On Friday afternoon, with 5 to 9 planes expected (subject to weather), we headed for Longview. For this flight, we didn’t even take the GPS. After making sure that Ryan and we were on the same pages, we picked up the rental car and headed for the same motel we stayed at for the fly-in in 2006.
Saturday morning is clear in Longview, but I can see a cloud bank off the the southeast. The weather indicates that there will be extensive cloud cover over Louisiana and southern Arkansas. Sigh, we will just hope for the best.
It started off slow, Buzz Payne drove over from Gladewater about 10. But by noon, we had 4 airplanes on the ramp and another family driving in from Shreveport. We wound up with 5 airplanes and 13 people eating very good BBQ on the balcony overlooking the ramp. Much information was exchanged, along with many tales, some of which had at least a grain of truth.
By 2:30, people were getting ready to leave. My ankle was about to give out from countless trips up to the balcony and back to the ramp. After everybody had left, we settled up the bill for lunch and saddled up just before 4:00 for the short flight home. Overall, it was a very good day. We can’t praise the staff at KRS enough for all they did to make us feel at home.
Gary and Mary get a Mouse!
By Sunday afternoon, it was cloudy again. And now we have another “project” going. A couple from Delaware that we had gotten to know through the internet had finally decided to buy their own airplane. And after weighing the pros and cons had decided that they needed a Sundowner. After a couple of false starts, they had found a suitable one in Palestine, TX.
The owner had brought it the Aero Country so AeroMark could do the pre-buy inspection. It passed with flying colors and Gary and Mary set up to come to Aero Country on Thursday, Oct 1 to pick it up. Various things got in the way and they were finally set up to get to Palestine on Thursday to do the paperwork and come up to Aero Country Friday morning.
I talked to Gary Thursday night and he seemed pretty excited. I needed to finish up the oil change in preparation for BAC Fest, so told him I would be out at the airport Friday morning and maybe we could go to lunch before he and Mary headed east. Sandra had Special Olympics bowling from Noon to 2:00, so would have to take a pass.
Friday morning, I did the run to Tex-Air for oil and filters and then to Aero country. I finished the oil change in good time with no problems, and called Gary before closing up the hangar. They were still goofing around Palestine, waiting for Emery to get off work, so I closed up the hangar and ran over to Sonic for lunch. When I came back, I went on down to AeroMark to see if they had heard anything. While I was there, Gary called and said they were about ready to leave. I walked over to their plane while I was talking to him and gave him my quick impressions of it.
Then I called Sandra and said that if she came to the airport from bowling, she could see it and meet them. Then, I just hung around and waited. Mark moved the Sundowner up to the front ramp and Sandra arrived shortly before 3:00. We were climbing all over it when the Baron taxied in. Sandra said, “Quick, get a towel and wipe the drool off the wing before they get over here!”.
Greetings made, we all did a slow dance around the Sundowner, oohing and aahing. Gary, Emery and Mark went inside to go over paperwork while Mary, Sandra and I continued dancing around the airplane, everybody talking at once. At this point, Gary and Mary wanted to get everything taken care of, take a quick familiarization flight, eat a bite and then head east. I didn’t think it was possible, but said nothing at this point.
They are still talking about getting a quick meal and heading east, but it is now after 5:00 and sunset is at 7:00. By the time we could take them even just to Sonic and back, gas up and takeoff, they would have less than an hour before sunset. It has for them already been a long and stressful day. Far better to eat a good meal, and relax in a comfortable motel here then start out early tomorrow morning.
They easily give in to that logic and we put the Sundowner to bed, load suitcases and Mary into the Trailblazer and Gary and I into the Eggplant. We had agreed on Rockfish for dinner, But I got confused and wound up in the parking lot at Saltgrass instead. A quick cell phone conference and we decided that Saltgrass would be more than acceptable. After a sumptuous repast, we dropped them and their baggage off at the Hampton in Allen with the promise to fetch them at 7:00 the next morning.
