Emory's First Flight / River Route

First time out to the airport in about a month and and a half ... Wind and Weather was looking pretty good ... Wind from the South East at 8 kts ... We will be using runway 13 for tonight's flight ... This will be Emory's first flight is a Private Aircraft ... My first passenger as a Private Pilot ... 

KSGJ 262158Z 10008KT 10SM CLR 25/13 A3020 RMK AO2 SLP227 T02500133

The plan was to travel West to the St John's ... Then North to Jacksonville ... East to the Atlantic ... South back to St Augustine ... 80 Miles total distance ... 

Pre-Flight went well ... We will be flying N5165B ... We caught the fuel truck on the ramp ... They were kind enough to top off the tanks and check the oil in N5165B ... 

I did my flight training with Florida Aviation ... Great people ... Very easy to rent aircraft during flight training ... Just as easy as a private pilot ...

On the way to the airport, Emory and I went over some of the safety items ... We also talked about some of the things we would see on the flight ... I explained to Emory that I could use her help looking for other airplanes and birds ... Pretty quiet night in St Augustine ... No Planes, No Birds ... Emory got a nice photo of the Inter Coastal Water Way and the Atlantic Ocean ...

Once we got up to Cruise Altitude ... 3000' ... We got this self photo ... Not so bad, a little cheesy on my part ... 

Emory was able to identify her school middle school ... "Looks allot different from up here" ... 6 school days left this year ... 

Emory was enamored with the homes on the St John's River ... And the long docks the reach out into the river ...

We headed North along the St John's River towards Jacksonville ... Great to have Emory along ... Working with her photography skills ... Here is a picture of downtown Jacksonville ... Usually I am flying the plane, talking on the radio, watching for traffic, and navigating ... Great to have a photographer along ... Less workload for the pilot ...

As we approached Jacksonville from the South West, in the distance you can see the Hart and Matthews bridges ...

Hart Bridge

As we flew over downtown, Emory got a great shot of the Main Street Bridge ...

Here is one of the buildings in the downtown section of Jacksonville ... 

Emory quickly spotted Everbank Field, Home of the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Gator Bowl ... The Matthews bridge is in the background ... 

I think Emory was picking out seats for the the upcoming season ... Nice One Emory ...

As we departed the downtown area we passed by the Dames Point Bridge and Blount Island, the Port in Jacksonville on the St John's River ... You can see a Car Carrier exiting to the right and heading out to the mouth of the St John's River and the Atlantic Ocean ...

On the way back down the coast we passed right by TPC Sawgrass, Ponte Vedra, FL ... Home of the Players Tournament ... Emory caught a quick photo as we passes over the 17th hole ... The Island Green ...

Quick flight from Ponte Vedra, Fl back to St Augustine ... We did 2 touch and go's and then a full stop landing ... Taxied back to Florida Aviation and secured the plane ... All in all a good flight ... Emory was a perfect first passenger ... She had a good time ... When I asked her which part she liked best, she said "The landings at the end ... I really felt like I was flying when we were going up and then back down again ... "

First Flight as a Licensed Private Pilot

I was able to get out for a quick flight this morning ... First time in the air since passing my Private Pilot check ride ... Official License came in the mail last week ... Something to be proud of ... Special thanks to Jay and Shiloh for all the help preparing for my Check Ride ...  

Private Pilot License

Took off from St Augustine at about 10:20am and headed west ...

Today's Flight

Flew over Murabella ... Swimming pool looks good an ready to go for the summer months ... Can't wait to get some Pool / Slide time with Emory and Melanie ... 

Pool at Murabella

Low Clouds and Hazy today ... Heading West across the St John's River ... Looks like the Clay County Fair is up and running this week ... Might have to pay them a visit with the girls ...

Clay County Fair

Flying back to the East ... WX is improving as I head towards the coast ... Large Intersections of Major Highways seem to be a little on the confusing side ... Roads going everywhere ...

95 & 295 Intersection

Heading back South along the coast ... Looks like the folks at the TPC Sawgrass have started tent construction for this years TPC Event ... #17, the Island Green, doesn't look so difficult fro up here ... I will have to remember to fly back this way the weekend of the Tournament ...

#17 at Sawgrass Country Club

Looking forward to my next flight ... Can't wait to Fly with Emory & Melanie ... Looking forward to an overnight with Cammie ... Maybe in St Simons Island .... More Next Time ... bobt

Blue Angels at Jacksonville Beach

Melanie and I got out to Jacksonville Beach this past weekend to see the Blue Angles ... I thought they put on a Awesome Show ... Melanie had fun playing in the sand ... Here are a few of my favorite pictures ... 

Delaware

Had an opportunity to make a trip back home to visit Wilmington Delaware to see family and friends this past weekend ... While in town I stopped by the local flight school and set up some flight time ... Met a flight instructor named Dino from Aero Ways ... Cool guy ... Found out we went to the same High School ...

The flight school has a very nice Cessna 172 ... First time in a Fuel Injected 172 for me ... Couple small difference in the Start - Up procedures ... No big deal ... Pre - Flighted and Contacted KILG Ground for Taxi Instructions ... Ground gave instructions to taxi via Alpha and Charley for Departure on RWY 19 ... Taxi and Take Off went well ...

