AdamZ
Touchdown! Greaser!
- Joined
- Feb 24, 2005
- Messages
- 14,866
- Location
- Montgomery County PA
- Display Name
Display name:
Adam Zucker
I took a great trip this weekend that I thought I'd recount. The first born son of my best friend since 2nd grade became a Bar Mitzvah this weekend in Fredericksburg VA. This was something I really really wanted to attend since we have been close for the past 38 years. Well a 5 hour drive from Philly through DC the south so this seemed to be the perfect mission for GA.
I figured that I'd go VFR and try my hand at getting through the ADIZ since I just took the FAA's course on the ADIZ. In planning the flight I looked like I'd have a bit of a head wind on the way down. I filed my VFR flight plan on RTFP and called in my ADIZ flight plan to FSS. ( funny thing when I asked for a briefer the machine asked me what state I wanted and I told them PA so they gave me some guy in Texas. I must say he was very helpful.
I loaded the bags in the back, fueled 65W up to the tabs buckeled the wife in and departed 29 at UKT exactly at 3:00PM. It was cool so she climbed quickly to 4500 and we headed SW on course to MXE, ESN, D->KEZF. I couldn't raise FSS for the life of me to open up the flight plan but picked up Flight Following quickly from Philly Approach.
Friday one of those days that was created to fly. I'm a map and chart geek and it was fun to watch the geography unfold before me. I flew south down through Delaware and the Eastern Shore of Md and just to the west of Easton's Delta then west Keeping St. Michael's and Tilghman Island off my right wing and out over the Chesapeak Bay. Toward the ADIZ. I called up Patomac approach and adivsed I was WHINO gate 8 miles east. I was told to stand by and figured I wasn't going to get clearance though the Bravo so I circled and lost 2000' then headed south over the bay until they gave me my ADIZ squwak code. Interestingly the Controller asked me why I wanted to go through the ADIZ, I seriously thought about telling him that it was because the ADIZ lay between me and my intended destination but thought better of it and just told him I didn't want to mess with threading the hot Restricted zone to the south. It seemed good enough for him and he gave me my code but denied my Bravo request and said he'd vector me around the Bravo altough I could manage that on my own.
I got through the ADIZ without incident and was surprised at how fast they told me to squwak 1200 after exiting the GRUBY gate as AOPA recomends not ditching the code to quickly upon exit.
Anyway I arrived at Shannon Airport about 15 later. Clearing the trees and cars on the road at the Fence was neat but all it all it was a great little airport with super friendly people a woman named Billie is one of the owners and she is on premisis pluse they have really inexpensive fuel $4.39 today.
As for Fredericksburg it is a great little Civil War Era town with lots of great restaurants and a short cab ride in. not sure how much it costs as by buddy left me his sporty new Mini Covertable at the Airport for me to use for the weekend.
The flight home was not to bad. Although I had to stay a bit low 2500' due to scuz and bad viz. Just my luck and similar as to when I went to Gastson I had a headwind on the way home as well. I made better time though as the wind up north died down the scuz also cleared but the ceilings stayed los and I was able to cut the corner underneath the DC Bravo. I picked up Flight Following North of Easton and wisley kept it till only 4 miles to UKT. I considered cancelling when I was with in 12 nm of UKT but they called no less than 4 planes between MXE and UKT the last of which was a plane at my altitude heading SW and 1 mile at 12:00 I was really looking for it when out of my left eye I caught it, a mooney that just screamed across my nose on an angle it was a real WHOA moment. Asking my wife to keep an eye out for traffic is usless because she falls asleep about 500' off the ground and dozes until were on final approach. I guess I shouldn't complain at least she has no qualms about flying with me.
All in all a grate weekend for flying and a great use of GA. Flying anywhere is great but cross countrys for a purpose are the best IMHO.
I figured that I'd go VFR and try my hand at getting through the ADIZ since I just took the FAA's course on the ADIZ. In planning the flight I looked like I'd have a bit of a head wind on the way down. I filed my VFR flight plan on RTFP and called in my ADIZ flight plan to FSS. ( funny thing when I asked for a briefer the machine asked me what state I wanted and I told them PA so they gave me some guy in Texas. I must say he was very helpful.
I loaded the bags in the back, fueled 65W up to the tabs buckeled the wife in and departed 29 at UKT exactly at 3:00PM. It was cool so she climbed quickly to 4500 and we headed SW on course to MXE, ESN, D->KEZF. I couldn't raise FSS for the life of me to open up the flight plan but picked up Flight Following quickly from Philly Approach.
Friday one of those days that was created to fly. I'm a map and chart geek and it was fun to watch the geography unfold before me. I flew south down through Delaware and the Eastern Shore of Md and just to the west of Easton's Delta then west Keeping St. Michael's and Tilghman Island off my right wing and out over the Chesapeak Bay. Toward the ADIZ. I called up Patomac approach and adivsed I was WHINO gate 8 miles east. I was told to stand by and figured I wasn't going to get clearance though the Bravo so I circled and lost 2000' then headed south over the bay until they gave me my ADIZ squwak code. Interestingly the Controller asked me why I wanted to go through the ADIZ, I seriously thought about telling him that it was because the ADIZ lay between me and my intended destination but thought better of it and just told him I didn't want to mess with threading the hot Restricted zone to the south. It seemed good enough for him and he gave me my code but denied my Bravo request and said he'd vector me around the Bravo altough I could manage that on my own.
I got through the ADIZ without incident and was surprised at how fast they told me to squwak 1200 after exiting the GRUBY gate as AOPA recomends not ditching the code to quickly upon exit.
Anyway I arrived at Shannon Airport about 15 later. Clearing the trees and cars on the road at the Fence was neat but all it all it was a great little airport with super friendly people a woman named Billie is one of the owners and she is on premisis pluse they have really inexpensive fuel $4.39 today.
As for Fredericksburg it is a great little Civil War Era town with lots of great restaurants and a short cab ride in. not sure how much it costs as by buddy left me his sporty new Mini Covertable at the Airport for me to use for the weekend.
The flight home was not to bad. Although I had to stay a bit low 2500' due to scuz and bad viz. Just my luck and similar as to when I went to Gastson I had a headwind on the way home as well. I made better time though as the wind up north died down the scuz also cleared but the ceilings stayed los and I was able to cut the corner underneath the DC Bravo. I picked up Flight Following North of Easton and wisley kept it till only 4 miles to UKT. I considered cancelling when I was with in 12 nm of UKT but they called no less than 4 planes between MXE and UKT the last of which was a plane at my altitude heading SW and 1 mile at 12:00 I was really looking for it when out of my left eye I caught it, a mooney that just screamed across my nose on an angle it was a real WHOA moment. Asking my wife to keep an eye out for traffic is usless because she falls asleep about 500' off the ground and dozes until were on final approach. I guess I shouldn't complain at least she has no qualms about flying with me.
All in all a grate weekend for flying and a great use of GA. Flying anywhere is great but cross countrys for a purpose are the best IMHO.
and people wonder why when I fly with my entire family my daughter has sat right seat since she was 7, she can read a chart and thinks its cool.
