Day Seventeen: Tucson to San Diego

What a nice morning... I was able to sleep in, cool clear skies all the way to San Diego, and a pain au chocolat (dark chocolate-filled croissant) for breakfast. The bobcat kitties were nowhere to be seen; they were probably hunting for their own morning meal. Gil and I hadn't had enough Grumman talk yesterday, so we continued after Doris left for her violin lesson. He just redid his interior, so I got some pointers as N3SK is ready for an upgrade from its vintage 1979 burgundy seats and carpet. Just before heading to the plane, I received a confirmation that my friend Tim would be available for lunch in Scottsdale, AZ, so I modified my flight plan to include a stop there. We "taxied" in Gil's car on the air park's taxiways (no pesky airplane traffic got in the way) over to the parking area where N3SK was tied down. The wind was just a few knots, favoring runway 19, which conveniently sloped slightly downhill for a little extra help on takeoff. I packed up N3SK for the last time, said goodbye to Gil, and prepared for departure. My flight to Phoenix took me directly over the area's primary airport, Sky Harbor, which is a rather common method to transition little planes like mine flying under visual flight rules across congested areas. After passing over Sky Harbor, I was handed off to Scottsdale tower and I proceeded to land on runway 21. Tim met me at the nice, but dated, terminal building, we ate lunch and caught up on our respective lives over the past year or so, and off I went again drilling holes in the sky, this time for the last time on this trip. For such a short leg, there was much diversity along the way: sprawling development, vast empty desert, dried lakes and rivers, isolated mountains, green fields along the Colorado River and on the southern end of the Salton Sea, paratroopers dropped from a British C130 (gave them LOTS of room), the Yuma sand dunes, boulder-strewn hills and mountains, and finally the familiar green and brown landscape of San Diego. I couldn't help but smile when I saw the outline of Coronado in the reflecting sun off the Pacific Ocean and San Diego bay which surround it and also when I got to talk to SoCal approach and finally to Montgomery tower. Upon landing, I headed right for the hangar to button-up N3SK, as I was anxious to get home. It was a great trip, but I was happy to get home, see Steve, watch the sun set over the Pacific, and savor the memories of an awesome stretch of seventeen days. My sincere thanks goes out to all who hosted me in their homes, provided excellent service and hospitality at airports across the country, my airplane mechanic Glen (N3SK performed flawlessly on the entire trip), Bob for his company and co-piloting for the first half of the trip, and to everyone reading this blog and others who helped make this trip such a pleasure and success. Today's flight totals: 3.4 hours, 393 miles. Final trip totals: 45.3 hours, 5406 miles, 19 states.

Day Sixteen: Belen to Tucson, AZ

I got up this morning to BNSF alarm clock at just the right time, just before my watch alarm sounded at 6:30am. Unlike last night, this was the first train I heard all night. The weather looked fine for today's flight to Tucson and for tomorrow's flight home from there, so I could finally relax weather-wise. Kristine picked me up an hour later and we headed to Belen. The airplane was unscathed following yesterday's thunderstorm that passed through the area. My travel chocks, snug tie-down chains, and secured gust lock did what they were supposed to. The plane was refueled and I was paid a visit by the new airport manager who wanted to know what I thought he could do to improve the facilities there. The previous managers had let the airport "go", but he was interested in bringing more traffic in. I recounted some of my experiences from the last two weeks and what services were available at each airport. He took some notes, thanked me for the feedback, then hopped in an old Cessna 172 and took off. One of my suggestions was to make an Internet-accessible computer available, since the airport didn't have one available for public use. The owner of the propeller overhaul shop on the field let me use his, though (I forgot how SLOW dial-up is). The weather looked even better than forecast, so I packed up the plane and took off to the south and headed back over T or C and Deming to avoid high terrain before hanging a right to fly west toward Tucson. There was light to moderate turbulence during the entire flight, so I was relieved to land at La Cholla Air Park, a private residential airport where my friends Doris and Gil live, just to the northeast of Tucson. This is one of those cute little airports where people own houses and hangars lining the runway... a pilot's dream come true. I got to know Doris and Gil a couple years ago at an AYA convention and while both our planes were being painted at Flying Kolors in Riverside, CA. I got hangar-envy as Gil gave me a tour of his spacious, concrete floor, air-conditioned (swamp cooler, actually) hangar. Shortly thereafter, I was shown the guest room and caught a glimpse of one of the resident bobcat kittens next to the pool. Bobcats, rattlesnakes, and other critters are common sights around here, so you "learn to look down" as you walk around outside. Tonight, southwestern cuisine is on the menu for dinner, and I can finally sleep in, since home is only 2.5 hours away and the weather is forecast to be severe-clear all day. Today's flight totals: 3.0 hours, 325 miles. Trip totals: 41.9 hours, 5013 miles, 19 states.

