GBSoren
Pre-takeoff checklist
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- Sep 21, 2015
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GBSoren
We just got home from our trip, my wife and I celebrated 30 yrs together on Jan 26th. This will be a quick trip report and pirep of the places we visited.
We flew from KOTG (home base) to KBWG the first day, only about a 3.5 hour flight, but wanted to get out of the midwest before a snow storm that was forecasted for the next day. I picked Bowling Green because avgas was relatively cheap, and the airport was close to hotels and restaurants. We both felt Bowling Green seemed very clean and safe. We walked to the restaurant and back to the airport from the hotel. Highly recommend for a stopping point. FBO was nice and staff was very friendly.
From BWG we flew to Naples APF the next day, long flight, about 4.5 hrs. Again, nice FBO, cheap self serve gas, and they waive ramp fees if you put on gas, I filled here because it was $3.58. We stayed about 1/2 mile walk from the beach. Naples is a very nice, clean city! Expensive homes and lots of fancy cars! You don't see a lot of Bentley's in SWMN!, and golf courses everywhere that you can see from the air!
From APF we did a VFR flight to EYW, by way of MTH. Requested VFR flight follow, flew the coast line down, then to MTH and over to EYW staying south of the Key's. Beautiful flight. Stayed 4 nights at the DoubleTree close to the airport. They have a shuttle that'll take you down to Duval Street. Fun place, food was good everywhere we ate. Drinks were expensive (for me, remember I'm from rural MN). Nightlife was active but never felt crowded. Overall we had a great time and my wife loved the vibe!
Now the bad....Signature FBO in Key West. Took my credit card on file when we arrived. When we left asked to charge to the card on file. Good thing I asked for a receipt. Total bill for 4 days, over $1600!!! Handling charge, $340! Ramp overnight, $290...per night! Now this is for a single engine avgas piston mind you, not a jet! My wife called Signature when we got home and we think we have it straitened out. Seems the gal that created the invoice put the decimal point on the wrong spot, should have been $34 and $29. We'll see how soon I get a credit on that card.
From EYW we flew to JKA in Orange Beach AL, stayed one night there. Cold, only in the 50's and mornings in the 30's. Beach is beautiful, but not much going on, other than construction, repairs from the hurricane. A lot of places aren't open again yet. Nice FBO at JKA, overnight was like $15. Reasonable gas prices and they waives handling and ramp fees.
Home to MN the next day, with a fuel stop in MO8, North Central MO regional. Cheap self serve Avgas. The only reason I bring up the fuel stop is this place has the highest pressure Avgas pump I've ever seen! It was like a fire hose! Didn't take long to get in 25/side!
Overall a great trip! Lots of miles but my Trinidad was comfortable, and preformed perfectly! Even on the 4+ hour flights. We were lucky on the winds other than leaving the Keys, we went to X60 for cheap gas(highly recommend) and had headwinds of 25-30kts. The rest of the trip we either had tailwinds or side, so most of the trip was from 145-175kts.
We flew from KOTG (home base) to KBWG the first day, only about a 3.5 hour flight, but wanted to get out of the midwest before a snow storm that was forecasted for the next day. I picked Bowling Green because avgas was relatively cheap, and the airport was close to hotels and restaurants. We both felt Bowling Green seemed very clean and safe. We walked to the restaurant and back to the airport from the hotel. Highly recommend for a stopping point. FBO was nice and staff was very friendly.
From BWG we flew to Naples APF the next day, long flight, about 4.5 hrs. Again, nice FBO, cheap self serve gas, and they waive ramp fees if you put on gas, I filled here because it was $3.58. We stayed about 1/2 mile walk from the beach. Naples is a very nice, clean city! Expensive homes and lots of fancy cars! You don't see a lot of Bentley's in SWMN!, and golf courses everywhere that you can see from the air!
From APF we did a VFR flight to EYW, by way of MTH. Requested VFR flight follow, flew the coast line down, then to MTH and over to EYW staying south of the Key's. Beautiful flight. Stayed 4 nights at the DoubleTree close to the airport. They have a shuttle that'll take you down to Duval Street. Fun place, food was good everywhere we ate. Drinks were expensive (for me, remember I'm from rural MN). Nightlife was active but never felt crowded. Overall we had a great time and my wife loved the vibe!
Now the bad....Signature FBO in Key West. Took my credit card on file when we arrived. When we left asked to charge to the card on file. Good thing I asked for a receipt. Total bill for 4 days, over $1600!!! Handling charge, $340! Ramp overnight, $290...per night! Now this is for a single engine avgas piston mind you, not a jet! My wife called Signature when we got home and we think we have it straitened out. Seems the gal that created the invoice put the decimal point on the wrong spot, should have been $34 and $29. We'll see how soon I get a credit on that card.
From EYW we flew to JKA in Orange Beach AL, stayed one night there. Cold, only in the 50's and mornings in the 30's. Beach is beautiful, but not much going on, other than construction, repairs from the hurricane. A lot of places aren't open again yet. Nice FBO at JKA, overnight was like $15. Reasonable gas prices and they waives handling and ramp fees.
Home to MN the next day, with a fuel stop in MO8, North Central MO regional. Cheap self serve Avgas. The only reason I bring up the fuel stop is this place has the highest pressure Avgas pump I've ever seen! It was like a fire hose! Didn't take long to get in 25/side!
Overall a great trip! Lots of miles but my Trinidad was comfortable, and preformed perfectly! Even on the 4+ hour flights. We were lucky on the winds other than leaving the Keys, we went to X60 for cheap gas(highly recommend) and had headwinds of 25-30kts. The rest of the trip we either had tailwinds or side, so most of the trip was from 145-175kts.
