Although we had read
about it in boating publications and such, neither Kelly nor
I had been to Put In Bay. Reviews of the island on AOPA.org
and airnav.com had been pleasant overall, but some had not
spoken too favorably about the FBO. Still, it was a good
day-trip, had been well recommended by several other club
members and was in keeping with our enjoyment of
island-hopping. We reserved an 'SP and planned the trip for
Saturday, 8/21/4. As always, I wanted an early departure to
avoid the thermal activity that often occurs in the summer.
I wanted to have another smooth, pleasant flight to further
convince Kelly about the pleasures of flying
vacations.
Lansing FSS promised
acceptable VFR conditions for the morning, with steadily
improving conditions throughout the day. At 0955, we were
cleared for takeoff. We lifted off from Runway 6 and banked
to the south.
Our
flight plan was to stay below the shelves of the DTW class
Bravo and follow a set of railroad tracks that run past
Milan, southeast to Toledo, and then turn more easterly out
of Toledo. We would follow these railroad tracks until we
intercepted the Sandusky 290 radial. We would track this
radial until we got ten miles from the Sandusky VOR and then
turn north, over-fly Port Clinton / Keller field. We would
then enter the right downwind for runway 3 at 3W2. (Editors
note - you can actually follow rail road tracks all the way
to Keller - IFRR). This would keep us well clear of the
R5502A Restricted area that was notam'd as active.
Brief
consideration had been given to flying to the Carleton VOR
and tracking direct from it to Put In Bay over Lake Erie.
After consulting with CFI, Brian Lantis, and Chief CFI
Finlay Beaton, I opted for the longer, but safer route
around Lake Erie's southwest shoreline. In a Flyer's
airplane, I would feel quite comfortable with a reasonable
length flight over water, but why take the chance when the
shoreline route is not too much farther?
The
weather was 'as promised' until near Port Clinton. Here, the
clouds were lower than projected and caused some concern.
Flying toward Keller field, we listened to the AWOS that
listed the clouds as being overcast at 1900 feet. The
Skyhawk's altimeter read 1900 feet, and we were still well
under the clouds. I wondered if there was an error in the
AWOS, or the altimeter, or the pilot. Then I remembered that
the clouds were given in agl, and the altimeter was msl.
That mystery solved, (and the pilot reprogrammed about msl
v. agl) we continued toward 3W2, dropping a few hundred feet
to allow more room under the clouds. Once we got over the
water, the clouds thinned and their bases rose. I was more
comfortable with this.
As we
neared the island, I started announcing our position on the
3W2 CTAF. Like always, falling back on habits learned from
training, I was picturing where everyone else in the pattern
was from their calls. With common planes, such as Pipers and
Cessnas, I listen to the tail numbers to identify the
planes. With uncommon types, I often just listen to the
type. I heard a Grumman on the radio and mentally plotted
his position. Moments later, I again heard the Grumman and
he was in a totally different position. Yet again, he seemed
in an altogether different position. Finally, Kelly and I
seemed to have all the traffic spotted and could see there
was no conflict, so we continued.
I had
planned to swing well south of the island on a 030 heading
and make a left turn over the water to enter a right
downwind. As it worked out, we had an opening for a smooth
entry on the right base for 3. We took it, falling in behind
the Grumman.
Airnav had warned of
turbulence over the trees at the approach to runway 3, and
this proved accurate. I kept a little extra power and speed
on as a safety margin against potential wind shear and, once
clear of the trees, used 30 degrees of flaps to bleed off
speed as we cleared the displaced threshold. A not
bragging-worthy landing / arrival ensued, and we easily made
the turn off to the terminal. I had flared a bit early and
had to ease the plane down from the floating flare. Kelly's
perceptive comment: "Was that the stall horn going off way
early when we were still way up in the air?" Everyone's a
critic; a little knowledge and she thinks she's a
CFI.
Airnav mentioned the
Admiral Perry Monument that is a mile or so off the
departure end of runway 3. Although it is not really a
factor, it was unnerving at first to see the 352 foot high
column looming ahead of us as we approached to land. It
makes you want to avoid having to do a go-around.
