So I took some time to re-do my nav log for a shorter flight out to Dauphin Island, Alabama (4R9), with a possible stop at St. Elmo (2R5) which is about 20 miles north of there.
No buildups to the East and pretty smooth air at about 2800 feet, but the little stray clouds show where the bumps are. Much better visibilty than last time, but mostly because the sun was considerably higher. that's the mouth of the Pascagoula River ahead, with the refineries and shipyards of that city just beyond. There I would pick up a radial from the Mobile VOR, following that to St. Elmo.
Abeam Trent Lott International (PQL), where I did some stop'n'gos the other day. I knew where I was relative to the Class D "footprint" but kept it above 2500 just in case I was wrong.
Soon enough I saw St. Elmo right on schedule and where it was supposed to be, but with the wind from 120 and gusting to almost 20 knots, I figured I'd pass on trying to land there (runway is 06/24). So I overflew it and turned SE for Dauphin Island, where I knew the wind would be blowing right down the runway.
Climbed up to 3500 just to be a little safer as I headed out over the bridge that leads to the island... quite the headwind, but I was in no hurry. Buzzed through some thick patches of haze which were impossible to detect until I was in them, but I could easily see through (legal VMC; honest!!!
).
Now for some video frames: at the top of final for 12 at Dauphin Island. The airport is basically a landfill platform sticking out of a corner of the island.
This approach was so fun and easy with today's wind, I just had to do it twice before heading back.
Navigating back to 5R2 from there is easy as sleeping in church- just hug the coastline. Had a little fun with the camera in video mode... here's Yours Truly looking very relaxed; elbow propped and holding one horn of the yoke with thumb and forefinger. For some reason I immediately think of Feels Good To Be A Gangsta by the Geto Boys when I look at this... *uh* :D
Quite the nice VC in this model...
Not very good quality, but consider how tricky it is to get into the back seat for a shot like this when flying solo..! Oh, right; you can see my hand...
Nothing fancy here... there's an ancient Apollo GPS in the bottom of the stack, but i couldn't even read the display. Besides, if you need GPS for VFR flight along a coastline, it's time to give up flying.
Next: part 3- facing the (windy) music back at 5R2
