A week in Orlando

[yvesg]

Have a nice flight to Orlando Ned. Stay away from Mickey Mouse.

Looks like another cold snap is coming our way.

Do you realize guys that we still have snow around here?

Yves

 

 

 

[PaulM]

I would usually clear customs nearer the border.. KBUF, KIAG..   KRUT, KALB.  To get it over quickly and give maximum flexibility once cleared. 

If you really want to make a longer first leg did you think about KABE?  they have daily M-F customs, are almost as far as KPHL, and certainly more reasonable $$ than KPHL. 

Otherwise clear customs.. then fly close by for fuel.. KVAY

[Ned Gravel]

Paul:. 

That has been my normal approach. Right up until CBP started differentiating between the permanent CBP posts and those "on demand."  Used to use Syracuse, but it is now an on-demand station.  Closest permanent facility at an airport is Rochester - but it adds nearly 80 miles to the trip.  So Philly it is.  

Did not know Allentown had a CBP post onsite.  Why is it not also an on demand station?

 

[PaulM]

KABE lists the same hours a KSYR... so perhaps it is an as requested airport.. but not a customs fee airport like KMMU ($25) (Where they will dispatch an agent from KEWR).    

It could  be  that KABE is too far for temp workers.... there is no border or other site to move them from.   

[yvesg]

Ned, have you tried Ogdensburg? Last time I went to Florida It took 10 minutes they only check our 

passports and that was it... no filling of any form, no getting inside. It is true it was around Christmas time though...

Yves

[carusoam]

Will you be traveling V1?

Cheapest self serve fuel in NJ is usually at 47N.  Central Jersey. Restaurant in walking distance.

MSC is N87.  Robbinsville.

Now that I've stated that, you probably won't need them. 

Tail winds,

-a-

[Ned Gravel]

Carusoam:

Thanks for this.  We did travel V1, but between Kinston and Grand Strand (Myrtle Beach North) SC.  Which is where we are now.  

We spent last night in Edenton, NC with Mimi (great hosts / fantastic home) following a tour of Philly at the behest of Philly Approach and Philly Tower.  Shoulda listened to PaulM.

See http://flightaware.com/live/flight/CFSWR/history/20160421/1400Z/CYRO/KPHL.  What does one do (without thinking) when over the threshold and your headset rings with the words "Mooney - Go Round"??  See the second loop in the tour.  

When I finally got down, I was asked to call Tracon.  They re-checked the tapes and today they confirmed those words on the tape.  

More Pics and Story tomorrow.  Today we are one night in a hotel before 4 hours flying tomorrow.  Is this really the best time for a Foreflight download?

[carusoam]

Mooney going round...

My instant reply, no additional thought required....

Follow-up: Was the go around called for Mooney C-fswr?

The picture shows you did the right thing.

Enjoy the next leg.  I look forward to the pictures and the explanation.

Best regards,

-a-

[midlifeflyer]

3 hours ago, carusoam said:

Mooney going round...

My instant reply, no additional thought required....

You betcha! And even that is after starting the go-around.

[Amelia]

I hope the stay in Orlando is lovely, and the northbound leg includes another stop in Edenton. What lovely fun people! 

[yvesg]

Flanders is definitively funny!

Yves

[Ned Gravel]

Sorry about being late to report.

From the beginning.  

Getting out of Ottawa was severe clear.  The strategic weather plan looked good.

Getting into Philly (because I was looking for a permanent CBP installation) got me into a little bit of trouble.  (see previous post).  With two hours gone from one tank, I took no chances and switched over to the one that had one hour (at least) still in it before I started doing the merry-go-round with Philly approach.  Good thing too.  The anticipated 30 minute evolution turned into 62 minutes of fun and games.  CPB was the least of my worries and they were very understanding.  From the time I was abreast the numbers on 35 until I initiated the go-round, 12 aircraft landed on either 27L, 27R, or 35.  CRJ, Embraer, Boeing, Airbus, King Airs, all seemingly unperturbed by the turbulence at 3000' and below.

