cmooreair

Epilogue

2007-05-30T14:48:00.001-07:00

There are lots of ways to measure the experience of my journey, in statistics, experiences and emotions, to mention a few. First, the stats: 6817 miles flown, averaging 325 per day; 66.7 actual flight hours, averaging 3.2 per day; 25 airports visited; longest distance traveled in one day - 940 miles (Rapid City, SD to Hamilton, OH).

Coolest places visited that I would want to see again: Austin, TX, northern Arizona, Martha's Vineyard, out-of-the-way places in California, and (of course) anywhere along the Carolina Coast.

I can't begin to tell you what this trip meant to me - on so many different levels. Having three weeks alone to reflect on what is important in my life is probably the most significant. There's lots more to say about that, but you'll have to read the book I intend to begin writing as soon as I find a publisher. The richness of this experience is unparalleled in my life. Besides making me a better and more confident pilot, it has made me a better and more confident person. As much as I like flying, it's the rest of my being that needed the most work.

God bless, and I hope to write more again some day.

The Final Stop

2007-05-28T05:27:00.000-07:00

My route back to Mt. Pleasant from the Carolina coast was through Charlotte, home to my younger daughter, Emily. She and her roommate share a townhouse right across the street from Southpark Mall, the shopping mecca of Charlotte. Her college degree from Appalachian State is in Music Industries. She's part of the mangement team for Sephora, the high-end cosmetic, fragrance and skincare company owned by Louis Vuitton. Emily was always the "let's get dressed up and play Barbies" daughter who was into make up and outfits. She's all grown up now, but it's hard for Dad to not think of her as the queen of the playroom fashion shows. I'm very proud of her and feel very fortunate to live as close as I do (90 miles).

Being in Charlotte also gave me an opportunity to catch up with a friend who worked for me at two different TV stations - WHBQ (Memphis) and WSOC (Charlotte). Phil Tribo and I hadn't seen each other for 16 years. He now has two daughters of his own and a career as a media producer for Bank of America. Like so many others, he put in more than his share of hours and years of his working life in TV news and decided there were other things that needed more of his time. But he reminds me of the hundreds of people I hired over the course of my career whose lives were shaped, in some part, by the experiences we had working together. It's all part of me, too.

On Hallowed Ground

2007-05-25T04:59:00.000-07:00

For a pilot who's living the dream of a cross-country journey in a private airplane, flying into the First Flight National Memorial in Kill Devil Hills, NC is quite a proud and emotional moment. It is a very special place to all who visit. But when you arrive by flying there in your own airplane and land at the park's small airstrip you feel like you're being welcomed into the legacy to which the memorial is dedicated. It is a shrine to the perserverance and courage of two men from Ohio who came to the Carolina Coast to pursue their dream. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to pursue mine.

The Carolina Coast

2007-05-25T04:31:00.000-07:00

I have made Wilmington, NC my base for the last couple of days, taking day trips by air south to Hilton Head and north to the Outer Banks. The weather has been perfect for flying, albeit a bit windy at times. In the photos below are (l) Charleston and the new Ravenel Bridge that crosses the Cooper River over to Mt. Pleasant, SC, the Cape Fear River harbor that's on the right while on final approach to Rwy 6 at the Wilmington, NC airport (ILM), and a shot looking west across Lake Moultrie at sunset while flying back to Wilmington from a $100 hamburger trip down to Hilton Head.

Everyone who lives close to a coastline has their own favorite places to visit along the water. As for me, it would have to be the area just north of Charleston. We've rented the same house right on the beach at Wild Dunes twice in the last year and I'd go back in a heartbeat. Even though I was born a Yankee, this is home for me now. And you know what they say about home. It's where the heart is.

