Winter Flying

Flying small aircraft in the winter presents some challenges. It’s not only the cold that affects performance. With snow on the ground, things appear differently. Familiar terrain can be unrecognizable, at least until you pick out the landmarks such as roads and railroad tracks that carve up the countryside. But take a look at Lancaster County, PA with snow on the fields.

Looks chilly down there. Winging along, I came upon Chester County’s airport, a familiar and welcome sight as you can see here.

Chester County has a long and wide runway which is good for practicing maneuvers. It’s also easy to find whether there’s snow or not. Despite the winter weather, I’m looking forward to a couple more cross country flights. I’ll post the photos and commentary here as always.

Published in: on January 15, 2011 at 12:20 pm  Leave a Comment  
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Fall Foliage Flight

The leaves have started to turn here in Pennsylvania. That means it was time for a flight to check them out from a higher perspective. First things first, and that means a solid flight plan. Of course, Mr. Vernon Fletcher offered his help. Here he is in action.

Note the seriousness of Mr. Fletcher’s countenance. He doesn’t fool around when it comes to chart stabilization or Coca-Cola sipping. Anyway, flight plan properly made, it was off to the skies. I headed west to the Allegheny Mountains and was not disappointed. Take a look.

And check out this winding lake between the hills.

I’m sure there will be another couple of weeks of fall colors to be seen. I’ll be up there, crisscrossing the area in search of nature’s glory. It’s worth every cent. Here’s a look at Altoona Airport from about 3000 feet.

Another couple of hours in the log book. Don’t forget to watch your airspeed, look out for other traffic, and always do your checklist.

Published in: on October 13, 2010 at 11:54 am  Leave a Comment  
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Coastal Flying

Back in February, I took a nice flight to Cape May, NJ, right before a snowstorm. I decided to retrace that flight and add another leg to it along the coast. Therefore, I flew to Cape May then turned north, skirting the New Jersey beaches all the way to Monmouth County Executive Airport. Since we’ve already seen photos of Cape May’s airport. Take a look at Atlantic City International as seen from 3500 feet.

As you can see, there’s plenty of runway over there in the haze. Atlantic City also has approach controllers, which is a handy feature for those of us flying under visual flight rules. We call them on the radio, give them our tail number, and if they have resources available, the approach controller will provide what is known as “flight following.” In this case, they give you a discrete code for your transponder and they keep an eye on your progress through their airspace. They provide traffic advisors which makes it easier to see the other guy, especially in conditions like today, when it was hazy.

Well, looking out the other side of the plane, you can see Atlantic City itself. Check it out.

Poor folks down there dumping money into the casino. Or, maybe they’re on the beach. Moving right along, the next photo shows Barnegate Inlet. The lighthouse stands on the south side. I’ve been in and out of there on boats a few times.

All in all this was a terrific flight. The Cessna 172 performed well, the weather cooperated, and while there were plenty of other planes in the air, none of us got in each other’s way. And how about that view!

Published in: on May 26, 2010 at 5:06 pm  Leave a Comment  
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Flight Before the Storm

There’s a major winter storm forecast to hit the mid-Atlantic. Taking advantage of the calm before the storm, I took a nice flight to Cape May Airport. Winds were calm, visibility decent, and the venerable Cessna 172 running fine. I headed south to Wilmington, DE then turned south east, basically following the Delaware Bay. Here’s a look at the finger of Cape May sticking out:

From this point, Cape May is more than 20 miles away. Notice all that snow on the ground from the last storm. But no worries. I headed into KWWD, also known at Cape May Airport. It looked like this:

Plenty of runway there to land and take off. Looking a little closer now.

A friendly sight if you need to land. Anyway, I came in, landed, taxied back, and took a few minutes to reset all my instruments and such. Then it was back up in the air. On the way back, I snapped this shot of KILG, also known as Wilmington, Delaware.

Again, those are big runways designed for heavy planes. I have landed there many times but only for practice with the tower. Normally, I stay clear of the bigger airports and aircraft. No need to mix with them.

All in all it was a great flight. Of course, probably won’t be able to go for another two weeks given the horrendous weather on the way.

Published in: on February 5, 2010 at 6:36 pm  Leave a Comment  
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