Today I was cleaning up my files and came across this. I don't think I ever shared this here.
Thursday was the culmination of a hectic week. Ever since the preceding Saturday night when our youngest son phoned to ask what to do about the agonizing pain in his arm that was turning blue and green, his father and I had been frantic with worry. On Sunday and Monday, two surgeries had not gone well and two more were planned in an attempt to save his arm while I arranged at work to take a couple of days off. I worked extra hours on Tuesday and Wednesday so that we could leave at noon on Thursday and make the dash from New York to Oklahoma in our Cessna 172 to be with our son.
My husband consulted several weather websites, including an aviation weather program of his own design during the planning of our flight. His call to Weather Brief confirmed his conclusion that weather would not be a major concern for this trip. Nevertheless, we loaded our computer into the plane and connected it to the XM WX weather radio so that we could observe NexRad and satellite reports during the flight. The local deli provided sandwiches for our lunch and dinner, which we consumed in-flight. Since Hubby had been logging lots of hours lately, it was my turn to fly. Hubby provided all the other crew services of talking on the radio, dispensing sandwiches, and following our flight-path on the Garmin 530 GPS, the NavAir GPS, and paper charts.
We had flown this route several times in the past several years on our way from our home in New York to visit our children in Oklahoma. First stop after leaving White Plains (HPN) was Allegheny County (AGC) near Pittsburgh -- about 290 nm. We filled up the tanks with about 30 gallons of fuel and were off again in less than a half-hour. It was good to know we had landed with more than an hour of fuel still in the tanks. Our next stop was at Cynthiana (0I8), near Cincinnati (about 240 nm) where we picked up another 25 gallons and once again departed in less than an hour. Our next stop would be Kennett (TKX), MO, about 300 nm further on. And then the final stop would be Richard L. Jones (RVS) in Tulsa -- another 290 nm.
We had flight following to Cynthiana and we were almost to the left downwind for runway 29 before spotting the runway lights and switching to 1200 and UNICOM. As soon as Hubby announced, another voice on frequency announced right downwind in a blimp. Lights blinked against the darkening sky, moved slowly toward the right base as I turned left base and final. After we landed, I turned to watch the blimp land. But, instead, the lights continued off to the east. Hubby fueled and played with airport cats while I relaxed and barfed up a little of my lunch. Nerves.
As we left Cynthiana, we discussed the practicality of continuing on from Kennett to Tulsa. We had had several nights of fitful sleep, worrying about our son. We had left White Plains about an hour later than we had anticipated because it had taken a little longer to complete the report I just had to turn in before leaving and because Hubby had forgotten the keys to the house and the car that would be waiting for us in Tulsa. So we had to make an extra stop before leaving HPN to get the keys. Although we had made good time, it would be after 1 a.m. local time and more like 2 a.m. according to our body clocks if we continued on to Tulsa. I could tell that all this was taking a toll and my concetration was lacking. So, shortly into the Cynthiana to Kennett leg, we decided to find a hotel room at Kennett and call it a night. We would continue to Tulsa in the morning, refreshed.
The sun had set before we arrived at Cynthiana and the sky had become quite dark when we departed. The sliver of a moon was not visible in the sky. It was probably behind us to the East. A few stars twinkled above, but no traffic appeared to disturb the peace of night flight. Occasionally, I dialed in an ATIS or ASOS for an altimeter adjustment, but mostly we stayed on the quiet CTAF frequency instead of calling for flight following. The Garmin GPS and autopilot were guiding us through the still night air. The GPS stayed in its default view of showing the entire 300 mile flight path to Kennett instead of zoomed down to display airspace. The moving map on the GPS weather computer, though, was zoomed down.
We had not talked about our son on the preceding legs and we still did not on this one either. We had already said all we needed in the past few days. On the previous leg we had rehearsed job interviews because Hubby is looking for a new job. On the night leg, I talked about office politics a little bit, but mostly we just enjoyed the night.
