Flight To Sun & Fun & other places
This trip was flown in Don McMullen’s RV6A. Bob Nauman co-pilot, pilot, navigator was of tremendous help
Bob and I left Camarillo (CMA) at 6.48 am Tues. 4/3/01. It was hazy but we could see blue skies straight up. So we departed for Sun & Fun in Lakeland Florida. We also planned to visit Cedar Key (CDK), Key West, and My friends in Hendersonville North Carolina.
It was hazy over the LA basin but we could see the ground. As we went through the Banning pass the haze started to disappear and harsh desert appeared. As we went by Phoenix I couldn’t help notice how smoggy it was. About 50 miles past Phoenix it cleared up again and Bob and I prepared to land at Deming NM. (DMN). This would be our first fuel stop.
Deming (DMN) was a good place. They had a courtesy car and we borrowed it & went to lunch. Gas prices were reasonable. After lunch we took off and headed for airports west of us. We had good weather all the way across Texas. Bob and I started getting tired and decided to look for some place to stop for the night. We studied the chart and decided that Corsicana might be a good place! We stopped and fueled up again and ask the friendly lady if they had a courtesy car. They did but wouldn’t loan it over night. It was getting late and the lady was closing in 1 hour. We took the courtesy car and went to town grabbed a few things to eat out of a grocery’s store. Town was too far to walk so we decided to fly on.
Bob and I took off and Bob looked over the map to find a better place to stay. We were tired and wanted some place fast Bob read in the AOPA airports guide that the town of Shreveport LA (SHV) had a hotel within 1 mile so we went there. It was hazy most of the way but when we got there it was overcast and we were on top. Airplane and pilot VFR only. It was getting dark with not much sun light left. We called approach and told them we were on top and would find a hole. Approach told us to call the tower when down. We circled around a little and found a small hole where I could see the ground and headed down. I called the tower and said that I had not been to the airport before and could use all the help they could give me (class c airport). The tower was very friendly and helpful and vectored me to a right base. By this time it was dark.
The lady at the FBO was very helpful. She asks if she could call a hotel for us something with transportation. Bob and I were very tired and said OK just as long as it was reasonably priced. When she hung up from the Hotel she said it would be $ 90.00 and that was cheap as it was usually $ 150.00 + Dollars. We took it although we were looking for something less expensive. The hotel was the Horse Shoe casino. The room was very plush 2-queen size beds, large screen TV, and large bathtub Jacuzzi. There was even a TV in the bathroom! We were too tired to gamble but they gave me a personalized charged card to use in the casino!
The next morning (Wed) the sky was broken overcast 2000 feet. We took off and headed southeast. We called flight watch and they said that there were thunderstorms around Mobil so we decided to go east as far as we could and then find a place to stay until the thunderstorms dissipated.
As we went past Mobil, it was starting to get overcast about 1500 ft. Visibility was good though. We got as far as Brewton AL when we came to a big black wall with lightning coming out of it.
We turned around and headed back the way we came but the storm had wrapped around us and we had lightning all around us. We could see the trees below us burning where the lighting hit. The only place with clear skies was a restricted area. I hit nearest on the gps and there was an airport with-in 1 mile Bob said it was Brewton, (12J) a good GA airport to land.
It wasn’t the best landing I had ever made but we were down.
We tied down and under a tall pole and went inside. There was a gentleman with a British accent and he was very friendly. He gave us the loaner car to take to town and get a hotel room.
Next morning (Thursday) it was clear so we took off and headed southeast. It wasn’t long before we came to Cedar Key (CDK).
It looked great with all the little islands around it and the palm trees. We landed (talk about a carrier landing) over water until the end of the runway what a thrill! After we landed and tied the airplane down. A man drove up and offered us a ride into town.
He was a retired guy on vacation. He liked airplanes, and he drove us all over town and really gave us the tour. After the guy dropped us off Bob and I walked around taking pictures and eating lunch. We walked back to the airplane. (1 ½ mile) We planned to sleep in our sleeping bags but the bugs were biting the hell out of me.
