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Thanksgiving trip to Florida

tkatc

Well Known Member
Flew down to Saint Augustine over the Thanksgiving break to stay with my sister in law and family.

My brother and I flew the -7A (with Brutus!) while my wife flew commercial with her mother. We beat them down to Florida between the drive to and from the airports and security screening. Gotta love that!
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My 3 year old niece was making Pumpkin Pie! Her dad was a head chef in a prominent Philadelphia restaurant before they moved to Flroida, so I'm sure she'll be a good cook!
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Brutus and his cousin aren't the best of freinds.
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It was a great trip! And I had excellent service all the way around. This was my weekend ride!
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Galaxy Aviation was super friendly. Excellent line service! They told us about an aerobatic box just east of the airport....and it was about to go active!

We didnt eat at the Fly-By Cafe but other VAFers say its good! Breakfast and lunch only I believe.

Taxiing out the tower took good care of us. I was surprised that they knew what an RV was. Towers in NJ aren't that familiar with RVs. They taxiied us out to the self serve pumps (much cheaper AVGAS than Galaxy) and along the way we saw this....
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That's Patty Wagstaff fueling her Extra 300!
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She has a Mini like Vlad's! And a decorated hangar wall!
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But of course the Mini isn't as nice as Vlad's and the wall can't hold a candle to Bob Axsom's!

Here she is taxiing out.
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We were so excited about seeing her we almost missed this RVer! He was taxiing with purpose so we didn't get a chance to meet him.
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We had a tailwind both ways on this trip. Odd but I'll take it! Saint Augustine is a nice airport and I believe I'll be visiting from time to time to see that family.
 
I see you were not joking about Patti and MINI. You could have done more close captures :D
 
Yum!

Tony.....nice post...met Patty when I was doing a charter flight at Hilton Head.......I'll say....interesting....lady. From what a Very Reliable Source told me...she flies a lead in plane for fire fighting bombers while not on the airshow circuit!:eek:

Hope all the turkey and fine food didn't weigh you down and slow you down on the way back! :D:D
 
Glen, I stopped at Middle Penninsula for cheap gas. I could have gone non-stop but didn't for 2 reasons.

1. The trip down was the 5 year anniversary of my fuel exhaustion debacle.
http://www.vansairforce.com/community/showthread.php?t=60180
No need to push it.

2. The return trip could have been non-stop too but my tanks would have been right at reserve levels and my airport fuel price is outrageous!
 
Looks like a nice weekend!

Just curious.... How well does the pooch fly? I have a cocker that I want her to go with us back and forth to Destin and I'm trying to determine if I need to find her a cage that will fit in the back of a -6 or -7? It looks like you have him strapped into the back somehow? I really like the rental car they gave you for the weekend too....
 
My pooch flies just fine. Most do but there is only 1 true way to find out. When he sits in the front seat I tether him to the harness with a very short leash. When he was in the back, he was untethered. (don't tell the FAA). And I line the baggage area with a rubber-backed bath mat.

I have 2 concerns when traveling with him like this. I worry about the loud cockpit. I should really invest in doggie ear muffs. The other is the rear of the RV is drafty and much cooler than the front. I gave him my jacket but I fear he was still cold.
 
Coo

My pooch flies just fine. Most do but there is only 1 true way to find out. When he sits in the front seat I tether him to the harness with a very short leash. When he was in the back, he was untethered. (don't tell the FAA). And I line the baggage area with a rubber-backed bath mat.

I have 2 concerns when traveling with him like this. I worry about the loud cockpit. I should really invest in doggie ear muffs. The other is the rear of the RV is drafty and much cooler than the front. I gave him my jacket but I fear he was still cold.

Cool thanks!
 
Got to love the RV's..

Thanks for sharing the story. We had a great trip from NW Arkansas to Atlanta for Thanksgiving also, and we also took our small dog. He flies just fine in my wife's lap, which is where he parks it on car rides also. He never flinches with any flight attitude or speed so we take him all the time now. If it's cool he gets inside whatever hoodie or jacket my wife is wearing.

We beat the driving crowd by a good 7 hours each way. I've had this RV-6A for 6 months and still can't believe it!
 
Thanks for sharing your story, I hadn't heard it before. You have done a great service to all pilots. Thanks.

Jim Fogarty
RV9A MN
 
I suggest you look into some form of dog ear muffs. Dogs rely on their hearing even more than we do so a loud cockpit can't be enjoyable especially on long flights.
I have flown extensively with my dogs and they both wear Mutt-Muffs. Neither dog liked the Mutt-Muffs initially but after a flight or two they both don't give the ear coverings a second thought. Please note it's important to get the right size muffs and properly secure them. I wish the muffs were more reasonably priced but they are cheaper than a vet visit and make me feel like a better dog owner.
Mutt-Muffs are available on eBay, Amazon, earplug store etc...

Sorry having a difficult time figuring out how to add a photo to this post.
 
Mutt Muffs....

Thanks, I agree -- I have purchased a set for my cocker an Oskosh this year, so we will be using them --
She's a little older, so either she is losing her hearing a little or maybe just doesn't listen to me as much -- i'm not sure which..
But, either way, she's going to wear them...
 
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Looks like a great trip. Just curious as to how my cat Smokey who went missing from Atlanta 3 years ago ended up in St. Augustine?

John Morgan :confused:
 
Thanks for the write up! I didn't realize you we're in St. Augustine until you were gone or we would have offered to meet up. Glad to see you made it to West Point, VA. We used to live there just across the river (Mattaponi, not York) from the airport until we moved to FL nine years ago. We just went back to visit the airport a few months ago and it looks quite a bit different-especially since the sky dive operation is gone.
 
I suggest you look into some form of dog ear muffs. Dogs rely on their hearing even more than we do so a loud cockpit can't be enjoyable especially on long flights.
I have flown extensively with my dogs and they both wear Mutt-Muffs. Neither dog liked the Mutt-Muffs initially but after a flight or two they both don't give the ear coverings a second thought. QUOTE]

My dog resisted the Mutt-Muffs initially, till someone here suggested starting the engine first, then put the muffs on so she could see(hear?) how much quieter it was with them. Worked like a charm.

Jim Berry
RV-10
 
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