Flying in an Electronic Cockpit

September 27, 2009

I began drafting this post before Todd shut down the flight school. I'll withhold comment.

Steve was out of town this Sunday morning and I couldn't find anyone who wanted to fly so I was on my own. Or so I thought. At my regular time on Sunday morning, I made the trip to the airport. As I was walking through the FBO, I could see Aggie waiting for me. I had called ahead and asked the line crew to give her some juice and bring her to the front of the line. There she was, just waiting to take me to the mountains for some fall leaves photos. Just as I was about to step through the doors onto the tarmac, I spotted Todd - the owner of the flight school where I learned to fly and later rented planes. Todd was speaking to the manager of the control tower when he noticed me walking through. He asked me where I was headed. I told him and asked if he wanted to join me - we've flown to Kentucky and Pinehurst together. He responded by asking if I wouldn't mind flying right seat in a nearly new Saratoga. Now there's an offer I can't refuse!

The Piper Saratoga is a beautiful aircraft. It seats 6, sports an electronic cockpit and just about every bell and whistle you can imagine, including a full autopilot. Aggie would have to wait for another day. I asked the line crew to tie her back down and Todd and I headed to the North end of the ramp.

After a quick pre-flight of this beautiful Piper, we climbed aboard. Compared to what I normally fly, this thing felt like a space ship. First, the interior was leather and smelled great. Second, the layout was extremely well laid out. Clearly Piper spent a great deal of time thinking about the cockpit on this bird. Even with all the bells and whistles, at its heart, it's still an airplane which is based on the airframe of mine. In fact, it has significant weight limitations. With 4 passengers, it has less range than mine and with full fuel can only carry one adult. Nevertheless, it's a technological wonder.

She started right up and we were cleared to taxi to Runway 20. Todd wanted to check a high cylinder head temperature the owner of the aircraft had been reporting. We rolled down the runway and the first thing I noticed was how much less noise there was in this aircraft. It didn't sound like it was working all that hard and before I knew it, we were climbing off of the departure end. Todd turned us East and we headed toward the practice area while the engine got to operating temperature. Todd decided to show me some of the features of the Garmin 1000 electronic cockpit. There were more map options than I could fathom, but the thing I loved the most was the full autopilot which handled changes in altitude as well as roll and pitch. As we got the engine to temperature, we saw that one of the CHT readings kept cycling into the warning range. But, the way it was reading, it became clear that it was likely a bad temperature probe and NOT a cooling problem.

Todd decided to head to Rowan (KRUQ) for a landing before we headed back to Concord. So he set the autopilot to fly the ILS approach and we set up North of the field. The avionics took over and flew us down to about 100 feet where Todd took over. It was really cool to watch the plane at work this way. As we landed, a pair of birds stubbornly stayed on the runway - one a bit too long. As he took off, we caught him with the 3 blade prop. No more bird.

We taxied back to Rwy 20 for takeoff to go home. Todd offered to let me take off. I declined. I simply wasn't familiar enough with the plane and wasn't willing to deal with the 500k price tag if I screwed up! Anyway, we flew back to concord and Todd flew a hand ILS approach and did a fine job. A smooth touch down and a taxi back to the ramp. No time in my log book, but a great flight nevertheless.

Getting ready for the changing of the leaves

Summer decided to remind us that it still has some fight left in it this weekend. The cool, crisp weather from the previous week was forgotten as temperatures hit near 90 and Saturday and were forecast again on Sunday. Oh well. Good news though - morning temps were still in the low 60s. So, at our normal 0800 meeting time, Steve and I arrived at JQF with Aggie pulled out front waiting for us to give her some exercise.

This was Steve's trip to plan. When he arrived, he announced that Robbi didn't want him gone all morning, so we were going to take a short hop today. Fine with me - I had plenty to do today, including 3 hours with Spencer at Lacrosse practice and a trip to the office late. Steve suggested Morganton (KMRN), a place west of Hickory and at the base of the NC Appalachians. We hadn't been there in a while. The last few times we'd landed there, it wasn't planned. We've diverted there when we found the weather in the mountains inhospitable, including one very memorable attempt to fly to Bristol Tennessee. Morganton also has a fond place in our hearts b/c it was a significant destination for both of us during our training. Steve's first solo cross-country was to KMRN. My first dual cross-country was there.