We departed the Delta Airspace at KILG to the South ... Great Views of the Delaware River, Fort Delaware, and the Power Plant in Salem, NJ ... We did a few flight maneuvers ... Climbs and Descents, Steep Turns, and Stalls ... Dino gave me a few tips that will come in handy during my FAA Check Ride ... We saw Dover in the distance ... Flew over Smyrna, Middletown and Odessa ... Did a quick Touch and Go at Summit Airport ... Turned East and followed the C&D Canal back towards the Delaware River … Great views of the Philly Skyline as we turned to the North ... Contacted Wilmington and received instruction to enter a Left Down Wind for RWY 19 and Report Midfield ... As we turned for Final Approach RWY 19 we passed over Banning Park with views of Woodcrest, the neighborhood where I grew up ... Lined up for RWY 19 … Altitude - Good … Airspeed - Good … Lights Winds - Bonus … All added up to a nice touchdown … Tower cleared us to taxi the entire length of RWY 19 back to Areo Ways … Great Flight … Radio a little rusty … Landings above average for me … Dino was kind enough to sign me off for the 172 … Enabling me to go back and rent the plane on my own in the future … Nice …




St John's River Route

Quick flight today ... I have often thought about making this flight ... St Augustine Airport north along the coast to Mayport ... Turn west to Craig Air Field ... Follow the St John's River through the Downtown Jacksonville Area ... Continue along the St John's to the south past NAS Jacksonville all the way to Green Cove Springs ... Turn to the east back to St Augustine ... Ran this route in Reverse today ... 

St John River Route

The St John's River has many scenic areas in North East Florida ... First stop ... Shands Bridge and the Reynolds Airfield in the background ... Pictures are only so so today ... Noticed at the end of my flight that camera was on the incorrect setting ...

Shands Bridge

Traveling north along the St John's River there are many boat marinas ... This one is located between Mandarin and Jullington Creek ...  It's funny ... A small airplane like the on I fly is about the size of a sail boat ... They look like small dots down there today ... Makes me think that when they look up they can barely see me ... 

Bridge on San Jose Blvd
St John's River Entrance to Durban Creek

Continuing north and you quickly pick out the Buckman Bridge ... Great to be at 3,500 Ft ... At rush hour I-295 backs up well past the center of this bridge ... Not a factor today ...

Buckman Bridge Crossing the St Johns River

Next stop on our way up the St John's is Naval Air Station Jacksonville ... Home of the P3 Orion ... I see P3's flying around Jacksonville all the time ... Mostly an anti-submarine and maritime surveillance aircraft ... None in the air today ... Every so often the Jacksonville Air Show is held at NAS Jacksonville ... Different view of the Air Station today ... I have a friend that we call "New Matt" ... Long Story ... "New Matt" works in the tower at NAS Jacksonville ... Wonder if "New Matt" has me on radar today ...

NAS Jacksonville

Flying over downtown Jacksonville makes the city look much smaller than it actually is at street level ... Had a uncooperative cloud hanging out in the downtown Jacksonville area ... Will have to fly back this way in the future to get a better shot ...

Jacksonville Florida

Just past the downtown area is EverBank Field ... Home of the Jacksonville Jaguars ... Thinking I should drop them a note and let them know that if they ever need a fly-over on game day and the local F-15 or F-18's are not available ... Then I would be glad to provide a low pass over the stadium in the C152 ...

Jacksonville Jaguars
EverBank Field

The Hart Bridge ... Runners of the Gate River Run are very familiar with this one ... Runners travel over this 150 ft tall Bridge durning the race ... Best part os that the race ends shortly after crossing the bridge ... As a matter of fact the last mile and a half are downhill from the midpoint of the bridge ... No sweat crossing over the bridge today ... 

Hart Bridge

Traveling back to the south along the Inter Coastal Water Way ... Nice looking boat cruising north ... My favorite restaurant, Lu Lu's is right in this area of the Inter Coastal ...  Have to try to catch a better photo next time ...

Inter Coastal Water Way

Fun Flight Today ... Landed on Runway 24 ... Rare that the wind sets up for a landing on this runway ... Till Next Time ... bobt

First Cross Country Solo - KSGJ to KGNV

Nice evening for a quick flight to Gainesville ... Was hoping to see the stadium where the University of Florida Gators play football ... No such luck tonight ... Maybe next time ...

KSGJ to KGNV

Power Plant in Palatka Florida

First Cross Country Solo Flight went well ... Plotting of courses and times were right on the money ... Every checkpoint was right where it was suposed to be ...  

Quarrey West of Palatka

Excited about adding a new airport to the list for 2012 ... Landing at Gainesville went well ... While I was taxiing back to runway 25 I notice a Florida Gator Logo on a hanger ... Pretty Cool ... Made me smile ... Gainesville Tower Cessna 5165B at Bravo 1 holding short RWY 25 ready for departure ...

Melrose Private Airport

Looking forward to my next Cross Country Solo to Waycross,GA