Gary called around 9:00 that evening to let us know that they had made it all the way to the fly-in in West Virginia they were wanting to attend, arriving just at dark. The plane had performed flawlessly and Mary was ecstatic.
BAC Fest 2009.
The event was to be held in Gatlinburg, TN, and we had to go. We planned a long route home, going to Kitty Hawk, Williamsburg, Atlantic City and Gettysburg, including a day at Williamsburg with Gary and Mary. We plan to leave on Wednesday, and overnight at Tullahoma, TN, meeting the fly-out group for lunch on Thursday to continue on to Gatlinburg-Pigeon Forge-Sevierville.
As I said, we HAD to go, so we began making plans to drive. Packed and ready, Wednesday morning, we couldn’t see across the street. We dawdled around and finally left around 10 with half mile visibility. We made it to Arkansas and ate lunch in Arkadelphia. We got gas somewhere between Little Rock and Memphis, eating Dinner in Jackson, TN and continuing to a Hampton Inn, just east of Nashville. We were in rain at Texarkana with a little sun in Little Rock and back to rain by Memphis.
Thursday morning, we continued on in rain and fog crossing the Cumberland Plateau, getting gas around Kingston and arriving in Sevierville to check in to the motel shortly after noon. The Motel is just across the street from the Tanger Outlet Mall and Sandra joined the girls there for some hardcore shopping while I joined the guys for lunch and some hard hardcore tale swapping.
After some chow and a lot of yak, we all head back to the “convention center” for the afternoon. The group slowly swells as more people arrive. There is to be a welcome reception this evening with munchies and drinks, so many of us go back to our rooms to rest and freshen up.
Friday morning is cool (to cold, depending on the thickness of your blood), and threatening rain as we pass through the small breakfast room and then gather at the center to start the day’s activities. The girls are on their own as the guys carpool to the airport for a tour of the flight line and some seminars. That was followed by pizza for lunch and more sessions and a return to the center to make evening arrangements.
Sandra and I had a meeting with the Executive Board to discuss our exploration of San Antonio as a site for the 2010 meeting. This meeting and the further action on this subject were the principal reasons that we had to be at this event. Although we haven’t been there yet for this purpose, we have been there before and since August, I have been in touch by email with the FBO and others in that area regarding the possibilities.
After the meeting, we rejoined the main group where more fun was had while we decided on dinner arrangements. Sandra and I set up to eat with Chris and Leann, but the first choice had a 45+ minute waiting line. We all walked around the corner to another place where we were seated immediately. The food was excellent and the conversation stimulating. Chris and Leann are good people.
After dinner we rejoined the group at the center. The girls yakked about what girls yak about or played games, while the guys yakked about what guys yak about (mostly our airplanes). After 10:00. People began drifting off to their rooms for the night.
Saturday morning is also cool, cloudy and spitting rain. I attend the Board Meeting at the restaurant up the hill from the motel which goes long and adjourns back to the center to finish up. The board enthusiastically approves San Antonio as the site for next year among the other business.
At the members luncheon/business meeting, I got the privilege of announcing the selection of San Antonio for the 2010 meeting. The announcement got a huge ovation. I wonder if that was due to us all having spent 3 days in 40-50 degree, rainy, cloudy, weather now looking at having next year’s gathering in a place where that type of weather would be the exception, not the rule.
After the lunch and some more yakking, we all adjourned to our rooms to prepare for the evening banquet. The facility was nice, the food was good and there was an open bar. What more could you ask for? It was an enjoyable evening among good friends. Someone likened it to a family reunion, but with people that you really liked.
Sunday morning was cold, but clearing. Now, the sun comes out. Other than a brief period of sun in Arkansas on Wednesday and Thursday afternoon, this is the first sunlight we have seen since October 3. We dressed and packed, ate breakfast and joined the gangs saying their goodbyes in the parking lot. After loading up the Trailblazer, and some more goodbyes, we hit the road.