Another guy came along and offered to take us to a hotel and we took him up on it.
The next morning (Fri) we headed for Sun N Fun. (LAL)
Flying into Lakeland the day before the fly-in started was UN crowded and easy. Bob & I had studied the Lake Parker arrival procedures well.
Fly to Lake Parker and listen to the temporary tower rock your wings when asked to do so and follow the airplane in front of you or the strobe lights. Switch to the tower frequency when told to do so and wag your wings when asked & comply with towers instructions.
Sun & Fun was OK with lots of homebuilt airplanes, people, seminars, workshops, commercial venders, and food booths. That was the good part.
It was hot, dusty, and they locked us out from the show airplane area while the aerobatics were going on. (2:00 pm to 6:00pm) Bob & I stayed 2 days and decided to fly to Key West to have some more fun.
(Mon) Morning Bob & I headed for Key West. (EYW)
We were flying down the keys before we knew it, taking pictures and having a ball. It was exciting having flown all the way to the east coast for the very first time.
We flew over Marathon Key and called the Key West tower. They told us to contact the navy approach to fly through their air space and gave us the frequency. All went well and everyone was very helpful.
I remember sliding open the canopy and feeling the warm breeze that was blowing on us.
We tied the airplane down and started asking questions about how to get into town. Taxis were too expensive so we took the bus (35 cents for seniors).
We got the tour of the whole island of Key West it was great. We found a reasonable hotel $88.00 per night (cheap for the Keys) in the old downtown area and it was great.
We walked up and down the main street buying tee shirts and trinkets for presents. The main street reminded me of a third world country just about every thing you could think of was there.
I think the street to the southwest was more our speed. There were lots of historical landmarks like the old lighthouse, a museum and the house that Hemmingway lived in.
That afternoon Bob and I walked to the Boardwalk area and watched the performers do their acts. There were Jugglers on unicycles, A trained cat act, A comedian trying to get out of a straight jacket and much more. We watched the sun set behind an island. It was a sight worth flying all the way to the Keys to see.
(Tues) Bob and I walked around some more to take in all the sights. I’m sure we missed some. Bob and I thought we might stay one night on Marathon Key (MTH) but when we landed we found out that every thing was spread out and we would have to rent a car or take a taxi so we fueled up and left.
That afternoon Bob & I ended up in Kissimmee, (ISM) Fl close to Orlando. It was a good place to stay the night because we could walk to a motel but aviation fuel was very expensive.
(Wed) Today we planned to fly along the east coast take some pictures of the intra coastal water way and other interesting places and then end up in Hendersonville NC. We did just that stopping along the way at some interesting airports and talking to interesting people and locating cheap fuel. We finally ended up in Hendersonville (0A7) NC early in the afternoon. We had a wonderful time staying overnight and visiting with some good friends of mine Richard & Jacqui Naylor. Jacqui drove Bob & I all over Hendersonville and the surrounding area. We got some great pictures.
(Thursday) After giving Jacqui a quick ride around the area (in the RV6A) we headed for California. (I hope Jacqui liked the ride, there was a lot of turbulence.) The sky was clear around Hendersonville but it soon got cloudy and we had to go up to 1100& 1200 ft. all the way to Vicksburg (VKS) MS. We fueled up and headed for Houston area. About 100 miles out we had to drop down under the overcast (what you might call scud run the rest of the way in) Bob & I found someone to take us to a hotel about 6 mi. to town.
(Friday) The next morning we called the airport and asked if someone could pick us up but the courtesy car was gone and we had to get a cab for the very first time on the trip. When we took off the sky was broken but closing in fast. We had to go up to about 11000 to 12000 feet to get on top. It was like that almost all the way to El Paso. We fueled up, had a nice talk with some airport guys (at west Texas airport) (T27) and headed for Camarillo. (CMA) The sky was clear and it was nice to fly between 8000 & 9000 ft. We called flight watch a few times to make sure the weather would be clear in Camarillo when we arrived. Wheels touched around 5:00pm. It was a real adventure but it was good to be back home. Yeaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
