So, who is in Irene's path?

woodstock

woodstock

Final Approach
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I am pretty sure Hilton Head is not getting hit tomorrow. Hope not anyway.

Washington DC is likely to get a lot of rain.

So I'm probably clear.

Anyone in the mid-Atlantic? How is Philly supposed to fare? NYC flyers - watch out. UGH!
 
I'm right outside Annapolis, MD and we will likely get hit pretty good but my plane will be in Ohio for the weekend with another of my partners. He had planned on this trip a while ago and it's working out well for us since we won't have to relocate or worry about the plane.
 
Lucked out and got temporary room in a hangar on the field. Gonna move the plane inside saturday morning, and hope the cement block holds up well enough....sheesh. Now all we need to worry about is the house...gonna be an epic event around here.

Everyone on the east coast, please be safe, and don't do anything silly.
 
Salisbury MD -- dead in the middle of the latest storm track, forecasting 100mph winds early Sunday AM.

Airplane's in its usual hangar -- if the hangar collapses, I'll have a lot of money from the insurance company to buy another one, but it stood up just fine to Isabel eight years ago.

We got everything secured around the house yesterday, and filled the gas cans for the generator which powers half the downstairs (including the HVAC, fridge, and freezer). Stove is propane, got the fire lighter sticks so we can light the burners without electricity, so we can cook no problem. Also, with satellite TV, we can keep watching television (including Jim Cantore hanging sideways from a flagpole somewhere) even if the power goes out in town (not so with the cable we had in 2003). And we checked on our supplies of toilet paper, milk, and bread yesterday -- the store shelves will probably be empty of those by sundown today.

Biggest worry is the horses. Expert opinion is just leave them out in the field as we did eight years ago -- they'll turn butt-to-the-wind, and it takes a lot more than a hurricane to blow a 3/4-ton horse away. Put them in their stalls, and there's too much chance of them being trapped if the barn blows down.

Only question remaining is whether the Jimmy Buffett concert Saturday night in Manassas will be canceled or whether we'll have to eat the tickets, 'cause they'll probably close the Bay Bridge tomorrow and we don't want to leave today or get stuck on the Western Shore.
 
DutchessFlier said:
Lucked out and got temporary room in a hangar on the field. Gonna move the plane inside saturday morning, and hope the cement block holds up well enough....sheesh. Now all we need to worry about is the house...gonna be an epic event around here.

Everyone on the east coast, please be safe, and don't do anything silly.
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Got room in Ohio for ya bud;)
 
I'm about in the same boat as Ron here in Annapolis. My home, and our local airport, Lee, are both on the water. Fortunately, both are on high enough ground that Isabel didn't cause any major damage last time. I'll be securing the boat and dock today and I'm trying to decide if I'm going to uninstall my lift motors to save them from the surge. Isabel completely covered the piles last time. I've got a 5 gal. can of gas for the generator, cars all topped off, batteries, etc. We lose power at my house often enough that I have a whole kit of extension cords and 6 kW genset to power my freezers, fridge, espresso machine, and some entertainment for the kids.

BWI/Signature called yesterday and said they'd made provisions at other FBOs to move our aircraft from the path and I think they were hoping that some of us T-hanger folks would leave to get some of the tie-down aircraft inside. I'm just staying put and leaving the Pitts in the barn at Lee. We just put a new roof on those hangers at Lee after the snow damage this past winter and the guys that did it did a first rate job. I'm hoping 100 mph wind won't be a problem for those of us inside.

I'm kinda hoping all this prep is for nothing and it's not as bad as Isabel. A lot of dear friends homes here in Annapolis were uninhabitable after the last encounter due to flooding that covered nearly the entire first floor of the homes/businesses. There are a few businesses here in DTA who's roofs were damaged by the earthquake and they're all scampering around today to make them waterproof for the rain to come.

Earthquake, hurricane... does anyone know what we should do to prepare for the plague of locusts next week?
 
Ugh, I'm worried about the horses. The rest is insurable but would still suck if it were damaged.
 
I'm outta here! My plane's tied down outside at Twitchells(with its new "406.") I just checked with them and they're double-tieing everything.

Dale Twitchell just called me back. "Meet my man at Wicasset; it's better off in your hangar than outside up here. Then drive Ben back to up here.

