Ride Home

As forecasted, the front came through on Monday morning, and at about 11AM local time in Hickory, NC, the fog lifted and the clouds broke up to reveal a beautiful blue sky. Google earth sort of shows what the mountains north of Hickory (KHKY) looked like - just overlay poofy clouds and a little hazy inversion layer. Hickory was a nice place for a layover - wide selection of hotels, restaurants, and the FBO, Profile Aviation, was extremely professional, helpful, and friendly.

As we pulled up to the ramp to load our luggage into 470DS, I noticed two gleaming olive and white Sikorsky helicopters with "United States of America" emblazoned on their sides parked next to 470DS. A CitationX was spooling up on the ramp, and another one was taxiing out for departure. There were a whole butt-load of Marines and Marine aviators milling around the FBO and the ramp. The first thought that ran through my mind was "Oh crap. I've been waiting for the weather to clear, and now I'm going to get hit with a presidential TFR. We'll never get home." I went about my business and kept stealing glances over to the VH-3D helicopters and the tough-looking Marines that were daring any unlucky bird to poop on their shiny 'copters. After loading the luggage, I told Beth "I'm going over to find out who they were dropping off." So, I saunter across the ramp towards the aforementioned spit-shined helicopters.

Short, stocky version of Major Payne with 9MM gun on hip and arms and neck bigger than my waist: “Sir, please stay 30ft away from the helicopter!”

Pooping my pants, and quickly moving away - “Uhhh...sure....hey, what are you guys doing here? Who did you drop off?”

Sgt. Hooah - “Sir, we are just in transit.”

(At this point, I'm thinking....yeah right...you want me to believe that you are just out burning a couple hundred gallons of Jet A with 2 helicopters, and 20 Marine guys/gals in flight suits and that the people you crammed into two jets that just took off in a hurry were NOT related to a VIP transport)

Incredulous Dan with smelly, dirty, wet shorts and cracking voice - “Uhh...okay, I guess you can’t tell me....that’s really okay, you know, I’m just a pilot and never get to see cool helicopters like this. These things are sweet! Where are you guys based?”

Sgt. Hooah: “Quantico, Virginia, sir.”

At this point, I mumbled something about how cool the helicopters were and that I was proud of their service to our country and that I was going to go right back to my plane and preflight. I wished that I had taken some photos, but I thought that might result in me getting pushed to the pavement and my digital camera smashed in the process. I have to tell you, the DA40 looked freakin’ sweet sitting on the line next to two presidential transports, and you'll just have to take my word for it. I felt like a rock star.....or a VIP....whatever....I know that I beat those guys into the air...gave them the two finger salute/wave as I taxied past, and was climbing through 3000ft as they were leaving the field.

So, after that excitement, we cruised home over the Appalachians. After the previous attempt, it was a glorious day to fly! I was so excited, and just dialed in the KAP140 autopilot for 9500ft. Crossing the first line of mountains, the clouds were light and poofy, but they soon towered above me. I kept climbing up to about as high as I felt comfortable, which was 11,500ft. I had hydrated well, but I had also just finished reading Mountain Flying by Sparky Imeson so I was very conscious of the possibility of hypoxia at even intermediate altitudes. Up here, the air was smooth and the view was first rate. I leaned the engine back to 7.2gals/hr burn at 2400RPM and 19in MP, cruising along nicely at 107KIAS, and 129KTAS. However, it wasn't meant to last - the clouds continued to climb higher and higher, and so I started a descent through a nice hole in the clouds, getting down to 6500ft before bouncing along through the turbulent air over WV.

Chillin' @ 11,500ft....Outside Air Temp was 0°C. It felt good....

Beth catching up on her reading at 11,500ft.

Mountain ridges near the Glade Springs VOR...check out the cloud shadows!

Descending to 6500ft - low hanging clouds over the WV border mountains

R.D. Bailey Lake, just north of Justice, WV - Literally 100 miles from nowhere.

After about 50 minutes of bouncing along in the turbulent air over the coal country of WV, Beth was looking green and just about ready to spray those Bob Evans hotcakes all over the windscreen. So, I found a nice big hole in the clouds, and 720° of turns later, we had gained 5000ft in elevation and were back in the smooth air, just south of Charleston, WV. Shortly thereafter, the clouds cleared away and the air was crystal clear. Visibility was probably 100+ miles, and I know that I picked up Zanesville from at least 85miles away. Winds were strong (40kts), and at about 90° to my intended route of flight, so my crab angle at full speed was about 15degrees - pretty cool, huh?

The view from 11,500 over Point Pleasant, WV - looking northwest towards Columbus, OH

Beth snapped this shot from 8500ft over Zanesville, OH - See the "Y" Bridge? Still the only one of its kind in the world, according to Wikipedia. Amelia Earhart is reported to claim this as "the most recognizable city in the US" because of that little feature. Maybe in the 30's! It was like the "Gateway Arch" of its day.....Alas....it has been supplanted. I wonder how many pilots would recognize Zanesville, OH from the air today?

Landing at Richard Downing, I40, was an adventure. There was a 90° crosswind, and winds were 15 gusting to 21. I set up a very stabilized approach, left only one notch of flaps in, and held about 85KTS for the final approach speed. Everything was A-OK until the end of the runway when a wind eddy jostled the wings around. It settled down okay, and I was about 5 ft off the ground when I had another gust, but I was already home and on the pavement before that had a chance to mess me up. It was one of the most difficult landings that I have had to make to date....and I didn't break anything.

I logged 2.9hrs for this leg, and 16hrs overall for the entire trip down to FL and back. This brings my totals to 83hrs total time, and 41 hours of that is cross-country time, more than 50nm! Good times. Now, where to go next? I'm thinking Provincetown, Mass or Traverse City, MI this summer.......