At one point, Hubby asked me, "Do you know anything about Godman Air Force Base?" It seemed like a strange question, but it had come to his mind as he watched the airport come up on the weather computer. Since my father had spent 29 years in the Air Force, I had come to know quite a few Air Force bases, but this one was unknown to me. We both looked at the moving map and I noticed we were flying between two airports, Godman and Elizabethtown. Although both GPSs normally display restricted airspace, I did not notice the Fort Knox airspace that hugs Godman.
My slow descent into Kennett began nearly 20 minutes away. I decided to land on runway 2. The weather indicated it was calm and it would be easy to land to the west. However, a Citation was announcing a landing on runway 20. So, I decided to follow him and land runway 20, as well. After he landed, the Citation pilot reported a tailwind just before landing. I continued toward a landing on runway 20, but the tailwind was so strong we were just too high and fast to land. I went around and tried it again, this time getting down lower. The tailwind was still enough of a problem that we bounced, but it was a safe landing. I taxied to a tiedown and parked some distance from the FBO.
A lineman passed me going toward my aircraft as I strode toward the FBO. It looked like he had a clipboard and intended to write down my tail number. I thought it odd since we had never been asked to pay a landing fee or overnight fee at Kennett before. One of the pilots from the Citation was lounging outside the FBO. I thought he was waiting outside for a smoke, but he was actually waiting to tell me that there had been four policemen waiting to get my tail number.
The FAA had sent them. The pilot suggested I file a NASA report. I couldn't figure out why and he didn't know. Neither did the airport manager or the local police dispatcher. When I phoned the local FSDO the next day, they didn't know why either. Nor did they know the following Tuesday when Hubby called again. A call to FSS could not turn up any TFRs that we might have violated. We had maintained an altitude of 6,500 ft, so we were well above any airports along the way.
With very little to go on, I can only believe that I got close enough to Fort Knox to set off some alarm. Or possibly, I got close enough to the blimp at Cynthiana to alarm its pilot. Needless to say, I wish we had been more alert and less stressed when making this flight.
Thursday was the culmination of a hectic week. Ever since the preceding Saturday night when our youngest son phoned to ask what to do about the agonizing pain in his arm that was turning blue and green, his father and I had been frantic with worry. On Sunday and Monday, two surgeries had not gone well and two more were planned in an attempt to save his arm while I arranged at work to take a couple of days off. I worked extra hours on Tuesday and Wednesday so that we could leave at noon on Thursday and make the dash from New York to Oklahoma in our Cessna 172 to be with our son.
My husband consulted several weather websites, including an aviation weather program of his own design during the planning of our flight. His call to Weather Brief confirmed his conclusion that weather would not be a major concern for this trip. Nevertheless, we loaded our computer into the plane and connected it to the XM WX weather radio so that we could observe NexRad and satellite reports during the flight. The local deli provided sandwiches for our lunch and dinner, which we consumed in-flight. Since Hubby had been logging lots of hours lately, it was my turn to fly. Hubby provided all the other crew services of talking on the radio, dispensing sandwiches, and following our flight-path on the Garmin 530 GPS, the NavAir GPS, and paper charts.
We had flown this route several times in the past several years on our way from our home in New York to visit our children in Oklahoma. First stop after leaving White Plains (HPN) was Allegheny County (AGC) near Pittsburgh -- about 290 nm. We filled up the tanks with about 30 gallons of fuel and were off again in less than a half-hour. It was good to know we had landed with more than an hour of fuel still in the tanks. Our next stop was at Cynthiana (0I8), near Cincinnati (about 240 nm) where we picked up another 25 gallons and once again departed in less than an hour. Our next stop would be Kennett (TKX), MO, about 300 nm further on. And then the final stop would be Richard L. Jones (RVS) in Tulsa -- another 290 nm.
