Earthblog

I have a friend that owns his own private twin engine aircraft.  He needed to take a trip from OBX to Dulles and back, and asked if I'd like to come along… well, I don't get asked twice so I said "sign me up".

pictures    http://www.cavoom.com/joomla1/index.php/photo-gallery/category/10 

 We took off from Manteo at around 4pm.  The trip was entirely on instruments and flying into the crowded airspace around Washington it's a smart idea… you don't want to drift off course these days! The take off was smooth and pleasant, rather like a 3 dimensional sports car, you get G forces in all directions. 

There were clouds up to 4000 ft and we flew through clouds for about 15min before we entered clear air.  Visibility was good but hazy.  I took a few photo's naturally they're not perfect.   We were travelling at about 130 nautical miles (airspeed) which is close to 150mph.  Given we're travelling cross country that's pretty good. 

Entering the busy airspace of Norfolk and up the Eastern seaboard there was a lot of air controller radio activity.  

From 6000ft, Interstate 95 seems quite small and passing over Fredericksburg was sweet because on the ground there is always congestion! 

As we approached the Washington area we were scheduled in between the large Jets onto runway 1R (10 degrees - right, there is a parallel runway 1L).  It was a really odd feeling to me, flying into Dulles with all the huge jets waiting their turn on the ground as we approached.   

We arrived in style at the Signature terminal at Dulles.  Nice terminal, mainly used by executive jets. We refueled, picked up my buddy's wife and taxied out to runway 30 (300 degrees). 

Smooth take off and we're airborne again.  Take off was around 7:45pm.  Air was still clear and slightly hazy. 

The Blue Ridge Mountains were clearly visible on the horizon.   No problems on the return flight.  The sun was setting around 8:15-8:30pm. 

In the distant, 200miles away on the instruments there were indications of lightning, but nothing in our airspace. 

At night, the ground looks different.  You can see the airport beacons with their distinctive flashing lights.  Naturally, the GPS is a brilliant navigation aid.  

As we approached Manteo (actually Dare County Regional) we could see mist over the ocean to 2000 ft… not past the ocean front houses, but quite visible. 

We got back to Manteo at 9:15pm and the airfield was shut down.  My buddy punched his R/T code and the runway lights came on like a Christmas tree… wow. 

The round trip took 3.2hrs  vs. 9hr by car.  It was quite an experience and nice to have friends that can do special things.