From Sea to Shining Sea

2007-05-23T07:47:00.000-07:00

This trip has taken me to both coasts and lots of places inbetween. The aerial views of New York City (l & r) and Block Island (below)

are ones that I captured on the flight from Martha's Vineyard to the Washington, DC area. After taking off from the Vineyard, my route of flight was mostly over water, flying over Long Island Sound just to the south of Groton, CT and north of Long Island. I was on a published air route that took me west to directly over JFK airport, southwest to the east of Philadelphia and over Dover, DE into the Baltimore area. I stopped for lunch and refueling at the airport in Frederick, MD. Unfortunately I was not able to hook up with friends I had hoped to see while I was there.

The Island of the Rich and Famous

2007-05-23T06:29:00.001-07:00

The first lesson I learned when arriving on Martha's Vineyard: never go anywhere without your camera. Everywhere I turned there is another picture to take. The natural beauty is astounding. Not to mention the trappings of the Rich and Famous whose imprints are all over the island in their haunts and houses. My tour guide for the day was Doug Jones (lower left) who I knew from Cleveland. Doug is an Account Executive for Time Warner and mine was one of the stations in his territory. He travels the Eastern U.S. but comes home to live on the Vineyard. It was my good fortune that Doug happened to be at home the day I arrived and generously offered to take me on a tour of the island. Later that day I met Doug's wife, Jeanne Staples, who joined us for a lobster dinner. Jeanne is an oil-color artist whose works are displayed in a gallery on Martha's Vineyard as well as in New York and elsewhere. That's Doug (lower left) behind the wheel on our island tour. Wife Jeanne Staples is with Doug at dinner (lower right). The photo above is one that will define my memory of Martha's Vineyard. It is the lighthouse overlooking the Aquinnah Cliffs (formerly known as Gay Head). The recent name change was in deference to an Indian tribe that settled that part of the island. It is the westernmost tip of Martha's Vineyard.

The scene in the middle photo below might look familiar to fans of Jaws One. It is Menemsha Harbor, which became Amityville in the movie. There are still some vestiges of the production props, but it takes a knowledgeable local to show you where to look. As for some of the other notable sights, lower left across the water in the middle of the row of houses is the backdrop for the remake of Sabrina. The house is also formerly home to Billy Joel. If you click on the gravestone picture (lower right) you'll see it marks the burial place of John Belushi. Doug told me Belushi's fans will frequently leave beer cans as an offering to the departed star. The inscription on Belushi's headstone reads "I may be gone, but Rock and Roll lives on."

One last photo from the tour. To the right is the home of Bob Villa. I didn't get close enough to see if it needed any painting or repairs. There are lots and lots of other photos, but they'll keep

for another time. Martha's Vineyard is really a special place. If you can ever put it on your itinerary, I highly recommend making a visit. I hope you're lucky enough to know a local as generous and knowledgeable as Doug Jones who can take the time to show you around!

Pilots of the Future

2007-05-23T05:58:00.001-07:00

My older daughter, Sarah, teaches special ed at a public school in Utica. She has been using my blog as a teaching tool for lessons about geography and aviation. She invited me to talk to her students while I was there. They were very interested to know about the airplane - how big it is, how much fuel it carries, how far

I've traveled, how fast it goes, and so on. One of the students had even sketched the airplane, tail number and all. One of my props was the headset, which all of the students wanted to wear. Taped to the board is the IFR enroute chart, with yellow hi-lites over my proposed route of flight from Utica over to Martha's Vineyard. Lots and lots of questions from a very interested audience. I'll bet there's at least one future pilot among them.

Warm Thoughts on a Chilly Day

2007-05-20T13:40:00.000-07:00

A chilly and blustery day in upstate NY, but not too chilly for a round a golf with my older daughter and son-in-law. That's Sarah and Chad Walker who live in Utica, NY. The pup is my only grand-dog, Ringo. I borrowed a photo that my daughter took last winter. They get a lot of snow here. February, in fact, set a record. But they have their cross country snow skis and find ways to enjoy it.

