2016 Fathers Day Breakfast pictures

A warm sunny day and light winds was perfect for our annual Father's Day fly-in/drive-in pancake breakfast!

Flight from Lincolnton, NC to Marcellus, NY

Weather always makes flying more interesting!

After a short but great visit with family in Iron Station, NC that included an afternoon in the pool and watching my nephew Nate play an evening ball game in Charlotte it was time to head back.

Remember that cold front that we flew in behind two days ago? Well, its story didn't end there. After stalling out over South Carolina it backed up a bit and sat with its associated low pressure over Virginia. An area of showers and thunderstorms were waiting patiently for us to make our return flight. It was to the west of our flight path and there was plenty of room to head east if necessary. The Prog charts showed scattered showers in the morning along our route with clearing midday and more numerous showers again later in the day. We had a good window, or so we thought...

After saying 'good day' to Charlotte ATC we climbed a 3,500 foot cruise and relaxed for the 2+ hour flight north to Virginia. 

It wasn't too long before it was obvious that this area of storms was moving much faster than forecast. Radar updates every 10 minutes on Garmin Pilot app showed it moving across our planned path from Statesville to Shenandoah. Diverting further to the east it became a race to round the corner ahead of the storms to then turn north again. Going 100 mph would seem fast in a Walmart parking lot, but in the sky with large distances to cover and trying to outrun storms crossing your path that move at 40+ mph it feels like you are just sitting there!

Nope, not flying under that.

Rounding the mark and turning north

Staying to the east of this area of storms that covered more than 100 miles and turning north we still had options to the east and south. However rounding the corner I was feeling like our options were narrowing. We could take a chance of beating this before it cut us off near Washington. Going further east along the Atlantic coast was another option but many of the airports along the way were still socked in and apparently not clearing up as forecast. I wasn't happy with the way things were going. Time to land at Danville Regional about 10 miles to the southeast of me and sort this out from the safety of the pilots lounge.

I immediately turned southeast and began descending. Dipping below a scattered layer at 800' we entered the pattern and I announced downwind on runway 02. As I announced turning base the radio screen went blank and reset to its base frequency. I quickly re-tuned it to unicom just in time to hear a Piper announce he was on a 2-1/2 mile final to land on 02. I rolled back onto a downwind and watched the Piper on final and then turned to follow him in. Hand held radio will be used to broadcast for the rest of the flight...

On the ground we were met by the "Follow me" golf cart which guided us to a tie-down. Before we were out of the plane the attendant had us attached to the earth and as we climbed into the cart it started raining.

The storms stayed to the north of the airfield with only a brief light shower. We waited inside along with other pilots watching the news on one TV and radar on another.

After almost 2 hours the storms seemed to be fizzling out and moving east. Discussing the weather with a third pilot of a TBM, the pilot of the Piper Comanche decided going west around the remaining weather would be the best route to his destination in Canada. I decided to head north towards Shenendoah Regional as the weather was improving there. Once there we had a clear run northeast to home.

We made it as far as Lynchburg, VA about 50 miles to the north where we would stop for fuel giving us full tanks and thus more options as we headed into the questionable weather ahead.

Lynchburg, VA

Falwell Airport

With the aircraft radio only good for listening, I had to plug into the hand-held radio for transmitting. Rather than landing the towered Lynchburg airport I decided to land at Falwell Airport about 5 miles to the northeast. I'm so glad we did! Approaching this airport I could see there was a little rise on the western half of the runway. It wasn't until turning final that it became apparent that it wasn't a little rise, it looked like we were landing on an Olympic Ski Jump. 

Runway 28 end elevation is 801 feet while runway 10 end elevation 938!

We fueled up, drank water and ate some grapes. Taxiing uphill to runway 10 for a downhill take-off  it took cruise power to do 10 mph up the hill! On take-off we left the ground just as we started downhill.

Leaving Falwell we initially started towards Petersburg, WV. 

Flying on top I kept a close eye on the Petersburg weather. When we started it was scattered clouds with a high overcast, when the next update came along the lower layer had changed to broken. Though this probably was only temporary condition I wasn't going to risk being stuck on top of the clouds over mountainous terrain. (Where the mountains were in the clouds)

We headed back 20 miles to Lynchburg with the intention of landing at the larger airport, possibly spending the night in town. But once under the clouds we explored north through the valleys and worked our way to just southeast of Shenandoah Regional which now was partly cloudy. Only one mountain range separated us from sunshine and home. Where route 64 crosses the ridge we could see a gap where there was some space between the clouds and the earth. Cautiously approaching, leaving options to turn back, we could see sunshine through the pass and through it we went.

By this time it was getting late in the afternoon. One of my goals of this trip was to visit my good friend and fellow pilot Jeff who lives in Staunton, VA. It wasn't going to happen. At this point after a short rest we would arrive back home after 7 PM. The next day, Saturday, rain and poor flying conditions was forecasted. Otherwise I would have like to stay the night in Va so we could visit. After calling Jeff, I decided that another trip to VA before the end of the season would have to be made.

Back in the air headed for Mifflin with all the weather behind us now it is just easy cruising.

Garmin Pilot running on my Android phone

Back in familiar territory with Cayuga and Seneca Lakes below.

Next, one of my favorite parts of a flight, a long descent at cruise power to my home field for a landing at 7:41 pm.

Total flight time round trip: 13:36 minutes.

Thank you Diane and Jeff for a great visit!

Dad, I hope you enjoyed our little adventure...

Finally! Spring flying weather has arrived...

Time for a little cross-country flight.

Winter started early last fall and the cold wet weather hung on until the end of April. I've been waiting for some free time to get out on an afternoon flight somewhere.