Day Fifteen: Belen, NM

As expected, rain and thunderstorms had already moved into southern New Mexico this morning and were heading north toward Albuquerque, so I decided to stay put. My hotel was near a very active freight railway line, so I had the joy of being serenaded several times throughout the night by the BNSF trains passing by. Needless to say, I was a little tired, but it was a beautiful morning and was up for anything Kristine had in mind. Turned out that was a day in Albuquerque at the New Mexico State Fair, touring the city, and dinner before heading back to Mountainair. Kristine's friend Ruth accompanied us to Albuquerque, a drive which took us through grassy plains and mountainous pine forests. The fair was fun and provided a good people-watching opportunity. One of those thunderstorms passed by, but we were in the creative arts pavillion as it dumped some rain and moved north. After leaving the fair, we drove around the city and ended up doing some wine tasting at Corrales Winery and Casa Rondeña Winery, both of which were surprisingly very good (who knew good wine could come from New Mexico?). For dinner, we headed to a great little French brasserie, La Provence, where we had very good entrees and excellent crème brûlée for dessert. The drive back to Mountainair took a little over an hour, after which I prepared to leave tomorrow for Tucson, AZ.

Day Fourteen: Sugar Land to Belen, NM

My early morning weather check was a pleasant surprise. The southern half of Texas was expected to be clear of any weather, except for late afternoon isolated thunderstorms in the southwestern portion of the panhandle. I made my goal El Paso, with a fuel stop in Fort Stockton, a town Bob and I flew over almost two weeks ago. Scott brought me to the airport and watched me preflight the airplane and depart runway 17 on another instrument flight plan. The winds aloft forecast was pretty accurate, translating to a little boost west for an average ground speed of 135 knots. Fort Stockton airport's sole purpose in life appeared to be to provide fuel and some air conditioning for transient pilots. After getting some of both, I headed for the flight planning room to see if any storms had popped up yet. Fortunately, the only one in the entire area, including western New Mexico was several miles south, so as long as I took off within the hour, I'd be OK, as it was moving north relatively quickly. I still had quite a bit of energy and since I was eventually planning on stopping near Albuquerque, NM to visit my friend Kristine, I decided to go all the way there today. Doing so would also save me from staying in El Paso again. My destination was actually Belen, about 25 miles south of Albuquerque. Landing at Belen would save Kristine some driving time from her home in Mountainair, a little town about 50 miles southeast of Albuquerque. My flight to Belen took me past El Paso, over Las Cruces, NM, and up through the Rio Grande Valley past Truth or Consequences ("T or C" as the locals refer to it). I started my short descent into Belen (the airport's elevation is 5100 ft and I was flying at 6500 ft) just as Albuquerque came into view in the distance. As I waited for Kristine, I cleaned some caked-on bugs off the wings and watched some skydivers land in the field adjacent to the runway. I also had some time to log today's flights which I soon realized were, collectively, a milestone for me: the longest distance flown solo in one day. My next stop is Tucson, AZ, which should only take 2.5 hours to get to, a far cry from the 6.2 hours I just flew. Today's flight totals: 6.2 hours, 891 miles. Trip totals: 38.9 hours, 4688 miles, 19 states.