The trip here from Cleveland yesterday was very scenic, flying along the southern shore of Lake Erie with a nice 20-knot tailwind. Tomorrow it's on to Martha's Vineyard. From there I'll make my way to a reunion with friends in Washington, DC and chill out along the Carolina coast for a couple of days before heading back to Mt. Pleasant. I can't believe this trip is almost over! But what an experience it has been.

Cleveland Rocks!

2007-05-20T05:42:00.000-07:00

So, what do you get when you mix great friends and a little wine? Yes, that's right. It's party time! Friday night in Cleveland with the gang from WKYC-TV (NBC Ch3) was just like old times. That's my buddy (and Asst News Director) Rita Andolsen on the left. To the right is Susan Moses, Special Projects Producer (r) and Carrrie Young, weekend producer. Below to the right are Amanda Subler (l) and Jeff Yakawiak (Yak), 6pm producer and Sports Director respectively. To the left is my old boss and mentor Brooke Spectorsky, President and General Manager of WKYC and Sr. VP for Gannett Broadcasting. There are lots more pictures in my camera to keep as memories of a very special night. These are some of the people who make WKYC a great place to work. They came from many different places to join the competitive battle in Cleveland TV news. We had a very good run, finishing #1 in the major news time periods. They've had a few trying times over the last several months but things are starting to settle down again under the leadership of my former Asst. News Director. Good luck guys! And remember I'll always treasure the times we shared and look forward to seeing you all again sometime soon.

Pennies, Nickels, Dimes and Quarters

2007-05-17T07:20:00.000-07:00

OK. Name the faces. For those who flunked American history, here's a clue: (left to right) Washington, Jefferson, T. Roosevelt, and Lincoln. Why were they chosen? According to sculptor Gutzon Borglum, they represented 150 years of American history. The blasting started back in 1927. Major carving stopped in 1941 when money ran out. It was interesting to me to learn that South Dakota school children were asked to contribute their pennies, nickels, dimes and quarters toward the effort. That $1700 plus other private contributions and federal funds paid for the initial effort. Other improvements and a recent "face"-lift have all been paid for by Uncle Sam.

In case you were wondering, Mt. Rushmore is what brought me to Rapid City, SD on my eastbound trek. Just like the Grand Canyon, it was one of those places of interest that I had never visited but wanted to see. Man's sculpting efforts can never match the grandeur of what Mother Nature accomplished in the Grand Canyon, but it is impressive in it's own right.

From Reno to Ogden (Salt Lake area)

2007-05-17T06:49:00.000-07:00

Those mountains looming behind N5296Z on the ramp at the Ogden, UT airport (left) rise to over 12,000 feet. After takeoff, air traffic control had me fly on a westerly heading and spiral upward until I had enough altitude to proceed on course. Most of my route of flight had to be flown at 13,000 feet. On approach to Ogden, I crossed the great Salt Lake. The dry areas are mostly whitish-brown and reflect the Noon-day sunlight back in your eyes. But in spite of the uncomfortableness, it's an awesome sight.

Back to the Future

2007-05-17T06:33:00.000-07:00

I landed as the sun was setting last night in my hometown of Hamilton, OH. I have to admit it was kind of an emotional moment on the last few miles of my approach to come back to the place where my aviation fantasy was born, sitting next to my bicycle on the grass watching the planes land and take off from what was then called the Hogan Airport (right). The little Hamilton airport has been upograded to become the Butler County Regional Airport, complete with its own ILS approach (which was out of service when I arrived.) It still has its small-town character. But as Sen. Zell Miller said about the road that ran in front of his house in the north Georgia mountains, any road can take you to the rest of the world. And so it is with runways.

Hamilton hasn't changed much since those days back in the late 50's and early 60's, except that a lot of the heavy industry that was the economic engine in the post-war era has since vanished. Men and women now carry their lunch pails to jobs in Cincinnati and Dayton, up or down the I-75 corridor.

