Story time... give me your best.
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: Oxford, UK
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Greetings from limeyland, you happy antipodeans.. I was going to say that my two most memorable flights were as passengers, until flywatcher mentioned fishspotters....
Yes, my two most memorable flights....one was in a 180 on floats in Louisiana, by moonlight. The whole network of rivers, bayous and streams brightly lit, the pilot very very experienced, flying crew out to the oil rigs in the gulf, so no worries. What a beautiful night!
The other was in a jet as a passenger from Texas to Chicago, threading our way through massive cunimbs at night, and the thrill of seeing them lit up from inside by lightning. Once again, no worries, not responsible.
But the memorable flight was in a rented 172 from Baltimore Maryland down the Chesapeake Bay to the tiny beachfront field at First Flight - thats the one where the Wright Brothers got off the ground in December. (when they tried to do it in August in Ohio, it didn't work...density altitude an unknown at the time).
Anyhow, there I was flying down the western shore of the bay, past the Patuxent River, the Potomac (which runs up to Washington DC) and approaching the big US Navy Airbase in Virginia. They gave me consent to fly directly overhead, so they could keep an eye on me.
The next problem was Norfolk International. I radioed for permission to cross the upside down wedding cake airspace, and they said Stand By, and never came back to me! so I said O heck, and consulted my chart, which showed if I flew around the end of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel, I would be clear of Norfolk Terminal Airspace. So I proceeded around the end of the Bridge section, and a right turn, to carry on course, and had a look to my left, and there, heading straight at me AT MY LEVEL were three jumbo jets!!!!!! One very very big and close, then another, and another.....YIPES! I didn't have to make a decision, I dived right down to just above the water. And was entertained to hear the Norfolk controller tell the jumbos to "Watch out for the fish spotter!"
When I got to First Flight, had a careful look at the sectional map. The reverse side had a more detailed map of Norfolk area. The general map had a legend OBSCURING THE FACT that the Bridge dived under the bay not once, but TWICE. I righteously informed the FAA of this hazard to VFR navigation, but never received a reply. O well. Did my duty.
Have fun, you guys. I mostly fly gliders, and the only reason to fly gliders is to have fun. Power flying is OK, but noisy, and not so challenging.
Yes, my two most memorable flights....one was in a 180 on floats in Louisiana, by moonlight. The whole network of rivers, bayous and streams brightly lit, the pilot very very experienced, flying crew out to the oil rigs in the gulf, so no worries. What a beautiful night!
The other was in a jet as a passenger from Texas to Chicago, threading our way through massive cunimbs at night, and the thrill of seeing them lit up from inside by lightning. Once again, no worries, not responsible.
But the memorable flight was in a rented 172 from Baltimore Maryland down the Chesapeake Bay to the tiny beachfront field at First Flight - thats the one where the Wright Brothers got off the ground in December. (when they tried to do it in August in Ohio, it didn't work...density altitude an unknown at the time).
Anyhow, there I was flying down the western shore of the bay, past the Patuxent River, the Potomac (which runs up to Washington DC) and approaching the big US Navy Airbase in Virginia. They gave me consent to fly directly overhead, so they could keep an eye on me.
The next problem was Norfolk International. I radioed for permission to cross the upside down wedding cake airspace, and they said Stand By, and never came back to me! so I said O heck, and consulted my chart, which showed if I flew around the end of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel, I would be clear of Norfolk Terminal Airspace. So I proceeded around the end of the Bridge section, and a right turn, to carry on course, and had a look to my left, and there, heading straight at me AT MY LEVEL were three jumbo jets!!!!!! One very very big and close, then another, and another.....YIPES! I didn't have to make a decision, I dived right down to just above the water. And was entertained to hear the Norfolk controller tell the jumbos to "Watch out for the fish spotter!"
When I got to First Flight, had a careful look at the sectional map. The reverse side had a more detailed map of Norfolk area. The general map had a legend OBSCURING THE FACT that the Bridge dived under the bay not once, but TWICE. I righteously informed the FAA of this hazard to VFR navigation, but never received a reply. O well. Did my duty.
Have fun, you guys. I mostly fly gliders, and the only reason to fly gliders is to have fun. Power flying is OK, but noisy, and not so challenging.
