I went to bed a little earlier to be sure I'd get up around 4am. I
wanted to be out of the door in time to defrost the airplane, if
necessary, or to take the extra time to fly IFR if I needed to. As it
turned out, I woke up for good at 3am and just rested there a bit. Bev
woke up and did the disney commercial thing... I'm too
excited, I can't sleep....". Oh, she's a witty one!!.
The coffee is good this morning, and I'm out the door and on my way to the airport a little after 5am. I get the airplane uncovered and fired up as the sun starts coming up. The weather briefing I picked up with flitesoft indicated ceilings at 3800', but I cannot really see the ceilings yet in the early dawn light. I had filed an IFR flight plan, but had no intention of filing it in the interest of getting there on time.
I stow my coffee and depart runway 27. I have a bit more light now, and can see the ceilings materializing at around 2200'. Looking north, I cannot really tell how low they will be, but its clear that the forecast this morning is a bit optimistic. Turning downwind, I look outside, and then focus on setting up my radios and GPS equipment for the flight plan I filed. About midfield I call Dover and ask for my clearance; 60 Yankee; upon reaching 1,700', proceed direct dupont, then as filed; climb and maintain 4,000'.
As it turns out, I could have filed and flown direct to 40N, as the ceilings did go up pretty quickly and the visibility was very good. I ended up spending too many seconds with my head inside the cockpit on downwind; setting up radios that could have been readied on the ground. Picking up the clearance was the right thing to do under the circumstances, but setting up the radios ahead of time; need it or not; would be better.
Arriving Chester County, I land purposely hot and long to be able to find the hangar I'll be departing from. I taxi back to the terminal and the line guy comes up on a tug to chock me in. I ask him if it'd be ok to tie down on the far side of the field to avoid the long walk to the terminal, and he tells me no problem whatsoever. There was also no charge for my tie down for the day, either. I taxi down to the far side of the field, cover the airplane and finish my coffee as the airport starts waking up. Only then do I think about getting my airplane washed while its here. Long story short - I walked more than 1/2 mile in dress shoes to drop off my keys in the hopes that it might get washed; and then all the way back to where my airplane was to wait for Rink.
So I don't keep you here too long - I'll speed my diatribe along. By 7am, KC had pulled the jet out and Rink had gaven me a safety briefing. If you ever need to know how to attach a safety line to the wing after a water landing, and then how to get one or two rafts out - I'm your man. I also got a feel for how to manage the entertainment systems (two playstations, two dvd players, countless monitors, and AC power). Finally, I needed to know how to turn the water on and make coffee, and also how to close the inflight door that reduces slipstream sound and retains heat.
KC fueled us up, positioned the jet to make it easy to load the executives. I wasn't sure how this part would go, relating to the executives that is. My plan was to be as invisible and out of the way as possible. The execs that showed up quickly made me feel at ease, and made the effort to make me feel comfortable and welcome. They didn't have to be that personable, but they were. Even after a very long day for them. Everyone I met this day had the same positive attitude, and it was amazingly refreshing. Felt good.
John and Rink took their positions, and I carefully got myself positioned on the jump seat. It offered me an outstanding view out the window, and put me in a fantasic position to observe everything going on. Some of the important things I learned today that I won't go far into include:
So, now we find ourselves flying across Lake Michigan and toward downtown Milwaukee. As I remember it, the speed brakes had just gone back in as we were working to remain below 250kts. I have covered this same flight path several times at 100 knots, and it was a new and exciting experience to do it at 250kts while relatively low. My new jet friends think its slow - but I am impressed none-the-less. As we approach the shore line, I am thinking of Joe and Joan; my friends that have just moved within 60 miles of this airport. The view - even of Milwaukee - is clear and pleasant.
The executives disembark and thank us (including me) for getting them there. We take a crew car out for coffee, and it starts to snow. The clocks here are behind us by an hour, but we all forget to account for that as we try several fast food locations in our quest for coffee. Nobody is open yet, because its still before 10am for them, which is simply amazing when you think about where I've been this morning. We end up at Dunkin' Donuts, and I have two wonderful donuts those of you who know how hard I've been working on my diet, know that today is a vacation day when I put my diet on hold. It didn't hurt though, that I walked a mile already in dress shoes this morning.
