Chapter 1 - The Take Off
As I had mentioned in the previous entry, I am going to Orlando for a business trip, and decided to fly the Cessna 172 there not only for the fun of it, but to rake up cross country hours for my instrument rating.
I had been looking at the weather all week from DUATS, and the weather for Saturday, Nov 24th looked iffy. By Thursday I had my doubts for good weather, and Friday morning confirmed it. Saturday would be a mess. So I decided to get everything together and take off Friday before sunset. I planned for a fuel stop at Trent Lott International airport in Mississippi, so I decided to fly there and then see how the weather looked for flying Saturday. The trip to Trent Lott would be 4 hrs.
So I got to the airport, and packed up the plane. My kids all wanted to go with me, and I wish I could take them. I took off, and soon it got dark. Looks like I would be updating my night currency. I learned to use the fuel flow instrument, which I had never really had to learn to use before. I quickly found out what a great instrument it is. It would measure your fuel flow inflight, and tell you how much flying time you had left - a valuable piece of information! And I could all so fiddle with leaning the engine, and backing off the throttle to ensure I would have enough fuel.
I was trying to get up to 9500', but the clouds were overhead and I wasn't sure at what altitude they were. Then at about 7500' I lost sight of all the city lights. So I slowly descended back down and the lights returned. Later I had a problem... My flight plan was to go over the Lafayette airspace at 7000'. I tried to see if the clouds would cooperate and allow me to go above 7000' but they would not. In hindsight I should have just requested clearance to go through it, but instead I went around it.
The rest of the first leg went well, and I eventually made it to Trent Lott International airport. I thought the "International" part of the name was funny with its 1 modest runway. It was well after hours and their control tower was closed for the night. I clicked the mic and the runway lights came on. As I descended I could smell all the refineries in the area. There was no one at the airport. I parked and looked around. I thought maybe I would unpack my tent and find a place to pitch it, but first I went over to the FBO to find a plug for my laptop so I could get updated weather info. The lights were out. I knew for sure it would be locked up, but it wasn't. I went on in, and there was a pilot's lounge where I could plug the laptop in and get weather updates.
The weather for Saturday looked fine, so I planned to spend the night there somewhere. I went out to my plane, and there was a guard outside writing down the tail number. He said I was welcome to spend the night on one of the couches in the pilot's lounge. Sweet! That's all I need.
Chapter 2 - On to Florida
I woke up a little before 6am when someone came into the FBO. I got up and got ready to get going. He looked a little surprised to see me, but not too surprised. I asked him if there was a restaurant nearby. He offered the courtesy car so I could drive into town. This is going to take some getting used to. I'm not used to anyone loaning their car for free. While I was gone, he filled up my plane. $5.24/gallon... ugh! (I'm sure someone reading this a year from now will chuckle and wish gas was "only" $5.24/gallon). airnav.com didn't show any better deals within a reasonable distance from my route.
I then took off. Today's trip would be another 4 hrs. I climbed over 4200' so I could clear KMOB's airspace, and continued to climb up to 11,500', which is by far the highest I've piloted so far. The 172 climbed pretty slowly at that altitude. It was nice flying in daylight again, and the view was awesome. Just cruising along from one great scene to the next. I wondered if I would have any altitude problems, but there didn't seem to be any effects (I've had hypoxia training).
Today I would be flying through MOAs (Military Operations Area), and restricted airspaces around the coast of Alabama and the Florida panhandle. The MOAs were only active during weekdays though, and I could fly through the restricted areas as long as I stuck to the airways. So I paid extra attention to my route.
When I got to Florida the waypoints were spaced apart about 40 minutes each. As I passed each one it seemed like I was making more and more progress. I saw contrails overhead which still seemed just as high up as ever. After passing X35 (Dunnellon airport), I started descending down just over the clouds at 5500'. When I was closer to X04 (Orlando Apopka airport), I found an opening through the clouds and descended.X04 was a little tricky. They have buildings and trees on the west side of the landing strip which obscured my view of the runway. I had to use my GPS to judge my position relative to it, and to find a place to enter the pattern. Then I was finally down! It was a great feeling to have made it this far in a 172. The people at Apopka were very nice & accomodating, and they gave me a great deal on a Ford Explorer rental.