Anyway, we pre-flighted Aggie, gave her some oil and hopped aboard. As has been the case lately, she started right up for us. Before we knew it, we were holding short of Runway 2 going through our run up. Steve planned this trip, so he was in the left seat for the outward leg. We were cleared for departure and started our takeoff roll. Aggie was ready to get going, so we were airborne 1,200 feet down the runway. Positive climb rate, gear up, flaps retracted, manifold pressure to 25, RPMs to 2,500 and a left turn en route and we were headed to KMRN.

Concord handed us off before we even made the left turn. We contacted Charlotte and settled in for our en route climb. As we passed through 3,400, Steve asked if we'd been cleared into the Charlotte Class B ('Bravo') airspace.

The national airspace is divided into various classes, Class B being the most restrictive we play in. Class B surrounds the nations busiest airports. The airspace is shaped like an upside down wedding cake, so we could actually fly under the airspace in Concord. However, at 3,600 feet, you are in Charlotte's Bravo. You must be cleared into the Bravo by ATC or you can have some issues. Most of the time Charlotte is pretty good about giving you the clearance if you are on a course that will take you into the airspace, but the last 2 or 3 flights, the controllers have been a bit off and have failed to give the clearance.

Sure enough, this morning the controller missed the fact that we were headed directly into his controlled airspace. At 3,500 feet I asked for Bravo clearance. The controller was a bit befuddled by the request - apparently he thought he'd issued the clearance. Anyway, clearance granted (you always repeat back the Bravo clearance to make sure the FAA tapes record you telling the controller that you believe you've received the clearance.

Anyway, the climb out was gorgeous. We decided to only go to 4,500 feet given the short trip. We trimmed for cruise and were on our way. Charlotte was in a hurry to hand us off and gave us to Atlanta Center before we were past Lake Norman. The skies were beautiful. A small amount of haze, but 30 miles of visibility. We called Morganton in sight 20 miles out and prepared for landing on Runway 21. We were on a 10 mile left base when Atlanta terminated flight following.

We checked in on the Common Traffic Advisory Frequency (CTAF) and heard nothing but crickets. Hard to believe there was nobody in the air on this beautiful day! Steve put down his best landing of the last 6 months. MRN is small - how small? Well, it doesn't have taxiways that run the length of the runway so we had to turn around and back-taxi on the runway to get back to the turn-off for the FBO. As we approached the FBO, to our surprise a lineman appeared to park us and he came equipped with a red carpet! Once the propeller stopped turning, we told him we weren't looking for anything but a cup of coffee. His response, "let me put a fresh pot on to brew." Wow! (Note: My first attempt at uploading an image to Blogger - not where I wanted the image. The picture is us on final to Rwy 21).

We've experienced this FBO before. A couple of years ago we few out and spoke with the then-new owner. He had invested in remodeling the FBO and was hoping to tap into the training market and maybe attract a jet or two during the fall leaf season. I don't know how he's doing, but the FBO still looks like the remodel was done yesterday. The new floors still shine and the counter area is filled with pilot supplies and interesting trinkets.

Steve and I chatted the lineman up while we sipped his fresh coffee, then we sent walking the ramp to see what interesting planes were based there. This is often an effort in futility, but today there were a few interesting planes, including a similar vintage Arrow to Aggie, but with much upgraded avionics (if only I could afford 1/2 of the equipment this bird had!). The two most interesting planes were a C172XP amphibious plane. Sitting there on wheels beneath the floats, the 172's door was at least 5 feet off of the ground. The most interesting thing to me about the plane was all of the rigging and cables needed to operate the water rudders and landing gear. The spaghetti-like cables and pulleys rather surprised me given the harsh conditions an amphibious plane may be subjected to. The other interesting plane was a Navion.

The Navion, originally manufactured by Ryan Aviation is an strange bird. It was substantially over-engineered as it was designed for the expected explosion of the general aviation market after WWII. Unfortunately, the explosion was more a burp and never materialized. Ryan designed the plane with a rudder/aileron interconnect system which coordinates your turns for you. Typically, when you apply aileron, you have to apply coordinated rudder to eliminate adverse yaw. Ryan tried to take some of the stick and rudder skill requirements out of flying. What really struck me about the aircraft was how high it sat and how big the landing gear were. The tires were just huge! Steve took a look inside and noted that the interior was larger than most 4 seaters. In fact, it was actually a 5 seater. Unfortunately, it looked like this one had been flown in a number of months, but it did still appear airworthy.