Day Thirteen: New Orleans to Sugar Land, TX

I really wanted to stay in New Orleans for another day, but the red capital "L" on the weather chart was headed straight for the city. The worst weather of the day was only going to be an overcast layer of clouds at 2500 ft, so I took my time getting started. As far as where to fly to, I decided to visit my long-time friend Scott from high school who lives outside of Houston with his wife and kids. When I got to the airport, the scattered clouds of the morning were already filling in, so I filed IFR so I could easily get up to 6000 ft where I'd have some help from the easterly winds. Departure from Lakefront Airport was uneventful, as was the entire flight. I filed for 6000 ft, but as I headed west, that put my right in the middle of an ascending cloud deck. Upon receiving my request for higher, the helpful controller let me climb to 8000 ft. The wind was reporting calm at Sugar Land airport, but the approach was pretty bumpy. After landing, I unloaded the plane and soon entered one of the nicest general aviation terminals I've encountered on my trip. I hadn't seen Scott in about 10 years, so we had lots of catching up to do after providing him a little tour of N3SK. The plan for tomorrow is to press west, so I'll try to start early to avoid the afternoon thunderstorm activity. Today's flight totals: 2.6 hours, 315 miles. Trip totals: 32.7 hours, 3797 miles, 19 states.

Day Twelve: Crestview to New Orleans, LA

Aside for being awakened by a cat fight outside at around 3:30am, I had a good night's sleep and, as usual, got online first thing in the morning to check the weather. That low pressure system was heading toward the panhandle, so I decided to keep moving west. The next stop on the agenda was New Orleans, where I lived for four years in the mid-'80s. By the time I got to the airport, the clear skies had already turned to broken and almost overcast, which was earlier than the forecast. There was quite a crosswind for my departure, but that translated into a nice 35 knot tailwind at times. Once I got to Mississippi, there were just a few clouds here and there and smooth air. I was headed for New Orleans' Lakefront Airport, which has still not fully recovered from the damage it suffered from Hurricane Katrina. Just last month, the control tower had reopened, but there is still quite a bit of reconstruction to be completed. Fortunately, the services I needed such as fuel, rental car tie-down, and fresh-baked cookies upon arrival were available. As I've become accustomed to, my rental car was driven up to the plane, so I could load up my luggage and be on my way in short order. I hadn't been to New Orleans since before "the storm" and was curious to see how the recovery was going. Between the airport and downtown, there were many abandoned houses, overgrown with various types of plant life, but at the same time, there were lots of "now open" signs on the businesses along the way. I mainly confined my drive to the French Quarter, the central business district, and uptown, so I did not see the hardest hit areas, which I'm told are still devastated except for a few pioneers here and there. In the areas I drove through, aside from the St. Charles Avenue streetcar line still not operating (expected to re-open later this fall), there was little evidence of the storm. The homes along St. Charles and in the Garden District were as stately as ever, Tulane University was bustling with activity and sporting a new university center building, the Camelia Grill recently re-opened, and the French Quarter was alive and well, although the number of tourists seemed a bit low. I had dinner in a revitalized area on Magazine Street and, of course, headed to the Cafe du Monde for beignets before a little bar-hopping in the Quarter and taking a go-cup between stops. So, I can personally attest that New Orleans is alive and well and is certainly "now open", so if you've never been or haven't been there in a while, plan a visit and help the recovery. Now back to my trip... there is some weather headed this direction, scheduled to make landfall Saturday morning, so it looks like I'll continue west tomorrow, possibly stopping in Houston or go a little farther to Austin. Today's flight totals: 1.4 hours, 194 miles, one state. Trip totals: 30.1 hours, 3482 miles, 19 states.

Day Eleven: Richmond to Crestview, FL

General aviation is great in that you can make your own schedule and go to ten times as many airports as the airlines have access to. The down side, at least with non-turbocharged, modestly-equipped planes such as N3SK, is that you have to be flexible to account for bad weather. The original plan was to go to south Florida to visit my grandmother (or as the family calls her, "Nanny") and my aunt and cousins. Unfortunately, there was a big clump of yellow and red stuff (read: storms) on the radar pictures stretching from east of Jacksonville across the Florida peninsula and up the east coast to Virginia. Another low pressure system off the west coast of Florida added to the mix. First Flight was out, and if I wanted to still go to south Florida, I'd have to overnight somewhere in southern Georgia and try tomorrow, but still risk getting stuck down there for an extra day or two. I called Nanny and told her of the inevitable verdict and, needless to say, she was not pleased. After all, it was beautiful outside from her window and planes can just make it through anything. I promised I'd visit in November, so she felt a little better as we hung up. On my way back from Fort Lauderdale, I was going to visit my friends Brian and Leon in Crestview, FL, near Pensacola, so Crestview became today's destination, as the weather enroute was fine, just some overcast and broken clouds around 6000 ft for the first half. I had a little time to spare, so my niece Gracie and my sister-in-law Mary Catharine got to go for a plane ride, just as Charlie and Warren did

