Eddie & Me

Rich found out last week that the kennel that usually boards Eddie was booked for the Memorial Day weekend, and he couldn't go with Rich to the Indy 500, so I offered to take him to Hudson. Apparently, the kennel later realized it had an opening and called to tell Rich as such. Rich thanked them, but said that Eddie was going to Canada for the weekend instead. So surprised was the employee that he exclaimed, "Your dog is going on vacation?!"

In Eddie's defense, he isn't any ordinary dog. More comfortable in a plane than most pilots, this trip was, however, going to be his first time in my club's Cessna 152. The Little Red Dragon (a.k.a. 883) is so tiny that Rich, Eddie and I exceed the weight and balance calculation, which is why Eddie couldn't come with us when I trained in her.

Like a pro, Eddie put his two front paws on the door opening and, with a small boost from me, was ready for the adventure to begin. We got away from Gaithersburg shortly after 8 a.m., and enjoyed a warm and hazy 1 1/2 hour flight to the Tri-Cities airport in Endicott, NY (KCZG).

With only a slight detour for an active restricted airspace near Harrisburg, PA, we made good time with a 15 knot tailwind. Of course, "good time" in 883 is about 110 Knots, but the whole point of taking the slowest plane in my club was to bank hours so I can reach 250 all the more quickly. (250 is the magical number needed to work on my commercial rating.)

We stayed low at 3500 feet and I enjoyed the views. Eddie destroyed the new toy I bought him and then slept most of the way. With his bed and enough room to lie down, he definitely had the choice location. We were quite the well-packed little airplane, however.

The folks at KCZG were very friendly, and after some water for Eddie, some caffeine for me, and some gas for the plane, we got back up shortly after 11 a.m.

A mere two hours later, we touched down in Massena, NY, which is beautifully situated along the St. Lawrence. Not your traditional airport, a TSA representative and a ground keeper helped me push 883 back to it's resting spot (which they didn't charge me for). Mum and Dad soon arrived, and we piled into the back seat where I got some snuggle time with Eddie.

Sunday Eddie and I got up early for a run, and I took him to the stream / nature reserve that runs through Hudson. Happy as a clam was he to splash first one way and then the other in the shallow, sandy stream. I didn't know whether I should laugh or scream when he later decided to lunge full-on into a muddy, stagnant duck pond and emerged covered in mud, pond scum and Lord knows what else. Before he could leap on me to truly express his glee, back to the stream ran we, and off he washed once again.

Tuckered out from all our early morning activities, we chilled in the backyard for most of the afternoon. How I love lazy Sundays in the country...

After a two hour nap, we got up and discovered that all the BBQ preparations had been taken care of by my darling Mum (timing is everything, eh?). Melanie arrived soon after, and we popped the first cork.

Tamlyn and Dino were next to arrive, and Gillian made her appearance while Tamlyn and I were taking Eddie for his pre-dinner walk. Eddie was mighty excited to see his faithful back-seat N5135Romeo companion again, and seemingly only a tad bit dismayed that Rich never made an appearance despite the increasing cast of characters gathering at 75 Oakland Avenue.

Monday morning's weather looked great until about Baltimore, so Eddie and I decided to see how far we could get. Mum and Dad dropped us off at Massena, and I pre-flighted 883 while chatting to some bored airport employee who clearly didn't understand why he was the only person required to work Memorial Day.

Fueling up and pre-flighting took longer than it should have, and it was after 10 by the time we got wheels-up. A tailwind helped us along, however, and we touched down at Tri-Cities again shortly after noon. Nestled between two high mountain ranges, I marvelled at how tight a base you can make in a Cessna 152 and yet how little runway is required before you've stopped.

The day was clearer than Saturday, making for pretty views of the numerous bodies of water we passed over. Only slightly regretting my decision to work on my pilotage skills rather than borrow a headset with an iPod jack, I amused myself by singing off-key, playing the "where would I land if my engine went out ... NOW?! .... NOW?!" game, and scratching Eddie while he snoozed.

As we approached Frederick, the Potomac air traffic controller was hopping to keep up with the weather system that was sitting, so it seemed, directly over Gaithersburg and causing no small amount of havoc. A few pilots had managed to get into Gaithersburg under VFR (visual flight rules, which I was flying), others were trying to convert to IFR (instrument flight rules), and others still were simply holding about 10 miles Northeast of the airfield and hoping the cell would move on before they needed to touch down and re-fuel.

