Yes, today I flew the plane to a new home, or airport I should say. On Saturday, January 27, 2007, Dad and I removed the tie-down ropes and chocks from our pad at Solberg airport, pre-flighted the ole girl and loaded her up for a journey to another airport in northern New Jersey. The move was prompted by both costs and convenience.
While pre-flighting the airplane and checking the oil, I noticed that there was a large amount of visible (frozen) moisture on the oil dipstick, something I have NEVER seen before. And while pre-heating the engine, we noticed visible water droplets dripping from the oil breather tube, again something we have NEVER seen before. Just something to keep our eye on, that's all. So, after a nice and toasty engine pre-heat she started like a champ, and within 15 minutes we were airborne, on our way to the plane's new home. Upon landing, we taxied directly into our new tie-down location on the aircraft ramp, then checked-in with operations to pay our first month's rent. My wife then arrived after having dropped us off at Solberg, waiting for us to start the engine, then driving to this new airport. We all then boarded the plane and headed south, destined for South Jersey Regional airport in Lumberton, NJ.
The weather was overcast over northern NJ with a bright, band of orange (clear skies) to the south, hence one of the reasons we were heading in that direction. We climbed to about 2,000 feet and found the air rather calm, but as we approached the brighter skies, the air became more and more turbulent. Reacting to this, I climbed even higher until it became smooth again. But just as we were again getting used to the calm air, it became turbulent yet again. We put up with it for another few minutes but after crossing the Delaware river just north of Philadelphia, PA, the air became still and the turbulence disappeared. Of course my wife was happy as a clam, and I was relieved I would not have to fight the plane into the traffic pattern at the next airport.
Upon landing, the wind was a light 5-8 mph from the northwest. We taxied to the parking area in front of the restaurant and shut her down. Of course, as always when we visit this airport, we headed in for some coffee and a muffin. After a nice, relaxing warm-up, we boarded the plane once again, this time heading for the Jersey Shore, or so we were hoping.
Before take-off, I asked my wife to shoot some video of each take-off and landing that I did so I could place the clips on my website. And so she filmed away, just until I was clear of the airport at about 800 feet in altitude. Quickly we headed northeast, wanting to fly around McGuire AFB's airspace, then over Six Flags Great Adventure for a check on the latest developments for the 2007 season.
What we noticed while flying due east, just north of McGuire was a really interesting phenomenon, and one that I can't recall ever experiencing, or noticing, before. We had a DIRECT tailwind (wind from behind) and I could tell this because we did not have a crab angle and were cruising a swift 150+ mph over the ground. But when we looked down at a few houses burning their fireplaces, we noticed the wind from the north by observing the smoke below. The wind at our altitude of about 1,500 feet was from the west, yet the wind on the ground was from the north. A direct crosswind effect between the ground and 1,500 feet. Neat !!!
After passing over Great Adventure and shooting a few pictures, we continued on towards the shore. One problem, though, I kept thinking that once I turned more to the north and finally west, we would have a major headwind that would reduce our ground speed significantly. This, and the fact that the weather was becoming gloomy once again, was my reason for avoiding the shoreline and flying a large, gradual 180 degree turn to the left, taking us over Freehold, Monroe township and just south of New Brunswick. And, just like I figured, our ground speed on the return trip was reduced some 50 mph down to about 100 - OUCH !!!
Up ahead, we intended to land at Solberg airport once again. Not for posterity's sake or because we missed the airport already, but because one of our safety flags from the cowl plugs was left behind. I made a landing with my wife filming, then taxied to our old tie-down location. Dad then jumped out and grabbed the forgotten flag, and I took-off once again with my wife making turning me into a film star. We headed west and finally saw our destination. With my wife filming yet again, I entered the traffic pattern of our new, home base airport and set the plane down gently on the runway. Since we were low on fuel, we parked at the fuel farm and had the airport attendant top us off for a "cheap" $3.55 / gallon. Relatively inexpensive.....Compared to automotive fuel, anyway.
My wife and Dad decided to walk back to our new tie-down area while I started the ole girl one last time and taxied her back to her NEW home. Yes, we turned this sort of gloomy, cold, damp day into a great flying day with much comraderie and fun. As always, we look forward to many more days in the near future that will be as rewarding as today turned out to be !!!
