Anthony
Touchdown! Greaser!
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- Feb 23, 2005
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Anthony
Flew into Richmond in the Tiger for the day to visit some friends yesterday. Had great weather and tail wind going and saw ground speeds in excess of 150 knots, but coming back of course, I paid for the 15 extra kntos with a 115 - 120 average GS. Its 317 N.M, so it took me about 2:15 to get there and 2:40 to get back.
The terrain from Lexington, KY to Richmond is what easterners call mountainous.
While its not the Rockies you do get some intereting winds so I stayed high going and coming back. Also I had to deal with a scattered layer at 7,500 - 8,000 so I went a 9,500 going. By the time we returned last eveniong the layers had dissipated so going back (west) at 8,500 ft was no problem. The sun was a problem. Flying directly into the setting sun is not one of my favorite things to do. It creats a hazy, no horizon situation which to me borders on IFR, so I used the six pack a lot and tried not to make any sudden motions with my head. By the time I got back the sun was almost completely down so it was no problem but the cruise part of the flight was just lots of concentration. Flying five or more hours in some moderate turbulence going and marginal vis coming back is tiring. I am a bit drained today.
I used Richmond Jet Center for fuel as Airnav listed it as the least expensive for gas there over Millionaire. $4.69/gal as compared to $4.99 at Millionaire. The Jet Center was OK, but I told them to fill it up prior to leaving, but it wasn't done upon return. The same woman asked me again when I got back if I needed fuel and I told her again to fill it up. After I was done checking weather, she then came back and asked me again if I wanted fuel and how much. Bottom line, I had to wait for them to fuel the plane while it could have been already done. Not critical, but I really wanted to avoid flying over the "mountains" at night and as time ticked away, I began to wonder. Fortunately I was still able to accomplish the flight over bad terrain in daylight.
All in all a great day of flying!
The terrain from Lexington, KY to Richmond is what easterners call mountainous.
While its not the Rockies you do get some intereting winds so I stayed high going and coming back. Also I had to deal with a scattered layer at 7,500 - 8,000 so I went a 9,500 going. By the time we returned last eveniong the layers had dissipated so going back (west) at 8,500 ft was no problem. The sun was a problem. Flying directly into the setting sun is not one of my favorite things to do. It creats a hazy, no horizon situation which to me borders on IFR, so I used the six pack a lot and tried not to make any sudden motions with my head. By the time I got back the sun was almost completely down so it was no problem but the cruise part of the flight was just lots of concentration. Flying five or more hours in some moderate turbulence going and marginal vis coming back is tiring. I am a bit drained today. I used Richmond Jet Center for fuel as Airnav listed it as the least expensive for gas there over Millionaire. $4.69/gal as compared to $4.99 at Millionaire.
The Jet Center was OK, but I told them to fill it up prior to leaving, but it wasn't done upon return. The same woman asked me again when I got back if I needed fuel and I told her again to fill it up. After I was done checking weather, she then came back and asked me again if I wanted fuel and how much. Bottom line, I had to wait for them to fuel the plane while it could have been already done. Not critical, but I really wanted to avoid flying over the "mountains" at night and as time ticked away, I began to wonder. Fortunately I was still able to accomplish the flight over bad terrain in daylight.All in all a great day of flying!