When a free sandwich makes an afternoon.
A flight from KHEF -> KOKV -> KLUA on a cool October morning (then afternoon) exemplified why flying GA is soo fun! This day started as a question mark with some gusty winds (15-19kts), but at home-base it was right down the runway. Most of the airports within 45-90 minutes were also reporting gusty conditions, so, the idea was to at least find the windsocks pointing down the runway.
The first destination Winchester Regional Airport (KOKV) had a runway with favorable winds. Just so happened, I also needed the Aviation Ambassadors stamp as well. So that was the destination. To keep clear of the D.C. SFRA I used Casanova (CSN) and Linden (LDN) VORTACS as way points in my GPS. Also approaching from LDN provided a great entry for a left downwind for runway 32.
This wasn’t a particularly long flight, but at 70nm it met the requirements for a cross country flight and allowed for a nice cruise at 5,500′. On approach to Winchester everything was looking great, winds were 20° off center from the right hand side. Before leaving Manassas, winds were reporting gusty, but only just over 10kts. During the initial decent into Winchester, ForeFlight was indicating steady winds at 8kts. Should be an routine landing.
Well, I suspect there is never anything routine in aviation and occasionally, for the sake or proficiency, the aviation Gods demand you demonstrate a go-around. At around 50′ AGL, I caught a gust from the right which I was not prepared for. My left wing dipped and I was pushed far enough to the left that I was almost no longer over asphalt. I then stabilized the aircraft, pushed the throttle to full power and pitched the nose up slightly to begin a climb. As power came in and airspeed increased I retracted the flaps by one position (with the wind down the runway I had only used 25°) to 10° then as speed continued to increase 0°.
During my initial training, I bounced the C172 I was in and decided to try again rather than continue the landing attempt. This was my first go-around, and almost my last… After applying full throttle, I immediately went for flaps, but instead of one notch at a time, I went from full flaps to 0°! Luckily, as I was taught, I was calling out what I was doing and when I said “Flaps 0” my instructor looked down and quickly rectified the precarious situation I had put us in.
The next approach was smooth and without incident. I was soon tying down the aircraft to walk the ramp to the temporary FBO (the terminal is being rebuilt) to get my stamp.
Now, you may be thinking: “Free sandwiches at a temporary FBO should be avoided!”, and you would be a wise pilot. But this was not the sandwich stop. While on the ramp, I was recalling my apprehension earlier in the morning. I’ve had my share of gusty “mishaps” but today’s gusts were not as bad as the TAFs were predicting. And, as the day wore on, the gusts were to subside. So, like any pilot would do, I decided to fly to another new place!
Onward to Luray Caverns Airport (KLUA) (and the free sandwich)! Of course, I didn’t know there would be a sandwich, I was interested in the views and with Luray in-between two mountain ranges (what west coast aviators would call “hills”), I knew I would have a scenic flight. I decided 3,500′ would be a good cruising altitude and kept me clear of any trees. Before I left Winchester, I did a quick brief on Luray and found that the traffic pattern was right for 22 and left for 4. I would be landing on 4 today, I decided to enter left traffic on the crosswind to avoid overflying the shopping center and residential neighborhood. As I approached the field, I found no traffic in the pattern and there was no activity on comm. So, crosswind entry and left traffic led me to a very smooth touchdown 200′ past the numbers.
After initially taxing to the shack that was the previous “terminal”, a gentleman on UNICOM asked if I needed services. I stated that I was there for the Aviation Ambassador stamp and he directed me to continue to taxi to a very nice brand new terminal building off the 22 end of the runway.
As the wind was almost non-existent here, I didn’t bother with the ropes and just used the parking brake to keep the aircraft from rolling away. Walked into the brand new terminal (which still had the new terminal smell) and got my stamp.
This my dear reader, is where I was offered that free sandwich. Apparently, the day prior was a fly-in and free pork sandwiches were provided to the pilots. Well, there were leftovers and the airport manager (I’m assuming) asked if I was hungry and to take a walk to the hanger 100 yards away.
This is the coolest part of GA flying. The people at these small airports are the nicest and most genuine people out there. Their hospitality and willingness to give you a sandwich or lend you the crew car is what makes GA special. I am privileged to be a pilot and appreciate all the people out there that make each trip a trip to remember…
Oh, right…
We weren’t quite done yet. If you were wondering, the sandwich was good, but this isn’t a food blog. Back at Manassas, the ATIS was reporting gusty conditions still. Typically, due to the hangers and large FBO building at the south end of the east ramp, there can be some challenging conditions when the wind is blowing. However, today, it was down the runway, well mostly. Even though the wind was 10° off center, gusty conditions can make your landing a little more difficult than it should.
All was going well, typical approach (Manassas is a towered class delta airport) left base to final for 34R. Recently, my landings into Manassas have been high and I’ve either gone long or have slipped to lose altitude. This time, I was actively attempting to correct and carefully managing my altitude.
If I were in the pattern, I would be about 800′ AGL when turning final, but when coming in on base, I’m usually at pattern of 1,200′. What I’ve come to realize, I was not descending while coming in on base and end up turning final at pattern altitude (funny story for another post, on my PPL ride, I had to slip from pattern altitude to land 1 mile final).
But this landing wasn’t without some mild heroics needed. As I was on final, maybe 100′ AGL, a gust hit me. It was straight on, but 15kts. Now I was still descending, but not moving forward as fast. Added some power and avoided hitting the large array of lights at the end of the runway. Straightening out from the tiny crab angle and I plopped onto the 150′ wide runway with a little tap just past the numbers.
And that, my friends, is how you combine an airplane with a sandwich to have a fine afternoon!
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