Our southern trip went like clockwork-although the clock started a day later than planned. Weather below minimums caused a one day delay-well worth the cavu weather we had the next four days..

The mountains just before Knoxville:

  We landed at Knoxville downtown island airport-one of the neatest airports I have ever landed at. We have video of the landing I hope to post soon...

The next day-on to Tullahoma, Tennessee to see the Beechcraft museum. Taxied right up to the entrance..

I like this shot of the first Staggerwing with our Baron in the background...

Then on to Gulf Shores, Alabama with this tough view outside our hotel balcony..

A day at the Pensacola Naval Aviator museum where I made 3 successful carrier landings on the Tomcat simulator-one normal, one in fog, and one at night-can anyone say 29 years of flight simming showed up?

Dinner at the throwed roll restaurant in Foley, Alabama (Lambert's)...

 

and a look at Gulf Shores on takeoff the next day..

A four day trip-1600 nautical miles, and lots of fun and adventure. Flying is the greatest!!!

I have the week off-so time to do some flying and get to the warmer south!

Here is the plan-fly to Knoxville island airport-see the airport-visit friends/family. Next day go to Tullahoma, Tennessee to see the Beech museum. Next day to Gulf Shores, Alabama for some beach, fun, and a visit to the Pensacola air museum. Then back home with a stop in Nashville-perhaps an overnight. We are already a day late-the weather in Knoxville today was skanky with low ceilings and visibility so we decided to wait a day for better-and the forecast looks very good! About 1600 nm. and 9 hours of flying total.....

To fly again! (myself). Although I've been up as safety pilot a number of times for friends, I have been unable able to fly since October due to an arm injury-no use of right arm is what the Dr. said. (I am glad I got my last remaining US continental state to land in on that flight with a flight to Iowa before this happened).

I was concerned with how my flying might deteriorate in that time. Turns out that the use of flight sims on my home computer kept me completely sharp-thank god for those. I was quite amazed how little if any "rust" was there-again how lucky we are to have these sims. With a complete mock up of my plane in fsx and xplane it is pretty easy to stay sharp.

Immediately after takeoff today both alternator warning came on, the radios became scratchy, and the load meters dropped to zero. I dropped the gear-contacted the tower and told them we needed to return and that they might lose communications with us. Again, thanks to practicing such on my desktop simulator it was all a non event. I landed-tried switching regulators-and that seemed to do the trick. After switching back and forth a couple times we got the bum one to work also. We took off again-but now the heater was not working-not fun in the 17 degrees here. I decided to do 2 approaches at FNT so I could get legal with my 3 landings, before landing and getting up under the landing gear to reset the breaker. Meantime, (probably because of the cold in the cockpit) FNT could not hear me at all on the radios-using the copilot headset-push to talk switch took care of this. After landing in FNT, pulling up to the FBO with frozen toes, resetting the circuit breaker on the heater-everything worked great! Obviously, I am not the only one that does not like 17 degree temps!

In any case-it was an interesting way to get back into flying after a break-and a tribute to how flight simulators can help keep one sharp in such down times. Now...what trip to plan next????

I have been using the electronic logbook-Logbook Pro for quite a while to backup my paper one-and its' add in program Route Browser.

Route Browser is really cool as it plots all your real world flights on a map, and spits out all kinds of data like how many US States you have landed in etc . (I have now landed in all Continental 48-Alaska and Hawaii to go).

There was an upgrade to Route Browser about a year ago- I got it but really didn't look very deeply into it.  I finally discovered it will import every Real World flight you have ever taken into Google, sort it by aircraft type and N number, and sort all of the routes you have taken. You merely click on one of the routes-and then fly it again in real time in Google earth! Simply amazing! (It does have me flying to Chile on one flight-that was the one to Meigs Field, Chicago and since it doesn't exist anymore I guess Chile was the closest match-:)

Every flight I have taken since 1989:

Takeoff from Chester, Rogers (o05) from a few years ago:

Crossing the back side of the Teton's into Jackson Hole-then on to Pierre, South Dakota:

Lol-just had to post this.