It was time to go. We boarded Aggie with me in the left seat and after a couple of tries to get her to start (my fault), we were back taxiing for a departure on Runway 3. Because the winds were calm and a Runway 21 departure would require navigating the mountains, we took off in the direction opposite of our arrival. A smooth take-off roll and we were on our way home. We got to 5,500 feet about the time passed over KHKY. As we leveled off, we trimmed for cruise at 153 kts ground speed. Once over Hickory, we could see lake Norman 35 miles away. Charlotte let us stay at our altitude all the way to the lake when we were asked to start our descent. We were handed off to Concord and set up for a left base to Runway 2. The approach was uneventful and I set Aggie down smoothly on the Runway (not quite a smoothly as Steve though) and a taxi to the ramp. 1.7 hours of incredibly enjoyable flying and we were done for the week.

Another SC Breakfast Club Run

September 6, 2009

Fall flying weather is almost here. Saturday gave us a bit of a preview. For three days last week it was in the mid-50s in the morning, with clear skies all day. As I looked out my 6th floor office window last week, I was simply hoping for similar weather on the weekend. Sunday wasn't quite as nice as the week had been, but it was clear with roughly 30 miles of visibility.

Flight planning was my responsibility this week and knowing that the SC Breakfast Club was meeting at Columbia Owens Downtown (KCUB) a place we've flown to a number of times, I decided it was time for another fly in. Aggie was in front of the FBO when I arrived and Steve was already pre-flighting (after being fussed at by the line crew for taking a picture from the ramp - the folks at JQF need to get over their power trip). Both Steve and I had asked for fuel, so the tanks were completely full.

Aggie started like a champ and we were soon on our way down runway 20 for a 90 mile trip to Columbia. The initial climb from Concord to the South routes you over 4 very tall antennas. Steve and I have a great deal of respect for antennas, so we are on heightened alert when we take off in this direction. The antennas are about 6 miles away, meaning we are typically 1,000 feet above them when we get to them. Still, you want to make sure you have plenty of room.

Once we were past the antennas, Charlotte cleared us direct to Columbia and into the Bravo airspace. I set us up for cruise at 4,500 feet and we were on our way, cruising around 135kts over the ground. As we departed the Charlotte area we could already hear other traffic heading to KCUB and knew it was going to be a bit hairy getting into Columbia.

Charlotte approach handed us off to Columbia Approach as we passed over Lancaster. The Columbia controller was busy dealing with all of the traffic headed to Owens. As we passed 10 miles East of Winnsboro, two other breakfast-goers called in, one directly over Winnsboro, the other 2 miles behind the first. I was able to spot one of them. They were both in experimental class aircraft meaning they were likely Vans RV6s or RV7s and were going to be 30 kts faster than we were. Still, it gave us plenty to think about as we started planning the approach.

The approach to Owens can be tricky for a couple of reasons. First, Owens can be tough to see. You have to know what you are looking for. The runway is parallel and next to a railroad track, located less than a mile East of Williams Brice Stadium. The runway is 13/31 and isn't well situated for approaches from the Northeast. Runway 13 is right traffic and Runway 31 is left. So, either way, you have to pass midfield coming from the Northeast. With all the traffic coming for the breakfast club, it was going to take some finesse to get in the pattern.

As we got close, the Columbia controller cut us loose so we could talk to the traffic coming into KCUB which does not have a tower. At first we started to deviate to the East in an attempt to go completely around the airport. I decided that wasn't the way to handle this approach. Instead, we turned to mid-field and crossed 2,000 feet above pattern to try to assess the situation. As we crossed, there were at least 5 planes in the pattern and more approaching. We headed Southwest of the filed and made an S turn to drop some altitude. As we did, we had to evade a C172 first, then a Mooney. We were finally able to enter the left downwind for Rwy 31 and landed ahead of the Mooney we had encountered. A smooth touch and taxi to the ramp and we were tied down with roughly 40 other planes. What a mix of aircraft we saw.

These fly-ins are typically sponsored by the local EAA chapter, so there are always kit planes in attendance. For this event, there must have been 30 RV3, RV6, RV7 and other kit aircraft and most of them were absolutely beautiful. Also parked near us was a Piper Turbo Arrow IV, built much like mine (though I don't have a turbo). This aircraft had a Lopresti cowling, new interior, and updated avionics. It was a beautiful plane.