Chapter 3 - Orlando & KSC
I spent the week at an I/ITSEC conference, and for someone like me who is into flight simulations and computer graphics, it is a very worthwhile conference. The bad part is Orlando is a city full of vultures who charge premium rates for every thing they can think of. Parking is $10, hamburgers that a McDonald's fry cook would scoff at were also $10. Drinks were an extra $3. To withdraw money from an ATM was a $5 fee. For an exhibitor to rent a vacuum cleaner was over $300. You can buy one for less than that. When looking for a wireless internet service to use at the convention center, I found one called "Free Public Internet" for $48/day! I AM NOT JOKING! The people I met there said they came there last year and went to a restaurant called "Salt Island". They said the service was terrible and every little service (like extra sauce) was charged. Bottled water was $7. They paid $90 each for their meals. I did a quick google search and found reviews titled "Rude", "Shady Island Tourist Trap!!!", "Don't Bother...", "Expensive Restaurant". Plus most of the major freeways around Orlando are toll roads. Sure it was all reimbursed (except for Salt Island) as a business expense, but charging the people who give Orlando their livelyhood that kind of money for crappy service and products feels like an insult.
On another subject, being a Nasa contractor, I wanted to go flying and take pictures of KSC and the Space Shuttle on the launch pad from the air. Obviously there would be restrictions about where I could fly, so I looked at the Orlando TAC to see what the airspace looked like over KSC. There were restricted airspaces all over the area. But when I read their operating times, it says they are active during launches with 24 hrs notice. That left 3 class D airports in the area that I didn't even have to fly through to be close enough to be happy. But still I wanted to make sure, so I asked the forum on studentpilot.com what their experiences were. There were many replies of "Don't Do It!!!" including one from a guy who was vectored into KSC airspace from Daytona International and got into all kinds of trouble. I also talked to people I knew from KSC. They all said "Don't Do It!!!".
If KSC doesn't want me to fly there, fine. But please put active restricted airspace regions on the map so we know where we can and cannot go. From what I hear, if I abide by the restrictions shown on aeronautical charts I can still wind up in jail. Needless to say I didn't fly over there.
Chapter 4 - On my way home
Friday morning I headed over to the airport. There were low clouds, and as I headed towards the airport the clouds turned into fog. The flight time over here took 2 hrs longer than expected, and I knew on the way home, I would be facing headwinds. I hoped I didn't have to wait too long. While waiting I packed up my plane and pre-flighted. By then, the fog did thin out enough to get 2 miles of visiblity, and I could see the sun through it. So I took off. Once up and away from the airport, the fog became thicker, and I was over a sea of clouds. I couldn't see the ground anymore, but above me were clear blue skies. I thought about the tricky situation I would be in if I had engine trouble. Eventually, the clouds started to break up and I could see the ground again. Again I navigated the airspaces through the restricted areas of the Florida Panhandle and Alabama. And today was a weekday, so the MOAs were active. But I didn't see any traffic except for another C172 (who was for some reason going faster than me) and commercial jets high above me.
Once out of restricted airspace, I saw Mobile Alabama, and headed towards 5R7 which was supposed to have semi-cheap gas. Looking at the runway from above I wasn't too sure it was long enough. So I went to the next closest one - 2R5. I landed there, took a much needed pitstop, and asked the owner about fuel. He said his pump didn't work - DOH! But recommended Bay Minette who had cheap fuel prices. That was 30 minutes away in the direction I came from, but I went there for the cheap gas.It turned out to be a pretty nice airport. There were hills around there which was also a new experience. It felt like I was lower than I was as I approached the runway. I landed at my highest altitude yet - a whopping 248'. Upon landing a very nice girl, young woman, whichever the correct term is, came out to fuel the plane. She was very apologetic for getting a little gas on the wing, but it evaporated before she could clean it up anyway. I didn't think it was a big deal, I often spill a little gas too. After paying I was about ready to take off again when I realized I hadn't had lunch yet. I asked her if there was a restaurant nearby. She said there was and that I could borrow the courtesy car - SWEET! (Still not getting used to this).
She looks for the keys but cannot find them. She apologizes profusely again and says all they have is an old van. I'm thinking "it beats walking" and tell her that's fine. She even offers her own car. I tell her that's not necessary and take the old van. Then she says the other car that she couldn't find the keys for was a convertible Miatta. Man!... oh well... I go to town and get some lunch. The drive there and back through the hills on a road lined with fall colored trees is very pretty. When I come back I follow a twin down the runway to take off, and then leave. Alabama is a nice place.