On this day it I had to find a balance between waiting for the thermometer to show a comfortable cushion above freezing and an afternoon front with showers scheduled to arrive late in the day. As it worked out by the time I had made a fuel run to RaceTrac for premium no ethanol, and prepared for the flight the air was on its way to warming up nicely. This allowed me to remove the doors for an unrestricted view and nothing to degrade the image quality between the camera and scenery below.

Challenger ready to go

The panel as the engine warms

Course entered on my Android Google Nexus 7 running Garmin Pilot. My initial plan was to head west to Canandaigua (D38), north to Lake Ontario, east along the shoreline with a likely stop at Williamson-Sodus on the way to Fair Haven, then back to Marcellus (NK71) 

Winds aloft were forecast to be NNW@15, but once in the air I found that it was more out of the ENE in the lower atmosphere.

Less than 10 minutes into the flight I pass the town of Elbridge, NY with Cross Lake beyond. Along the horizon is the southern shore of Lake Ontario.

Looking south over Cayuga Lake. A high thin overcast is sometimes good for aerial photography particularly for zoomed in shots. A layer of cirrus or thin also-strattus diffuses the sunlight and lowers the contrast but still leaves it bright enough for a fast shutter speed. The sky reflects off the lake and the bright sunlight of brings out the colors in the lake much better as shown in the second photo from the day before when I brought my Cessna over to Finger Lakes Airport.

Cayuga Lake on a sunny afternoon

Montezuma Wildlife Refuge

Waterloo outlet stores along I90 in Waterloo, NY

Hopewell Airstrip just a few miles to the east of Canandaigua Airport

Base leg for Rwy 13 at Canandaigua.

I took a break here. A half cup of fresh brewed coffee and a little walk around to stretch my legs. This leg of the flight took about 45 minutes. I was cruising at 2,500 feet with 4,800 rpm yielding just under 60 mph.

I flew over the Canandaigua Pier and Boathouses before turning NE towards Williamson-Sodus.

Afternoon temperatures didn't warm up much more due to the thickening cloud cover. Cruising at 3,500 feet the air was over 10 degrees cooler than on the surface too. I was beginning to feel cold, so decided to head directly for Sodus.

Just a short break at Williamson-Sodus

In under 30 minutes I was on the ground at Sodus. A northeast wind is kind of unusual for our area. Landing on Rwy 10 the wind was rolling pretty good over an area of trees just to the north of the runway. The Challenger handled it quite well but next time I will plan my approach to land much further down this 3,800 foot runway to avoid this area when a north or northeast wind.

Looking east towards Sodus Bay on Lake Ontario.

Fighting a little bit of a headwind and feeling cold I opened the throttle a bit to 5,300 for a cruise speed in the upper 60's

Rose Airport. My EAA chapter 1017 has its annual fly-in here the second weekend in July. Everyone is welcome. Food, primitive camping and good times.

Back to Marcellus.

The entire flight took 2.9 hours and I burned 7.6 gallons for an hourly rate of 2.6 GPH of premium auto fuel. The direct cost of spending an afternoon flying around was about 30 dollars, plus some two-stroke oil. Can't beat it!

I will be sad when the Challenger is gone. Unfortunately it is for sale. Unless the Cessna goes first...

2013 Rose Fly-in - EAA Chapter 1017

For almost 20 years Chapter 1017 has had a fly-in at Rose airport about 5 miles south of Sodus Bay on Lake Ontario.

It is a relatively small event attended by club members and a few visitors who fly in and camp for the weekend. I didn't camp but flew up from Marcellus on each of the three days during the event. Not that I need an excuse, but it is a great excuse for some flying.

The atmosphere is perfect for a relaxing visit with other club members and meeting with visitors. There is a camping area under a grove of trees with plenty of room for RVs or tents. Water and bathroom facilities are available on-site as well as picnic tables under a tent for visiting or eating. Breakfast, lunch and dinners are prepared on request and priced very reasonably.

After months of rain, the weather pattern changed leading up to the event giving us pretty good conditions right through the weekend. Winds were fairly light and high clouds Friday and Saturday limited the sun's heating making afternoon temperatures tolerable and cutting off thermals for very smooth flying.

(Click on images for full resolution)

The town of Rose with the airport in the background Friday afternoon.

Shortly after my arrival, Gerd, Bill and Guy arrived. This was Guy's first X/C in a Challenger and as you can see he is pretty happy.

Four Challengers in a row! 

We are fortunate as there are 5 Challengers based at Marcellus

Charlie Tyler checking out my re-drive.

Murphy Rebel

Another nice way to cool off...

Saturday's Flight

On the way to Rose I made a brief diversion to circle over the site of a wedding later in the afternoon on the shore of Otisco Lake. My partner in a Cessna is also the Town Justice of Marietta and she was performing the ceremony

Michael, who is also a Challenger owner came along for the ride. Skaneateles Lake is in the background

A group of kayakers on the Seneca River near Howland Island Wildlife Area

A nice turnout as we arrive on Saturday afternoon

Camping out of an Aeronca Champ

Downloading navigational software

Time for stories and jokes along the flight line...

Campground panorama

Sharon has spotted someone...

Dinner time. 

Here our chef is preparing a couple "Charlie Tyler Double Trouble Burgers"

Demonstrating XWing Pro

Flying home. Smooth as glass!

Sunday

Youngster getting a ride in a trike.

CGS Hawk flying north.

On the way out I took the long way back and flew north for a bit along Sodus Bay and over Chimney Bluffs State Park before turning southeast and continuing my climb into much cooler air above the clouds.

Sodus Bay on Lake Ontario

Chimney Bluffs State Park

Cool and smooth above the clouds for the ride back.

A very nice weekend. Thank you to all the members of EAA 1017 for all your hard work making this annual even happen!