Too bad FCH is already taken.For some reason I can remember/figure out airport codes like nobody's business, but I can't remember people's names to save my life.
Wow. Sounds like a blast of a trip!
Excellent write up - thanks for sharing!!!!Ask, and ye shall receive (or something like that)!
So the trip was originally to be to SRQ, but ended up growing in scope and um, morphing a "bit". The new trip ended up being to KISM (Kissimee, FL south of Orlando) for a few days, and then off to KFXE ----> MYNN (Nassau, Bahamas). I read on AOPA and elsewhere about flying to the Bahamas and figured we'd be that close so why not? We stayed in Nassau a few days and then island hopped to MYEM (Governor's Harbor), MYAT (Treasure Cay), MYAX (private airstrip on Spanish Cay), and finally back to MYBS (South Bimini).
The trip:
- We left our home field 80nm north of KMSN around 6:00am local time in CAVU conditions.
- Cruising along at 7500 feet things were gorgeous until about 45 minutes before the first fuel stop at KJQD (Ohio County/Hartford, KY). Until that time we were able to stay up at 7500 above very sparse clouds and things were very smooth. However as the morning drug on and we got closer to JDQ the now cumulus clouds started getting thick and we had to drop down below them or risk getting stuck up there -- I was VFR only on this trip.
- Below the clouds in a hot muggy airplane that I swore was an enraged bull on whose back I was forced to ride, we made our way to JQD and fueled up. Met some interesting people there and learned this is a major refueling point between the midwest and FL -- probably due to its cheap gas. I can't say enough good things about the facility and the staff. Make no mistake, the airport and the town are in the middle of nowhereville, but if you're looking for friendly staff and cheap gas before heading on your way, this is the place.
- Out of JDQ the next fuel stop was for KAMG in Alma, GA. By now the thunderstorms talked about earlier in this thread were coming to fruition and I listened in on the appropriate Center frequencies as we traversed our way around the cells.
- By the time we got to KAMG at 5:30pm local time the storms were raging throughout GA and FL, I was exhausted from fighting the airplane and beginning to question the wisdom in attempting to navigate into Florida with a lot of thunderstorm activity at night. So we spent the night in Alma. As with JQD, not enough good things can be said about the FBO here. They let us use the courtesy car over night and pointed us to one of the only hotels in town. Again, super friendly staff, cheap gas. It's a win win if you're making it a fuel stop -- but Alma has noooothing to do.
- The next morning it was LIFR for a bit so we had to wait for the ceilings to come up before blasting off to KISM. Navigating underneath Orlando's Bravo was largely a non-issue, you just have to stay on top of your altitudes. What surprised me was the large amount of air traffic in general in FL vs in the midwest. Big difference!
- After KISM for a few days we made course for KFXE and then to MYNN. Out of FXE I grabbed flight following for the trek over the water. By the time we were leaving FXE it was 11:00am local or so and already near 100 deg. F with isolated T-Storms coming up, so I wanted the extra set of eyes on the weather, especially since the ADS-B weather goes dead a few dozen miles out off the coast.
- Miami Center stayed with us the entire way to Nassau, only handing us off to Nassau approach within a few miles or so of the airport. While still obviously speaking English, the Bahamian accent of the approach controller was not something I was prepared for; it suddenly clicked in my brain that "holy crap I just flew this thing to a foreign country!".
- MYNN's runways are long and wide, so getting the airplane on the asphalt was a non-issue. Their airpsace classifications are a bit different there, so I'm not sure if MYNN is more like a Class C or a Class B in the states, but suffice it to say it was very busy with both commercial and GA traffic.
Things I learned/Takeaways:
- From MYNN we went to MYEM. The runway there is very long and wide, but the surface is so rough I thought I blew a tire on landing. There is also no maintenance available here, so don't have a mechanical issue or you're screwed. To sum it up: it's isolated. However, if isolation and gorgeous pink sand beaches with no one on them are what you're looking for, this is the place to go; I could count on one hand the people I saw on the beach all day. If you're going to stay for more than a day or two, renting a car is advised so you can get around all of Eleuthra.
- MYAT's runway is of similar quality to MYEM...but the taxiway is in reaaaaaal bad shape. I raidoed to a Cessna holding short asking if the taxiway was usable and received a "Negative! No one ever uses that here."
- MYAX was a thrill all of it's own; the runway terminates on both ends in the ocean, and parts of it are closed because of Hurricane damage from Sandy, so you have to fly low over the ocean and then right above the runway it until it solidifies. There's actually a Piper Navajo in the ocean off one of the runway ends from a guy that didn't make it that people snorkel. That one had the pax clenching the armrests and bracing for impact.
- The flight back to MYBS was one of the longest overwater legs and I had extreme trouble contacting any center for flight following. Other than that and mediocre visibility due to humidity/haze it was fairly uneventful. Note that the airport is on South Bimini island, and there is nothing on that island whatsoever to do. All the tourist stuff is on the north island and there's a ferry to take you across the channel.
- As they say on all those accident report videos you watch, ADS-B weather is most definitely delayed. I literally looked out the window, found the cell/rain shaft, and then matched it up to the one on the display -- they rarely agreed on the position. Often the little airplane icon looked like we were flying right into a cell on the ADS B display but the cell was well to the left or right. So while this is a good situational awareness tool, it would be suicide to attempt to rely on it to fly though IMC thunderstorm activity.
- On a related note, stormscopes (at least the one I have) are even more worthless. They show lightening strikes and their relative position left/right etc of you. But once there are enough different cells around, the whole thing just lights up like a christmas tree and you can't make heads or tails out of it. I imagine more sophisticated ones would perform better?
- Flight Following on the other hand, is amazing, and highly recommended. They have realtime radar and can and do navigate you around the bad stuff.
- This trip convinced me that I needed to finish my IFR rating, which I did in November. One of the main benefits that would have provided on this trip would have been the ability to get on top of the cloud decks and out of the bumpy hot air.
- Don't be afraid to talk to Military Airbases/NAS. Jacksonville had no issues whatsoever letting me traverse their airspace to stay ahead of an approaching line of storms. Not sure if the guys in those towers are FAA or military, but in any case very friendly and very helpful.
I'm sure I'm missing stuff here so I'll add more as I think of it. The next stop on the bucket list is Teterboro (KTEB) - so I'm open to any feedback from anyone and everyone that's been there.
It's also the best reason to get your IR so you can cruise on top in cool, smooth air. Actually, I wish more people would tackle trips like this. Too many are scared and think they need more experience, when really it's more planning that makes things go better. Now, you have much more experience than your total hours would indicate, and you'll be more likely to use GA for travel in the future. That's how it ought to be!So... Home of the brewery, the foundry, or the rapids?
Well, OK, that's not nearly as bad as actually having to use VORs and not having a moving map. THAT was the bad old days.Where do you find the landing fees at for airports? I see both FRG and HPN have landing fees listed on AirNav, but it doesn't tell me how much
