Flight Time–St. Augustine

Today, I decided to fly to another first-for-me airport – St. Augustine. The cloud coverage maps showed the skies clearing along the coast by mid-afternoon, so I planned to start the flight around 3:00 and return before sunset.

The flight north was pretty standard. I climbed to 4,500 feet, then requested flight following from Orlando Approach. Passing the Kennedy Space Center, we could clearly see, and smell, the smoke from the recent fires. Soon I was handed off to Daytona Approach, then cancelled flight following about 20 miles south of St. Augustine. After getting the airport information, I contacted Tower and was told to enter the right downwind for runway 13. After landing, I asked Ground for permission to taxi to the self-serve fuel pumps.

On the ramp at St. Augustine

After topping the tanks, Andrew and I took a short break, then climbed back into the plane. I was given taxi instructions back to runway 13, where we departed straight out towards the coast. During the climb out, Andrew took some pictures of the Northrop Grumman facility. This is where they build the E-2D aircraft.

Northrop Grumman E-2D factory

Once clear of the St. Augustine Class D airspace, I turned towards the town of St. Augustine. Andrew took pictures of the town, including the castle and lighthouse.

St. Augustine

St. Augustine lighthouse

We then climbed to 5,500 feet and cruised down the coast. As we approached the southern end of the restricted airspace surrounding the Kennedy Space Center, I thought it might be fun to turn left and continue flying down the coast. So, I turned left after crossing Highway 528 and flew to Cocoa Beach. Along the way, we passed over Cocoa Village and the ship canal.

Cocoa Village

The ship canal at Cape Canaveral

At Cocoa Beach, I turned south and followed the coast. We passed by Melbourne around 6:50, but I wanted to keep flying. I continued south to Vero Beach, then turned around and flew north along the Indian River. We landed at Valkaria around 7:15. With the sun behind the trees and the light breeze, it actually felt cool and refreshing.

Cocoa Beach

The flight tracks are shown below.

Valkaria to St. Augustine

St. Augustine to Valkaria

Flight Time: 3.4 hours
Total Time: 586 hours