yesterday. Same route as before (to make it fair), and Gracie had a blast. We may have a budding pilot on our hands, Warren and MC! After we landed, we ate from the airport cafe's lunch buffet, and I headed to Crestview. Winds aloft were very favorable, providing a nice 15-20 knot tailwind most of the way to my fuel stop in Columbus, GA, and about a 10 knot tailwind from Columbus to Crestview. I'm glad I went IFR because the chart looks like a collage of restricted, advisory, and warning areas, with a few MOAs thrown in. Brian picked me up in his late father's Buick and we headed home to enjoy the balmy, yet slightly breezy Florida evening. Today's flight totals: 4.9 hours, 540 miles, four states. Trip totals: 28.7 hours, 3288 miles, 18 states.

Day Ten: Manassas to Richmond, VA

Today's flight was the shortest of the trip so far. It was a treat to only have to use one chart. It was a nice VFR day, but as I did yesterday, I filed IFR to avoid the any issues with departing the Washington area ADIZ. Doing so had the side effect of adding 21 miles on to the flight, but the extra ten minutes wasn't going to make much of a difference in today's schedule. The southern half of the runway at Chesterfield County airport, one of Richmond's general aviation reliever airports, was under construction, so I was left with about 2400 ft of tarmac to land on. No problem for a Grumman Tiger, even if the runway is sloped downward at 0.7%. My short-field landing skills turned out to be up to snuff today, as I stopped the plane in less than 1000 ft. My brother Warren and my four year-old nephew Charlie met me at the terminal building, as did two very courteous linemen. Although not quite old enough to qualify as a Young Eagle, Charlie was anxious to take an airplane ride, so I unloaded luggage, reconfigured the plane to four-seat mode, and off the three of us went for a little flightseeing. We stayed just outside the Richmond Class C airspace and flew over their house, my niece Gracie's school, and one of my favorite Richmond landmarks, the Westhampton Bakery (try the ice-overs... they're awesome). Of course, one of the first things Charlie did when we got home was tell his sister how great the flight was, so tomorrow, I'm going to try and fit one in for Gracie. As for my next destination, I'm not quite sure yet. I still want to visit First Flight airport, a little airstrip adjacent to the Wright Brothers Memorial in Kitty Hawk, NC, which won't be a problem. Further south, however, there is currently a tropical disturbance just off the coast of Florida, which is expected to drift west if and when it gets organized. If I head to south Florida as originally planned, I may not be able to make it all the way to Fort Lauderdale, and if I do, I may be stuck there for a while. One option is to skip the peninsula altogether, head for the panhandle, and visit my grandmother in early November (after hurricane season ends) when a business trip will take me to Key West. We'll see what the weather looks like tomorrow. Today's flight totals: 0.8 hours, 100 miles. Trip totals: 23.8 hours, 2748 miles, 14 states.

Day Nine: Readington to Manassas, VA

I love San Diego, but one thing I miss about living in the northeast US is autumn. While it's technically not fall yet, it felt like it this morning. Crisp, cool air and clear skies were a perfect recipe for flying. On one hand, I was a little disappointed that I only had to fly about 200 miles today, since the east coast weather was great and I could make it pretty far south. On the other, it was going to be a nice change just to fly for a short distance in nice weather, and I was looking forward to my stopover in the DC area. Either way, though, this flight, as with all flights during the rest of my trip, will be flown solo. Before going to the airport, Bob and his childhood friend Anna, took me to see the grave sites of my paternal grandparents and great aunt and uncle Helen and Sid. They were very special people, so whenever I'm in the area, I try to pay a visit. This visit was especially fitting because I was able to afford my original flying lessons due to a small inheritance from Uncle Sid. If it weren't for that gift, I may not have a pilot's license today. Thanks, Uncle Sid! Later, Bob and Mark dropped me off at the airport to see me on my way. Despite the beautiful weather, I decided to file IFR to avoid all the special rules associated with the ADIZ around Washington, DC. After a quick, but sad goodbye to Bob, I hopped in the plane, got my clearance via cell phone (completely different from what I filed), and took off toward Manassas, VA, west of DC and just south of Dulles airport. My flight took me directly over Frederick, MD, the home of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, and a short distance from Martinsburg, WV, where the last Tigers were built up until recently. My flight at 6000 ft had me skimming the tops of some very thin and occasional scattered clouds. Soon after Washington came into sight and passing Dulles, I was cleared for the visual approach to Manassas airport's runway 16R, the same designation which provided the title for an excellent movie about general aviation, One Six Right, released last year. Upon taxiing up to Dulles Aviation, the lineman drove my rental car up to the plane, loaded my luggage, and prepped N3SK for an overnight stay. Today's flight totals: 1.7 hours, 198 miles. Trip totals: 23.0 hours, 2648 miles, 14 states.