It has been an ongoing classroom today, with the two accomplished pilots taking turns explaining what they are doing as they do it. I actually begin to feel that I could do this too; that I have the aptitude for it. Who knows how far I'll get with my aviating, but I do know that I enjoy it more than any other activity I involve myself in. Someday I'll at least be flying cargo somewhere, presumably after I retire.
But I digress. We are back at the airport now, and still have an hour of so to kill. I am caught reading Pilot Porn (Trade-a-Plane) and dreaming about a bigger, more capable airplane. Everyone of us can identify with the fact that it never stops. You always need more power and added gross weight. We sauntered out to the maintenance hanger to watch the mechanics work on a Saratoga. John used to own a normally aspirated Lance, which is similar to the Saratoga but with a nice T tail. I own a cherokee, and the Saratoga is the same as mine, but with a bigger engine and stretched fuselage. My airplane really wants to grow up to be a T-tailed Lance or a Saratoga; or a cherokee six; or a Columbia 300; or a Beech Bonanza, or a Diamond Star.... sorry I lost it for a moment there. I actually think that the cherokee I own is, and has been, the perfect airplane for my missions. Ahhhh.... lets move on.
While we wait for the executives to call, John discusses all the
aspects of his position as head of the flight department. John is
responsible for all aspects of running flights:
Time runs out and we get a call from the executives that are nearby inspecting student housing. They have been delayed, so our next stop in Champaign, Illinois has been dropped. We should go get lunch, and plan for a return flight to 40N. I am slightly disappointed that I'll miss another landing and takeoff, but then again, I am getting low on energy; lots of learning; watching; and listening going on. The conversation remains good, and I don't seem to run out of questions. Both pilots are gracious and fill in as many details as they can think of.
Getting started on our way home, both pilots enter the entire route into their respective flight management systems. This provides the means to cross check each other throughout the flight. Subsequent changes enroute must be entered again by both pilots, and again they cross check each other.
The flight home is short - the climb out is steep and invokes a yoHoo!! from the executives in the back. Very cool. While still climbing with a steep deck angle, my job was to step back over the jump seat and close the door curtain and start the coffee.... It took several tries, but on the return trip I was actually successful in getting coffee to brew. The door wasn't a problem, but the entrance rug (with me on it) kept sliding toward the tailcone on climbout. Still, making coffee at a steep deck angle while sliding on a peice of carpet is a damn nice change of pace for me....
Rink flew us home and was lamenting about the lack of a tailwind. Someone was anyway. There we were - sailing along at 511 knots ground speed. Home in an hour and a half. Someone actually commenting on how the jet might be considered relatively slow.... Yeah right.... Mach .80. MACH .80. I simply can't hide the fact that I'm lovin' it!
Rink sets up for landing back at the home drome (40N) in Coatesville, PA. Airbrakes have played a role in getting us slowed to around 160kts on downwind ( forgive me if I've gotten the speeds wrong - I am doing this on memory), and vref (115kts) plus ten on final. Did you know that in a sweptwing fighter, er, I mean jet, that you can actually pick up speed as you lower the nose in ground effect.
I think I'll ask Rink to proof this page to make sure I don't make a fool of myself with some of the details - and I'll come back to this page when that happens.
Thats all I can think of for now. I think I made it clear that I was treated wonderfully all day; that both pilots taught me a heck of alot and gave me a clear perspective on the work they do; that the executives we were transporting treated me with respect and wanted to know who I was and what I thought of the experience; and that a number of folks involved in this process were gracious enough to let me enjoy and experience all of it. I'll try hard to pay that kindness back, though it will most likely be by sharing the experience of flight with other folks.
Standing Offer: I would be happy to set up some flights for those execs or members or their families. I'll take good care of everyone, and see that they get to enjoy a similar, albeit slower, flight experience.
At the end of the day, John and Rink took the time to let me show off my airplane. I demonstrated the Garmin 396 weather products that I have installed. The antennaes aren't nailed down yet, but the system cannot be beat for $30. per month. We were able to get METARs and TAFs on the airport we had just left in Wisconsin, so coverage was good even for a jet.