Chapter 5 - Trouble
I'm flying at 6500' today because that's where there are the least amount of headwinds (as predicted by GoldenEagle). Then I come up to Gulfport Biloxi Intl's airspace which is a 10,000' barrier. This time I call approach to get permission to fly through, which I get, and I squawk to the code they give me. About half way through one of my radios starts flashing on & off and then shuts down. Then my 2nd radio does the same thing. Oh crap! Don't do this! I continue flying and after a few minutes electrical comes back on. Whew. The tower seems unphased and a little while later asks my heading. I tell them, but they can't seem to hear me. I start thinking about the power outage and what I should do if it happens again. Before I'm out of the airspace, my radios again start to blink. I call the tower to tell them my power is going out. They probably couldn't hear me, and then it goes out for good. Shit.
I try to remain on my heading so I don't freak out the controller who just saw my transponder disappear, and hope I get out of the airspace quickly. Thank goodness I have my trusty Garmin 96C, which has performed really well throughout the trip. It is now the only way I have to navigate other than pure pilotage. I think it's tons better than navigating by VORs anyway.
So I'm finally clear of the airspace and I'm wondering what to do. I have my cell phone, but it's too noisy in an airplane to talk on it. So I text message my CFI and tell him my situation. I don't even know if he can get text messages on his phone, and I don't hear anything back from him. The engine seems unaffected by the outtage, but I have no lights and no radio and I will not be able to keep track of my fuel flow. I search for the nearest airport with my GPS and realize it's just out my right window. It looks like a large airport, but it's not controlled. Perfect - I should be able to find a mechanic, and I wouldn't want to land at a controlled airport with no radio. I find some nearby smoke (there always seems to be something burning within sight) to determine the wind direction, and pick a runway. I realize I will have to leave the flaps up because there's no power. Then I remember the last thing my DE wanted me to do before she signed me off for my pilot's license. She said "assume you lost power. Let's see you land with flaps up." I remember thinking "I doubt that will ever happen, but ok..." and landed fine, just as I did this time.
I expected people waiting outside the FBO asking if I was nuts landing with no radio calls. But there was hardly any traffic and no one seemed to notice. I called maintenance at my airport to let him know what happened. He said the club will reimburse up to $300 for repairs, and asked where I was. I had to look it up. Hammond Northshore Regional (HDC). I talked to the local mechanic, and he saw that some of the cooling fins on the alternator had broken off... odd. My battery was drained. They were closing for the night and I would have to spend the night. This really sucked because today was my daughter's birthday. I really wanted to be home for her. And what was worse was that tomorrow was her birthday party and I would miss that too.
I talked to the receptionist at the FBO to find out my options for spending the night. There was no pilot's lounge I could stay in. She said car rentals were $50 - a third of the price at X04 for renting an SUV for 6 days. And hotels were $120. Even she thought that was a bit much. "It's just Hammond" she said. "Exactly" I thought as I remembered some hotels in pricey Orlando for $65. After a week of being overcharged for everything (except hotels and car rentals apparently), I had enough of this, and asked for a cab to the Super 8, which was "only" $80. The taxi driver was a sr citizen with a ponytail who told me all about the hookers in Hammond, and then talked fondly about what a nice small town Hammond was, and that there should be more small towns like this. Niiiiice. Price for a cab to take me 6 miles... $17.
It was finally time to go back to the airport. I found a different taxi service that would take me there for $9. The mechanic fixed my electrical problems, and after a few hours, I was finally ready to go.
It was a hazy day, and as I neared Galveston Bay it got hazier until I was concerned I might not have enough visibility to fly VFR. When I finally made it to the Houston area I listened to an ASOS for weather. They said it was 10 miles visibility. I really doubt that. More like 3. After a long trip home I finally put the wheels on the ground. Ahhhhh.
When I tell non-aviation people about losing power their eyes bulge out of their heads and say "What!?" Other pilots nod knowingly. I probably would have said "What?!" too before going through it. But it wasn't that bad. Airplane engines still run fine without electrical power, and with the GPS I knew where I was going. I did have to land, but I kept my eye out for other traffic and landed. People ask me if I would do it again. I still doubt losing power like this is a regular occurrence and even if it does happen it's manageable. The rest of the trip was still very enjoyable and I think the experience was great. This one trip doubled the amount of cross country time I've had so far.
Stats:
Nautical miles flown: 1604
Cross country hours: 18.1
Night hours: 4.1