Despite my alleged weather jinx aura, a clear bit of airspace stuck with me as I flew ever-closer to Gaithersburg. I kept in close contact with ATC, saw the airport 4 miles out, made a tight base, and got down just as the skies opened up and it downpoured in earnest. Eddie and I sat and filled out logbooks and packed away charts and equipment while waiting for the worst of it to pass. We finally decided to make a run for the car. Although the air smelt vaguely of wet dog, I assured Eddie that he could be my wingman any time.

A Hitchhiker's Dream

Okay, so I realize it isn't really hitchhiking when you know the person, but yesterday was still a fun first. I took off from Gaithersburg at 6 a.m., 20 minutes later was touching down at Hagerstown, and just as I was finishing tying down the Tiger, Rich touched down in the Baron to pick me up.

We were soon racing back down runway 27 and away to NYC. We flew about as close to Camp David as non-military planes can get, and I tried to figure out which cluster of houses the Obamas occupy. I'm guessing the large ones by the lake.

Despite a light headwind, it was a near perfect day. Much to Rich's surprise, of course.

How the bad weather we encountered en route to/from the Bahamas, Boston and Montreal became my fault and not his is somewhat beyond me, but I like the nickname Strikefinder Amy, so I'm okay with being labelled the weather jinx. (A Strikefinder in a plane shows lightening strikes = thunderstorms = bad for small planes.)

It always feels like no time at all in the Baron and you've gotten from one major landmark (Susquehanna River, above) to the next one (first views of NYC, shrouded in mist were very cool, below).

We came into Teterboro airport in New Jersey only a tad on the late side and high-tailed it to the car service folks that were waiting on us.

After we got into the city, Rich went to inspect a job site while I went to visit with Adrienne and her girls for a couple hours.

Adrienne, Ted and I had managed a rendezvous at the Flying W airport resort last summer, but that was pre-Amy Goldthorpe, so it was really cool to get some baby snuggles in and to play with Elizabeth again. Elizabeth was being camera shy, but Adrienne managed to capture this next one while she was preoccupied with her Teddy Ruxpin.

When Rich and I met up near the NYC public library for lunch, it felt like we had accomplished a lot and it was only barely noon! (Not enough to make me want to get up at 4:30 every day, of course, but those 19 hour days do serve a purpose.)

Going home, I opted to start in the very back for the prim-o views of NYC as we were detouring slightly to go home via the Hudson River. I amused myself while Rich did his run-up and taxied out to the runway.

We were barely off the ground when the George Washington bridge came impressively into view. Going down the right side of the river, we were required to stay under 500 feet, and it was amazing!

To increase safety, Rich explained that pilots announce when they are over the George Washington bridge, the Statute of Liberty and the Verranzo-Narrows bridge, as well as observe strict altitude restrictions.

We crossed relatively low over the city on our way to Boston a month or so ago and it was beautiful at night, but my pictures didn't turn out, so I was eager to see it by day.

Rich lived in NYC for a couple years, so I got to sit back and listen to the audio tour as we flew along. It was as cool as he'd promised it would be, and I'm already looking forward to taking folks up in the Tiger. I may have to get a bit better with my NYC geography first, though. Or, I could offer the Amy Zen Hudson River Tours. No talking allowed. Although I'm not sure if my Mum will be able to abide that ... Just kidding, Mum!!

There were several aircraft carriers on the river, which brought scenes from Top Gun to mind as I snapped pictures and imagined what it would be like to land on a tiny strip of floating metal...

"[Strikefin]der, you're at 3/4 of a mile. Call the ball..."

Geeky, I know. Oh, well. The secret's out now. Ooot now?

Just like a good firework show, I quickly sensed that my tour was going to be over before I was ready for it to be.

However, also like a good firework show, there was a grand finale. I yelled at Rich for suddenly banking sharply just as I was about to snap a picture of a Canadian naval carrier, to which he replied, "You are probably going to want to see this."

She certainly was beautiful...

The Verranzo-Narrows bridge was our last announcement point.

We passed Coney Island, and Rich started turning southwards and homeward.

The Gateway National Recreation Area was a surprising reminder how close NYC sits to some really beautiful beaches.

Once out from under New York's Bravo airspace, I climbed forward and rode shotgun the rest of the way to Hagerstown. The Tiger was ready and waiting for me when I got there, and although it was a bumpier flight home with headwinds to boot, flying is flying, and it was a great day.