We first went out to the airport so Sandra could see their beautiful new FBO building, then back down Chapman Highway to Knoxville. Out on I40, to Nashville where we ate lunch. We made it to the west side of Little Rock before stopping for the night. We were home again for lunch on Monday.
It had been a good BAC Fest, but we noted in the motel Sunday that we were supposed to be in Williamsburg, VA.
Scouting San Antonio
Now that San Antonio is the official site for BAC Fest 2010, we have to get down there. We were amazed at the number of people at Gatlinburg that didn’t realize that we, north of Dallas, are 260nm from San Antonio. Texas is just a big state.
Now began correspondence with people there in earnest. We arranged a trip down there, but weather and scheduling conflicts couldn’t be reconciled, so it was set for the next week. Finally, all was set up and we were off the ground by 10:00 on 11/12. Dallas approach gave us a squawk code, but initially kept us clear of the Bravo. Just as we were over Richardson, they routed us just to the west of Downtown and out over Redbird.
Past Redbird (Dallas Executive) we climb to 4500 and I rest my hands in my lap. Past Temple, the Redhead takes control and practices flying with her hands in her lap. When we are handed off to San Antonio approach, I take the controls back. They keep us at 4500 over the SAN VOR, San Antonio International and most of downtown, handing us off to the Stinson Tower for a straight in on 14. The usual long straight in where I haven’t lost all the needed altitude before final. We are a little long and float some more before arriving firmly.
The FBO Owner, Randy met us at the plane and after securing it, getting the rental car and unloading the bags, he took us to lunch at the BBQ place that they recommend to cater the BAC on field lunch. It was excellent!
After lunch, we walked down to the Terminal building for a meeting with the airport manager, Jennifer and Randy’s wife, Sheila. It was a lengthy and very satisfying meeting.
After the meeting and a quick tour of the new terminal building, we walked back to the FBO where we went over some more Items with Sheila and Kathy, the FBO office manager. Then we headed for town via the “scenic route” (old US281). We learned that if you use the tourist maps to get to the hotel, you won’t get there. The streets around the Alamo no longer match the map. We wound up behind the hotel. No big problem, back around between the hotel and Riverwalk Mall to the front.
We get checked into our room and while Sandra “power naps”, I explore. If we do choose this hotel for the meeting, I’ll get asked a million questions, and I need to have answers, not guesses. Come dinnertime, we head out for Mi Tierra, a San Antonio institution, for some good Mexican food. We had eaten there before, but that time we got sucked into the “walking distance” myth. Fortunately, that was 15 years ago and we were both a whole lot younger. Anyway, this time we drove.
As expected, the food and ambiance were great. We ate a leisurely meal to the accompaniment of the wandering mariachis, then eventually back to the hotel. There, we explore it some more, checking out the guest amenities like laundry and exercise rooms and meeting rooms. Then to our room for the night.
Friday morning, we arise, shower and dress, then check out the very ample breakfast. We wait in the lobby for our scheduled meeting with the convention staff. Zella and Caryl were enthusiastic about hosting our group and assured us that every concern or question we had was a “no sweat”.
Zella took us on another quick tour to show us details of the setup that we couldn’t see on our self tours. She then set up a meeting with the San Antonio Convention and Visitors Bureau for us. It is only 3-4 blocks, so we walk over there. They are remodeling the buildings, but we find the right way in and get to spend 30 minutes with a person that only furthers our impression that everyone here wants to help us make this the best BAC Fest ever.
We take the “scenic” route back, along the Riverwalk, stopping at some shops so Sandra can feed the shopping monkey on her back. We stop at the Alamo for a little and then back to the hotel. Check out and after one false start, find the direct route from there to the Interstate southbound. Put a couple of gallons of gas into the rental and back to the FBO. We walked over to the terminal for lunch in the café and back to prepare for the flight home.
