This flight has been in the works for a while. I posted something up on Facebook back in December about wanting to go on a flight, which my friend Melissa responded to with "when???" For various reasons, we never got around to it for the next few months, until I asked one day if she was serious about going. Once she found out that Raleigh (RDU) was a possibility, we started to plan a trip to see a Carolina Hurricanes game.
Just like most of my other flights, there were a couple different ideas of what would happen, but in the end we settled on April 6th. Luckily, by the time she was looking into buying tickets, the extended forecasts were shaping up to give me an idea that the weather would be okay. At about that time I was also nudged into giving myself an upgrade with a DA40. Closer to the flight the forecast just kept getting better, and you could definitely tell we were both getting pretty excited about it. In order to pass the time, I ended up creating an electronic weight and balance form, and studying the DA40 POH and G1000 reference guide. The result of the latter, and not being used to flying low-wing aircraft, was a quick reference sheet I wrote up the night before the flight. Note the several semi-threatening reminders to switch the tanks.The day finally came and I showed up at the airport, typically early and ready to go. I checked the weather, took a look at the wind at various altitudes, and otherwise killed time until the plane got back. Melissa showed up with some time to spare, and I'm pretty sure I all but pounced on the person who was bringing the plane back. Out at the plane, I got everything set and began preflighting. While everything was in order, the oil was low and I wanted the tanks topped off, which took a lot longer than it normally does for some reason. As I was waiting for that, I set up two of my cameras. I brought all three, but I couldn't find a good spot for the third camera without it being right in one of our faces.
Despite the delay, we were off soon enough and on our way south for warmer weather and hockey. The engine started right up and looked good in the pre-departure checks, so we were off in no time. After departing, I turned west and then south as soon as I cleared the SFRA. Staying under the Class B airspace kept us down in some light turbulence, but as soon as I was able to step up it started to lighten up.
After passing the Casanova VOR (CSN), I called Potomac to get flight following all the way down. I pointed out the few landmarks that we passed, along with most of the airports we flew over. Melissa got some time at the controls as well, though I think my assistance in keeping the controls where they should be put a damper on the experience (the plane was pulling to the left because I was heavier, and was burning fuel off of the right wing). Her not being able to see over the glareshield made the whole event pretty difficult, though I was able to point out what the artificial horizon is meant for.
Closer to RDU, I was given a descent and a vector west of the field for a downwind to Runway 5R. I'm not sure where the controller was from, but if you could imagine Boston combined with North Carolina that's what I would liken it to. After swinging around the airport, I set it down on Runway 5R. It wasn't one of my best landings, but I was told that it was better than some commercial landings. Tower had me roll to A6, which is close to Landmark, and contact ground for instructions to get to the ramp.
After being marshalled in and shutting down, we were immediately confronted with two questions:1 - Who was going to win the game.
2 - Whether or not we thought there would be more NY Ranger Jerseys than Carolina jerseys.
Naturally, we both answered in favor of Carolina in both cases while I made sure all of the equipment was okay to sit for the next few hours.
I had called for a cab over the frequency when I was about 15 minutes out, so our ride to the stadium was sitting outside when we walked in. I'm glad I thought to do that as our fuel and oil delay up at Leesburg (JYO) pushed us pretty close to game time. When we finally got to the stadium they were in the middle of the National Anthem, so we were a little behind, but not by much. The seats, though, were pretty awesome. We were low enough that it felt like we were on the ice, but high enough to see over the players' heads. The only unfortunate side to the whole deal is that Melissa's favorite player, Alexander Semin, was out for the night, and the team was having an off night in general. They ended up losing 4 to 1.After catching a cab back to the airport we were met by the Landmark crew and a fuel receipt with "LET'S GO RANGERS" stapled to it on a sticky note. Looks like I owe that guy a dollar. Oh well.
The departure runway was still Runway 5R, so after a relatively long taxi back to the end of the runway, we set back off towards JYO. Once the departure controller found out where we were headed, he asked us about whether or not the cherry blossoms were in bloom. He had apparently just visited DC while visiting family and missed the peak bloom. Just before passing us on to Washington Center, he instructed me to take a few pictures for him. I think I'll have to surprise him by sending some pictures now.
I pointed out the various airports as we passed over them, to include Lake Anna (7W4) and the story of almost getting hit there last September, which she remembered as I mentioned it to her after that flight when we met up that night. The route back had more of a tailwind, so our groundspeed was much better, putting us back in the DC area relatively quickly. Potomac luckily gave me clearance into the Bravo to take more advantage of it. The crazy thing was that the wind was still showing 30 knots at pattern altitude back at JYO. It made the approach somewhat awkward, but not too bad in the end. After landing, I brought the plane back to the spot, shut down, and started packing up. Once everything was finally back in the flight bag, I had a little difficulty putting the plane back in its spot, but luckily had someone else there to help me out.
It was a long day of flying, and while the game itself was somewhat disappointing, the entire event was worth it.
Hours:
Pilot in Command Cross Country (PIC XC): 3.5 - 79.7 (of 50)
Actual/Simulated Instrument (Act/Sim): 0.0 - 10.5 (of 40)
