Outer Banks North Carolina

[Wayne Gillispie]

We flew to FFA- First Flight early Sat AM(5/31/14), a day later than planned due to IFR wx Friday. A nice smooth 2.5 hr flight at 9,500'. Be careful when it is windy. We hit an area on a 1/2 mi final for rwy 2 with a lot of sink. Winds were 12G18 nearly down the runway.



After walking around the Wright Brothers Memorial, we headed over to MQI- Dare Co to get $5.40 SS fuel, tie down and pick up the $60 Ford Fusion rental car.



We ordered a seafood lunch to go from http://austinseafoodco.com/ and took it across the road to Jockey's Ridge for a picnic on top of a wooded sand dune. Highly recommend both places. The dunes are free. My sweetie walking back to the car in the pic below. We flew our kites and had a biplane go around mine with a little clearance. Interestingly we saw him at the airport the next morning, but forgot to ask how close he thought he was to that kite.



We then went to the Elizabethan "Brown Recluse" Inn, 5-8 minutes from MQI. A nap for me as 3:00 AM was way too early to get up, but I really like those sunrise departures. The kids played in the pool.

We then had dinner at http://www.fishermanswharfobx.com/
Another good seafood restaurant 20-25 minutes from MQI, although not as good as Austin Seafood.

After dinner we saw http://thelostcolony.org/ play. This was enjoyable and educational for the whole family. It was a cool 56F, so not even one mosquito bite. We then returned to the Inn to find a 1.5" diameter brown recluse in the bathroom. We slept with the lights on all night. Next time we'll either camp or choose a hotel with a price higher than $150. The place is old and needs more renovations.

After a good nights sleep we headed down to W95- Ocracoke at 500' over the water at 125 kts(Va). 0.6 hrs. No birds encountered on this flight anyway. Andy Turner and family from PA joined us for the trip down in their RV-10.



We spent most of the time at the beach, 10 minute walk from the plane. We had lunch at http://www.howardspub.com/ordereze/default.aspx Yes, more seafood. Highly recommend! Then a walk around town and back to the beach for more swimming and shelling.



We departed Ocracoke at 6 PM Sun to ensure we made it home before dark as SCT TS were in the area with 4-8K ceilings. We barely missed two birds on takeoff. We had to cross some 4000' peaks near Roanoke, VA and decided to go on up to 8,500' instead of squeezing between the cumulogranite and the BKN layer. ATC was great both ways. We made it back home in 2.5 hrs. We will be going back for some kiteboard or kite surfing training at Nags Head and more relaxation at Ocracoke. Another wonderful trip in a plane we built in our two-car garage.

[pa38112]

Wayne,
It was really nice meeting you and your family at FFA. It made me tear-up to see 4 of the 5 planes at FFA were RV's ! That seems very fitting to me...
Yours is beautiful.
We took the Hang Gliding lesson at Jocky's Ridge State Park. It was 10 times better than I expected, and is way more fun than it looks like in the videos. I highly recommend it! My fraidie-cat wife said she wants to do it again.
If anyone goes, ask for Hunter or Nolan, and tell them you want the RV flier's special; they will take care of you !!!!

[Wayne Gillispie]

It was great meeting you two also. I was trying like crazy to locate your stealthy RV in the pattern. We really enjoyed Jockey's Ridge. My 11 yr old was a little intimidated by the hang gliders but may try it next trip. He really noticed the kite surfers while flying down to Ocracoke. My kids loved the 72F water. They slept good on the way home and ask when we are going back.

We will let you know before heading up to the NE to add another grass strip and some great activities in your neck of the woods.

[aturner]

Wayne twisted my arm a little bit to bring my family down and join up with his for the outer banks trip. In reality, it didn't need much twisting. I still consider the airplane to be in a testing phase, and the opportunity to take a trip with good support on the other end, in case of problems, was too good to pass up. Besides, what better way to celebrate a first flight than to visit the site of the original home-builders and the original first flight?



This was my fourth visit to FFA, I always enjoy the opportunity to pay homage to the brothers from Dayton. Remarkably, there were five airplanes on ramp when we arrived, and four were RV's, and three were RV-10s. The boys could not wait to get to the beach, so we departed for Ocracoke early Sunday morn.



The beach at Ocracoke is really, really good. The could have spent longer, but dad was getting sunburned, hot, and thirsty. There is always another day...

[tc1234c]

Wayne,

Good to see you and your family have a great vacation. Abby and Nathan must be taller than their mom. Glad that they still enjoy flying with you!

[Vlad]

Nice! Been to FFA multiple times but never walked those beaches. On the bucket list.

[Wayne Gillispie]

Originally Posted by tc1234c

Wayne,

Good to see you and your family have a great vacation. Abby and Nathan must be taller than their mom. Glad that they still enjoy flying with you!

We had planned a three day trip but had IFR wx Fri. After returning home we thought of how little time we would have had if we had driven. We have flown every trip since 2008. The kids have forgotten what it was like for Dad on I-75. Yes, they are growing up for sure. They love the destinations. Getting to join another RV family for some of the activities was so much fun too.

[Wayne Gillispie]

Originally Posted by Vlad

Nice! Been to FFA multiple times but never walked those beaches. On the bucket list.

As you can see, there is plenty of room. Most of the people from the 12-15 planes that were there were in town and not on the beach. Of course that may change as the water temps raise. The water was at my lower limit. I think the kids would have turned blue if we did not tell them Dad had to get the plane loaded/preflighted.