Anthony
Touchdown! Greaser!
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Anthony
Thought I'd give a quick Pirep on The Homestead in Hot Springs, VA. We flew there this past Friday to attend a wedding and spend a long weekend. The weather was uncharacteristically PERFECT. CAVU and warmer than is typical for this time of year. Flew into KHSP, which sits on top of what people here call "mountains" and is about 10 miles from the Homestead resort. The field elevation is 3,792 ft, and from what I hear the winds can get really squirelly, but it was relatively calm when we landed so I did not experience that. I was not charged any landing fees nor overnight fees, but I did buy 10 gallons of gas, but didn't get the impression I'd would have been charged if I hadn't. The Homesteads shuttle, on the other hand, is not inexpensive. At $25 per person each way, I felt it was a bit steep, but I didn't see any other options.
The resort is beautiful and very historic being built in 1766 and maintained as a resort since. I learned that it was a Civil War hospital for both sides and I'm sure there are many other facts about George Washington staying there that I don't know about. I didn't play golf, but the courses looked great and very nicely tucked into the rolling hills. There are several good hikes through the area one of which I did which featured several waterfalls.
We ate at a nice steak house, "John's" outside the resort Friday night, which I would highly recommend. The food at the Homestead was also good, with the breakfast buffet being tremendous. The resort was crowded for Thanksgiving, but not overly so. I was the only plane at the airport when I landed, but upon leaving on Sunday there was an Archer and a Husky sitting up there. I imagine the airport is busier in the summer.
The flight from Lexington and back took 1.5 hours, and go figure, I had a about a 15 - 20 knot headwind each way, so averaged only about 120 knots GS, but still beats the 5.5 - 6 hour drive we would have had. People at the wedding could literally not believe we flew there in a small plane.
I also got a lot of questions on the Lidle crash.
While the weather this past weekend was great, I'm sure that is not always the case and at nearly 4,000 ft eleveation and surrounding terrain approaching 5,000 ft, you'll need to watch weather, terrain, DA and ceilings carefully. All in all I would recommend the Homestead for a long weekend or relaxing vacation.
The resort is beautiful and very historic being built in 1766 and maintained as a resort since. I learned that it was a Civil War hospital for both sides and I'm sure there are many other facts about George Washington staying there that I don't know about. I didn't play golf, but the courses looked great and very nicely tucked into the rolling hills. There are several good hikes through the area one of which I did which featured several waterfalls.
We ate at a nice steak house, "John's" outside the resort Friday night, which I would highly recommend. The food at the Homestead was also good, with the breakfast buffet being tremendous. The resort was crowded for Thanksgiving, but not overly so. I was the only plane at the airport when I landed, but upon leaving on Sunday there was an Archer and a Husky sitting up there. I imagine the airport is busier in the summer.
The flight from Lexington and back took 1.5 hours, and go figure, I had a about a 15 - 20 knot headwind each way, so averaged only about 120 knots GS, but still beats the 5.5 - 6 hour drive we would have had. People at the wedding could literally not believe we flew there in a small plane.
I also got a lot of questions on the Lidle crash. While the weather this past weekend was great, I'm sure that is not always the case and at nearly 4,000 ft eleveation and surrounding terrain approaching 5,000 ft, you'll need to watch weather, terrain, DA and ceilings carefully. All in all I would recommend the Homestead for a long weekend or relaxing vacation.
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