Time to get 3 of the last 4 states I need for the personal accomplishment of landing in all of the Continental United States.

A trip planned for next week (weather permitting).

Pontiac, Michigan to Martin State, Baltimore (I spent 5 years going to college there). Pick up a friend-head to Georgetown, Delaware ( there are only 11 airports in Delaware and only 4 that the Baron can handle). Lunch in Georgetown-then a quick 11 minute flight to Cape, May New Jersey. There is an air museum on the field and perhaps a quick trip to town. Then back to Baltimore for some great crab cakes. Spend the night and back to Pontiac the next day. Then only one state-Iowa left to have all the states in my logbook-yeeesss!

I took my neighbor to State College , Pennsylvania yesterday in the Baron to visit his son in school there (his son is a star football player there!). A great trip right over Lake Erie-with a diversion on the way back for thunderstorms.  Gave me one more state in my quest to land in all Us states-only 4 to go now.

Then today my flying partner arranged for us to take a demo flight of the Columbia 400! It was my first time in a composite, all glass (Garmin 1000) cockpit, and the little joystick on the left side. I thought it would require quite a transition but felt very comfortable on my 1/2 hour quick flight. Having speed brakes, and air conditioning on a hot day made this a fabulous airplane to fly!

What a beauty!

 

I could get used to this glass stuff....

A close up-air traffic on the display also!

 

I could get enthused about one of these-faster than the Baron and less fuel burn... 

On the trip below I added 6 more states to my goal of landing in all US states. Even though we didn't get Canada in, this was a happy goal of mine-though the other one of breaking 1000 hours of flying time in my logbook came up slightly shy due to not flying the Canada portion-993 hours....

Only Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland, and Iowa to go to have entries (except alaska and Hawaii which I will have to do at a later date) in all the Continental Us states! My flights of 19 years below:

We spent the night in Bangor, Maine with an iffy forecast. Low ceilings, rain, and tstorms but it seemed possible we might be able to go with a stop in New Hampshire for my final New England logbook entry and maybe a visit to Western New York to visit a friend.

The morning forecast didn't sound great- low visibilities over all of Maine and New Hampshire and severe T storms all the way to home.

One thing I have learned-1 step at a time. Bar Harbor sounded doable later in the morning as did New Hampshire-if the forecast went like it was supposed to. We left the hotel at a late 9:30 and drove to Bar Harbor for a 11 am departure which actually ended up 11:30. Turned out to be good planning -the ceiling lifted to about 1800 and though it was imc the whole way down to Nashua, New Hampshire the approach was not difficult.

While awaiting our release at the hold short line in Bar Harbor I witnessed something I haven't seen before. There were a flock of 30 or so seagulls standing on the runway numbers. I figured if cleared for takeoff our takeoff roll would scare them away. However, another twin was coming in first-he started to flare, then saw the birds flying up at him  and he gave full power to go around. Next thing-there were bird bodies and feathers going everywhere as the engines chopped them up-he cut his engine and landed and I assume and hope he and his aircraft was ok. We had to dodge a few dead bird bodies and feathers on the runway at takeoff!

I had filed a nice flight along the shoreline of Maine but because it was imc the whole way there were very few looks at the beautiful shoreline.

The actual flightpath from flightaware.com we took with an ils approach at Nashua:

Here is a shot of the takeoff from Bar Harbor:

An occasional glimpse of the Maine shore:

Getting near our destination-Nashua, Nh:

On the ils for Nashua:

Once we got the Nashua it was quick decision time. Could we continue? New York was a mess with severe tstorms-but it appeared if we headed south to West Virginia, we could just skirt them. (Just happens West Virginia is one of my remaining states to get a logbook entry in).

We filed a plan to Mid-Ohio Valley regnl (kpkb), and reluctantly told our friend we would not be stopping in Western New York.

Once enroute though, the tstorms caused lots of decision making on our part. Luckily, between the stormscope, the garmin with xm weather, and my 3x experienced flying partner we seemed to make the right decisions-though it took some negotiating with atc:

The garmin view:

...and what it looked like..

