pierre smith

pierre smith

Well Known Member
Well, the time has come. After 51 years of living here since immigrating, I finally get to see Key West, weather permitting, by Wednesday 13th!

Plan is to fly to Sanibel Island tomorrow morning, spend a couple of days, then over to Key West by Tuesday afternoon and return Friday. Retired A-6 carrier pilot/friend and his wife will be along. He's dazzled by all this "glass" stuff:)

If any of you guys have time to stop by, my cell is 478 494 37 fife seven.

My -10:

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Best,
 
Pierre, where are you flying in to? If you stop by Venice, North of Boca Grande and Sanibel, give me a call. If you need anything while you are here in the area just let me know. ps best gas prices are at Page Field FMY.

941 416 36 nine five
 
Pierre,

We will make our annual trip to Sanibel later this month, sure would try to connect with you if the timing were not off. The weather appears to be mighty fine in the area compared to the rest of the country.

dd
 
GLPalinkas said:
Pierre, where are you flying in to? If you stop by Venice, North of Boca Grande and Sanibel, give me a call. If you need anything while you are here in the area just let me know. ps best gas prices are at Page Field FMY.

941 416 36 nine five
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Hi Gary, we are going to FMY and probably be there around 1:00 p.m. I kinda wanted to see my old -6A based at Buckingham but the owner has not responded to a PM yet (Flybuddy).

Thanks for your help offer.
 
Have a great time, Pierre! We're down here in Cabo right now, and can't wait to fly our own RV here sometime. I imagine the weather in the Keys is fabulous, similar to here. I look forward to seeing your pictures! :)
 
We did the Duval crawl. Its main street in Key West with all the gift shops! If you fly 8 miles north there are pods of Sharks that fun to watch and you can't miss the Sting Rays against that white sand under that turquoise water. Had so much fun there. Can't wait to get back to Key West!
Ron in Oregon
 
The amazing -10

....aaaaah...ocean smells at sunrise :) We bucked headwinds the whole way but still did 450 miles in 2 1/2 hours.

I calculated our gross weight right at 2780, luggage piled higher than the rear seatback...ladies around 130# each and we guys around 200 and full fuel.

The airplane was off right at 1,000' and stll managed in excess of 1,000 FPM cruise/climb at 145 MPH....simply amazing.

We showed a consistent 196 MPH TAS at 8,500', 22.5"/2375 RPM/72% ROP and 15.3 GPH.

Best,
 
pierre smith said:
....aaaaah...ocean smells at sunrise :) We bucked headwinds the whole way but still did 450 miles in 2 1/2 hours.

I calculated our gross weight right at 2780, luggage piled higher than the rear seatback...ladies around 130# each and we guys around 200 and full fuel.

The airplane was off right at 1,000' and stll managed in excess of 1,000 FPM cruise/climb at 145 MPH....simply amazing.

We showed a consistent 196 MPH TAS at 8,500', 22.5"/2375 RPM/72% ROP and 15.3 GPH.

Best,
Click to expand...

Have fun down there! Yes it is an awesome plane for the price. It looks like 5 gallons more per hour is getting you about 10 KTAS more than my normal LOP cruise.
 
Yep

Wayne, I demo'd LOP to the right seat buddy, a former A-6 carrier pilot and we lost 12 MPH but range showed over 5 hours and 1100 miles.

Best,
 
Enjoy

So far three of us Canadian based RVs are heading that way april 6th for a few days and hope to hit sun and fun on the way back. Going to spend one night on the west shore of the gulf. If you find some awesome not to be missed things to do or places to eat, please post, with pics!

None of us have been to the keys yet, and flying there in our own planes is a great adventure. Enjoy.
 
Make sure to go to Schooners on the north side of town!!!! Get there before 11AM, order a Bloody Mary and the fish tacos. If you get there before 1100 you'll catch Michael McCloud playing. Love his music. Then get a hand rolled cigar from the vendor on the dock right behind the bar. Best place on earth.

Other must vists are Irish Kevins, Sloppy Joes, and all the bars in between.

Can't remember the name of the joint but there is a fantastic place to eat in the old Pan Am office just west of Duval Street.
 
gary, nice familiar pics. the wx has been so nice lately. more folks should come down here in the winter. :)
 
Oh no.

Sorry guys, my camera must have been accidentally turned on and the battery was dead on the first attempt, so I charged it. We'll see what today holds.

Down to Key West this afternoon.

Protected walkway over the causeway from Fort Myers to the beaches (My morning walk).

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Crosswalks are also protected in Florida and cars must stop for pedestrians.
Best,
 
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Boooo

No pics, dead camera BOOOOOOOO!

We want Vlad type reports. Pierres trip report sucks so far! Looking forward to pics! We are freezing our tail feathers off up north, need some inspiration to keep fighting till launch day. White sand, big cocktails, is it really the oasis promised?

:D
 
Looks good to me. No ice on the surface, sunshine, and a guy walking in a t-shirt and shorts. One must use their imagination for the rest...at least until we get some more pics. Thanks Pierre.
 
Well, while you northern guys were out on your ski doo's I was cruising under that bridge on my sea doo!

Bob burns
Rv-4 N82RB
 
Arrival

After heading south from Ft. Myers, we skirted southwest Florida, eventually heading east to Marathon Key, with controllers friendly and very cooperative, then basically East to Keyw. Here we are with all the luggage and 80 degrees. ,,,,more later, this Navy computer Wi-fi is slow as molasses:

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After passing Marathon, we stayed south of the island chain in order to avoid R2916 and the cable holding the tethered balloon. We spotted it to our north as we passed:

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As we crossed at Marathon, U.S. Highway 1 was clearly visible:

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The Keys were beautiful this time of year and temps very comfortable....60's at night and 80 or so daytime: Here we are, rounding Marathon from the West, turning right to follow U.S. 1.

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Marathon airport under us:

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...and...arriving at KEW:

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Best,
 
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Good job on the photos and report Pierre. We have a cold front coming thru later today with heavy fog and rain. Stay in Key West a few days. It will clear.
 
I had no idea of the history of Key West! We took a trolley tour with a great guide who pointed out many historical sites and told of the island's history..a must do if you visit.

Yesterday, we toured president Truman's island home that he loved so much, The Little White House, where he
spent many days working and he said he got so much more done here than in the "White Jail", back in Washington.

The house has all of their original furnishings, beds, couches and so on.

Best,
 
Mel Fisher's museum and Ernest Heminway's home

A gorgeous day visiting Mel Fisher's museum with all the gold and silver bounty they recovered from the Atocha and Marguerita ships'

On to Ernest Hemingway's home and studio with all original furnishings and
sordid stories of his affairs and four wives!

This island is a "Must do" for anybody wanting a reality dose of Americana and history that will amaze you.

There is sailing, bike riding, glass-bottommed kayaks, historical sites and more history than you can imagine...pictures to follow and yes, we'll definitely be back!,

Duval street has live music, street entertainers and camaraderie like you can't imagine...New Orleans would be proud:)

Best,
 
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If you get a chance, go by the cemetery. Great tombstones.
My favorites include " I told you I was sick" and "At least I know where he is at nights now".
 
History

If you want some more history, take a trip out to Ft. Jefferson. Beautiful waters out there and you'll find out where the "Your name is Mudd" saying comes from. Have fun!
 
Pierre, did you get to Tony's? Great place....low class enough to make me feel at home ;)

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Pierre...

You didn't happen to buy a Florida Lottery ticket while you were down here, did you? The winning ticket for this past Saturday was sold at the Publix on N. Roosevelt (US1, Searstown). Someone is holding a $17M ticket right now.
 
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