 25, 2008
Monday, August 18, 2008
Weathered out once again
Come on Fall! A surprise thunderstorm ended our thoughts of a flight to Augusta Sunday, so Steve and I met for coffee and got on with the day. Looks like Hurricane Fay will keep us from flying any this week and may ruin next weekend.....sigh.
Oh well - some hangar flying perhaps.
Trey
Oh well - some hangar flying perhaps.
Trey
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Two days in a row!
But not for much of a trip.
Steve and I arrived at the airport for our normal 0800 Sunday flight and found a very hazy morning. Looking Southeast, it appeared worse (A front came through and hadn't cleared the area completely). So, we decided to take a run up to Statesville (KSVL) and visit Paramount's new, 2nd location.
I took the left seat from Concord (KJQF). We flew below the Bravo shelf at 3,000 feet. It's only a 25 mile flight, so once we got to cruising altitude it was time to start looking for the airport. On the CTAF we heard a Falcon leaving Statesville and an Archer coming from the north. We were ahead of the Archer so we entered a left base for rwy 28. An uneventful descent to the runway and another soft landing.
We pulled into the FBO and the Archer came in right behind us. As it turns out, the Archer was piloted by the instructor working for Paramount. We chatted with him for about 15 minutes, then it was time to fire Aggie up and head back out. Steve taxied us to rwy 28 for departure. A left turn off of 28, and we were over Lake Norman in a matter of a minute or so. Becuase of the haze, I asked Charlotte for radar service. We had 5 miles of visibility at best. A quick hop back at 3k and Steve put us down with another soft landing.
Yeah, a boring flight, but even the most boring flight beats the best of drives. This week will be busy, so Aggie will rest for the next 7 days.
Steve and I arrived at the airport for our normal 0800 Sunday flight and found a very hazy morning. Looking Southeast, it appeared worse (A front came through and hadn't cleared the area completely). So, we decided to take a run up to Statesville (KSVL) and visit Paramount's new, 2nd location.
I took the left seat from Concord (KJQF). We flew below the Bravo shelf at 3,000 feet. It's only a 25 mile flight, so once we got to cruising altitude it was time to start looking for the airport. On the CTAF we heard a Falcon leaving Statesville and an Archer coming from the north. We were ahead of the Archer so we entered a left base for rwy 28. An uneventful descent to the runway and another soft landing.
We pulled into the FBO and the Archer came in right behind us. As it turns out, the Archer was piloted by the instructor working for Paramount. We chatted with him for about 15 minutes, then it was time to fire Aggie up and head back out. Steve taxied us to rwy 28 for departure. A left turn off of 28, and we were over Lake Norman in a matter of a minute or so. Becuase of the haze, I asked Charlotte for radar service. We had 5 miles of visibility at best. A quick hop back at 3k and Steve put us down with another soft landing.
Yeah, a boring flight, but even the most boring flight beats the best of drives. This week will be busy, so Aggie will rest for the next 7 days.
Saturday, August 9, 2008
Finally! Back in the air
We had a cool front come through and clear out some of the summer haze. In fact, this morning it was 62 degrees when I got up. My wife and I decided to head to Starbucks for coffee this morning. While we were driving, my wife remarked that she figured Steve would have called already today to suggest flying. Well, not 2 minutes later I got a text message from Steve - Let's fly at 10.
Honey, can I? A roll of the eyes and I had the go-ahead. So, Steve and I met at 10 on an unseasonably cool August morning with sun and very high clouds. After a thourough pre-flight, Aggie was purring as we taxied to runway 2. A nice smooth takeoff roll and we were headed to Rowan (KRUQ) for gas. 5 minutes later we plopped down on Runway 2 and RUQ and pulled up to the gas pump. 32 gallons later, Steve took the left seat for a trip to Siler City (5W8), a place Steve had never been (I flew there a number of times in training b/c at 60 miles from JQF, it's a cross-country).
The flight to Siler City was nice and smooth at 3,500 feet. In a move not normal for us, we decided to forego flight following, so we were purely VFR. As we approached Siler City, the CTAF was buzzing from as far away as Columbia. Evidently a lot of weekend pilots decided today was a good day to go up.