Weather briefing says that it should be a nice flight home and we are saddled up and off about 2:15. Stinson Tower arranged flight following for us while we taxied out and we reach our cruising altitude of 5500’ just as we pass over Randolph AFB. Trim out and put my hands in my lap.
The plane drones on, over Canyon Lake and just west of Austin. Sandra takes over before Temple and flies past Waco and over Hillsboro. Then just west of Waxahachie, “Four Lima Bravo, traffic at 11:00, 5 miles southwest bound, showing 5200.”
“Four Lima Bravo, looking.”
“Four Lima Bravo, traffic is 3 miles, your altitude and head on.”
“Four Lima Bravo has traffic.”
“Four Lima Bravo take whatever action you need to for avoidance”
“Roger, traffic is turning south.”
“Traffic is towing a glider”
“Traffic just released the glider”
“Glider is turning north. I’ll go between them”
“Roger Four Lima Bravo. When able, descend and maintain 3500.”
We remain at 3500 over Lancaster and then down to 2500 over the junction of I20 and US175. From there straight home to a decent landing.
It has been a wonderful trip. We have seen the facilities we will be using for the meetings and met some very nice and extremely enthusiastic and helpful people.
Oklahoma City
We have had Corpus Christi on our list for years. We have just not had the opportunity to make it yet. So we say we will go during Thanksgiving week. It will be a three day trip and we have a four day window to work with. Unfortunately, it turns out that the weather would keep us from leaving or returning or arriving and departing no matter how we juggle the three days in that window.
But, we also have a 2 day to Oklahoma City on the list and Friday-Saturday looks doable. So Oklahoma City it is. We go through the list of available airports. Norman appears to be the best choice, but Oklahoma plays Oklahoma State there on Saturday and that is not a mess we wish to be part of. We settle on Wiley Post and I call and make the arrangements with the FBO.
It is only 160nm, so we take our time getting ready. Out to the airport, preflight and gas up and we are rolling down 17 about 10:45. At 4500’, it is reasonably clear and very smooth. We come in over Norman and the empty stadium where tomorrow’s shootout will be held. We descend passing between downtown and Will Rogers with Wiley Post in sight. We make a wide downwind over the lake and turn base to join the other traffic. Final is a little shaky in the gusty wind, but I have the flaps down and am steering towards the turnoff when Sandra asks, “Are we on the ground yet?”.
We taxi on to the ramp, leaving plenty of room for a Bonanza waiting to taxi from the FBO. A line boy has driven a little black car out to the tie down area and is getting out with chocks in his hand. I taxi into the spot and shut down. He places the chocks and begins tying the plane down while Sandra makes the picture and I am cleaning up the cockpit. I hand Sandra the keys and she starts unloading bags.
The park will eventually contain some 400 pieces depicting the start of the “Land Rush”. From the starting cannon, people on foot, in wagons, carts, etc and on horseback rushed into the newly opened territory to stake claims. The statues are about 1.5 life-size and are well executed. We walked all through them and made lots of pictures.
Being pretty well “walked out” for the day, we headed for the hotel. Right in the middle of Friday quitting time traffic on the Friday after Thanksgiving. Everyone who was not working was at the mall and we passed 2 of them on the way. Somewhat of a mess, but not as bad as Dallas.
Checked in and freshened up, we checked with the desk clerk for dinner recommendations. When he said good hamburgers, I perked up. I don’t consider them a necessary dietary item, but the Redhead does. The place was named Bunny’s, and it was a true “hole in the wall” joint. There were only 4 tables inside and a counter, but the burgers were handmade and the fixin’s were also. We stuffed them down and then had the homemade shake/malt for dessert.
Saturday, It is very pretty, but a little cold. The promise is that it will warm nicely into the upper 60s by noon. The only major stop left for us is the National Cowboy Museum. Dress, repack, eat breakfast, check out and head out. The hotel is on the northwest side of town and the museum is on the northeast side on 63rd street. About 10 miles. We get there just as they open.