This afternoon, tomorrow and Sunday I'm on Ramp Patrol at the Blue Angels show
at KBXM -- PENDING wx on Sunday.

Outta here! for 15 min. drive to my hangar at KIWI

New tires on the boat trailer yesterday, so the boat could be pulled and set onto better rubber than was on it. Marinas are scrambling!!

HR
 
Beautiful day in the northwest, we are finally getting some summer. will be in the high 70s today.

I think I'll take the thrifty 50 for a ride.
 
Ron Levy said:
Salisbury MD -- dead in the middle of the latest storm track, forecasting 100mph winds early Sunday AM.

Airplane's in its usual hangar -- if the hangar collapses, I'll have a lot of money from the insurance company to buy another one, but it stood up just fine to Isabel eight years ago.

We got everything secured around the house yesterday, and filled the gas cans for the generator which powers half the downstairs (including the HVAC, fridge, and freezer). Stove is propane, got the fire lighter sticks so we can light the burners without electricity, so we can cook no problem. Also, with satellite TV, we can keep watching television (including Jim Cantore hanging sideways from a flagpole somewhere) even if the power goes out in town (not so with the cable we had in 2003). And we checked on our supplies of toilet paper, milk, and bread yesterday -- the store shelves will probably be empty of those by sundown today.

Biggest worry is the horses. Expert opinion is just leave them out in the field as we did eight years ago -- they'll turn butt-to-the-wind, and it takes a lot more than a hurricane to blow a 3/4-ton horse away. Put them in their stalls, and there's too much chance of them being trapped if the barn blows down.

Only question remaining is whether the Jimmy Buffett concert Saturday night in Manassas will be canceled or whether we'll have to eat the tickets, 'cause they'll probably close the Bay Bridge tomorrow and we don't want to leave today or get stuck on the Western Shore.
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curious...... when you run a genset on the house, are you required to have a gentran panel ? that separates your house from the grid?
 
Tom-D said:
curious...... when you run a genset on the house, are you required to have a gentran panel ? that separates your house from the grid?
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Can't speak for Ron or his jurisdiction, but where I live if you tie it into the house wiring you have to have a transfer panel. Transfer panels come in several flavors, ranging from manual (pull the big switch) to automatic on the service-entrance cable with generator-start wiring. By code, you must isolate from the grid.

I have a portable genset and simply run extension cords to the appliances/lights that I'll be using during an outage (fridge, lights, computer(s), servers, etc). I've got gas stove & propane grill.

What most folks do is put in a generator that will serve part of a house. The transfer switch has breakers for several branch circuits, and it feeds off a bus in the main breaker panel. So a genset might provide the kitchen circuit the HVAC, and some lighting, but not the laundry, outdoor lights, dining room, etc.
 
Tom-D said:
curious...... when you run a genset on the house, are you required to have a gentran panel ? that separates your house from the grid?
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I have no idea what a genset or gentran panel are. However, based on Bill's post, they installed a switching panel in the garage by the main c/b panel and a cable with a big plug on the outside. We fire up the generator, plug the cable into the generator, and then select what we want powered on the switching panel. Whether or not it isolates us from the grid, I have no idea -- I just know what I'm supposed to do to make generator power happen in the house after the outside power fails.
 
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Here in Winston-Salem, we'll probably get some rain and flooding, but no winds.

Makes me want to take a trip to Wilimington real quickly....
 
Whether or not it isolates us from the grid, I have no idea .
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I am betting you are isolated - think about what happens if you are not (transformers work both ways). People have gone to jail for failing to isolate.
 
Ron Levy said:
Salisbury MD -- dead in the middle of the latest storm track, forecasting 100mph winds early Sunday AM.

....
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Just got off the phone with my folks, they're getting ready for it, too. The way their house is situated, they'll be stuck for some time depending on what happens.

Keep your head down!
 
Irene is a couple of hundred miles to the east of us here in NE Fla. It's breezy and overcast right now. I will probably go to the beach this afternoon to check out the surf conditions. You guys up the coast stay safe!
 
