It was after dark when we were landing for fuel. The rising moon was nearly full and the sky was clear when tower offered to brighten the lights and requested, "Report when over the river." The lights came on and filled an otherwise black abyss among the city lights.
"Wow, that sure shows up great!" Don remarked and tower chuckled as we aimed for the parallel lines of lights. We watched the GPS as it told us where the river is and located its dark swash lined with golden pools.
Soon a bridge was below us and Don pushed his mike button and reported, "4307R at the river." Oddly, his voice was not amplified in our headsets. We waited a moment for a response from tower before Don tried again. Still nothing. The runway lights dimmed.
Without a word to each other, I pushed my switch and repeated Don's words at the same time he began dialing tower's frequency into Comm 2. While Don got ready to transmit again, I was reaching for the transponder to dial in 7600. As we crossed the threshhold line, Don switched to the other radio and we heard tower's words, "... can't hear what you are saying, but 4307R cleared for landing."
With a sigh of relief, Don repeated the clearance and put the plane on the ground.
"Wow, that sure shows up great!" Don remarked and tower chuckled as we aimed for the parallel lines of lights. We watched the GPS as it told us where the river is and located its dark swash lined with golden pools.
Soon a bridge was below us and Don pushed his mike button and reported, "4307R at the river." Oddly, his voice was not amplified in our headsets. We waited a moment for a response from tower before Don tried again. Still nothing. The runway lights dimmed.
Without a word to each other, I pushed my switch and repeated Don's words at the same time he began dialing tower's frequency into Comm 2. While Don got ready to transmit again, I was reaching for the transponder to dial in 7600. As we crossed the threshhold line, Don switched to the other radio and we heard tower's words, "... can't hear what you are saying, but 4307R cleared for landing."
With a sigh of relief, Don repeated the clearance and put the plane on the ground.