When we are done, 63rd goes straight back to the airport. We stop along the way to put gas in the rental. Load up the plane, preflight and get the weather briefing and we are ready to head for home just before 1:00PM. It is very windy and we know we will have to paddle upstream all the way but the wind will be slightly lighter at 5500’. We are showing ground speeds between 60 and 70 knots during climb but we go up like a rocket, reaching 5500 by the time we are passing downtown OKC.
Passing over Norman, we can see the stadium filled with people as we drone along at about 85. The wind up here is in long waves. We will slowly rise for several minutes then slowly go down for several minutes. But it is smooth enough that I fly along with my right hand gently manipulating the trim wheel to keep us fairly close to 5500.
Just past Whitesboro and US82, I begin a slow descent towards home. Due to the slower groundspeed, we have descended faster than planned and have to level out a bit over Gunter to make it come out right. It gets rough below 3000’, and from the McKinney weather we know the landing is going to make me earn my pay. 14G23 and 30 degrees to the right makes final a little rocky and on short final we catch a big wind shift which points us at the hangars then at the trees. It plonks on and straightens out nicely before the nose wheel comes down. We are home.
It was a dark and stormy winter, but we finally got to Corpus Christi
The poor mouse sat in the hangar the rest of the year. It was cold, it was dark, it was stormy. It even snowed on Christmas Eve. We have some friends who have a condo at Pompano Beach, and they invite us down for a week. After juggling schedules around the Special Olympic activities, we can carve out the period between Jan 23 and Feb 3. As the trip will require a minimum of 6 days (2 out, 2 there, 2 back), we must leave before the 29th .
As soon as the long range forecasts move into the window, we start watching them. It quickly becomes clear that the first decent day is going to be Sunday the 24th and then that the weather here will deteriorate by the 27th and be bad for several days. We now have a 3 day window for departure. If the weather moving through here on the 23rd will kick east quickly, we can get there.
Thursday the 21st is decent with light winds, so we go out to blow the dust off the Mouse and get gas for Sunday. We goof around a little winding up over Gainesville where I execute two very decent touch and goes. Then back to Aero Country where I make another decent landing on 35 and taxi back to the fuel farm. We bring the tanks up to just under 50 gallons for the leg Saturday to Vidalia, and gab for a while with the other people gathered around. Then home for supper.
Friday afternoon, it is looking like the front passing here Saturday will slow down some, but we still might be able to make our planned overnight in Andalusia, AL, so I set up car and motel for Sunday evening. By late Saturday afternoon, it is obvious that we would be lucky to get across Mississippi, let alone any part of Alabama on Sunday.
So the Redhead says, “What is the consolation prize?”.
“I dunno, but it won’t be east.”
From the list of places to go, “How about Hot Springs?” “High temperatures in the 50s.”
“Corpus Christi?”
“Well, let’s see.”
The last plans generated for Corpus had us going into Ingleside. It is not a full service FBO and the only rental arrangements are through Enterprise. Out in the country like that, they are closed from noon Saturday to Monday morning. We wouldn’t be able to get a car there… Check out the FBOs at Corpus. Signature will jump through any hoops you put up normally, so the extra price for gas will be worth it.
Now, the plan is to take off mid-late morning and stop for lunch and fuel at Victoria. That will keep the fuel purchase at KCRP small enough to be bearable. I call Signature and set it up.
Sunday morning is clear but windy. A weather check says that going east ends just east of the Mississippi River, so the last hope of going to Florida evaporates. I leave a message at Andalusia and Sandra calls our regrets to Betty. We leisurely pack for a 3 day trip. The weather briefing has nothing in it but mild to moderate turbulence below 10,000 and wind that will begin diminishing later on this afternoon.
We finally take off before noon with the Aero Country wind at 340@16G24. The wind at 4500’ will be nearly behind us for a while, giving us ground speeds near 140 knots until we are south of Waco. Then it begins swinging slowly to the west. Around Bryan College Station, Sandra takes over the controls. It has been a decent flight so far in spite of the forecasted turbulence. But is slowly gets rougher. I take the airplane back to begin the descent and below 3500, it gets really rough. The wind at Victoria is gusting over 30 knots, but is very close to the runway heading.