Steve and I made our way to the hangar where a line of about 60 people waited to pay their 6 dollars for eggs, grits, bacon, sweet roll and coffee. We chatted with folks in the line, paid our bill, and grabbed a plate. We sat next to a couple of guys who had flown in from the Greenville area and did some hangar flying as we ate. After breakfast, we walked the ramp a bit and marveled at some of the wonderful workmanship shown by these builder/pilots.

Finally, it was time to jump in our plane and head home. We watched as some of the RVs took off and immediately pitched for Vx to show their climb ability. We taxied to Rwy 31, waited our turn, and took to the skies. We flew over downtown Columbia as we climbed to our cruising altitude. At 5,500, we settled in for the rest of our 40 minute flight. The flight home was uneventful. Charlotte even treated us well, not making us come down early and basically letting us go straight to Concord. As we approached Concord which was reporting calm winds, we expected a straight in clearance to Rwy 2. Instead, Concord had us cut in front of the departure end of 20 and set up for a right downwind for 20. Okay.

Steve planted us on the runway and we taxied to the ramp. 2.3 hours of wonderful flying, some food and pilot fellowship. Another fun day in the air.

Sharing airspace with a B-17

August 30

I woke up to a weather report typical for this area. Concord's weather was VFR with 10 miles of visibility and a ceiling of 6,000 feet. Unfortunately, everywhere else wasn't (and it wasn't forecast to get any better). Steve and I exchanged texts and agreed to meet at our local Starbucks for our usual 'hangar flying' coffee klatch. When we aren't talking about flying, we typically are discussing photography, another of our mutual hobbies. As we were discussing equipment, Steve mentioned his intention to go to the airport after our meeting to photograph the Liberty Belle, a restored B-17 that tours the country and was visiting Concord.

The Liberty Belle has been a frequent visitor to Concord over the last few years. In fact, while I was training, my instructor and I taxied directly behind the B-17 Flying Fortress. Fortress - what a great name for an airplane, eh? An even better call sign. ATC calls it "Fortress Zero Tango Hotel" (the N number for the aircraft is N390TH).

Anyway, Steve and I drove to the airport to take a few pictures. When we arrived, the B17 was open for people to board and photograph. Though I've seen this plane a number of times, I've never been aboard. I was taken by how small the interior really was. Everything centered around the bomb bay - not surprising for a bomber of course. I climbed to the cockpit and took a few pictures. If I ever figure how to post pictures here, I'll add one or two. The cockpit was surprisingly familiar.

After about 1/2 an hour, they started to prepare for the first of many flights for the day. Those not taking the first ride (a 20 minute ride was something like $400) stood about 30 yards away as they boarded the plane and then started the 4 radial engines - very impressive. Fortress 0TH taxied to runway 20 and after a short run-up, was thundering down the runway. Steve and I both took a ton of photos - I haven't had time to do anything with them yet.

After the B17 was out of sight, invited Steve to go take a few laps in the pattern - was was in the mood to fly and it was VFR over Concord, just nowhere else. Steve declined, so I walked out to Aggie, gave her a quick pre-flight, climbed aboard and started her up. Because of the spotty weather and the lack of a NASCAR race that weekend, the airport was pretty quiet (except for the B17 of course) or so I thought. As soon as I finished my run-up, a jet started to taxi behind me. I was cleared to take off and before I was airborne, the tower instructed me to make my crosswind turn when altitude and speed allowed. At mid-field, I was still climbing when the tower asked me to make a close approach due to incoming traffic. It had to have been the shortest lap I've ever made at Concord and it certainly didn't feel right. The crowd awaiting the return of the B17 got to see my rather rushed touch-and-go. The second lap wasn't much different - ending with another close approach. The third lap was much more normal. As I lined up on final in lap 3, I noticed a crowd pulled over on the side of Poplar Tent road just off of the end of the runway and recognized Steve's car. Of course, they were waiting on the B17 to return, but I figured Steve would take a few pics of my landings (he did). Right after that landing, the B17 returned.

I stayed in the pattern as the B17 reloaded and got ready for another passenger flight. I was making what would be my last lap and was on downwind when the Fortress requested takeoff clearance. I was instructed to yield to the B17 and hold my landing a bit. I chuckled to myself - yeah, I'll yield to the bomber. I told the tower, "I'll always yield to the pilot with a cannon" and landed right after the 17 lifted off. It was an honor sharing airspace with such a bird.

I got 10 landings out of the morning, most of which were pretty smooth. I parked Aggie on the ramp and headed home to start on my honey do list. What a fun way to spend a Sunday morning.