Our flight path that shows us just getting in between some nasty stuff over New York with our systems and a little atc sweet talking...

The view from the front:

Crossing the Ohio river on our way into kpkb:

Turning left base:

On final:

Then the trip home to kptk-still with some tstorm avoidance challenges but with beautiful scenes of which only a few are shown here:

Crossing Lake Erie:

Looking over the nose at downtown Detroit as we flew over via headings from Detroit Approach:

Looking back at the Detroit River , Belle Isle, and Lake St. Clair:

On the ground at Kptk-homage to a unique beauty we experienced and a wonderful flying machine that allowed such an experience!

We agreed that pilots are so lucky to experience such a rich happening! :-)

What an amazing trip. The first 10 days of this trip went as planned perfectly, and the last week was a hodgepodge of flexibility and spontaneity-yet perfection was achieved!

Only decision now is what is next??

..and here is how the actual flying ended up:

 

Day 14 was spent driving the Cabot Trail around the north of Cape Breton. From unspoiled and beautiful Acadian fishing villages to spectacular Vista's this was probably the scenery high point of the trip.

 

 

 A lunch break just after entering the Cape Breton Highland National park:

 Looking South:

'

 

 After a long day and drive we happened upon the Keltic inn-a beautiful, classy and relaxing resort. We liked it so much we decided to stay an extra day:

 The view from outside our rooms:

 A view of the resort grounds-the main hotel on the right:

 Because of this decision we decided to skip Prince Edward Island and drive back to Bar Harbor. The day we left luckily the weather turned sour with low ceilings and rain-so the 11 hour drive did not seem such a waste. We spent the night at Bangor, Maine and hope to leave Bar Harbor by plane tomorrow.

We left Halifax and made the drive to Baddeck, Cape Breton which was the summer home of Alexander Bell and where he died and is buried.

Having lunch before crossing to Cape Breton-on the opposite shore:

We have been stopping at airports and getting more information about flying in Canada:

Port Hawkesbury was an airport I had considered landing at but was unable to get any information about it before leaving and had thus planned to land at Sydney. We stopped in the Fbo and had a great conversation with the owner. Apparently, it is one of the 3 "Ga friendly" airports in the area-a new term for us. If we had landed at Sydney which is not-we would not only be charged a hefty landing fee, but a fee of $14.50 for every circuit in the pattern-wow!

Port Hawkesbury has a total number of 9 aircraft based there-2 that recently moved from Sydney because the cost of flying was prohibitive-even though those unlucky pilots now have to drive 2 hours here to fly. So add another checklist item to the already lengthy one of flying in Canada-check the Copa website first to see whether the airport is GA friendly....

No wonder I have not seen a single Ga plane flying here...

A nice dinner meal at our hotel overlooking Bras d"Or lake-then on to a Ceilidh-a country fiddling/dancing event.

On to the Cabot trail today.

A restful day of exploring Halifax. I didn't feel so bad about not flying here experiencing these foggy conditions this morning from our hotel room.

 

Two pilots visiting the Citadel of Halifax doing guard duty:

 

Halifax harbor-one of the great harbors of the world.

Most of Day 11 was spent exploring the Fundy National Park. This area of New Brunswick is wild, unspoiled, spectacular and the bay of Fundy with the biggest tides is very interesting. Seeing vast areas of land that one was recently walking on disapear within minutes is quite interesting if not sobering if caught on the wrong side for 8 hours.

Now a day of semi rest in Halifax-the on to Cape Breton tomorrow. The dense fog today makes us feel good about the decision to drive and not fly here...

 

On Day ten we took the car up to Maine's most north eastern city. We crossed the border to Canada to see Campobello-the island that Fdr spent his summers at.

Here is his house:

D

Here is the typical coastal scenery:

Our last night at Bar Harbor:

The reversing falls at Saint John, New Brunswick. The bay of Fundy and the St. John river meet up here making an interesting event as the incredible tides of the bay clash with the river. We have already experienced spits of land you can walk over at certain times that disappear quickly when the tide comes in.