We set up for a left base for Runway 04 for Siler City. There was some traffic at Siler City, including a tri-pacer coming in behind us. As it turned out, he was a part of a tri-pacer fly in. Steve put down one of his nicer landings in Aggie. As we pulled in, we saw a number of the cute little Pipers parked in front of a hangar. Anyway, we parked and went in to use the facilities.
The guy manning the FBO told us about a couple of aircraft on the field we should look at before leaving. One was a Commander that we were told hadn't moved an inch in 6 years. Considering the neglect, the Commander looked pretty good. A shame it doesn't get flown, because it's a great single engine 4 seater.
The other aircraft we were told to look at was a twin Bonanza. A twin Bonanza? I'd never heard of such a thing. I fully expected a plane built on the regular Bonanza frame with 2 engines, much like the Piper Comanche is a twin based on the Cherokee. But no - the twin Bonanza is a MONSTER! Two huge engines on the wings, with a fuselage sitting way up. But the most striking feature was the enormous rudder. It looked like it belonged on a DC-3! The plane was beautiful, with a lovely deep blue paint scheme. Finally, there was a Cherokee 6, clearly a project plane, that had a spray painted N Number!
After admiring other planes, it was back in the aircraft with me in the left seat. Siler City requires a taxi back on the active, so we headed to the turn around and did a quick run up, then take off trying to beat a Tri Pacer that was on downwind. We cruised at 4,500 ft. About 30 miles from home we saw the outline of Lowe's Motor Speedway and we headed in that direction. We set up for a right base for Rwy 2 at Concord. An uneventful approach and a nice flare resulted in one of the softest landings I've ever accomplished (I couldn't let Steve out do me today!). Taxi back, park and let Aggie rest for our normal Sunday morning flight the next morning.
All in all a great morning for flying! 2.5 hours.
Honey, can I? A roll of the eyes and I had the go-ahead. So, Steve and I met at 10 on an unseasonably cool August morning with sun and very high clouds. After a thourough pre-flight, Aggie was purring as we taxied to runway 2. A nice smooth takeoff roll and we were headed to Rowan (KRUQ) for gas. 5 minutes later we plopped down on Runway 2 and RUQ and pulled up to the gas pump. 32 gallons later, Steve took the left seat for a trip to Siler City (5W8), a place Steve had never been (I flew there a number of times in training b/c at 60 miles from JQF, it's a cross-country).
The flight to Siler City was nice and smooth at 3,500 feet. In a move not normal for us, we decided to forego flight following, so we were purely VFR. As we approached Siler City, the CTAF was buzzing from as far away as Columbia. Evidently a lot of weekend pilots decided today was a good day to go up.
We set up for a left base for Runway 04 for Siler City. There was some traffic at Siler City, including a tri-pacer coming in behind us. As it turned out, he was a part of a tri-pacer fly in. Steve put down one of his nicer landings in Aggie. As we pulled in, we saw a number of the cute little Pipers parked in front of a hangar. Anyway, we parked and went in to use the facilities.
The guy manning the FBO told us about a couple of aircraft on the field we should look at before leaving. One was a Commander that we were told hadn't moved an inch in 6 years. Considering the neglect, the Commander looked pretty good. A shame it doesn't get flown, because it's a great single engine 4 seater.
The other aircraft we were told to look at was a twin Bonanza. A twin Bonanza? I'd never heard of such a thing. I fully expected a plane built on the regular Bonanza frame with 2 engines, much like the Piper Comanche is a twin based on the Cherokee. But no - the twin Bonanza is a MONSTER! Two huge engines on the wings, with a fuselage sitting way up. But the most striking feature was the enormous rudder. It looked like it belonged on a DC-3! The plane was beautiful, with a lovely deep blue paint scheme. Finally, there was a Cherokee 6, clearly a project plane, that had a spray painted N Number!
After admiring other planes, it was back in the aircraft with me in the left seat. Siler City requires a taxi back on the active, so we headed to the turn around and did a quick run up, then take off trying to beat a Tri Pacer that was on downwind. We cruised at 4,500 ft. About 30 miles from home we saw the outline of Lowe's Motor Speedway and we headed in that direction. We set up for a right base for Rwy 2 at Concord. An uneventful approach and a nice flare resulted in one of the softest landings I've ever accomplished (I couldn't let Steve out do me today!). Taxi back, park and let Aggie rest for our normal Sunday morning flight the next morning.
All in all a great morning for flying! 2.5 hours.
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