30 miles south of Boston and on the east side of the current path. If it follows the prediction, we'll probably just get a bunch of wind. No more than your average politician.
I got plenty of cold beer and cheap whisky. I should be okay for a few days.
 
silver-eagle said:
I got plenty of cold beer and cheap whisky. I should be okay for a few days.
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That's the main reason for the genset - to keep the beer cold. I haven't fussed yet with a transfer panel because I'm on this crazy pressurized sewage system that they won't let me power from my house anyway. I've got a big rubbermaid bin that has all my extension cords in it already kitted up for getting power to both fridges, the freezer, the espresso machine, and the home theater. I can also power up the well pump but not the other end of the system so after a few flushes we're out of the "doing our business" business anyway.
 
Ron Levy said:
Also, with satellite TV, we can keep watching television (including Jim Cantore hanging sideways from a flagpole somewhere) even if the power goes out in town (not so with the cable we had in 2003).
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Heavy precip will block the satellite signal. The better signal strength you have now (best dish aiming possible) the better. It's no better than Cable in some situations, each have weaknesses.

OTA tends to stay working on at least a few channels in storms. Dish and Cable are usually "all or nothin'" by their design.

Have an AM/FM receiver handy. And NOAA WX radios are always a good thing to have.

Just mentioning the Dish thing so you're not surprised if you've never seen it go out in precip. Wind can also crank the antenna mount and take it out.

Love the Jim Cantore thing. That's funny. ;)
 
At KBED my aircraft is in the big aeroclub hangar all the time...so my aircraft is pretty much set.

Here in the Boston area I figure we will get lots of winds and rain, not like the hurricane forces to the south.

(hope everyone's horses will be ok)
 
Might get hit pretty bad in this area... we'll see. The club's gliders have no place to go, but they should be OK... pretty far inland, and they are isolated from the other tie-downs, except for a few ultralights. Unlikely that either one will get loose, either, so the only worries are flying debris or winds that exceed Vne for either glider. Got my fingers crossed.

At home, my only concerns are the old windows and the leaky roof... even if the storm loses energy crossing the Carolina coast, we are going to get a lot of driving rain for sure. My car will be OK in the parking lot alongside the building; fairly high ground there, and no trees close by.
Should be a good show from here... my buddy Jose Cuervo is here for the weekend, and he brought beer. :D As long as the pool table stays dry, we'll be OK.

The key things for me are to not plan on driving anywhere this weekend, and be ready for the power to go out for a while. Newark will very likely get swamped good, and I'll be amazed if the power isn't interrupted at some point, even though I've never seen a blackout here.
 
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Ron Levy said:
I have no idea what a genset or gentran panel are. However, based on Bill's post, they installed a switching panel in the garage by the main c/b panel and a cable with a big plug on the outside. We fire up the generator, plug the cable into the generator, and then select what we want powered on the switching panel. Whether or not it isolates us from the grid, I have no idea -- I just know what I'm supposed to do to make generator power happen in the house after the outside power fails.
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That is a Generator transfer panel (GenTran panel) Generator Set = Genset.

and it will isolate your house from the grid, this keeps from electrocuting any one working on what they think is a dead line.
 
Ron Levy said:
I guess I have a gentran.
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Isolation is by code here in MD. Can really ruin a line guys day by feeding your 120v into your house and the transformer on the corner turning it into a 10K service line. Leaving the horses out is a tough call. One the one hand, collapsing barn. On the other, flyng debris. We always opt for in, but up here in Mt Airy, we rarely get more than 70 mph winds. Lost one barn though, an open front 20'x40' shed that the wind picked up like a parasol. Previous owner forgot to anchor the posts. Two stall in the back fortunately were empty.

Went to look at a nice pa-24 180 at Bay Bridge last weekend. Nice mechanically but dated panel. Tied down. I hope the seller gets it undercover. I guess we'll see how motivated he is!
 
Chesapeake bay - on the water here in kilmarnock. Spent the entire day taking the sails off the boats, pulling them away from the dock, setting anchors and tying to trees etc. Fishing boat is on the lift cranked up about 8 feet off the water and tied in case it still floats off.

Cleaned out 2 carbureators on generators for my neighbors, and gave ours a test run.

I'm exhausted. Time to crack a cold one and maybe fidget with the lines on the boats one more time after dinner
 
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All this talk about hurricanes got me to thinking that I should fetch the pre-cut plywood pieces for the inn (from the previous owner), and move them out to our new hangar. (Before the hangar, we had no where to store them, so we left them in one of their garages.)

Mary called to let them know we'd be picking them up. Their answer: "Huh?"

