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Let's Fly to Virginia

"I want to fly to Charlottesville, Virginia", Susan declared in that tone of voice that indicates she is quite definite.

. "Okay, what's there?" I asked. 

"Thomas Jefferson's home, and I want to see it," she replied.

We are fortunate to have a Piper Cherokee PA28-180D, and this would be a good test of the airplanes capability for a trip over the Appalachian Range and about 650 nautical miles away from our home in central Illinois.

I laid out the route using instrument low altitude enroute charts and entered the route of flight into our Airmap 300 to simulate the flight and get some easy answers about distances, time enroute,etc. We actually had a couple of weeks to plan the trip since it was only mid June and we wanted to be there before the 4th of July. 

Since I teach school, I am off in the summer and we could write our own ticket as far as when we departed.  The weather cooperated nicely and we took the first leg of our trip to Mansfield, Ohio. We climbed through a broken layer around 3,500 and arrived between layers at 7,000. On a hot summer day this was the perfect altitude for comfort and a smooth ride. Just at the Indiana border, every cloud below us disappeared and we were in CAVU over Lafayette, Kokomo and Fort Wayne.  We looked down to landmarks I pointed out to Susan from living in several of these communities years before. We talked to the controllers along the way, checked with flight service and the weather was good all the way to Mansfield. About 25 miles out we were given 3,000 and the bumps were pretty bad below the cumulous clouds that we once again encountered rising in the afternoon heat. We pulled back the throttle and stayed well within maneuvering speed and arrived at Mansfield after extending our downwind for a business jet who was going to practice an aborted takeoff just ahead of us.

The previous year we had discovered Mansfield. There is an old state prison there where the film, "Shawshank Redemption" was filmed. We had taken the tour and enjoyed the marvelous gardens and flowers of the King Estate also there in Mansfield.

This time, we wanted to see the King Estate again, stay overnight and fly on to Charlottesville the next day.

Morning came and it was a clear summer morning with bright sunshine and what promised to be a beautiful flight. By the time breakfast was finished, the preflight was complete and luggage was packed away, the temperature was on the rise, also the humid morning air began lifting. 

We picked up our IFR clearance and pointed the nose of the PA28-180 to the east, climbing to 7,000 MSL.  We knew the mountains east of us would be rising up to meet us on this flight, so some extra altitude would be required further down the airway. On a flight the previous summer we had gone to see Frank Lloyd Wright's Falling Water home in western Pennsylvania. This flight would take us right over that same area. It would be fun to look down and see if we could retrace our steps. 

As we continued, the cumulous clouds continued to thicken amidst the summer haze that gives rise to the name "Smoky Mountains."  The ride in cumulous clouds is always bumpy, so we asked for higher.  At 11,000 feet we were in smooth air and well above the clouds and mountains below. I had filed a route that took us north of the tallest of the mountains, but ATC called and said, "We're going to give you a shortcut in a few miles."   And 10 minutes later they called with "direct" Charlottesville.  I remember thinking, I feel like an airliner here, as I continuously looked for potential landing areas in case of engine problems.  The 0-360 ran smoothly as we started our descent. Out of 11 thousand for 7 and then on down to 5.  Descending through the clouds, in and out, what a fabulous experience. Piloting your own aircraft, going somewhere you really want to go, enjoying the benefit and pride of doing things well, it was a great flight.

The weather at our destination was good VFR weather so we did the visual approach and landed with a sense of being transported into an exciting new place. We were met by a courteous and helpful ground crew. Unpacked our gear, tied down the plane and picked up a rental car.  Life in Virginia was very good.

Keep flying safely,   Larry