Flight Time–Fernandina Beach

Yesterday, the NASA crewed launch of the Starliner was scheduled, which resulted in a mega-TFR covering most of Brevard County, including Valkaria, so no flight plans were made. The launch didn’t go off as scheduled, and now the TFR is gone, so I had to plan a flight. My first thought was Georgia, but the weather wasn’t as good as I wanted, so I pulled back the final destination to Amelia Island, which is just north of Jacksonville. I’ve been there before, but it’s OK to re-visit airports, now and then. For the trip back, I planned to stop at New Smyrna Beach and get some cheap fuel, and maybe meet Mom for lunch.

Susan and I were in the air by 10:20 and heading north. The forecast showed scattered and broken clouds west of the route, but over the coast showed clear skies. As appears to be the norm, there were low clouds around Daytona, so I climbed over them to 5,500 feet and stayed there until we needed to go higher near Jacksonville.

After passing Jacksonville, the skies ahead cleared, so I began the descent to Fernandina Beach. We were still at 4,000 feet when we reached the airport, so I continued north into Georgia, then turned back to the airport. As we turned around, we crossed over Fort Clinch State Park.

Fort Clinch State Park

On the ground, we taxied to the Bent Wing and were marshalled to a spot. We went inside and said hello, then used the facilities and ate some snacks. Given there was a ramp fee, I let them put 15 gallons of expensive fuel in the plane (which waived the ramp fee). While we waited, a Pilatus PC-12 arrived. I checked the latest weather and saw that there were thunderstorms and showers building to the south of Valkaria. Susan called Mom to let her know that we planned to go straight back to Valkaria.

Inside the Bent Wing

Inside the Bent Wing

Back in the plane, we departed at 1:10. After waiting for a TBM to land, we took off and climbed to 7,500 feet. The air was smooth and cool, up above all the low clouds. We were back in Valkaria two hours later.

The flight tracks are shown below.

Valkaria to Fernandina Beach

Fernandina Beach to Valkaria

Flight Time: 3.8 hours
Total Time: 592 hours