Rut-roh.

Sure 'nuff. No one who currently works there has a clue what we're talking about. Their maintenance guys says there is no plywood in that garage. In the 18 months we've owned this place, they have evidently cleaned house, employee-wise, and apparently had one helluva bonfire with our hurricane plywood.

*sigh* So, I just bought ten sheets of plywood, and will spend a few hours next week cutting them to fit our windows. Luckily the window frames are all pre-drilled for retaining pins, so all we have to do is set the appropriate-sized piece of plywood in front of the glass, and insert a retaining pin. It won't take ten minutes to do the entire inn.

The good news for you guys out East? I expected your hurricane to have driven the cost of plywood through the roof, as happened after Katrina. (Even in Iowa, plywood prices doubled!) Instead, it was actually on SALE, costing less than usual.
 
PTO powered generator plugged into a switching panel. Turn off the main breaker, then switch on the different circuits powered by the gen. Our horses are free run, they can choose the pasture with with a cedar grove or hang out in the bottom of the old bank barn. Chip I didn't realize before but I'm right down the road from you (New Market). Howard
 

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I need to get around to setting something up so I can disconnect the house from the grid and backfeed the house from a generator in the garage...

We're cutting our weekend plans in NYC short and returning to DC tomorrow, Sunday train service is gone and Saturday isn't looking great either.
 
After having a three day blackout just due to some short 50MPH gust fronts...
BUY A GENERATOR NOW!

you'se right coasters are going to be without power for weeks!

Get the Briggs and Stratton at Lowes.

What will happen: The big box stores will sell out on the first lights out and then have the friendly greeter LAUGH at you when you show up later.

They will send convoys of trucks (assuming the roads are usable) bringing generators from warehouses out west so the stores will have restocked by day 3.

As in my case this will be the day when the lights come back on.

Pro tip: If you have Amazon Prime they will ship anything overnight for $3.99. They have generators. SUCKAS!
 
mikea said:
BUY A GENERATOR NOW!
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I'll second that recommendation.

The power grid on our island is so fragile that it goes down every time it RAINS. (Luckily, it almost never rains!) I can't imagine what would happen here in the event of a full-blown hurricane -- but we're just 12' above sea level, so my guess is that it won't be good.

Because of this, we've got two 2,000 watt Honda generators that can be hooked together to make one 4,000 watt generator. This is enough to keep the beer cold, the all-important A/C unit running, and a few lights and computers going.

Maybe it's not 90+ degrees every day where you live, and air conditioning isn't that important. Down here in the Gulf, it's not something I would want to do without for more than a few hours.
 
mikea said:
After having a three day blackout just due to some short 50MPH gust fronts...
BUY A GENERATOR NOW!

you'se right coasters are going to be without power for weeks!

Get the Briggs and Stratton at Lowes.

What will happen: The big box stores will sell out on the first lights out and then have the friendly greeter LAUGH at you when you show up later.

They will send convoys of trucks (assuming the roads are usable) bringing generators from warehouses out west so the stores will have restocked by day 3.

As in my case this will be the day when the lights come back on.

Pro tip: If you have Amazon Prime they will ship anything overnight for $3.99. They have generators. SUCKAS!
Click to expand...

Correction, Mike: the big box stores are ALREADY sold out.

Went to my local Home Depot tonight (hate going there) to get a spark plug (%$&^*^ - which is WHY I hate going to HD) for the generator and the lawn mower. Big sign on door: "We will not accept returns of any generator that has had gas in it" - right below it: "Sold out of generators".

If you check online for HD in Virginia, you will find generators already sold out.
 
Latest from TWC says the track will be further off shore than previously predicted, and wind speed will be dropping faster. What was going to be 90-100 here is now looking like 75-80. Works for me.
 
snaps from a few moments ago.
Carolinas are starting to feel it. Highest winds noted are low 40kts right now 1045CDT
pretty tight surface isobars.
 

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There's a really interesting psychology about this. My spouse had just discovered (I told you, dear) that her NYC to ORD flight has been Cx'd by AA. She turned down an evac offer this after noon by Seneca II.

This offer included her Mom.

They're in Queens, NY so they're in for a penny and in for a pound. they'll be less invulnerable after the power goes out. The subways all shut down at 12 N on saturday.

Sigh.
 
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