gitmo234
Line Up and Wait
I'm taking a break from the heat and decided to post the beginning of the trip report.
First off... Pictures are posted here (flickr).
Route followed to Jekyll, with wheels up time at 6:20:
58M, KESN KMFV KAKQ KCTZ KRBW 09J
Stops:
Com failure stop at KESN to change a fuse and un-stick a contact in a voltage regulator (breakfast as well)
KAKQ - Nice airport, with a nice long strip, but practically a ghost town.
KCTZ - Also a very nice strip and great gas prices. They say its "self serve" but you actually require someone there to unluck the pump and swipe your card. When we arrived they had left a note on the door saying they were out for awhile. We called and they sent a family member over to unlock and swipe the card. Nice people.
KRBW - Very large strips but only one or two are in good condition. Some are almost turf again and I would be afraid to land on them. Very friendly staff. We landed to refuel knowing a storm was rolling in (afternoon storms seem to be a norm around here).
Report: We Departed around 6:20 or so, got up in the air and I climbed to 6500, leaned out and we were in cruise mode. As we were nearing the Patuxent River restricted areas I noticed the music kept cutting like someone was on the radio but nobody was, and it sounded grainy. I made a call to pax river to pass through and all electronics started cycling on and off, constant reboot.
I barely got out a request for pax to call Easton Airport (KESN) to advise them my coms are down and I'm inbound. Passing nearby to easton earlier I had listened to the ATIS just to see the weather so I knew runway 4 was in use. Barely got out a call that I was inbound without coms, and would fly over the field, and setup for in a downwind for 4, squwak 7600, ident just to catch attention of the controller in case the call didnt go out, setup, and got light gun signals clear to land.
Landed and just as I was pulling in, the good folks at Maryland Air repair were opening their doors. The put off servicing the gulf streams and gigantic million dollar airplanes to take a look at mine while I grabbed breakfast with the wife.
Finished up a slow breakfast and dropped in the shop. During the annual I upgraded the generator from a 25 amp to a 30 amp but the fuse was still a 25 amp fuse. The generator fuse had blown and there was a stuck contact in the voltage regulator that they unstuck. I helped him put the cowling back on, he gave me 2 extra fuses, damage was $95 for all that and a battery charge.
Back in the air, passed through the restricted areas below 3000 feet, then climbed to 6500. As I flew I realized just how crowded GA frequencies are. I also realized how much some people just like to have full blown conversations or make their radio calls like a chapter of War and Peace. I literally heard someone say something like "I think I may setup on a downwind for 31 when i get into the pattern or I may instead go to a different runway or maybe 13, i dunno, i'll decide when I get there I guess".
The first real thing I noticed crossing from VA to NC was that it was HOT. Did I mention it was HOT?
The next big thing was at KRBW. I mentioned above that we landed knowing storms were inbound. It looked bad, then it got REAL bad. Saw a plane actually slide until the tie-down stopped it. Lightning everywhere and a downpour.
The airport closed at 5, so instead of waiting outside in the storm he gave us the key to the municipal airport courtesy car, told us to throw $5 of gas in it and it was ours as long as we needed. We grabbed dinner at "Dukes BBQ" which is a really "down home" style buffet that was clearly a local favorite. Looked like someone just set it up in a house almost. Good food but not a healthy choice..ha!
We drove back to the airport already starting to regret Dukes, parked the car and talked to one of the locals building his Kozy MK-IV in the hanger. He had already flown it but was tweaking something and had it practically tore down. Funny note: his shorts were so short that my wife swore he was just wearing underwear. Nice guy though. I explained to her that he's an engineer and they tend to have "highlighted" personalities.
The storm cell over us broke and more or less created a path from our departure heading to jekyll. They were turning to light rain and fading away, but we needed to fly straight out and they parted like the sea. The weather over Jekyll was still showing rough but weakening. We had over an hour to get there and the trend was it was dissipating and moving east.
Between the personalities at all the various airports, getting breakfast and a another meal, we were now something like 4 hours behind schedule. It was 7:45 PM when we departed.
More or less the Stratus was a life saver. I dont play the "storm dodging" game, but I do like to watch a trend so I know when its rain and when its bad. I also called some of the local FBOs near Jekyll to get a PIREP, once they confirmed it was all rain and ceilings/vis were okay, we departed. By the time we got to Jekyll, we only encountered one spot of really light rain. It was clear but getting dark. Even at 9pm, there is still a crosswind at Jekyll. I was told its there 24/7.
