A Great Day for Flight
With a few minor problems, Saturday was a great day in St. Michaels...and Tangier Island. The weather was about as nice as you could wish for, brilliant, haze-free sunlight with a high of about 72 and 10-15 knots of wind from the north. The girls slept late and Nancy got out to her run early, but found her joints hurting still from her triathlon and cut her run a little short. Meanwhile, on Thursday, I had reserved the 172 with the G1000 instruments for the flight, and although it seemed windy on the ground the FAA said there were no reports of turbulence and no hazards to flight. Better yet, Catherine had agreed to wear her headset. "My" 182 was out all weekend with someone else -- I'd waited too long to schedule my flight. My excuse: I'd become spoiled because the 182 had been available practically whenever I wanted to fly it, even sometimes when calling up the FBO the same day, for the last several months. This is doubtless because it is less expensive to do local or training flights in the 172's and only take the 182 for the vacation trips that become much more common for most pilots in summer.
I tried to second guess the absence of cellular service on the island by filing IFR, and exactly on schedule we arrived at the airport. Elisabeth whimpered a little but did not have a huge display of screaming and yelling like she did the last time. The child seats from my car are just enough smaller than the ones in the minivan that they actually fit (snugly) in the 172's back seat; I'd already made weight and balance calculations that assured me that until the girls are teenagers, the 172 can still carry all of us without violating its limits, even with full tanks. (The 182 I usually fly has much more carrying capacity and could carry 4 adults with 100+ pounds of baggage, too.)
But, arriving at the desk at the airport we had our first reverse: I had made my reservation online, and later, a previous flight was re-scheduled, double booking the airplane. But, the other flight was an instructional flight with an instructor I have flown with twice, and he was still there watching his student preflight. The lady at the desk got him back inside and explained the situation. I had been saying it was possible for me to fly the other 172, without the integrated avionics, but the instructor said actually that wasn't so: "Technically you're not current on analog instruments any more. How long ago was it when you last flew without the G1000?" I had to admit it was 2 years or maybe even more. So, he talked his student into switching to the other plane and I took the plane with the fancy instruments.
We got the girls inside and I did the preflight, then called for the clearance. Then the second goof happened...Ground said they had no clearance on file. This is fallout from the privatization of Flight Service (AOPA keeps saying it isn't really privatization and the FAA is merely contracting it out, but I think that's merely semantics). Their huge contract with Lockheed Martin has shown everyone why the FAA did such a poor job of modernizing the system before that..it was a tough job whether Federal or private interests were working on it. Well, I called Flight Service again on my cellular from the plane and straightened it out, but once things were fixed, only then did I realize I'd left the master switch on and the instruments and lights running. When I tried to start the engine there wasn't enough juice left in the battery; it turned the propeller, but not fast enough to start. I got help from the line person -- we know each other by sight now -- and he jump started the airplane (not before giving me another opportunity to show my knowledge of Cessna systems by telling him it was a 28 volt battery) and we were on our way. Elisabeth sobbed a few times when the engine first started, but Catherine was as good as her word, wearing the headset and even talking through the intercom a few times during the flight. So, I'm now having a 50% acceptance rate on the children's Christmas presents (yes, I gave everyone headsets).
I'd boned up on the autopilot manual to make sure I remembered all its quirks, so I had no trouble using the autopilot for most of the flight, including climbs and descents to capturing preselected altitudes and switching from "Nav" to "Heading" mode for flight planned routes and vectors. So, the flight was quite relaxed (once Potomac Approach was finally able to hear me, after I tried to call them 4 times). The controllers sent us right down the middle of the bay, somewhat longer than the direct route. With all the delays it was 3 when we arrived and we were all hungry.
Once parked there was good news/bad news...the good...the attendant wasn't manning the "terminal" trailer with its bathroom to collect our landing fee, which has gone up to $7 from $5 last year. (I don't begrudge them the fee: the runway is quite lumpy now so that after the touchdown the plane bounced repeatedly as if in a pilot-induced oscillation). The bad news: the trailer was locked, so there was no bathroom. We walked to Mrs Crockett's and had another excellent seafood lunch. The island was crowded with tourists who came on the ferry (and a few who came by plane). catherine discovered that that first step out of the plane is a long one, and I showed her the step on the landing gear leg where she could put one foot (see photo 1).
I tried to second guess the absence of cellular service on the island by filing IFR, and exactly on schedule we arrived at the airport. Elisabeth whimpered a little but did not have a huge display of screaming and yelling like she did the last time. The child seats from my car are just enough smaller than the ones in the minivan that they actually fit (snugly) in the 172's back seat; I'd already made weight and balance calculations that assured me that until the girls are teenagers, the 172 can still carry all of us without violating its limits, even with full tanks. (The 182 I usually fly has much more carrying capacity and could carry 4 adults with 100+ pounds of baggage, too.)
But, arriving at the desk at the airport we had our first reverse: I had made my reservation online, and later, a previous flight was re-scheduled, double booking the airplane. But, the other flight was an instructional flight with an instructor I have flown with twice, and he was still there watching his student preflight. The lady at the desk got him back inside and explained the situation. I had been saying it was possible for me to fly the other 172, without the integrated avionics, but the instructor said actually that wasn't so: "Technically you're not current on analog instruments any more. How long ago was it when you last flew without the G1000?" I had to admit it was 2 years or maybe even more. So, he talked his student into switching to the other plane and I took the plane with the fancy instruments.