When I call up the tower, we are cleared immediately for landing on 30 right, report right base. I fight our way into position and report, the tower gives us an update on the wind, 320@17G32. This will be interesting.
I roll out on final with only 2 notches of flaps and have little trouble holding the centerline. The airspeed is good as I pull the power over the threshold. It is settling nicely and then the world goes to hell in a hand basket. About a foot off the ground, the stall horn goes off. Not a chirp, but a wail. I add a little power and it stops. But we are now rising. Noticeably. Pull power off and we skip off the pavement with the stall horn blaring again. Add a little power and then remove it. We skip off the pavement again. Add a little power and repeat. The next skip, I can feel that the airplane is ready to stop flying, but this time the nose has come up and turned to the right. Straighten out nose and back to the proper attitude and it plonks firmly on the ground.
Get the flaps up so it won’t take a notion to fly again and roll out. Sandra says, “That has to be the ugliest landing I have ever seen. Are you going to log all 4 of them?”. None of them had been hard and except for the third one the nose had stayed right where it belonged. No harm, no foul. Taxi in to the FBO. Fortunately, there was a G-IV parked right outside and the people inside had only been able to see the approach and roll out.
Order fuel and hit the facilities, then get the courtesy car and head for town. We leisurely eat way too much good seafood and amble back to the airport. The wind is still whistling and howling, but is still forecast to quieten some by six, so we lay around the airport until almost 4:30 before saddling up.
The mouse literally leaps off the runway after about a 50’ roll (it seemed like). For the 70nm leg, we only went up to 3500 and endured the bumps. But the big problem was the sun. It is mid-windscreen, directly over the compass. This becomes an even bigger problem as we start looking for the airport. There is some haze/blowing dust over the area and although we clearly identify the airport, we cannot make out the runway arrangement. There not being any other traffic, I finally call the tower, “Corpus, I’m looking directly into the sun and cannot see the runways. I think my current heading will put me on a right base for 31.”
“Looks about right to us, Four Lima Bravo. Current wind is 300@20G30.”
At about 2 miles from the centerline, I can make out the runways and taxiways clearly. Make a minor track adjustment and start slowing down. Again with only 2 notches of flaps, we start the turn to final and run into a downdraft. When I get straightened on final, all I can see on the VASI are 4 red lights. Add enough power to stop the descent and cross the threshold a little faster than normal but at normal height. Pull almost all the power and get into landing attitude, spring loaded to respond to any gusts with a bizjet on a 5 mile final behind us.
It settles gently on the runway in one of my best landings ever. On the tower’s instructions, we roll on to the Bravo Three exit and contact ground. We then lead the Bizjet by the commercial ramp and around to the FBO.
By the time we have seen to the care and feeding of our trusty Mouse, loaded the rental and departed the airport, it is already after 5 and the sun is setting. We are suffering from a terminal bad hair day from being in the wind, so our first stop will be the motel. We check in and freshen up a bit and then discuss further activities. We are still stuffed from lunch, so immediate dinner is not under consideration. About 8:00, we foray out to look for a light dinner. After driving around town, we settle for snacks in the room and call it a day.
Monday morning, we hit the buffet breakfast in the motel (No complimentary breakfast here) and head out. We are feeding the parking meter at the Lexington at 10:00. We do the Hangar Deck and Flight Deck and watch the Fighter Pilot movie. Wander a bit more, hit the souvenir shop and get back to the car with 3 minutes left on the meter.
Next, we start on a drive around the bay. Across the bridge to Ingleside, where we stop at a Sonic for tea. Next on to Aransas Pass and across the causeway and use the ferry to get to Port Aransas. Then out onto the beach for a walk in the surf. Continue down Mustang Island to Padre Island and back across to town. We stop for a snack on one of the T-heads and after a bit more of downtown, get back to the motel about 5:00.