Landing late at night, there is nothing at the airport. There are no taxis on the island. We called the hotel and they sent someone to pick us up. The next day we rented bicycles. The whole island is accessible by bike, or there are electric cars for rent at the airport. Bikes are $15 a day per bike. That being said, be prepared. On our lightest day (today) we biked 12 miles. Yesterday we biked about 25. That's going here and there, back and forth, store to shop to beach, etc.
There are a few shops along the eastern shore, connected to the Westin. The closest thing to a grocery store is there. The first thing we noticed is that surprisingly, the island isnt a way over-priced tourist trap. Things were reasonable. The Westin has a decent Bar in it. The Rah Bar has a more dive-like bar but its good as well. Latitude 31 makes some decent food as well. All in all, the beaches are close to vacant, there are lots of photogenic places to visit, it all seems to be just outside of walking distance.
The whole island also shuts down mostly around 10 pm. Also, the local police are all state police only. You can take a drink to go provided you're decent with it, not a drunken slob, dangerous, or littering and staying on the island. It's tolerated only, not necessarily legal. We were way above the legal limit on our bikes (on the bike paths not roads) and had a drink to go. The bartenders would ask if we were driving..."no, we're biking"...they would say "staying on the island", we'd say yes and they'd let us go. We biked from the Rah bar to the Westin. From the Westin to the Days inn (where we stayed).
The Days inn is okay, we're not a big fan of spending a lot for a place to sleep. We'd rather blow the money on fancy food and drink. The hampton is by far more isolated than any other hotel. Its a couple mile bike ride to anything. That will have its own give and take.
There seem to be about 2 days worth of "stuff to do and see" here. Any more and it would be beach only days.
If you like scenic views, isolation, relaxation, polite people, quiet beaches and reasonable prices, I highly recommend jekyll Island.
If you want pristine water that is super clear, an amusement park and activities to keep the whole family busy for a week...Jekyll is not for you. Although, there is a water park on the island somewhere.
More to come, my wife is rushing me out the door for dinner.
First off... Pictures are posted here (flickr).
Route followed to Jekyll, with wheels up time at 6:20:
58M, KESN KMFV KAKQ KCTZ KRBW 09J
Stops:
Com failure stop at KESN to change a fuse and un-stick a contact in a voltage regulator (breakfast as well)
KAKQ - Nice airport, with a nice long strip, but practically a ghost town.
KCTZ - Also a very nice strip and great gas prices. They say its "self serve" but you actually require someone there to unluck the pump and swipe your card. When we arrived they had left a note on the door saying they were out for awhile. We called and they sent a family member over to unlock and swipe the card. Nice people.
KRBW - Very large strips but only one or two are in good condition. Some are almost turf again and I would be afraid to land on them. Very friendly staff. We landed to refuel knowing a storm was rolling in (afternoon storms seem to be a norm around here).
Report: We Departed around 6:20 or so, got up in the air and I climbed to 6500, leaned out and we were in cruise mode. As we were nearing the Patuxent River restricted areas I noticed the music kept cutting like someone was on the radio but nobody was, and it sounded grainy. I made a call to pax river to pass through and all electronics started cycling on and off, constant reboot.
I barely got out a request for pax to call Easton Airport (KESN) to advise them my coms are down and I'm inbound. Passing nearby to easton earlier I had listened to the ATIS just to see the weather so I knew runway 4 was in use. Barely got out a call that I was inbound without coms, and would fly over the field, and setup for in a downwind for 4, squwak 7600, ident just to catch attention of the controller in case the call didnt go out, setup, and got light gun signals clear to land.
Landed and just as I was pulling in, the good folks at Maryland Air repair were opening their doors. The put off servicing the gulf streams and gigantic million dollar airplanes to take a look at mine while I grabbed breakfast with the wife.
Finished up a slow breakfast and dropped in the shop. During the annual I upgraded the generator from a 25 amp to a 30 amp but the fuse was still a 25 amp fuse. The generator fuse had blown and there was a stuck contact in the voltage regulator that they unstuck. I helped him put the cowling back on, he gave me 2 extra fuses, damage was $95 for all that and a battery charge.
