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| DATE : Saturday, February 22nd, 2003 | TIME : 12:30 (18:30 ZULU) |
| FROM : Stinson Municipal Airport (KSSF) | TO : Burnet Municipal Airport (KBMQ) |
| FLIGHT TIME (Total) : 3.0 hours | AIRCRAFT : 2000 Cessna Skyhawk (C172R) |
| TERMINAL AREA FORECAST (TAF) : San Antonio TX [KSAT] amended terminal forecast issued on the 22nd at 7:45am CST (1345Z), 8am CST (14Z): wind 310 degrees at 6 knots, visibility greater than 6 miles, sky clear, 10:00am CST (1600Z): wind 310 degrees at 12 knots, visibility greater than 6 miles, sky clear, 2:00pm CST (2000Z): wind 270 degrees at 9 knots, visibility greater than 6 miles, sky clear, 5:00pm CST (2300Z): wind 200 degrees at 7 knots, visibility greater than 6 miles, sky clear |
| METAR (Weather Observed) :
San Antonio TX [KSAT] hourly observation on the 22nd at 8:53am CST (1453Z), wind 300 degrees at 7 knots, visibility 10 miles, sky clear below 12,000 feet, temperature 12C (54F), dewpoint 8C (46F), altimeter 29.87 Burnet TX (Burnet Muni Kate Craddock Field) [KBMQ] automated hourly observation on the 22nd at 8:53am CST (1453Z), wind 320 degrees at 14 knots gusting to 17 knots, visibility 10 miles, sky clear below 12,000 feet, temperature 10C (50F), dewpoint 6C (43F), altimeter 29.85 |
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After surviving a drought of more than a month of no flying, the clear, cloudless sky on Saturday, February 22nd, 2003 could not be turned away. The previous weekend I had worked up a flight plan, using Aeroplanner.com, which would take us north into the Texas Hill Country. The flight would include waypoints for Enchanted Rock and Inks Lake State Parks. I downloaded the flight plan to my Garmin GPSMAP 196 and was all set for the adventure.
My passenger on this trip was my wife, Shannon. Shannon has supported me from day one and having her with me in the cockpit is always a joy. She enjoys flying and is becoming, with each and every trip, a more accomplished aerial photographer. She was armed and dangerous on this trip with her Canon D60 digital camera. We also brought along our Olympus C3040 digital camera to take advantage of its video capture capabilities (it can record a 75 second Quicktime movie). At 12:30pm we had the engine running and were taxiing for takeoff on Runway 27 at Stinson Municipal Airport. The airport was abuzz with activity and we were the fourth airplane in line, awaiting takeoff clearance from the tower. Skyhawk N24445, our aircraft for the trip, was eager to fly and a few moments later we were soaring off the pavement and into the sky. I love takeoffs - my favorite phase of flight - because of that magical moment when you feel that the airplane has broken its bond with the earth. That airy, light feeling as you soar into the sky. We picked up flight following from San Antonio Approach and were provided vectors, for traffic, that sent us directly over International Airport. Shannon was able to capture several shots as we crossed midfield at an altitude of 4,500 feet. We were bumped around a bit by occasional, light turbulence that almost always tried to sneak up just as Shannon pressed the shutter button on her camera! With the passage of a cold front a day or so earlier, we headed north and faced a 10-12 knot headwind. This left us with a ground speed of just over 100 mph. Before long, we could make out the unmistakable site of Enchanted Rock emerge on the horizon. Moments later we were orbiting the huge, granite monolith from an altitude of about 3,800 feet. I made a few calls on the common traffic advisory frequency of nearby Llano Municipal Airport to keep local traffic coming into the area aware of our position. After a couple of orbits around THE ROCK, we headed due east and made our way over Inks Lake State Park on our way to our destination, Burnet Municipal Airport. The CTAF & Unicom frequencies were saturated with radio calls. We were not the only fair weather flyers enjoying a beautiful day of flying!! As we entered the traffic pattern at Burnet, we were advised by folks at the airport that an almost direct crosswind was present with wind coming from 270 to 280 degrees at 15 knots gusting to 17 knots. This was going to be a fun landing! We entered a right downwind for Runway 01, making traffic calls on the CTAF (common traffic advisory frequency). I used the wing-low method of adjusting for the crosswind and made a safe landing. It wasn't one of my best landings but given the circumstances I was satisfied!! We tied down the aircraft and made our way to Faulkner's Air Shop, a fixed-base operator. The folks at Faulkner's were gracious enough to lend us a courtesy car so that we could drive into town and grab a bite to eat. We had the tanks topped off by their friendly staff as we drove to a local Sonic and enjoyed $100 hamburgers (ok....I had a $100 corn dog). We returned to the airport, turned in the car and then spent about an hour and a half at the Highland Lakes Flight Museum. Highlights included an operational DC-3 (a recent acquisition) and several fascinating exhibits. After visiting the museum we returned to Skyhawk 24445 and she welcomed us with outstretched wings. After doing a preflight and determining that she was ready to fly, we taxied down to Runway 01. The wind had diminished significantly since our landing so we enjoyed a smooth takeoff as we turned south to head home. As we entered San Antonio's Class C airspace, we were once again vectored directly over International Airport and were able to capture some thrilling shots of downtown San Antonio. A few minutes later we were in the downwind for Runway 27 at Stinson and on the ground in a jiffy. The end of another fun-filled flight was at hand, but the memories will last a long time! |
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