Day Eight: Knoxville to Readington, NJ

It was a chilly morning on the mountain in Fines Creek. Chilly, but clear, except for a little fog down in the valley. The night before we decided on a flight plan which had a slew of waypoints in it, vice a more boring direct course. The multi-point plan added a few minutes, but we figured it would be nice to see some progress as the waypoints passed. Our IFR clearance was exactly as filed and was available immediately after we called clearance delivery (a first for me). When we taxied to the end of the runway, we got our takeoff clearance immediately after calling the tower (another first). The flight was just as trouble-free, as we had a 10-15 knot tailwind most of the way as we traveled along the Appalachian Mountains, had no turbulence, and only flew through clouds for about 30 seconds as we descended into Readington, where there was quite a variety of activity... a big, blue blimp practicing landings, a Cessna doing touch-and-goes on the crosswind turf runway, and a couple other planes coming and going. In the distance we could see New York City and New York Harbor. We finally made it to the East Coast!! We landed, fueled up the plane, and were happily greeted by Margie and Anna, two of Bob's sisters. After a short drive to Anna and her husband Mark's house, we walked up to the front door, on which hung a congratulatory Superman poster, and balloons waited inside. Soon more family and friends showed up and the Jersey-Italian-Jewish feast began (enough food to feed four times as many people) and was topped off by a delicious chocolate cake from Shop-Rite. Bob's family were so friendly, generous, lively, fun to be around, and made me feel part of the family; I would love to stay longer. Unfortunately, my tight schedule has me leaving tomorrow for the Washington, DC area, and more unfortunately, leaving Bob behind. He plans to spend the week in New Jersey and fly home on the airlines. I will truly miss him on the rest of my trip as he was a wonderful traveling companion, a great co-pilot, and overall a generous, free-spirited, and virtuous person. I hope he enjoyed the trip east as much as I did. Today's flight totals: 4.4 hours, 548 miles, five states. Trip totals: 21.3 hrs, 2450 miles, 14 states.

Day Seven: Knoxville

Well, we're still in Fines Creek. Got up early today and we couldn't see more than 20 feet past the house, although that's a common occurrence here in the western North Carolina mountains. Everything looked OK weather-wise for our flight up to New Jersey except for the winds, which were forecast to be 30 mph and gusty on the surface and more than 40 at our planned enroute IFR altitude of 7000 ft. This would have meant a rather bumpy ride, since our route has us paralleling the Appalachian Mountain range. The effects were worse closer to our planned destination. To make matters worse, the runway at Readington was oriented such that we'd have a 90 degree crosswind, and at the forecast wind speeds, we wouldn't be able to land there. So... we decided to spend another day with Mom and Dad and leave tomorrow, when the winds were forecast to be much less and the skies clear all the way. We drove to Dillsboro, a little town further west, which was having an antique and car show, ate some good ol' North Carolina BBQ for lunch, saw some beautiful waterfalls, had some ice cream in the upscale town of Highlands, then headed home for a quiet evening.

Day Six: Knoxville

I'm really in Fines Creek, closer to Asheville than to Knoxville, but the plane is still in Knoxville. We slept until around 9am, due to the long flight yesterday and another time change. It rained all day, as we toured The Ridge, a real estate development Mom and Dad are involved in and live adjacent to, Maggie Valley, and Waynesville, where we ate a late lunch. Tonight we'll relax in order to be fully refreshed for tomorrow which will include a photo-taking flight for Dad and the next leg of our trip up to Readington, NJ.