We spent day 8 exploring the beauty of Acadia National Park. The winds were blowing up to 40 knts. and these weird lenticular like clouds were everywhere:

 

The Maine coastline:

The lake we had lunch by:

Going up Cadillac mountain for a view-but the fog was moving in:

A view of Bar Harbor from Cadillac mountain:

Unfortunately the next day was rotten weather wise. Low ceilings and fog kept us from heading up to Saint John , New Brunswick. We however took our rental car right up to the border and ended up going on to  Campello island (where FDR spent his summers) right on the Maine/ New Brunswick border. (picts to come).

Today-day 10 not only were we met with similar weather-Halifax and Saint Johns 1/4 mile visibility and 100 ft. ceilings-but we found out more the trouble of flying in Canada:

Before the trip I had made sure we had a 1) radio station license 2) I had an english proficiency endorsement on my license (required a complete replacement of my pilot's license) 3) had a notarized letter stating that the aircraft was usable by me 4) had suitable ifr charts, 5) had customs numbers and airports of entry, and had 6) a customs sticker...whew!

However, we did not have approach plates and assumed as we got close to Canada we could get them just as in the US. This is not the case-and it seems almost like a secret to find them. We finally after much research found a place in New Hampshire that had one copy of approach plates left (a 1 hour flight away-apparently certain "dealers" only have them)-and also found no one else anywhere near had them including in Canada. We then got the idea to have the St. John's fbo fax us them to our hotel so we could get up there-but it turned out they didn't even have them. Turns out you can only get these plates by subscription-unreal! We decided between this problem, the low weather, and the possibility of getting stuck because of this low weather/lack of charts that we would leave the plane in Bar Harbor and drive the Eastern Canadian province part of the trip. When we crossed into Canada today we went to the nearest airport, and found also they did not have approach plates and did not even seem to know what these were. The sense we got is that most Ga flyers in Canada are vfr only-and those that need approach plates are the commercials. Nothing in between and very frustrating. Seems so difficult with all the bells and whistles that I am pretty much turned off to flying in Canada now. Not good imho-for anyone!

In any case-nice travel for the next 6 days but unfortunately it will not be by plane..

 

 We departed the hotel at 8:30 with an anticipated takeoff to Berlin, New Hampshire at 9:30 am. There were low ceilings and fog in the NH area that were supposed to lift by 10 am and as it was a 30 minute flight should be perfect for a breakfast stop and a much needed New Hampshire logbook entry. We filed to a nearby fix to avoid the high terrain at the end of the runway. I had another animal first in my weather briefing: a notam for moose in the vicinity of Berlin's runway and a notam for "numerous moose on the Bar Harbor runway". Taxiing out at Burlington:

Waiting for our release:

 

 

Takeoff toward the 4000 ft. mountains on the end of the runway. I was glad we got a left turn towards our first fix:

Looking back at the runway we just took off from and Lake Champlain:

Going to Jrvis-which kept us from terrain and a nice direct flight to Berlin/Bar Harbor:

 

We started getting a broken/solid overcast below:

 

...and as good pilots we started discussing our options. We were flying low power settings and still getting 190-196 knts due to great tailwinds. Berlin is an uncontrolled field, probably no radar, and some hostile terrain-did we really need to stop for breakfast there? We decided we really didn't though I still need NH in my logbook. I called Boston center and asked if we could continue on to Bar Harbor.

He replied -you guys want to go to Bah Habaw (Maine accent)-cleared direct after Berlin. I complimented him on his Maine accent and we had some nice banter.

Here is our descent into Bar Harbor-very spectacular-runway over the compass:

A shot of the runway taken from my wife in the backseat:

 

The nice fbo took care of us picking us and our baggage up.

..and while waiting for our rental car I happened to meet a famous conductor I know who was there to pick up a friend-talk about a coincidence! We checked into our hotel....it is a tough place to stay but someone has to do it!

Visited downtown Bar Harbor and then a drive around the area. Tomorrow no flying and Acadia National park.