The go-round was initiated by the radio call (not willing to speculate where it came from because the folks in Philly tower are doing that now).  As I looked right while crossing over the threshold to 35, I saw either a 737 or a A320/21 touch down on 27R.  My instantaneous reaction was to land long and not touch down before the intersection.  That option disappeared with the words in my headset that said "Mooney Go Round!"

After touchdown and customs clearance (very nice CPB officer who was only worried about having the correct form for us to complete) I was able to start thinking about some lunch for Ute and going to Edenton, Mimi's home drome.  Gas was expensive, as already mentioned, and we finally lifted off closer to 3:00 pm than I wanted.  Smooth flight over a lower broken layer to stay east of the SFRA.  

We crossed the mouth of the Chesapeake about an hour later and we were descended to the bump and grind below 3000' again for our last bit into Edenton. 

Amelia (Mimi) has a beautiful home and we prepared our Pimms recipe for her and Rob (and two other guests) overlooking Albermarle Sound from their back yard.

During the evening Mimi and I discussed options for being able to go to First Flight before continuing south.  It did not look good.

In the end, we decided to see what would develop after we woke up.  But the vacation had now started.

[Ned Gravel]

22 April.

Woke to overcast skies and an iffy prediction for being able to go South at all.  Early morning departure called for and First Flight was not going to be one of our stops today.

So we planned for getting to within two hours or so of Kissimmee.  Something like Augusta or further south.  We initially picked Augusta because it offered hotel accommodation (like Hampton Inn or equivalent) for less than $100, instead of the $200 being advertised for Charleston or Savannah.  But the squall lines building from the Low over Detroit were not going to allow us to get there. So we settled on a shorter flight to avoid all the weather.  And we ended up on Myrtle Beach North (Grand Strand).

Difference between two hotel chains.  Hampton Inn is owned by Hilton.  Marriott is not.  When we departed Edenton, we called the Hampton Inn to cancel our reservation.  "Thunderstorms," we said.  "If we try to fly to you, we will die," we said.  

"Don't care," said the hotel management.  "Cancellation policy is ........."  So we left it and flew.

"Prefered pilot rate is $97," said Marriott in Grand Strand.   So we stayed there.

After further discussion (from our room at the Marriott) the customer service agency for Hampton Inn will refund us the money, even if the hotel does not.  

[Marauder]

Ned -- either you are the bravest man I know or the craziest!

In the 20 years I have live here I try to stay away from Philly's airspace if I can. Instead (keeping with the Florida theme), you flew right into the alligator's mouth! I'm wondering if they will ever determine who made the call. Let us know if they ever make a conclusion on what happened.

Thanks for posting the trip log!

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[Ned Gravel]

23 April.

Mostly non-eventful flying from Grand Strand to Kissimmee.  ki-SIMM-ee, not KISS-im-ee (so I have been corrected more than once).

The weather from overnight had departed over the Atlantic and we were looking at 1500' overcast for our departure but tops around 4000'.  Benign clouds and clear flying above.  So nice!!  We planned for Jacksonville Executive (Craig).  A little over two hours and into the soup for the last 30 minutes or so while manoeuvring for the turn to final on 32.  Landed in the middle of a "Wings and Wheels" show on the ramp.  

On departure for the last hour of flying to get to Kissimmee, they had trouble both reading my transponder and getting my radio signal.  Still in the soup, I finally switched back over to the Tower frequency and he gave me another Approach frequency.  All of a sudden we were fivers.  OK.  Up out of the soup for 20 minutes before being sent back in for the approach into Kissimmee (Orlando Class B keeps folks down like Chicago does if you are not one of the lucky ones to actually land there).

As you can see from the plot below, they modified my flight plan more than once in flight.  OMN VOR was out of service so I only had the CRG and ORL VORs to keep me legal.  But I was really operating under vectors anyway.

Finally turned over to Orlando South Approach and one of the absolutely sexiest voices on a female controller I have ever heard.  Different than her colleagues, she spoke slowly and enunciated every word clearly.  It was so bad that Ute started stroking my shoulder as we descended out of the soup into the convective bump and grind of a Florida spring day.  The joke was that the last letter in our callsign is "Romeo" so that must mean something right?  Sheesh.