That's a shot of downtown Hamilton looking east across the new High Street Bridge across the Great Miami River. The building on the right is the Soldiers and Sailors Monument. In the center is the old Butler County Courthouse, around which is the Farmers' Market on Saturday mornings (it used to be three times a week). And on the left is what used to be the Hamilton City Municipal Building, which was just recently dedicated as a new museum. The daughter of author Robert McCloskey, (Make Way for Ducklings, Blueberries for Sal, Homer, etc.) a native Hamiltonian, was on hand for the commemoration.

My mother was waiting inside the terminal building when I walked in. Her warm smile and welcoming hug made me feel right at home. She has been closely following my every day's progress on her old TIME maps, carefully drawing lines with colored magic markers from point to point, seeing what I'm flying over and paying special attention to the terrain. What can I say - she's my Mother!!! Thank goodness she has a washing machine and lots of soap! I have ten days of laundry to do before I leave for the rest of my trip!

To get here by Wednesday night meant flying nearly 16 hours over the past two days (1743.6nm), from Reno to Ogden, UT and on to Rapid City, SD, and then to Cedar Rapids, IA for a fuel stop enroute to Hamilton. Strong northwesterly winds pushed me along at speeds up to 160 knots on the legs southeast from Rapid City.

Flying High

2007-05-14T18:34:00.000-07:00

To get from Sonoma to Reno on an instrument flight plan you have to fly at a minimum altitude of 13,000 feet to safely clear the Sierras. It takes a while to reach that altitude when your rate of climb drops to 250 feet per minute above 10,000 feet. But once you're there, it's a beautiful view. Reno lies in a valley. Below, I'm lining up for my approach to Rwy 16L at RNO.
I had considered making Reno just a fuel stop enroute to Salt Lake City. But after checking the weather I decided to spend the night here and let a cold front currently moving through the Sasquatch and upper Plains states get a little farther east. I need as few clouds as possible when the temperatures at 13,000 feet are minus 3-5 degrees Celsius. Flying through clouds at that kind of temperature is an invitation for icing to form on the airplane.

Sideways in Sonoma

2007-05-13T16:44:00.000-07:00

If you've seen the movie, you recognize the title. It was a perfect day to winery-hop and I did as much as I could stand. Below on the left is Rose and me. Rose works the tasting room at the Rochioli Winery. Above on the right is the Belvedere Tasting Room patio which was full of people who brought a picnic to enjoy with a bottle of Belvedere wine. Both are located along West Side Road in western Sonoma County. In all my previous trips here I have visited wineries on the

eastern side of the county, close to the Napa border. But today, I chose to go west into what the locals call the Pinot Trail. And I have to say it was well worth it. The trunk of my rental car is full of as much Pinot Noir as I think I can safely carry in N5296Z.

This was absolutely, without a doubt, one of the highlights of the trip thus far. I have been here to Sonoma County more times than I can count, but this time around ranks as one of the best visits ever. Great weather, great wine, and great people to meet. What could be better?

The trip here yesterday from the Bakersfield area was a gorgeous flight. Once in the Central Valley the winds died down and it was a smooth flight at 10,000 feet. ATC kept me well east of the Bay area in San Francisco/Oakland airspace, but I was still able to see the San Francisco skyline and the Golden Gate Bridge in the distance. I landed at the Charlie Schultz Airport in Santa Rosa. The nearest aviation intersection is called SNUPY!!

The Canyon and Beyond

2007-05-13T09:02:00.000-07:00

What words can describe the images your eyes capture as you fly through the Grand Canyon? I can only say there's a good reason why it is one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World.

When I landed at the Grand Canyon National Park airport, I intended to get briefed by the locals on how to go about flying the Canyon myself. But I decided it would be better to fly the Canyon as a passenger in a tour airplane, which is how I was able to take these incredible photographs. Flying it myself would have required devoting my full attention to staying clear of terrain and following the corridors now specified for flights into the area. These pictures were taken from inside a Grand Canyon Airlines deHavilland twin Otter on the 45 minute tour flight. It's definitely the best way to see one of the wonders of the world.