An aborted breakfast run

August 23

Steve and I got ready to take to the sky with no destination in mind. As I walked out to the plane to meet Steve who had beaten my by a few minutes, a fellow plane owner flagged me down. Barrett owns a Cessna 182 (he actually asked me to buy a partnership interest in his plane before I bought Aggie). He told me that he and a friend were heading to Monks Corner, SC to attend the SC breakfast club. I asked him about the forecast weather - he told me it was expected to be VFR all morning. After speaking with Steve, we decided to make the trip. After a quick pre-flight, we started Aggie up and taxiied to Runway 02. Barrett in his 182 taxied about 2 minutes behind us. We took off and made the right turn to the East and immediately noticed a cloud layer at around 3 thousand feet which started 6 miles East of Concord. There is a 2,300 foot antenna 6 miles East of the mid-point of the runway at concord and right above the antenna this layer started. By the time we got 6 miles east, we were climbing through 4,000 feet, well above the layer. Barrett and his 182 were 2 miles behind us. We set up for a cruise at 5,500 feet and headed off to breakfast, or so we thought.

We signaled to Barrett to monitor frequency 123.45, the 'unofficial' air-to-air frequency. We talked throughout the flight. Barrett had tucked in about a mile behind us. While we were burning around 11 gallons per hour, he was burning through 15-16 gallons per hour to match our speed. We talked about the forecast weather at Monks Corner and what Steve and I were thinking about our options. The forecast was for VFR, but as we looked down and saw no holes in the clouds, it was clear that our VFR on top situation was unlikely to change. Nevertheless, we decided to give it a shot. Our go-no go decsision was agreed to be 30 miles. As we approached 30 miles, we tuned in the AWOS at Monks Corner and heard what we already knew - a ceiling of 700 feet with no holes. We decided then it was time to turn around.

Barrett asked that we make our turn to the North (left) so Steve put us in a left bank and started a standard rate 180. Barrett wished us well as we headed back to Concord. Interestingly, though he was only 1/2 mile away as we turned, we NEVER saw him!

Fayetteville approach allowed us to stay at the 5,500 ft altitude. Typically, you cruise at an odd altitude plus 500 feet when going East and an even plus 500 when going west. However, we had a layer below us and another layer above us, so we had little choice. The return trip was uneventful. Steve planted us on the runway about 45 minutes after our decision to turn around. Taxi back and we were done for the weekend (2.3 hours total time).

Interestingly, before we got back to Concord, we heard Barrett file a 'pop up' instrument flight plan with a GPS approach to Monks Corner. Clearly our decision to turn around when we did was the prudent choice. Steve and I have a pretty good track record regarding our decision making while flying together.

Anyway, by the time we were done, we had nothing more than a 2 hour flight in the pattern - just the one landing. 2.3 hours total flight time. Even though we didn't make it to our destination, the flight was beautiful and fun. All-in-all, a good morning.

Taking Spencer to Jacksonville

Spencer is going to Key West with his Jacksonville grandparents. Because they were planning on leaving first thing on Saturday, he needed to be there on Friday. Steve and I took Friday off so we could go early to avoid the typical Summer weather in the Southeast.

The last 3 weeks the plane has been out of commission due to a dead alternator. Marc was able to get to the problem this week, so this was to be the first flight with the replacement. After rousting spencer out of bed at 6:15, we all arrived at the airport at 6:45 to pre-flight and get on our way. 3 weeks of no flying left Aggie in dire need of a good pre-flight. We noticed that tires needed inflating, so we had to wait on the line for the ramp guy to come out with a compressor. Once we were fueled and aired up, the three of us jumped aboard for the 310 nautical mile flight to Jacksonville.

Aggie started right up as if she had been flown every day for the last 3 weeks. We got our clearances from Concord and after taxi and run-up, we were on our way.

Unfortunately, summer in the Southeast is hazy. The TAF for Charlotte told us to expect 4 miles of visibility for the climb out and the forecast was spot on. 4 miles of visibility is next to nothing. It's VFR, but barely and it results in what really amounts to instrument flying.

The en route forecast called for hazy, but no clouds until we were near Jacksonville. We chose 6,500 feet for the flight down. High enough to keep cool, but low enough to keep the engine power up. We leveled off South of Charlotte and were on our way. The haze stuck with us for about 200 miles of the trip, but otherwise the flight was pleasant and smooth, except for Spencer's constant reminder to Steve and I of his pizza dinner the night before....whew!

