My brother Mike and his wife Stacey invited us up to their house in Connecticut for a weekend visit this week. It's a long (too long) drive from Pennsylvania for a weekend visit at 5 + hours each way, but it is exactly 1 hour by Velocity.
Since my daughter was away with friends this weekend, Nancy and I decided to take our son, Sean up for a visit. Friday was summer solstice, the longest day in the year, so we left at 5:00, knowing we'd have plenty of time to get up there and still do things before dark.
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As forecast, it was very hazy, but smooth as we took off and headed northeast.
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Crossing the Hudson River into New York state, we can't even make out the skyline of New York City.
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A view of the panel as we get set up in cruise, climbing for 5,500 in a cruise climb.
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Sean in the back seat. He ignores the view and plays games on the Ipad for the most part. The kids have been flying since they were in diapers and it's just not a big deal to them. Go figure.
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Passing over Danbury, Connecticut, almost there.
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Base to final turn for Runway 20, Robertson. This is the oldest airport in New England.
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We land at exactly 6:00, right on time after a one hour flight. Here we are as we taxi to the tie downs.
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Climbing out at the tie downs at Robertson (4B8) in Connecticut.
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My brother Mike is there to pick us up. We have this trip down at this point. We called him from the taxiway at home and he knows it will be exactly one hour later when we land. He just walked into the airport when he heard us calling in from 5 miles out.
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Once again, I park next to the Rutan Defiant which is based here. It's about the same size, but is a twin engine push-pull design.
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We have a good evening and spend Saturday hiking to Indian Counsel Caves, a 4 1/2 hike with the kids and Mike's dog. It was a beautiful day.
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After the hike, we cool off in the pool and take some funny underwater videos of the kids (and Mike).
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After that, the baby sitter watches the kids while we go for drinks at the Millwright's. There is a waterfall right outside the window behind us and the old mill is amazing.
Very expensive, but beautiful.
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After drinks, we head to a gastropub called Republic. Great food!
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The forecast Sunday calls for clear skies in the morning, then thunderstorms in Pennsylvania in the afternoon. We decide to have a late breakfast, then head to the airport for an 11:00 departure. The kids are happy to get their own table at the breakfast place.
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It is clear and nice as we climb out of Robertson on our way South.
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We set up a cruise climb for 6,500 and have 55 minutes to go.
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Looking south, we can see the haze and building clouds.
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The clouds become larger and less scattered as we head through New York. Here's a quick video of the view to the West out the copilot window. We climb to 6,500 to stay above the clouds.
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The skyline of New York City is just visible through the haze to the east as we skirt the airspace. You have to click on the picture to make it out.
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As we get about 30 miles from home, it is time to find a hole in the clouds and let down. We are doing about 190 knots true in cruise. I put the nose down and we accelerate to 190 knots indicated/220 knots true as I pull the power back to descend through the clouds.
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Here's a quick clip of the descent:
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We pop out below the clouds right near the nuclear towers at Pottstown, only 20 miles from home. It is hot, muggy and very bumpy under the clouds. We put our hands on the overhead as we decelerate beneath the cloud base, which is only at 2,500.
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Here is a video of the approach and landing at Chester County. There's a gusty crosswind by now. The pattern has 3 aircraft ahead of us. Since the Velocity is faster, we have to extend the downwind and base for spacing. You can hear my wife laughing at me as we roll out because we still have that annoying brake chatter between about 40- 30 knots. I will replace the discs at Christmas time.
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As we taxi eastbound toward the hangar, you can see that the front is just passing over the airport from the south.
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Back at the hangar, Sean and I unload the plane while Nancy goes to get the car. Sean is actually a little green looking from the hot and bumpy approach for landing. He didn't complain until after we landed. What a trooper.
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Nancy loads the bags in her car to take Sean home while I clean and put away the plane. Then it will be off to pick up our puppy, Molly, from the kennel.
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Molly gets some air and sniffs for home on the ride back.
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.....then goes to sleep at my feet as I blog this.
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