Yes, another fine winter flying day, though you wouldn't get that idea if you "believed" the weather forecast predicted for Sunday, February 17, 2008. It was a chilly morning with thickening clouds as a warm front approached from the southwest. Dad and I gave the engine a pre-heat and this helped it start after only one turn of the propeller.
We departed on runway 08 (80 degrees - to the east) and were airborne very quickly due to the rather dense, chilly air. I turned north and then west to a heading of 270 degrees. I already knew from calling the pilot's weather earlier that the winds aloft were to be blowing at over 35 mph from the south (Here is an example of the Winds Aloft forecast for Atlantic City, NJ). The air was calm on the ground, though, and there was no turbulence whatsoever while climbing out of the traffic pattern. This was until we reached 2,000 feet. At this point, we began to bounce around a bit, but as I continued climbing, the air suddenly became very still at 2,200 feet. We were now in the air mass that was carrying the frontal weather and warmer temps in this direction, all from the south. As I was looking ahead of us, I could see the aircraft moving forward, of course, but it was also drifting to the right at a very fast rate due to the high winds aloft. In order to maintain a heading, I would need to "crab" the aircraft into the wind, meaning we would have to be flying with a 10-15 degree angle with respect to the vertical axis. I leveled off at 2,300 feet and the air was "butter smooth" as I like to call it. I then reduced power and descended a bit back through 2,200 feet as we began feeling the turbulence once again. Leveling-off at 1,800 feet, we were now being bounced around again but were NOT drifting to the side any longer as we were just a few hundred feet above. This is a really neat phenomena and exciting to experience. I descended a bit further and the turbulence subsided until it was as smooth as it was in the air mass above. Basically, the altitude between 1,900 and 2,200 feet was a transition point between the calm air below and the steady stream of air from the south. I then climbed once again back through 2,200 feet and leveled off soon thereafter. Yup, "butter smooth" once again, and we were now drifting to the right at a very fast pace.
Ok, 'nuff playing around with the winds aloft :) - Onward we flew in a west-southwesterly direction towards the Bear Creek ski area just southwest of Allentown, PA. Lehigh Valley International airport's airspace was ahead of us so I needed to descend back into the bumpy air to stay clear and not have to contact the controlling agency. I could not fly lower than the transitional altitude either, due to the hilly terrain below. So, we bounced around as we made our way to the west. The visibility was rather poor up ahead, but just as we passed the Lehigh Valley/Allentown, PA area it improved. I then pointed out some lower scud (whispy-type clouds far and few between) under the 5,000+ foot overcast sky. The ski area was just ahead, and I flew one full CW circle around the perimeter, enabling Dad to take a good look. The parking lot was packed, as was the overflow lot. I then flew in a northerly direction so I could shoot pictures of the construction progress of Dorney Park's newest coaster, VooDoo. Enroute to that location, we were now getting tossed around like a rag doll, and this was starting to worry me because we were now only at an altitude of about 1,500 feet. It seemed like the transitional altitude was lowering, and quickly. Not something I wanted to experience upon landing, I quickly flew one CCW circle around the park, snapped a few pictures of my target and turned back east towards home.
Queen City airport was just to our north as we overflew the mountain ridge to the east of it and traversed the hilly but picturesque terrain of Bucks county, PA. Again, I had to remain in this transitional altitude and bumpy air due to the airspace above me and the hilly terrain below. But as we flew further and further east, the air became more and more still. Once past the airspace, I quickly climbed to 2,500 feet to reach the "butter smooth" air that awaited our return. Now I wanted to once again "have fun" with the winds aloft, this time by turning to the north with the winds aloft at the plane's backside. Quickly, our ground speed jumped up 30 mph and our ground speed was now about 155 mph. I then commenced a 180 degree turn to the right, directly into the wind at a heading of 180 degrees (south). Quickly I watched the speed drop on the GPS....140, 130, 120, 110, 100...And finally down to about 95 mph as we were now fighting the steady 30 mph flow of air pumping from the south. Way Cool !!! So, turning back on course to the east we now had a crosswind once again and a modest cruising speed of about 120 mph.
Dad then commented that he wanted to take a look at VanSant airport in Erwinna, PA, so I headed south in that direction. Of course, since we were still in the airmass, we inched there ever so slowly. At this grass runway airport, there was a powered glider waiting to take-off, and by the time we commenced a CW pass around the field, the craft had departed. I then needed a restroom break and headed northeast towards Sky Manor airport in Pittstown, NJ. Crossing the Delaware river and the quaint little village of Frenchtown, I descended a bit into the bumpy air, then lower into the smoother air once again and finally into the airport's traffic pattern. The landing was uneventful, and we parked on the airport's rather large parking ramp. The restaurant there was booming as it usually is, though most of its patrons were drive-in customers. Still, though, there were a few others parked next to us; two Beechcraft Bonanza's, an Aeronca, a Skyhawk (like ours) except with a conventional landing gear instead of the standard tricycle gear and a few Piper aircraft as well. There was also a small Robinson R22 helicopter flying, and we watched the instructor jump out and give the controls to his student for a few solo flights. All in all, a fairly active airport and more action than we see on a nice, warm, sunny Spring or Summer day.
After departing, I turned east since we both wanted to check-out some airports around the Somerville, NJ area. We could see Round Valley reservoir ahead and to the left of us, and the northern edge of the Sourland Mountain range ahead and to the right. Central Jersey Regional airport was now approaching quickly and is located to the south of the bustling town of Manville. I flew one CW circle around the field so Dad could take a peep, and we noticed how many aircraft there were based there, both in the old parking areas and the new ones at the northwest side of the field. Overflying Manville, I made my way north towards the Bridgewater Commons Mall where I shot a few pictures, then continued towards Somerset airport. It's been many months since we did a fly-over of this airport to check things out, so we did just that, though nothing special was noted. Looking to the south we spotted Solberg airport, so I decided to take a moment to fly there to take a look. We used to base our airplane there and wanted to see what has changed since leaving the field. Again, nothing out of the ordinary so I pointed the nose in a northwesterly direction and flew back towards Round Valley reservoir and the town of Clinton. Paralleling Route 22 at about 2,000 feet, we were below the transitional layer of bumpy air and were quite enjoying the flight.
By now we had flown close to 90 minutes so I figured I would point the plane towards our home base airport to finish the flight. I landed to the east once again due to the south-southeasterly wind direction on the ground, then taxied to the fuel pumps for some "liquid gold". After fueling, I walked into the office and checked the radar, noticing that the rain and bad weather was just not approaching this area like predicted. It was riding up from southwest to northeast at a 45 degree angle though the center of PA and clipping the northwestern tip of NJ, far from where we were flying. Taxiing back we parked the plane and had lunch in the car, commenting about our journey and the varying winds aloft that we experienced. And as we tied-down the plane, the skies became even brighter, still with little to no wind. It turned out to be a really nice flying day that was surely enjoyed, despite a "botched" forecast....
Thanks for Reading !!!