We flew directly to Savannah and then down the coast to Jacksonville. Our destination airport was Craig Municipal Airport (KCRG) - complete with a tower and two 4,000 foot runways. The airspace around Jacksonville is pretty crazy. Between the Navy base, the numerous GA airports in the area and Jacksonville Airport, it gets pretty complicated. The Jacksonville controllers were very professional and helpful. When we arrived in Craig airspace, there were 3 other planes in the vicinity. The tower controller at Craig fit us in nicely and after 2 1/2 hours in the air, we touched down smoothly. We pulled into the FBO ramp area to find Spencer's grandfather in a rocking chair waiting for us.

Knowing the weather was forecast to turn sketchy, we wanted to make our turn quickly. After a hug with Spencer, we sent he and grandpa on their way, paid for the 29 gallons of fuel needed to replace what we had burned, and were on our way. We took off to the North, made a slight right and were headed for 7,500 feet. With the reduced weight, we climbed a bit faster and were at 7,500 feet in less than 15 minutes. The haze lifted quite a bit and we were prepared for a pleasant flight home. Unfortunately, the neutral cross wind we had on the way down turned into a 10 knot headwind on the way home - so our ground speed pegged at 126 knots - making our return leg a bit longer.

The return flight was quite pleasant until we came upon Columbia, South Carolina. I line of building clouds, starting at about 4,500 feet was rising toward us. The line appeared to be thin, but we had to decide whether to drop below 4,000 feet, leaving a bumpy 80 miles to Concord, or climb over. We took option B and headed to 9,500 feet. The clouds were building quickly and even at 9,500 feet we had to dodge a couple of them. Of course, we knew that Charlotte controllers were going to make us come back down quickly, but we wanted to delay the warmer, less stable air as long as we could.

True to form, immediately after we were handed to Charlotte, they commanded a descent to 4,500 feet. We informed them that we would have to take our time due to clouds in the area, but we were able to drop altitude pretty quickly. Once we got to 4,500 feet, Charlotte turned us to the East and left us on that heading, even as we were within 6 miles of Concord. Though Charlotte Approach can be hit or miss, they were more miss this time around than normal. The controller was certainly less than cordial - and frankly, was a bit surly. Anyway, after being routed well East of concord, we were finally given permission to turn to the airport. An uneventful landing and taxi to the ramp and we were done. 5.3 hours logged time.

Steve remarked as we walked to our cars, 5.3 hours is about our limit - our rear ends were a bit sore.

I hope Spencer has a blast in Key West!

Back in the air - another weather diversion

Steve and I are planning on attending our first SC Breakfast Club fly-in next Sunday at a private airport called Triple Tree near Greenville, SC. This airport has a 7,000 foot turf runway, a first for us. So, to prepare for this trip, Steve and I decided to fly to Laurens, SC with a 10 mile detour to scout Triple Tree. I flew the away leg.

Sunday was Father's Day and the day before my birthday, and Steve's. That's right, my flying buddy and I have the same birthday. We shocked each other with that news after we started flying together 3 years ago.

We were anxious to get up in the air, so both of us were at Concord a bit early to pre-flight. Aggie has been sitting for 3 weeks, so her tires were a bit low. We asked the line crew for some air. Once the rubber balloons were full, we climbed aboard. Aggie started right up and within minutes we were holding short of Runway 02. It was a very hot day, so density altitude was around 2,000 ft. That meant a longer than usual takeoff roll and a sluggish 500 ft per minute ascent.

A left cross wind turn and then downwind and we were talking to Charlotte departure. Luckily, Charlotte decided to route us directly over the airport, which meant we were going to get to fly straight over uptown. With me in the left seat, Steve was free to take some shots of the Charlotte skyline.

Once Charlotte was in our rearview mirror, we were cleared direct to Laurens. We were handed off to Greer approach which, though busy, was very helpful. As we passed over Union, SC, about 15 miles from Laurens, we turned to the ATIS at Laurens. Under "remarks" the ATIS noted there was lightning West of the field. Greer confirmed there was thunderstorm activity 9 miles West of Laurens. Steve and I looked at the clouds ahead and decided we didn't want to risk getting anywhere near a thunderstorm and informed Greer we were going to divert to Union. as we descended toward Union, a place I've landed a couple of times, we noted the runway there is less than 4,000 ft. and given the heat and humidity, we were going to have an interesting takeoff if we decided to stop there, so as we approached 2,500 feet, we decided we should instead go East to Chester.