From the Grand Canyon, my route of flight was southwest across the southern tip of Nevada and into the Mojave Desert, skirting south of Edwards Air Force Base and up to the Bakersfield area. My ultimate destination for the day's travel would be Sonoma, CA but it required a fuel stop along the way. I chose a small airport just north of Bakersfield called Shafter-Minter Field. I didn't realize until I landed there that it was an abandoned military field that is now used by pilots flying crop dusters. Nobody was around when I arrived mid-afternoon on Saturday. The fuel was self-service, so I was able to fill up the tanks of N5296Z on my own. But I needed current approach procedures for the Santa Rosa Airport in Sonoma County (STS). After several unaswered knocks on doors of surrounding buildings, I found a house nearby with a man who was willing to let me, a complete stranger, come inside and use his computer to access the information I needed. Thank you, John Doe, and please forgive me for not having written down your name so I could properly thank you in this blog.

Mountain Flying

2007-05-13T08:41:00.000-07:00

Having grown up as a flatlander and having done most of my flying around the east coast, mountain flying is mostly a new experience for me. The scenery is breathtaking, as is the oxygen level above 11,000 feet, which is why I'm wearing the cannula. It's connected to an oxygen tank sitting on the floor of the airplane. Hypoxia is a very real concern when flying at high altitudes. Before leaving on my trip I completed the Mountain Flying course offered online by the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA). It's very good information covering the unique risks associated with mountain flying. High altitudes affect not only humans - they affect airplane performance as well. And mountains generate wind conditions which, if you're not expecting them, can turn fun to fright in an instant. In my hundreds of miles of flights over the mountains of New Mexico, Arizona and California I have experienced some of the most severe turbulence I have ever encountered. For the most part, it was all fairly predictable based on what I learned in the mountain flying course.

Standin On A Corner

2007-05-13T07:14:00.000-07:00

From Albuquerque I flew west into the high desert of Arizona. In my itinerary planning for this epic journey, Winslow, AZ was a primary destination. Why Winslow? If you don't know the answer let me share a few lyrics from the hit song "Take It Easy" written by Jackson Browne but made famous by Don Henley, Glenn Frey and the Eagles: "Well I been standin' on a corner in Winslow, Arizona...I'm such a fine sight to see. It's a girl, my Lord, in a flatbed Ford slowin' down to take a look at me..." It's a theme song that put Winslow on the baby boomer map. But as I came to learn while I visited there, Winslow has been "on the map" for other reasons for several generations.

Behind the bronze statue of a young guitar player leaning against a light pole is a painted mural showing the reflection of a passing flatbed Ford driven by a girl, my Lord. That is the fantasy image that brings hundreds of thousands of middle-aged visitors to Winslow every year. They've even created a park (Standin' on the Corner Park) smack dab in the middle of town. The wall, as you can see in the upper left photo, is in danger of collapsing, which is why they have blocked off the adjacent sidewalk. Locals tell me there are plans to save the mural wall and expand the park by tearing down the remainder of the structure. It was supposed to be done by now, but there has been some "difference of opinion" about the best way to do it.

That was what brought me to Winslow. But as I mentioned above, "Standin On a Corner" is just the latest reason why people would stop in Winslow. Winslow actually became an important destination when Charles Lindbergh decided he would build an airport there as a fueling stop for airplanes flying between Chicago and Los Angeles. The airport, situated only one mile from the town, is the Winslow Lindbergh Airport, built back in the late 1920's.

Winslow is also on Route 66, which prior to modern freeways was the most traveled route from Chicago to LA and had its own musical theme. Locals tell me they see a lot of people passing through Winslow who are "gettin' their kicks on Route 66."

But the other reason Winslow has been on the map was the Sante Fe Railway. In the heyday of rail travel, Sante Fe built several grand hotels along its main line. Winslow was home to one, known as "La Posada." You can check out the hotel in more detail by clicking on "laposada.org." I had breakfast there on the morning I arrived to visit the park and was so impressed with the hotel that I canceled other reservations and spent the night there.

