Thoughts & Ramblings: Flight Time

Today, I planned a flight to Jekyll Island, off the coast of Georgia. Susan and I went there to attend the Commander Owners Fly-in many years ago, but I’ve never flown there myself.

Susan and I left Valkaria at 2:25 PM. I contacted Orlando Approach while overflying Melbourne and asked for flight following at 6,500 feet. I was told to maintain 5,500 feet and that I could only get flight following in his sector. He mentioned that there was some issue transferring flight plans from one sector to another. That was odd. Passing Titusville, Approach ended our flight following. With no more altitude restriction, I climbed to 6,500 feet.

We continued along up the coast as planned. Just south of St. Augustine, I contacted Jacksonville Approach and asked for flight following to Jekyll Island. As we approached Fernandina Beach, Approach asked if I minded flying two miles off the coast, to avoid parachute activity. At 6,500 feet, I responded that I didn’t mind. We soon heard the call out of “Jumpers away”. Once clear of the area, I turned back towards the coast, cancelled flight following, and started descending towards Jekyll Island.

The weather at Jekyll Island did not look good. There was a direct crosswind of 14 knots. The maximum demonstrated crosswind component for the Cherokee is 17 knots. This concerned me. Meanwhile, another pilot in a Jabiru was setting up for a landing on Runway 36. I entered the pattern and followed his lead. He successfully landed and warned me about a wind shear on final. On final, the turbulence increased the lower and closer to the runway that we flew. As we crossed the numbers, I struggled to keep the plane aligned with the runway and descending at a constant rate. I had already considered my options while on downwind, so I was prepared to go around if I wasn’t comfortable with the approach, so that’s what I did. I added full power, climbed away from the runway, and diverted to St. Simons Island, which has a runway more aligned with the wind.

We landed at St. Simons Island at 4:30 PM and taxied to the FBO. Meanwhile, a Cessna Citation jet and a Pilatus turboprop departed. A ‘follow me’ golf cart appeared and we were marshalled to a spot to park. The marshaller offered us a ride back to the FBO and we accepted.

St. Simons Island FBO

Inside the FBO, we found the kitchen and ate our snacks. I pulled out Foreflight and updated my flight plan back to Valkaria. The original plan was to spend a few hours walking around Jekyll Island, then leaving around 6:00 PM. We considered sticking around, but the sky was starting to close over the airport. Instead, we returned to the plane and departed at 5:15 PM.

St. Simons Island FBO

There was a thin, broken layer of clouds over the airport, but it was clear above it. We flew south a few miles before seeing an opening to the west. I climbed up through the opening into the clear blue sky, then turned back to the south. I contacted Jacksonville Approach while passing Fernandina Beach and got flight following back to Valkaria. South of St. Augustine, I realized that Foreflight was not recording the flight, so I manually started recording.

Approaching Melbourne, I cancelled flight following and prepared to land at Valkaria. It was now after 7:00 PM and I was considering doing three take-offs and landings after dark to reset my night currency. I didn’t want to sit at the airport and wait for dark, so we continued flying south past Vero Beach before turning around and returning to Valkaria. We landed at 7:45 PM.

At 8:10 PM, we departed Valkaria again and flew towards Melbourne. Night officially started at 8:19, so we flew outside Melbourne until 8:20, then contacted Melbourne Tower about doing three full stop landings. Tower said that they no longer support pattern work at night, so I asked for one full stop landing followed by a departure to the south.

My experience with Melbourne Tower has always been a little bit tense. I imagine it is due to all of the student traffic that they deal with all the time, but something is always off with them. Tonight was no different. I already felt like Tower was upset with me for asking to do a full stop after he told me they no longer support night pattern work. After landing, I was directed to taxi back to Runway 9L. When I was ready to take off, I asked for a south departure and was told to fly to the river before turning south and no response was required. I read that back, thinking he meant that I didn’t need to tell him that I was turning south. He replied in a flabbergasted tone, “I just said not the respond.” Ok, whatever. Clearly there was room for misinterpretation in what he just said, and who doesn’t read back a take-off clearance? I took off and flew straight out to the east. Over the river, Tower told me to turn right, frequency change approved, and press Ident to respond. I couldn’t read the transponder buttons in the dark, so I had to turn on my headlamp before finding and pressing the button. Tower than said, “Ident received”.

The new plan was to do two more take-offs from Valkaria. After shaking off the unusual vibes from Melbourne Tower, I prepared myself to enter the black hole that is Valkaria at night. There were two other planes in the pattern. I followed one for the first landing, then had the pattern to myself for the second. I landed at 9:05 PM.

The flight tracks are shown below.