We had flight following to Cynthiana and we were almost to the left downwind for runway 29 before spotting the runway lights and switching to 1200 and UNICOM. As soon as Hubby announced, another voice on frequency announced right downwind in a blimp. Lights blinked against the darkening sky, moved slowly toward the right base as I turned left base and final. After we landed, I turned to watch the blimp land. But, instead, the lights continued off to the east. Hubby fueled and played with airport cats while I relaxed and barfed up a little of my lunch. Nerves.
As we left Cynthiana, we discussed the practicality of continuing on from Kennett to Tulsa. We had had several nights of fitful sleep, worrying about our son. We had left White Plains about an hour later than we had anticipated because it had taken a little longer to complete the report I just had to turn in before leaving and because Hubby had forgotten the keys to the house and the car that would be waiting for us in Tulsa. So we had to make an extra stop before leaving HPN to get the keys. Although we had made good time, it would be after 1 a.m. local time and more like 2 a.m. according to our body clocks if we continued on to Tulsa. I could tell that all this was taking a toll and my concetration was lacking. So, shortly into the Cynthiana to Kennett leg, we decided to find a hotel room at Kennett and call it a night. We would continue to Tulsa in the morning, refreshed.
The sun had set before we arrived at Cynthiana and the sky had become quite dark when we departed. The sliver of a moon was not visible in the sky. It was probably behind us to the East. A few stars twinkled above, but no traffic appeared to disturb the peace of night flight. Occasionally, I dialed in an ATIS or ASOS for an altimeter adjustment, but mostly we stayed on the quiet CTAF frequency instead of calling for flight following. The Garmin GPS and autopilot were guiding us through the still night air. The GPS stayed in its default view of showing the entire 300 mile flight path to Kennett instead of zoomed down to display airspace. The moving map on the GPS weather computer, though, was zoomed down.
We had not talked about our son on the preceding legs and we still did not on this one either. We had already said all we needed in the past few days. On the previous leg we had rehearsed job interviews because Hubby is looking for a new job. On the night leg, I talked about office politics a little bit, but mostly we just enjoyed the night.
At one point, Hubby asked me, "Do you know anything about Godman Air Force Base?" It seemed like a strange question, but it had come to his mind as he watched the airport come up on the weather computer. Since my father had spent 29 years in the Air Force, I had come to know quite a few Air Force bases, but this one was unknown to me. We both looked at the moving map and I noticed we were flying between two airports, Godman and Elizabethtown. Although both GPSs normally display restricted airspace, I did not notice the Fort Knox airspace that hugs Godman.
My slow descent into Kennett began nearly 20 minutes away. I decided to land on runway 2. The weather indicated it was calm and it would be easy to land to the west. However, a Citation was announcing a landing on runway 20. So, I decided to follow him and land runway 20, as well. After he landed, the Citation pilot reported a tailwind just before landing. I continued toward a landing on runway 20, but the tailwind was so strong we were just too high and fast to land. I went around and tried it again, this time getting down lower. The tailwind was still enough of a problem that we bounced, but it was a safe landing. I taxied to a tiedown and parked some distance from the FBO.
A lineman passed me going toward my aircraft as I strode toward the FBO. It looked like he had a clipboard and intended to write down my tail number. I thought it odd since we had never been asked to pay a landing fee or overnight fee at Kennett before. One of the pilots from the Citation was lounging outside the FBO. I thought he was waiting outside for a smoke, but he was actually waiting to tell me that there had been four policemen waiting to get my tail number.
The FAA had sent them. The pilot suggested I file a NASA report. I couldn't figure out why and he didn't know. Neither did the airport manager or the local police dispatcher. When I phoned the local FSDO the next day, they didn't know why either. Nor did they know the following Tuesday when Hubby called again. A call to FSS could not turn up any TFRs that we might have violated. We had maintained an altitude of 6,500 ft, so we were well above any airports along the way.
With very little to go on, I can only believe that I got close enough to Fort Knox to set off some alarm. Or possibly, I got close enough to the blimp at Cynthiana to alarm its pilot. Needless to say, I wish we had been more alert and less stressed when making this flight.