2007-05-10T17:55:00.001-07:00

Breathtaking

2007-05-10T17:26:00.000-07:00

There's no better word I can find to describe the images captured along the flight from San Marcos to Albuquerque. You cross the Texas/New Mexico border just outside Roswell, NM and from there on you're on the leeward side of the mountain range that extends north. They start small but the northernmost peaks are snow covered and well above 12,000 feet. Quite a change of scenery from the flatlands of Texas.
This was a pretty intensive flying day, nearly six and a half hours in the cockpit. But it went by so quickly that it didn't seem nearly that long. I remember as a passenger flying from Boston to Manchester, England that same amount of time seemed to be an eternity.
There were two legs to today's flight: From San Marcos to Midland (no, I did not rent a car and drive out to W's ranch in Crawford) and from Midland to ABQ. Total air miles were 560 nautical miles. I flew at 6,000 feet to Midland and at 10,000 feet to Albuquerque. Tomorrow I break out the oxygen cannister for my flight into Arizona at 12,000 feet.
Actually, I would spell Albuquerque Albu-quirky. Kinda weird. I spent an appropriate amount of time on a barstool at The Library, a well-known watering hole on Central at 4th. The locals say it's the best place to be at 3:00 in the afternoon. As long as the bar is open and they're serving Margaritas, I don't much care where I am as long as there's something to watch. It's an interesting place to sit and form opinions. The more I consume, the more philosophical I get. So...I figure people in Albu-quirky are not your type-A personalities...if you know what I mean. They're pretty laid back and definitely into their own things. Makes for an interesting sight, if you're a southerner just out for a good time of people-watching. Lots and lots of pick-ups and motorcycles. It's sort of what I expect tomorrow when I'm "standin' on the corner in Winslow, Arizona." I guess it just comes with the territory. Sort of like what I remember seeing and feeling when I was in Alaska a couple of years ago. People who live there, according to well-informed sources, are there because they want to get away from everybody and everything else. You could come to Albu-quirky and do the same thing and nobody would ever think the worse of you.
Hell, I could go on forever about the thoughts I had sitting on that barstool. Yes, I stopped the flow of alcohol in plenty of time to be ready for my 6:00am departure tomorrow. As my instrument instructor told me, "12 hours from bottle to throttle." Yes, I remember even the most trivial of details. Later.

2007-05-10T17:23:00.000-07:00

On Approach to Albuquerque

2007-05-10T13:03:00.000-07:00

Refreshed and Re-routed

2007-05-10T02:41:00.000-07:00

My patience has been rewarded with a beautiful change in the weather. Storm clouds have given way to mostly sunny skies over west Texas. I'm departing San Marcos at 7:00am on a different route to New Mexico to make up for the lost day of flying. I'll be headed to Albuquerque by way of Midland, TX. It will put me closer to where I want to be tomorrow morning - within a couple hours' flight time of Winslow, Flagstaff and Williams, AZ - all towns bordering the south rim of the Grand Canyon. I hope to have some fabulous photos to post when I'm back in the blog saddle later today.

Westward Whoa!

2007-05-09T13:03:00.000-07:00

I must not have made my tithe to the weather gods. They're angry and they're showing it by keeping severe storms over west Texas. I'm stuck in the Austin/San Marcos area until they dissipate or move on. I think I can handle another night in Austin. Now where was that little Mexican restaurant.....?

Westward Ho!