We got the girls inside and I did the preflight, then called for the clearance. Then the second goof happened...Ground said they had no clearance on file. This is fallout from the privatization of Flight Service (AOPA keeps saying it isn't really privatization and the FAA is merely contracting it out, but I think that's merely semantics). Their huge contract with Lockheed Martin has shown everyone why the FAA did such a poor job of modernizing the system before that..it was a tough job whether Federal or private interests were working on it. Well, I called Flight Service again on my cellular from the plane and straightened it out, but once things were fixed, only then did I realize I'd left the master switch on and the instruments and lights running. When I tried to start the engine there wasn't enough juice left in the battery; it turned the propeller, but not fast enough to start. I got help from the line person -- we know each other by sight now -- and he jump started the airplane (not before giving me another opportunity to show my knowledge of Cessna systems by telling him it was a 28 volt battery) and we were on our way. Elisabeth sobbed a few times when the engine first started, but Catherine was as good as her word, wearing the headset and even talking through the intercom a few times during the flight. So, I'm now having a 50% acceptance rate on the children's Christmas presents (yes, I gave everyone headsets).
I'd boned up on the autopilot manual to make sure I remembered all its quirks, so I had no trouble using the autopilot for most of the flight, including climbs and descents to capturing preselected altitudes and switching from "Nav" to "Heading" mode for flight planned routes and vectors. So, the flight was quite relaxed (once Potomac Approach was finally able to hear me, after I tried to call them 4 times). The controllers sent us right down the middle of the bay, somewhat longer than the direct route. With all the delays it was 3 when we arrived and we were all hungry.
Once parked there was good news/bad news...the good...the attendant wasn't manning the "terminal" trailer with its bathroom to collect our landing fee, which has gone up to $7 from $5 last year. (I don't begrudge them the fee: the runway is quite lumpy now so that after the touchdown the plane bounced repeatedly as if in a pilot-induced oscillation). The bad news: the trailer was locked, so there was no bathroom. We walked to Mrs Crockett's and had another excellent seafood lunch. The island was crowded with tourists who came on the ferry (and a few who came by plane). catherine discovered that that first step out of the plane is a long one, and I showed her the step on the landing gear leg where she could put one foot (see photo 1).
This time Catherine tasted most of the things on the menu and liked the crab cakes, which were unusually good, better even than the clam fritters, my usual favorite. We managed to get milk for them, not usually on the menu, and that seemed to help Elisabeth; she also ate quite a bit. (Last year she was interested only in the iced tea, something she doesn't get at home). Then it was a bathroom stop and we walked towards the golf cart rental place. I wanted to use a golf cart to just ride around the island before going home. But, the lady who rents them leaves after the last ferry departs. A man sitting by the docks offered to call her and bring her back (yes, this is a VERY small community), but looking at the time I could tell that would take too long, so I decided to start back. Tangier Island has a sand beach, but it was too cold for swimming and that, too would have taken too long. (By the way 2 people actually recognized us...shows again how small Tangier Island really is).
Well, right by the golf carts was a gray kitten (see Photo 2), and Elisabeth just went into transports. Luckily the kitten was friendly and let itself be petted and hugged. Catherine soon got into the swing of it and also petted the kitten. Then we tried to get the girls started back to the plane and the kitten actually followed us a little way, and Elisabeth started tearing leaves off a vine that was climbing a fence -- she hasn't figured out what to give a cat to make it happy (Tuna is always a safe bet; Tangier Island cats probably have a taste for crabs and oysters). Then I recognized the vine...you might have guessed...poison ivy. We just couldn't avoid holding her hand to keep her under control on the way back, and I was foreseeing that the trailer would still be locked and therefore there was no place to wash hands until Easton. I suggested we rinse in the Bay but Nancy said that would be ineffective (and since she has a PhD in biology, it was obvious she spoke with authority). We arrived at the airport and indeed, the trailer was locked. We saved $7; our stay was free except for the meals and the aircraft rental. Then Nancy had the idea of washing our hands with the baby wipes she'd brought. We did that, and as of Monday mid-day, no symptoms were in evidence. We avoided the rash.
Then we got into the airplane and departed, almost exactly on schedule at 4:30. The wind was against us on the return trip so it took a bit longer, but about 5:20 we landed at Easton and had to get the baby seats out of the plane right away because it was scheduled to fly again (I think management made a big profit that day with all 3 rental airplanes flying).
However, the FAA's forecast was a little optimistic -- there was an occasional episode of moderate chop -- maybe not real turbulence -- as well as quite big updrafts and downdrafts when we crossed over a shoreline. It didn't seem to bother the girls, but Nancy says she would rather not fly with them when it was any worse.
Elisabeth has evidently re-evaluated flying now that she knows it can take her places where there are friendly, cuddly kittens. Sunday and Monday AM she repeated "Airport" over and over again. I hope she isn't terribly disappointed if the next time we fly we DON'T go to Tangier Island. She still won't wear a headset, however. Catherine seems to accept flying as just another form of transportation. Our flight to Tangier Island was about 45 minutes each way. They are used to 2-hours in a car between Arlington and St. Michaels. I think soon we could fly further, maybe next summer to the Outer Banks? We should fly again somewhere a little further than Tangier Island first. Like maybe Cape May?
Nancy recorded videos of the landings and one of the takeoffs; links to the landings are provided here. Note the abnormal bouncing that happens after the airplane is on the runway, due to the Tangier runway's lumpy condition.
posted by SToby at 21:17
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