We lay around for a while and about 7:30, head back downtown for dinner at the Water Street Oyster Bar and Restaurant. The food was excellent. Stuffed again, it is back to the room for the night. We discussed going to Fredericksburg for the night Tuesday and returning home on Wednesday, but the weather in Dallas Wednesday is still forecast to be bad, so we decide to head for home on Tuesday with a lunch stop in Lampasas.
After taking care of all the minutiae; checkout, fill rental, preflight, pay bill, briefing, etc., we take off on the 203nm flight to Lampasas at 10:00. The winds are light from the southeast and we are cleared for takeoff on 13, with an immediate turn on course, altitude at our discretion. Surprisingly, the visibility is excellent and the air is so smooth that I have my hands in my lap except for talking to Corpus Departure. Level at 4500’, there isn’t anything to do but relax and enjoy the ride. We pass west of Sinton and the Goliad airport, east of Kennedy, over Nixon and east of Seguin. Directly over San Marcos and Lake Travis and east of Burnet and we can see the airport, 15 miles ahead, directly over the nose.
Released from Flight Following, I set up for downwind with a Bonanza approaching from the west. We turn base as he goes over the top. When I turn final, the runway picture says I am low, but the location on the windscreen says I am about right. Over the threshold, I pull the power and we seem to float forever. The touchdown is not bad and the turnoff is near the south end anyway, so we roll out with no brakes until just before the turnoff. As we roll towards the ramp, I look back for the Bonanza and realize that the runway has one heck of a slope up to the north end. Almost as much as Banning.
The ramp is deserted. There is a portable building on the north end that seems to be the “FBO”, Self serve gas pumps with a Cessna filling up and 2 hangars on the south end with a pickup parked in front of one of them. The Bonanza taxis in and parks beside us as Sandra heads for the FBO. I make the picture and then walk over to use the facilities. It is empty, cluttered desk and the obligatory bulletin board with some ads on it. Both Airnav and AOPA had said there was courtesy transportation available, so I walk past the Cessna to the hangar. A marginally friendly man inside says to look around the FBO for a phone number to call. I go back and look. By this time, the two guys from the Bonanza are inside and wondering just as we are. I go back out to the plane and after checking the kneeboard sheet and Flight Guide, call the listed number.
The girl that answers is not associated with the airport, she works in city hall. Hmmm. I walk back to the FBO. One of the guys has used his iPhone to make some calls. Yes, the listed number does go to City Hall, but he got someone who knew the score. A guy is on his way to pick us up.
We all get acquainted while we wait. Soon a big Suburban pulls up and we pile inside. After a quick poll, we elect to go to the Country Kitchen. The two guys opt for the buffet line and we order sandwiches. We leisurely eat and talk and then call for the pickup. Back at the airport, I fire up the mouse and taxi uphill to the fuel island while the guys potty and saddle up. As I am walking back to the FBO, they are taxiing out. I get briefed and go potty and we saddle up for the 148nm hop home.
Pulling onto 16 for takeoff, this looks more like a ski jump than a runway. I’m sure glad we are on 16 rather than 34. Off we go, climbing quickly to 5500. Smoothness and good visibility continue and we are clipping along in the high 120s. Between Hillsboro and Waxahachie, we are handed off to Dallas Approach and they soon drop us to 3500. The Bonanza at Lampasas is the only plane we have dealt with so far, but we now enter a hornet’s nest. Planes pass below us and above us. We have traffic in all quadrants, including a 737 heading straight for us between Love and Addison as we are descending to 2500. That’s a sight that will get your attention!
We come out the north side and close Flight Following as soon as we identify Aero Country. We swing a little east so Sandra can make a new picture of Boon Elementary for use in the Gold Day presentation this year. Into the empty pattern and the landing is not one of my best, but we are home.
