Upon lift-off to the east, all seemed fine as I turned 180 degrees to the west and proceeded on course. Yet as we neared 2,000 feet, the choppy air made its presence. I would've initially climbed higher to try and avoid the bumpy air, but I wanted to shoot some aerial photos of Dorney Park's newest coaster Voodoo, and had to remain below 2,000 feet in order to clear Allentown's airspace. We could see one of the few remaining (almost haunted looking) structures of Bethlehem Steel ahead and to our right, and noticed a wind mill from yesteryear as we flew just north of Milford, NJ. We were getting bounced around quite a bit, but pressed on towards Dorney Park and just to the south of Queen City airport. I could see that Voodoo was now complete, with the exception of some landscaping and such, and shot some pictures as we flew a half circle around the park. Here is a shot of the completed Voodoo coaster:
I now headed west once again and took notice of a newly completed, 4 lane highway that runs between I-78 and State 222. The highway takes travelers to the outskirts of the Allentown area where many large warehouses and various companies are setting up shop, not to mention a plethora of dwellings taking shape as well. We were now clear of the airspace above and I proceeded to climb to hopefully avoid the choppy air we were still experiencing. I leveled off at 3,000 feet and although the air was a bit smoother, it was nothing to write home about. Not a big deal, though, since we are used to this and is actually quite fun sometimes. Kind of like riding an old, wooden roller-coaster, though the ride lasts a lot longer.
Up ahead of us was Kutztown and the university that exists there. We spotted the airport as well to the southwest of town, along with the deep, rock quarry at the end of the runway. We remember so vividly when approaching from the south how you must fly directly over this quarry on final approach. It is quite an impressive sight, and the next time we fly this approach, I will be sure to have Dad snap a picture and share it in my write-up of the flight.
Continuing, we could see the town of Reading in the distance and to the south of our course. There were a few large lakes/reservoirs around this area as well, and I remember how very distinct and beautiful this one area looks in the Spring & Summer months due mostly to the terrace-style farms that populate the area northwest of Reading, PA. I was getting hungry right about now, and since it was already around 1PM, we decided to make Deck airport, just south of Myerstown, our first destination of the day. Deck's is a nice airport to fly into, complete with a long, paved runway in the middle of the Amish farm fields. There is an old farmhouse on the airport which is used for the office, flight school, pilots lounge and rest rooms. An older woman who takes care of the place, keeping the fridge stocked and snacks available, is unfortunately no longer there. Still though, the house is clean and comfy, and we enjoyed eating our lunch in the kitchen...Just like being at home:
Dad and I have been flying into Deck's for over 10 years now, and not much has changed, except for that nice lady not being there any more. I believed she lived upstairs, and used to garden around the house as well. Anyway, after a relaxing recharge, we checked-out some of the aircraft around the apron and took note of an interesting twin engine plane in a nearby hangar. What grabbed our attention was that where standard air intake openings would normally exist to cool the engine, this plane had only two very small openings at the bottom of the engine nacelle, in addition to the oval shaped opening where air fed the carburetor. The location where the air inlet openings exist on other aircraft were occupied on one side by a light, and the other by a streamlined fairing. Very interesting indeed; take a look for yourself:
We were wondering just how these high performance engines get cooled, but they must, of course. The next part of our day was to fly a bit further west to Hershey Park in Hershey, PA. I wanted to shoot some pictures of their newest coaster, Fahrenheit, designed by the Swiss firm Intamin. After taking-off to the south and turning west, we could then see the sprawling town of Lebanon, which is growing by leaps and bounds. And in the distance, covered by a light haze, was Hershey Park.
The coaster Fahrenheit is almost complete, and we noticed a few cranes assembling the last couple of sections of the cobra roll (a specific element of the coaster). This coaster features a true vertical lift hill with a first drop of more than 90 degrees, providing a bit of negative G's before taking on the rest of the course. Looks like fun, huh? :
It was almost 3PM, and I was getting tired due mostly to the long day I spent on Saturday at Bushkill Falls. We decided to fly back home now because air continued to be choppy, and we knew we still had a long flight back. But just to keep things different and not see the same sights as we did flying out here, I headed a bit southeast towards Quakertown, PA. This course would take us directly over the town of Reading, and the rather large Chinese Pagoda that's perched high on a hill overlooking the town:
We could see the large cooling towers near the Pottstown area to the south, and up ahead was an airport you might be interested in, particularly if you enjoy golf. Butter Valley Golf-Port is the name, and features a 2,400 foot runway smack dab in the middle of the course, with 1,500 ft of it paved and the rest grass. Fly in for a round of golf, then partake of lunch in the club house....How COOL is that? :
The air was beginning to smooth out a bit the further east we flew, and we could now see the bustling metropolis of Quakertown. I wanted to shoot some pictures of a rather interesting company due east of town. A company that creates rather large "structures" (for lack of a better word) from rusted steel pipes and places them on their property for reasons unknown. I tell you, from the ground they look like giant, futuristic creatures from outer space. And from the air, well, see for yourself:
See what I mean. Anyway, after getting some shots of this bit of the bizarre, I flew east until we were crossing the shallow but wide, Delaware river. We flew south of Milford and north of Frenchtown, both in NJ, until our home base airport could be seen. I gradually meandered back and entered the traffic pattern to land, and the wind was still from the south. Yes, a great flying day to kick off Spring, and although there was a bit of chop up there, it felt great to once again take in the sights from above.....
Thanks for Reading !!!
