Ocean City Photo Flight with George

Winter has been unrelenting this year in Pennsylvania. We have had storm after storm, power outages, fallen trees and bad flying weather for months. Last Saturday we had some rare blue skies so I went out to the airport to find the taxiways still only partially cleared and my door blocked by three feet of snow.

This weekend, we were forecast to have a brief break from all this mess with the forecast calling for sunny skies and temperatures in the mid '50's before they fell back below freezing on Monday. My friend George had the same idea I was having - we have to get out there and take advantage of this and fly somewhere. He had just purchased a very nice Cessna Skylane RG Turbo and we decided to meet for lunch in Ocean City, New Jersey and then try to get some air to air photos before he headed back to Maryland and I went home to Pennsylvania.

We agreed to meet at around 1:00 on Saturday.

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My friend Peter agreed to come along to do the photography. He was surprised by the amount of snow still left at the airport. Luckily, this time we brought a shovel.

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We shoveled out a path just wide enough for the track of the landing gear and pushed the plane out. Then were on our way.  Man, am I ever sick of the snow and slush. You need boots even inside my hangar.

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The winds aloft were over 40 knots on the way to Ocean City. I had the plane at high cruise, doing about 195 knots, when we both banged our heads on the overhead as we hit the beginning of turbulence as we crossed the Delaware River near Philadelphia. We slowed to 160 knots and bounced around in moderate chop the rest of the way. 

We had quite a crosswind when we landed at Ocean City and were crabbed about 30 degrees to the left so that Peter's view of the runway was out his side window. He didn't like that much. Here he points out the wind sock after we land.

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After Peter and I arrive in Ocean City folks walked right up and started taking pictures of the Velocity, so we had them take our picture.

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We heard George call in on the radio in the FBO so we went outside to look for him. In a moment, we spotted him entering downwind. We walked out to the runway to get some pictures of his arrival.

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Here are some shots of George arriving in his new plane and taxiing back to the ramp.

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 George, on the far right,  brought two friends along. We grab a picture and head in for lunch.

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We had a good lunch and held the staff up a little - they close at 2:00 and we were talking well past that. Next time, I need to get one of these shirts.

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We headed back out and pushed the planes together for some pictures. It is really windy now.

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We taxi down to the end of the runway and takeoff, one right after the other. The plan is for us to climb to 2,500 feet and overtake George as he heads South along the coast for some pictures.

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 We catch up and start getting some nice pictures.

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 My favorite shot. We swing around above and in trail to get this great shot of George as he approaches Cape May and Wildwood, then we turn west.

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Here are a few more shots of George's plane. It looked great. You could see the guys at the windows taking pictures of us.

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Velocity on your Six! Here we come from their perspective.

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Here is a great shot of us passing them in a climb. Click on the picture and you can see Peter taking the photos of their plane which were posted earlier.

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Here are a couple more nice shots as we flew along side them.

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Here is a video of us pulling along side then doing a left break and recovery.

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Here is a video taken as we separate to go home. We pass the Cesssna, then do a 3,000 fpm climb to 4,500 as we turn on course. What a great time.

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The turbulence is even worse on the way home. Even higher up and slowed to 160 knots, we are getting pounded. As you can see, Peter is not having a good time and I can't even get pictures with all the bouncing and banging around we are doing. I tighten my belt and Peter braces against the overhead.

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As we approach the Delaware river over New Jersey, Philadelphia approach clears us through their airspace direct to home at 4,500 feet. It's bumpy but visibility is great.

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The same view as depicted on the EFIS screens.

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Crossing the Delaware river into Pennsylvania.

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Some shots of snowy Pennsylvania.

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 There it is - final for runway 29, Chester County Airport.

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We reach the taxiway and Peter is happy to be able to open the doors for fresh air and to be back on the ground. It was a rough ride (but a smooth landing).

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Peter was a trooper on a very rough flight. Looking back, doing the aggressive banks with a non-pilot passenger on a choppy day was not the brightest idea. Thanks for putting up with me and for all the great photos Peter.

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It was a great day with a great bunch of guys. I look forward to doing this a lot over the summer.

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