2007-05-08T16:22:00.000-07:00

Don Imus would cring at my title for today's entry. But that's his problem. I'm safely in San Marcos, TX, and have already enjoyed a couple of margaritas before exploring Austin, which is only a few miles to the north.
The flight over from New Orleans was lengthened somewhat by air traffic control vectoring me around Houoston. I was cleared direct to San Marcos from New Orleans, but my flight path conflicted with landing traffic at IAH (Houston) and there was weather developing in the area so was re-routed several times. My GPS got a real workout. West of Houston I was once again cleared direct to San Marcos and it was smooth sailing from there.
For the record, the flight was 3:30 minutes at 8000 feet with a nice tailwind helping me average a groundspeed of 135 knots.
My night out in Austin was fantastic. Thanks to the front desk clerk at my hotel I discovered a great Mexican restaurant named "Polvos" which specializes in South Central Mexican cuisine. It's the first Mexican restaurant I've experienced where they offer Chile Rellenos prepared more than one way. (I had the original recipe.) They also had a self-service salsa bar that included jalapeno-pickled carrots. I haven't seen those since eating at Mi Pueblo on Euclid Avenue in Cleveland.
You can't visit Austin without visiting 6th Street, home to some of Austin's renowned nightspots. They humbly call it the "Live Music Capital of the World." You can walk along the street and hear an eclectic mix of Jazz, Rock'n'Roll, Hip-Hop, Country...you name it. If I hadn't planned an early morning departure enroute to Las Cruces I might have hung out there until they closed.

Katrina's Legacy

2007-05-08T04:48:00.000-07:00

Arriving in Panama City a night earlier than planned meant having the opportunity to experience Bike Week (and we're not talkin' bicycles here) and having to switch hotels midway through my visit. Bikers had taken over the Days Inn on Panama City Beach where I had a pre-paid room reserved for Sunday night, so I couldn't just add Saturday night to my reservation. It was the Grand Finale of Bike Week on Panama City Beach, an event that rivals similar outrageous parties famous in Daytona Beach and Myrtle Beach. If you've ever been to either place, just know that Panama City Beach fits right in to that tacky image. Sorry to offend any readers who have a fondness for the "Redneck Riviera," but even some of the locals told me they thought the best thing that could happen to PCB was a major hurricane.
Monday morning couldn't come too soon. I was looking forward to my next stop in New Orleans. My flight over the coastal waters of the Gulf was spectacular and a brisk tailwind shortened the trip considerably. A low overcast in southern Louisiana required an instrument approach to Runway 18R at Lakefront Airport. The glidepath brings you down over the water right to the edge of Lake Ponchartrain. Pretty cool.
It only takes a minute to realize the airport was one of Katrina's casualties. Sides of buildings are missing, the old control tower is abandoned with all of its glass blown out, and businesses are operating out of double-wide trailers. But the spirit of the people there couldn't be more positive. They're trying to get beyond it, but they remember. The horror, the loss of life, and a city that might never be restored.
Henry Adams is the cabbie who drove me to the hotel. He and his family evacuated but lost everything. His 25 year old neighbor stayed behind. As Henry told it, the wall of water rushing in from a breached levee was so strong that it turned the neighbor's house upside down. His neighbor had desperately sought higher ground by climbing into the attic. But as Henry said, "he didn't have a chance."
All along our route into the city I saw one neighborhood after another. All abandoned. All boarded up. No signs of any life. Henry told me the blue tarps on some of the houses were put there by rescuers who had to chop through the roof.
If you look at New Orleans' commercial and tourist districts, you might not realize what lies just outside the city gates. It's almost life as it was before Katrina. Except for the tacky T-shirts that are for sale everywhere reminding us of Katrina's legacy.

Ahead of Schedule

2007-05-06T05:23:00.000-07:00

The first thing I did when I woke up Saturday morning was to check weather forecasts for the first few days of my planned route of flight. I saw that a stationary front hanging over the Carolinas was about to re-energize and kick up high winds and possible storms beginning early Sunday morning. That's not good weather for flying, period. I made a few phone calls to find out if my airplane would be available a day early - fortunately it was - and I rearranged my schedule to depart Mt. Pleasant early Saturday night.