After a great time in Boston we left Beverly at about 10:30 am for Burlington, Vermont. The forecast was great for Beverly-but an overcast ceiling for Burlington and rain. We looked over the terrain charts, and decided it was a go.

On the ramp in Beverly:

Takeoff and looking back at Beverly:

 

Clouds increasing at 6000 ft. in mid New Hampshire:

We had some 3d glasses left from the Boston Science museum-tried to see if it made the real thing look anymore 3d-after all it does on Microsoft flight sim!

Me flying and Lenore reading-the usual setup.

Our first look of the Green Mountains in Vermont:

Weather starting to get worse-some moderate rain showers:

Starting to break out on the rwy 15 ils approach at Burlington over Lake Champlain at 1800 ft:

Another view of Lake Champlain and Burlington:

On final-still raining:

Another shot:

Our first destination after landing-Ben and Jerry's tour of the ice cream factory.

Then a drive around Lake Champlain and the islands:

...and watching sunset at a great Burlington restaurant sipping a few brews:

We slept in a little to recover from our busy last few days and then continued with a vengeance touring Boston on foot today.

Starting at the market place :

The meeting hall that Sam Adams etc. met at:

(and to think they were upset about taxes !)

Me ingesting a lobster roll (all I have eaten since being up here-when in California it is Mexican food-when in New England it is either chowder (pronounced chowda) or Lobster....)

 

Paul Revere's house:

 

The church Paul Revere sent his signal thru:

..and a pug and a St. Bernard. It has been 5 days without our Pug and we needed a fix!

 

Old graves from the early 1700's..

   

Nice shot of Boston:

  

 

We also hit the Science museum and Cambridge (Harvard area) for dinner. On to New Hampshire (Burlington) and Vermont tomorrow (Laconia) with a great forecast promised!

 We again had planned to hit Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket on our way up to Beverly but again low ceilings and visibilities followed by later high winds made the decision for us to go directly to Beverly.

We entered ifr conditions shortly after takeoff. Boston center gave us direct to Beverly which was cool to fly right up the bay between cape cod and the mainland. Flying by Plymouth where the Pilgrims landed first was interesting to see (when we could) from the plane.

Entering imc shortly after takeoff.

Though the call was for 6 miles visibility and a low scattered layer, it was ifr for the flight. It was easy to see what happened to John Kennedy as we flew over the bay as there was no horizon and it was like being in a big fog. We had to do the loc approach into Beverly and it wasn't till a few miles from the runway that we had a visual-even though technically in vfr conditions. It was fun doing the approach coming to "witch" intersection. Being near Salem, Ma. where the nefarious witch trials took place in the late 1600's the fix namers obviously had some fun.

The fbo at Beverly was great. We taxied the plane up and just as the engines were stopped there was our rental car sitting a few feet from the baggage compartment. We were out of there in 5 minutes!

After flying such a spooky approach  we had to immediately take a tour of Salem and the witch museum:

The house of seven gables in Salem:

 

..and then off for a Duck tour of Boston. A "duck" is a vehicle that can drive on both land and water. The tour was great and we learned much of the history and layout of Boston this way.

After a long day-a drive to the North side of Boston to Mama Maria's-a renowned Italian restaurant that definitely lived up to its' reputation!

We departed Newport at 8 am and got to Providence where the plane was at 9. Return of rental car, preflight and we were off at 10:15. Originally we had planned to go to Martha's Vineyard for breakfast, Nantucket for lunch before going to Hyannis but with low fog and low visibilities over the islands we decided to head straight for Hyannis.

Takeoff from Providence:

A

A low scattered/broken layer

Flying over Newport (the suspension bridge is just ahead the engine).

 

Turning final for Hyannis:

 

Breakfast at the Celtic Kitchen (Usa today rated it one of the 10 best breakfast places). Eggs benedict with lobster-mmmmm.

A drive up to Cape Cod to Provincetown-and a mandatory stop at the Marconi monument where the first wireless transmission across the ocean took place.

A lifesaving station near Provincetown on Cape Cod.

Provincetown:

Taking the whale watching boat-and seeing many!