So, we headed to Chester and set up for a long left base for Runway 23. We landed there and then taxied on the closed runway - that's being charitable - the concrete needs mowing - and headed over to Skydive Carolina for a cup of coffee. Skydive Carolina is an interesting operation. There are a number of RVs there - evidently people spend weekends there - and they look like they have a good time at night b/c every time we go over there, most of them are still asleep. Our arrival has a tendency to wake one or two people up and it's not pretty.

Anyway, as we got our coffee, we took a look at the weather. The storm which caused us to divert was staying about 10 miles Northwest of Chester, but we didn't want to risk getting stranded so we gulped down our coffee and headed back to the plane. 5 minutes later we were taxiing to the active runway. We took off on Rwy 23 and made a right turn towards Concord. Unfortunately Charlotte didn't let us back in the airspace so we stayed well south of Uptown. We were clared for a straigth in to Rwy 2 at Concord. Steve put us on the ground and we taxiied to the ramp. 2.3 hours of flight time and a lot of fun as usual.

We didn't get to scope out Triple Tree, but we will still try to make there on Sunday.

Shuttle trip

I didn't fly this weekend - neither did the Space Shuttle - damn.

Dad and I have been talking about meeting in Florida for a Shuttle launch before the program ends. I've always wanted to watch a launch and the opportunities are dwindling. Dad has been a rocket enthusiast since he was a kid - building and launching model rockets in the 50's. A hobby he tried to get me to pick up. I was never much into model anythings, but I did enjoy flying rockets.

So, last month dad and I set on the June 13 scheduled launch for STS 127. We both waited until the last minute to make arrangements - just in case the mission was delayed. I made a reservation on Wednesday to fly to Orlando on Friday. Dad decided to drive - he was in Dallas visiting my sister.

Dad arrived on Thursday night and spent Friday getting information. Neither of us have seen a launch and since I struck out getting tickets, we needed to figure out where we could go to watch. Dad found out that we could get within about 6 miles at the astronaut hall of fame. There were 3000 tickets going on sale at 1:00 a.m.

I arrived in Orlando at 7:30, grabbed a bite to eat then hit the sack for a short nap. We left at 11:00 Friday night. When we arrived at the astronaut hall of fame, we were told that we could actually get onto the grounds of the Kennedy Space Center and watch there if we got there before 0100. So, we drove up the road to the space center.

What they do there is allow patrons to watch from a field on the grounds. Unfortunately, there is not a clear view of the shuttle on the pad (in fact, there are very few ways to see the shuttle on the pad - and that's pretty disappointing) but once it clears the tower, the space center is a good venue (supposedly).

Anyway, we paid our admission and entered the space center just past midnight. They were running bus tours until 0230, and since we had nothing else to do, we decided to take the tour. We had actually taken the tour when he and I went to the Daytona 500 in 2007.

First stop - the Saturn V display. We sat through a short film and then piled into a theater/mock up of the launch command center. Right in the middle of that presentation, my BlackBerry buzzed. I took a look and saw that the e-mail was a CNN Breaking News Alert. I knew before I even opened it that it was bad news about the Shuttle. Sure enough, at 1:30, less than 6 hours before the scheduled launch, the mission was delayed. That took the wind out of our sails.

Nevertheless, we finished the tour and then spent some time in the rocket garden playing with our cameras. I got some pretty interesting (at least to me) shots and a couple of great shots of the moon. we arrived back at our hotel at 4:45 a.m. and went to bed. After some sleep, we went exploring. We hit a professional camera store (a dying breed these days) and then had lunch in downtown Orlando by a lake with an impressive fountain. We then headed back to the coast to scout potential spots for dad to view the Atlas V launch on Wednesday and possible the Shuttle later that week. Unfortunately, I can't go back due to work commitments, so I will have to rely on his telling of the experience.

We came back to the hotel and dad hit the sack pretty early. Sunday was spent doing very little as I had a 3:00 p.m. return flight.

Here's hoping dad gets to see a couple of launches this week before he heads back to Texas. I sure wish I could join him.

Steve and I will take to the skies again next weekend.

Back in the air!

Sunday the clouds cleared, the rain stopped, and the sky opened up for flying!  I was so anxious to get in the air, I went to the airport half an hour early and pre-flighted Aggie.  By the time Steve got there, I was ready to go.  Steve hopped aboard and a turn of the ignition and Aggie, even after 3 weeks asleep, woke right up.  I decided I wanted a familiar trip and a side trip to shoot some pictures of the Lowe's corporate HQ, so Hickory (KHKY) was our destination.  