The airplane I'm flying is a rental aircraft operated by Coastal Aviation at the Mt. Pleasant airport (LRO). They are, by far, the most accomodating and professional group of people I have encountered in my 15 years of flying. They knew I was leaving on a very long and challenging trip and they made sure the airplane was serviced and ready to fly. Having flown dozens of other airplanes operated by various flight companies I've learned to expect less than prompt attention to minor maintenance issues uncovered in general aviation aircraft. But Coastal really takes good care of their fleet. And some fleet it is - they have five 172SP's, two of which are equipped with the new state-of-the-art Garmin G1000 glass cockpit. The airplane I'm flying has more conventional instrumentation - vacuum powered and pitot static guages along with the KLN94 GPS.

It was just after 6pm when I taxied out to runway 17 at LRO, performed my final engine and instrument checks, and began my great adventure one day earlier than planned. The IFR flight plan I filed requested direct GPS point-to-point routing from LRO to Panama City (PFN), a distance of 341 nautical miles. Factoring winds, my estimated time enroute was to be 3:09.

I lifted off from Mt. Pleasant in ideal conditions - a few scattered clouds with light southeasterly winds. Climbing through 700 feet I contacted Charleston Approach to request my IFR clearance. And I was quite pleased to hear that I was cleared direct to Panama City as filed.

It was a very uneventful three hours and nine minutes heading west-southwest at 6000 feet. The airplane has an automatic pilot that will hold altitude and heading. Once that was set I could relax a bit and let the joy and exhilaration of this life experience begin to wash over me. So long in coming but now it was finally here. And what a great beginning - sailing through a few scattered clouds with gentle winds and the sun setting on the horizon ahead of me. That portrait is now hanging in my library of memories from life's greatest moments.

Nightfall had preceded my arrival in Panama City. It's the best time of the day to be making an approach into a city airport. Visibility was good, so it was easy to line up for a visual approach to Runway 32 at PFN. I landed within two minutes of the projected time enroute at 9:15pm. I taxied to one of the general aviation fixed-base operators (SheltAir) where N5296Z would spend the next couple of nights. I unloaded my bags and took a taxicab to the nearby Marriott Courtyard where I took a quick shower, put on some clean clothes, and walked around the corner to Chili's for a few cold Dos Equis and some chicken fajitas.

2007-05-04T12:02:00.000-07:00

Romancing a Dream

2007-05-03T12:56:00.000-07:00

I remember as a boy riding my Huffy bicycle to the little airport in Hamilton, Ohio simply to sit in the grass and watch the planes take off and land. I could sit and sit for hours on end totally lost in my fantasy world of aviation. There was something magical about flying. And in my ten year old mind the men who could do it were the luckiest people on earth. Some day, I dreamed, I'd be up there, too.
The thrill of that "some day" for me came about 15 years ago when I soloed enroute to my private pilot license. Hundreds of flight hours and advanced piloting ratings later, I'm about to take off on a solo transcontinental cross country flying adventure that has been my dream for more than a decade.
This blog will be the daily chronicle of my adventure. I will begin Sunday, May 6 departing from Mount Pleasant Regional Airport near Charleston SC and fly west to Panama City, FL. My itinerary includes overnight stops in New Orleans, San Marcos TX, Las Cruces NM, Williams AZ, Santa Barbara CA, Sonoma CA, Reno NV, Salt Lake City UT, Cheyenne WY, Rapid City SD, Des Moines IA, Hamilton OH, Cleveland OH, Utica NY, Rockland ME, Nantucket MA, Washington DC, Nags Head NC, Charlotte NC and back to Mt Pleasant.
For the interested aviators reading this, I'll be flying a 2002 C172SP (N5296Z), a fuel-injected, single-engine, four-seat airplane that cruises at 115 knots (125 mph). It's outfitted with all Bendix-King nav's and comm's, including a KLN 94 GPS. I'll have oxygen on board for use at or above 10,000 feet, necessary when flying routes across the Rockies.
Am I excited? I can't begin to describe how rich the anticipation has been every day leading up to departure. The weather is looking wet for the first few days, but what's an IFR rating for? It'll be an adventure for sure, and one that I'm eager to share each step of the way.