Back in the air, passed through the restricted areas below 3000 feet, then climbed to 6500. As I flew I realized just how crowded GA frequencies are. I also realized how much some people just like to have full blown conversations or make their radio calls like a chapter of War and Peace. I literally heard someone say something like "I think I may setup on a downwind for 31 when i get into the pattern or I may instead go to a different runway or maybe 13, i dunno, i'll decide when I get there I guess".
The first real thing I noticed crossing from VA to NC was that it was HOT. Did I mention it was HOT?
The next big thing was at KRBW. I mentioned above that we landed knowing storms were inbound. It looked bad, then it got REAL bad. Saw a plane actually slide until the tie-down stopped it. Lightning everywhere and a downpour.
The airport closed at 5, so instead of waiting outside in the storm he gave us the key to the municipal airport courtesy car, told us to throw $5 of gas in it and it was ours as long as we needed. We grabbed dinner at "Dukes BBQ" which is a really "down home" style buffet that was clearly a local favorite. Looked like someone just set it up in a house almost. Good food but not a healthy choice..ha!
We drove back to the airport already starting to regret Dukes, parked the car and talked to one of the locals building his Kozy MK-IV in the hanger. He had already flown it but was tweaking something and had it practically tore down. Funny note: his shorts were so short that my wife swore he was just wearing underwear. Nice guy though. I explained to her that he's an engineer and they tend to have "highlighted" personalities.
The storm cell over us broke and more or less created a path from our departure heading to jekyll. They were turning to light rain and fading away, but we needed to fly straight out and they parted like the sea. The weather over Jekyll was still showing rough but weakening. We had over an hour to get there and the trend was it was dissipating and moving east.
Between the personalities at all the various airports, getting breakfast and a another meal, we were now something like 4 hours behind schedule. It was 7:45 PM when we departed.
More or less the Stratus was a life saver. I dont play the "storm dodging" game, but I do like to watch a trend so I know when its rain and when its bad. I also called some of the local FBOs near Jekyll to get a PIREP, once they confirmed it was all rain and ceilings/vis were okay, we departed. By the time we got to Jekyll, we only encountered one spot of really light rain. It was clear but getting dark. Even at 9pm, there is still a crosswind at Jekyll. I was told its there 24/7.
Landing late at night, there is nothing at the airport. There are no taxis on the island. We called the hotel and they sent someone to pick us up. The next day we rented bicycles. The whole island is accessible by bike, or there are electric cars for rent at the airport. Bikes are $15 a day per bike. That being said, be prepared. On our lightest day (today) we biked 12 miles. Yesterday we biked about 25. That's going here and there, back and forth, store to shop to beach, etc.
There are a few shops along the eastern shore, connected to the Westin. The closest thing to a grocery store is there. The first thing we noticed is that surprisingly, the island isnt a way over-priced tourist trap. Things were reasonable. The Westin has a decent Bar in it. The Rah Bar has a more dive-like bar but its good as well. Latitude 31 makes some decent food as well. All in all, the beaches are close to vacant, there are lots of photogenic places to visit, it all seems to be just outside of walking distance.
The whole island also shuts down mostly around 10 pm. Also, the local police are all state police only. You can take a drink to go provided you're decent with it, not a drunken slob, dangerous, or littering and staying on the island. It's tolerated only, not necessarily legal. We were way above the legal limit on our bikes (on the bike paths not roads) and had a drink to go. The bartenders would ask if we were driving..."no, we're biking"...they would say "staying on the island", we'd say yes and they'd let us go. We biked from the Rah bar to the Westin. From the Westin to the Days inn (where we stayed).
The Days inn is okay, we're not a big fan of spending a lot for a place to sleep. We'd rather blow the money on fancy food and drink. The hampton is by far more isolated than any other hotel. Its a couple mile bike ride to anything. That will have its own give and take.
There seem to be about 2 days worth of "stuff to do and see" here. Any more and it would be beach only days.
If you like scenic views, isolation, relaxation, polite people, quiet beaches and reasonable prices, I highly recommend jekyll Island.
If you want pristine water that is super clear, an amusement park and activities to keep the whole family busy for a week...Jekyll is not for you. Although, there is a water park on the island somewhere.
More to come, my wife is rushing me out the door for dinner.
Thanks again for sharing your experience and stories. We love to hear more. 