Completed the visual to 33 at Kissimmee at 14:30 local.  Making for approximately 10.5 hours of flying between Ottawa and Orlando.  I know it is not as fast as Clarence's 400 or even Mikes 201 with long range tanks, but I don't care.  This is me enjoying it.

Now we have a week of Epcot Center, Disneyworld, Universal Studios and for today - Cape Canaveral.

 

[Marauder]

23 April.

Mostly non-eventful flying from Grand Strand to Kissimmee.  ki-SIMM-ee, not KISS-im-ee (so I have been corrected more than once).

The weather from overnight had departed over the Atlantic and we were looking at 1500' overcast for our departure but tops around 4000'.  Benign clouds and clear flying above.  So nice!!  We planned for Jacksonville Executive (Craig).  A little over two hours and into the soup for the last 30 minutes or so while manoeuvring for the turn to final on 32.  Landed in the middle of a "Wings and Wheels" show on the ramp.  

On departure for the last hour of flying to get to Kissimmee, they had trouble both reading my transponder and getting my radio signal.  Still in the soup, I finally switched back over to the Tower frequency and he gave me another Approach frequency.  All of a sudden we were fivers.  OK.  Up out of the soup for 20 minutes before being sent back in for the approach into Kissimmee (Orlando Class B keeps folks down like Chicago does if you are not one of the lucky ones to actually land there).

As you can see from the plot below, they modified my flight plan more than once in flight.  OMN VOR was out of service so I only had the CRG and ORL VORs to keep me legal.  But I was really operating under vectors anyway.

Finally turned over to Orlando South Approach and one of the absolutely sexiest voices on a female controller I have ever heard.  Different than her colleagues, she spoke slowly and enunciated every word clearly.  It was so bad that Ute started stroking my shoulder as we descended out of the soup into the convective bump and grind of a Florida spring day.  The joke was that the last letter in our callsign is "Romeo" so that must mean something right?  Sheesh.

Completed the visual to 33 at Kissimmee at 14:30 local.  Making for approximately 10.5 hours of flying between Ottawa and Orlando.  I know it is not as fast as Clarence's 400 or even Mikes 201 with long range tanks, but I don't care.  This is me enjoying it.

Now we have a week of Epcot Center, Disneyworld, Universal Studios and for today - Cape Canaveral.

 

Nice job ROMEO!

[Guest]

12 minutes ago, Marauder said:

Nice job ROMEO!

Is this a new name in the making for the Caravan?

Clarence

[Ned Gravel]

I have been remiss in not finishing the story of our trip to Orlando.

On Sunday, 24 April, we visited the Kennedy Space Center.  Full of memorabilia of folks that have truly "slipped the surly bonds of earth."  All the way to the Moon and back.  Even when you are looking at the history, you face reminders that the journey is still going on.  

One or two exhibits talk about their manned mission to Mars and the other parts of the Solar System.  The new Orion spacecraft has apparently already been built and the rocket engines are still undergoing some testing.

[Ned Gravel]

25 and 26 April were quiet ones in the Orlando area.  We lazed around and saw local things.  Some not much different from home.  However, on 27 April, we visited the Epcot Center.  I like Epcot because it is about possibilities.

We did all the expected things, including the space launch crew ride.  There were four of us together so we divvied up the four jobs.  My friend was the pilot and Ute was the Engineer.  Good motion simulator ride.  

We liked the international pavilion area the best, especially the German village.  Gutes Bier und Bratwurst zum Mittagessen. Wir haben ein echtes deutsches Dorf besucht. The fact that three of the four of us were born in the Schwarzwald may have something to do with that.  

I liked the Canada pavilion best (who knew?).  Its big building is based on the Chateau Frontenac in Quebec City.  

We ended the day with their fireworks display and picked up an action shot of all of us on the way back to the condo.