Day Five: Fort Worth to Knoxville, TN

Fortunately, Humberto, now a hurricane, didn't move too much overnight. Even so, we'd have to stick to our "up and over" plan to avoid the rain bands heading northeast. What we didn't anticipate was how much IMC (in the clouds) time there would be. Of the four hours of flight time for the first leg from Fort Worth to Dyersburg, TN (DYR), we were IMC for about two of them. I finally had enough about 80 miles west of Dyersburg, and after listening to some ASOS reports in the area, realized if we descended down to the next lower IFR altitude (7000 ft), we'd be out of the clouds. Ahhhh... much better. Soon the Mississippi River came into view and landed shortly thereafter. Every little airport I have visited has a unique feature and DYR was no different, as the restroom there sported a toilet tissue-dispensing gnome. The weather eastward was great... 9000-11000 broken to overcast, until the mountains on the west side of Asheville. Then it went downhill, as Asheville was reporting three different cloud layers below 8000 ft, and after all that IMC time, I wasn't up for an approach in the mountains as it was getting dark. Knoxville became our destination after realizing that after taking into account the difference in flying distance and driving time to Mom and Dad's place from each city. The overall 25 minute penalty was worth it. We were treated to an easy VFR flight, including the opportunity to fly over Crossville, TN, where I purchased N3SK almost five years ago. After landing in Knoxville, we packed up the rental car and quickly headed for Ruby Tuesday for dinner, followed by the drive to Mom and Dad's 40 miles west of Asheville. We'll be staying there for a few days, so it will be nice to spend some time with them and also take a well-deserved break from the Weather Channel, ADDS, and DUATS. Today's flight totals: 6.4 hours, 758 miles, five more states. Trip totals: 16.9 hours, 1902 miles, nine states.

Day Four: Fort Worth

Today started out great... nice weather, got caught up on work email on the Blackberry while at my meeting (you didn't read that, Barb), had a tasty lunch at the LM Aero cafeteria, and gave a half-decent briefing, while Bob was touring the historic Fort Worth Stockyards. Then I saw the headline on Yahoo Go!: "Tropical Storm Humberto Forms Off Texas Coast." Up until that point, it looked like tomorrow's estimated six and a quarter hours of flight time to Asheville would be a cinch. That sure changed real quick. Right now, however, it's looking like we may be able to avoid most of it if we go "up and over" from Fort Worth to Asheville instead of direct. In any case, it will most likely be lots of time in the clouds. Time will tell, as will the satellite and radar pictures in the morning. We'll probably get up quite early to increase our chances of outrunning Señor Humberto should we decide to go.

Day Three: Junction to Fort Worth

Today didn't start out too well. Bob peeked out the window around 7-ish and saw low clouds, mist, and... LOTS of crickets, so we figured we were in no hurry to get up and at 'em. I eventually got online to check the weather. Six-hundred overcast at Junction, but 1200 broken at Fort Worth. If we were going to Fort Worth today, it meant going IFR, but the longer we waited, the more the skies would improve. Biscuits 'n' gravy, eggs and sausage were the highlighted offerings at breakfast, as were the Texas-shaped waffles. Ten minutes after we called Bill to pick us up, he pulled up with as friendly a smile and "How y'all doin'?" as we were given yesterday. The ASOS was reporting 900 overcast on Bill's handheld aviation receiver and by the time we packed up the plane, filed our flight plan, topped off the tanks, and got our clearance it was up to 1200 overcast. Off we went into the wild, gray yonder. Our enroute cruising altitude was 7000 ft, which kept us anywhere between a few hundred feet above the cloud tops to in them for a few moments at a time. Skimming along these clouds with no turbulence at all was quite special. As we neared Fort Worth, the overcast layer below started to break up and bits of the green northeastern Texas flatlands came into view. The Slugg-Five arrival followed by vectors to the RWY 34R ILS got us lined up with the runway, a nice view of downtown, and an uneventful visual approach and landing (darn... no "real" instrument approach to log). After getting the car and checking into our room at the Homewood Suites, we headed to Piranha Killer Sushi for dinner in the Sundance Square section of Fort Worth and then to the Texas Roadhouse for some dessert before turning in. Tomorrow it's down to business for me, as I must attend a meeting at Lockheed Martin. The weather is looking good for the next leg of our trip on Thursday to Asheville, NC. Today's flight totals: 1.9 hours, 205 miles. Trip totals: 10.5 hours, 1144 miles, still just four states (Texas sure is a big one).