Said good-bye to my good friend and college roommate Dave Hill, and walked to the plane thinking how good it was to see him and his family again. Easton, MD is a very special place and I am looking forward to coming back here again.
Art was at the airport already, bubbling over with enthusiasm from his visit with his friends in Rock Hall, MD. He didn't fly yesterday, so he was eager to get into the air.
As I was loading the baggage in the plane, Fred and Hunter came by to discuss our plans for today. We wanted to find some grass runways and we were looking to them to guide us to the finest turf fields in the area. They loved the idea, but Hunter couldn't join up with us because he had to stay at Easton airport and do his biplane ride thing.
Before we could go in search of grass fields, we had to fulfill a promise Art made to his friends, that we would fly over his friends home in a low pass. So it was Fred in his Great Lakes, and Art and I in our Wacos, in fine formation, flying low over the treetops and the water and coming in low over his friends' house, the pulling up into a climbing left turn out over the water. The kids below were jumping up and down, waving and screaming (but of course we couldn't hear them). We circled around for another pass, then Fred and I broke off and Art made two more passes. After that we formed up over the water and flew back to Easton for a quick lunch.
With "business" handled, we took off in search of some serious grass runways. The visibility was really quite poor. As we headed out over the Chesapeake Bay it was almost impossible to see the other shore, just lunch.
With "business" handled, we took off in search of some serious grass runways. The visibility was really quite poor. As we headed out over the Chesapeake Bay it was so hazy that it was almost impossible to see the other shore, just 6 miles away. Fred was in the lead and quickly found our destination. We circled overhead to check it out and I could not believe my eyes. It was an absolutely jewel-like setting. A turf runway of about 1800 feet, with some of the greenest grass this side of Ireland, lined on both sides with very tall trees. It was obvious that once down below the tree level, the runway was protected from nasty crosswinds, and that landing would be easy. The runway was wide enough, so there was no danger of getting into the trees on rollout. I couldn't wait to try it out.
Fred went in first and he made it look easy. I gave him plenty of room so that he could get off at the end of the runway. Then I set up my approach. It kept on looking better the closer I got. The grass looked thick, and long, and I was anticipating a first class touchdown, and I got it. In fact, I don't remember a better landing on grass. It felt like I had touched down on a big fluffy pillow.
Art said his landing was the best he ever made in his Waco. This place was truly a superior airport, so if you are ever in the area, give it a shot. The name is Deale airfield and it is due west from Easton, on the western shore of Maryland. It's on the sectional chart, so you can't miss it.
We hung out and talked with the airport types hanging around, checking out the planes, and telling them about our Wacos. The place is owned by John Stickley and a friendlier sort you just won't find. Soon we were firing up the radial engines and because there was no wind between those two long rows of trees, we headed back down the grass runway opposite to the way we came in.
Fred lead us back across the Chesapeake Bay and took us to another field that was, impossibly, even nicer. One end of the runway stopped at the Bay, and along one side the runway was lined with homes and hangars. The field was even wider than the first one, and seemed to be manicured. Fred touched down first and rolled to the end of the field. Art came in next and did the same, leaving me plenty of room to roll out.
I don't know what happened to me, but my approach was way too high as I cut my base turn, so when I turned final I knew I was going to have to go around. Maybe my concentration was thrown off by what seemed to be a large white dog moving across the runway, or maybe it was Art's radio call telling me that he floated a long way and had trouble getting it down, and maybe it was my concern about the windsock pointing out a definite crosswind. Whatever it was, I was way too high to land so I got down as low as it seemed practical, just to check the place out more closely, then firewalled the throttle and pulled up into a steep left turn and came around for another shot at it.
This time it was right on the money. I bought it in extra slow and dropped my lovely Waco onto some of the finest grass in the Western Hemisphere. The crosswind caused no problems, the rollout was smooth and both me and my Waco were smiling from ear to ear.
Fred stayed on the ground and Art and I took off right away, in the opposite direction to landing, just like Deale airport. Only this time the reason was not that the winds were calm. It seems that we made a major mistake and landed in the wrong direction. A quick glance at the windsock showed a definite quartering tailwind for our landing. Had we missed this on our landing, or had the wind shifted in just that little bit of time? If we missed this, then all three of us had made the same mistake. I make a mental note to never "follow the leader" again, but to make my own independent analysis of the situation.
We headed east, back across the Chesapeake Bay again. Our final destination for the day was College Park airfield, which has the extraordinary distinction of being the oldest airport in the USA. The Wright brothers taught flying here in 1909.
When I climbed out of the cockpit, I was drenched with sweat. The temperature today was in the mid 80's but the humidity was very high. Locals said that this was a typical day for summer around here. It was just a taste of what we are facing as we head farther south.
We flew for a couple of hours, 4 different airports, 2 grass fields, crossed the Chesapeake 3 times, did plenty of formation flying, low passes, and even learned something. Too much Fun!
----------------------------------------------------------------
Topics to be developed: Ellen Griffin (Fedex pilot), Brittany's taking to the computer, household animals, hairballs, the psychology of a go-around, missing dinner with my high school pals, etc... also: bad water in Washinton DC... how will I handle this in the round the world flight?