 

[Ned Gravel]

Did not do too much on the 28th, but on the 29th I started my typical obsessing about weather for the trip home.  It looked like the Eastern Seaboard was going to go through another round of squall lines from SC through to NY starting on the 30th of April.  So we decided to leave a day early and let our friends enjoy the condo for the remainder of the day.  They left the next morning from Orlando International to Toronto.

We lifted off from KISM at 2:00 pm on the 29th to try and make it into VA by 8:00 with one fuel stop.  We did not get our very seductive female Orlando terminal controller this time.  Above the clag, tops were between 6,000' and 7,000' most of the way.  Approach into Columbia, GA was through a broken layer and very easy at the end of a very pleasant 2 hrs and 45 minutes of flying. 

We departed about 60 minutes later and made it into Roanoke, VA through about 3000' of overcast in just under 2 hours, right before sunset.  Very nice little airport and very good FBO (formerly Landmark and now Signature) with good hotel deals at national brand hotel chains. 

The next morning was 700' and rain, so we waited until around noon to ensure that TCUs were gone by the time we were airborne.  You can see the dreaded inbound system as we lifted off.  We were two hours ahead of it at that time and our tops were at 5,000'.  We were between layers until we crossed into PA, when it was sky clear above 6000'.  

We made it all the way to Syracuse, NY (for the eAPIS notification and the CANPASS call) in slightly less than 3 hours but the only challenge was moderate turbulence into Syracuse.  

We had to wait long enough to give our own CBSA customs folks their two-hour mandatory lead time and we lifted off out of Syracuse about 100 minutes after we got there.  Very nice and easy flight into Rockcliffe in just over one hour.  

Home after a total of 18 hours to and from Orlando.  Sightseeing was fun.  Visiting with our friends was fun.  Visiting with Amelia and Rob was especially fun.  Flying was the best.

I would do it again in a heartbeat.  Just need to have work stop interfering with life.  

[Guest]

3 hours ago, Ned Gravel said:

Did not do too much on the 28th, but on the 29th I started my typical obsessing about weather for the trip home.  It looked like the Eastern Seaboard was going to go through another round of squall lines from SC through to NY starting on the 30th of April.  So we decided to leave a day early and let our friends enjoy the condo for the remainder of the day.  They left the next morning from Orlando International to Toronto.

We lifted off from KISM at 2:00 pm on the 29th to try and make it into VA by 8:00 with one fuel stop.  We did not get our very seductive female Orlando terminal controller this time.  Above the clag, tops were between 6,000' and 7,000' most of the way.  Approach into Columbia, GA was through a broken layer and very easy at the end of a very pleasant 2 hrs and 45 minutes of flying. 

We departed about 60 minutes later and made it into Roanoke, VA through about 3000' of overcast in just under 2 hours, right before sunset.  Very nice little airport and very good FBO (formerly Landmark and now Signature) with good hotel deals at national brand hotel chains. 

The next morning was 700' and rain, so we waited until around noon to ensure that TCUs were gone by the time we were airborne.  You can see the dreaded inbound system as we lifted off.  We were two hours ahead of it at that time and our tops were at 5,000'.  We were between layers until we crossed into PA, when it was sky clear above 6000'.  

We made it all the way to Syracuse, NY (for the eAPIS notification and the CANPASS call) in slightly less than 3 hours but the only challenge was moderate turbulence into Syracuse.  

We had to wait long enough to give our own CBSA customs folks their two-hour mandatory lead time and we lifted off out of Syracuse about 100 minutes after we got there.  Very nice and easy flight into Rockcliffe in just over one hour.  

Home after a total of 18 hours to and from Orlando.  Sightseeing was fun.  Visiting with our friends was fun.  Visiting with Amelia and Rob was especially fun.  Flying was the best.

I would do it again in a heartbeat.  Just need to have work stop interfering with life.  

Ned,

why wait so long for CanPass?  I call them the day before, then call on departure from US airport and update them on arrival, then you don't have to wait.

Clarence

[Ned Gravel]

Clarence:

I was told that it is different when CBSA agents are normally working at the AOE than if they have to drive to get to it.  Waterloo and Toronto Island both have permanent shops. Rockcliffe does not.

I try not to argue with them.