A weak front had just come through, clearing the clouds out, so winds were out of the North.  We were cleared to taxi to Runway 2.  After taxi and a thorough runup, we were cleared for departure, though a C-172 had just come by on a touch and go so we needed to let him create some distance before we took off.  I lined us up on centerline and waited for the 172 to gain a little altitude.  Once he had, it was full forward on the throttle and away we went.

Our flight to Hickory, though with a 19 knot headwind, was pleasant and rather short.  As we approached Hickory, we were handed off to Atlanta Center and then Hickory Tower.  We were advised to expect Runway 24, so we set up for a very long left base.  I handed Steve my camera to take some pictures of the Hickory Crawdads baseball stadium and I started our descent.  Three miles out, I made the turn to final and put down a good (not great) landing.  Chirping tires signals a good landing, but we were able to feel the touchdown, so it wasn't a greaser.

As we taxied by the Hickory terminal, we marveled at a collection of old aircraft next to the terminal.  When we got to the FBO, we asked the attendant if we could go take pictures of the planes.  She told us that they were a part of a museum located in the main terminal and she thought they were open.  So, we walked over to the terminal, what a depressing sight.

Hickory hasn't had commercial air service for a couple of years.  So the terminal is deserted.  The ticket counters and baggage claim are there, but they are dark and empty (except for the old schedules still on the wall).  In front of the ticket counters there is a mockup of a pilot ready room, complete with briefing chairs.  

After exploring the empty terminal, we headed to the museum.  Unfortunately, the free museum was closed (they don't open until 1 - we'll make a return trip).  So, after a restroom break, we went back to the plane and got ready to head home.  We switched seats, meaning Steve would fly the return.

Back to Runway 24 and we were on our way home.  First, we had to make a small detour to the North so I could take some shots of Lowe's HQ.  Charlotte Approach was kind enough to provide RADAR service on what sounded like a busy Sunday morning for them.  We flew to the HQ and then Steve set us up for a right 360 so I could take some pictures.  We made our circle and then headed to JQF.   After waiting for another plane to land, Steve put us down on Runway 2.  

A short taxi back to the FBO and we were done flying for the week.  1.3 hours back in the air - a wonderful way to spend a sunny late-spring morning.

No flying today . . .

The joys of spring in North Carolina include regularly unstable air.  Storms rolled in from the south most of the day today - resulting in no flying for me and a delay in the NASCAR race which I had planned to attend.  

I've been ramping up to begin my instrument training - it's past time.  I need about another month to get through the DVDs and read a couple of texts and then I'll be ready to start....right about the time of my 42nd Birthday in late June.

The weather pattern we experienced today is supposed to last through the week.  I'm hopeful that the weather will clear out by next Sunday.....I need to get in the air!

It's been a while

Life and work intervened to stop my blogging for a number of months.  In addition, I few less this winter than I had expected, so there wasn't all that much to talk about.  However, I think it's time to start up again.  

In January I got to experience an owner-assist annual on Aggie.  My A&P Marc and I took a weekend and took her apart.  I learned a great deal about her systems and developed an even greater appreciation for the skills of an A&P mechanic.  Marc really knows his stuff and he's called upon to do sheet metal work, avionics, electrial systems, aluminum fabrication, airframe work, and much much more.  I was a glorified go-for, and did little more than remove screws - lots and lots of screws.  Nevertheless, it was a worthwhile experience and if Marc will have me, I'll do it again next year.

The following weekend I had the pleasure of taking the secretary to the Judge I clerked for out on a birthday/retirement trip with her daughters for lunch in Columbia before they returned to Concord for a spa visit.  On the coldest day of this winter, one of the daughters and I flew to Rock Hill to pick up the rest of the party.  We flew to Columbia and had lunch at California Dreaming before flying back.  It was a wonderful trip.

The last real trip I have taken was a roundtrip with Spencer to Chapel Hill to watch the ACC lacrosse tournament.  We had a great time until we got slapped around by a thunderstorm as we were descending to land.  The storm was 15 miles away and still tossed us around.  

Anyway, it's time to start this again.  I have a BFR due this month and I need to get started with my instrument training....I've put if off long enough.  So, maybe I will use the blog to log my my training.