Taxiing to the ramp, we
saw the Grumman taxiing to a hangar at a home across the
runway from the terminal, and then heard another Grumman on
approach to land. Ahah! There were two of the buggers, which
explained the confusion. As we parked, with the second
Grumman taxiing in behind us, we saw another Grumman
landing, and several were already on the ramp. It turned out
there was a Grumman fly-in. A good lesson was learned; it's
good to note tail numbers on even the relatively uncommon
aircraft types flying in the pattern.
Unicom had stated that
we could park anywhere there was not a "reserved" sign. We
swung the tail toward the runway and pushed back into one of
the numerous open tie-downs. As always with a Michigan
Flyers airplane, we were one of the shiniest on the
field.
At
the FBO building, the lady was pleasant and helpful as I
rented a golf cart for our foray into town. She provided a
map and pointed out areas of interest. Fortified with maps,
snacks and drinks, Kelly and I loaded into the cart and were
off to town.
Vacationing on Grand
Turk Island several years ago had whetted our appreciation
for driving around small islands on golf carts. This was the
same feeling, lacking only the salty taste in the air and
the fragrance of the sea breeze. Here, the island smell was
of fresh water (well, it was Lake Erie, so maybe it wasn't
all that fresh). Near the marina the island's smell was
mixed with the not-unpleasant aroma of marine fuels. It was
a good mix, almost as pleasant as the distinct aroma of a
hot Cessna and ashless dispersant oil.
Put
In Bay had recently experienced a wave of unexplained
illnesses, purportedly linked to e.coli in some of the
wells. We took the same precautions that we take when going
scuba diving to Central America. In fact, at the FBO, I
joked with the attendant and told her that we treated
visiting Ohio just like visiting any other third world
country. She laughed, kind of in a forced way. I guess if
you're from Ohio, ya gotta have a sense of humor.
We
traveled into town via golf cart. We knew the island had a
party reputation, but were not prepared for what we saw. The
entire town seemed to embrace drunkenness. There seemed to
be as many bars as shops. Police folklore has it that Put In
Bay has the only recorded fatal accident involving a
golf-cart. Having now been to the island, I don't doubt
it!
Kelly
and I did the rounds of the stores and then headed for
lunch. Having gotten a good review of the Boardwalk
Restaurant from Finlay Beaton, our illustrious Chief CFI and
club's Nice-Guy-At-Large, we vectored ourselves for it.
Finlay's recommendation was the Lobster Bisque. Finlay was
right. I could've made a whole meal of the Bisque. Kelly
went for the traditional cheeseburger. With the e.coli in
mind, we stayed with foods that had been cooked well and
drank only bottled drinks. We experienced none of the
reported gastro-intestinal symptoms.
We
returned to a few stores of interest and then visited the
Perry Monument. We considered ascending it, but decided we
weren't interested enough to pay the money and wait half an
hour to get a view that would be inferior to the view from
the Cessna.
We
golf-carted to the local winery. We took in the shop area
but decided against dropping the six bucks each to tour the
rest of the winery. The other attraction on the island is a
system of caves. Although these are reported to be quite
interesting, neither Kelly nor I are into caves so we did
not tour them.
Returning to the
airport, I gave the Skyhawk a pre-flight and we loaded up.
We lifted off around 1515. Takeoff was on runway 3, again
facing the looming hulk of the monument. It is offset
slightly to the right of the runway, so, naturally, they
want you to make right traffic to avoid going over the town.
It's not really a hazard, but is disconcerting. I can see
that a pilot might become fixated on missing it, and stall
the plane with a too-slow, uncoordinated climbing turn, his
final words being, "We have met the enemy, and he is Perry's
monument."
Kelly's camera can take
stills and movie clips. I asked her before I started the
takeoff roll if she wanted to take a video of the takeoff.
Her less than heartwarming reply; "No, I think I'll just
hang on and ride it out" Sheesh!
After
lifting off, (and missing the monument), we circled the
island just off-shore to take in the scenery. Kelly took
more shots of the island as we circled clockwise. Although
still beautiful, we noticed the difference between the
clear, cool waters off Mackinac Island and the
warmer-looking, murky waters of Lake Erie. We could see boat
wakes in the algae from where boats had passed.
We
flew back the way we had come, following the coast to
Toledo. As we headed north above US-23, I decided to divert
west a bit so we banked left and followed M50 from
Dundee.
Kelly
and I had been looking for some land to eventually build a
home on, and I decided an aerial reconnaissance was in
order. We flew over several properties between Chelsea and
Manchester that we had looked at from the ground. We
accomplished very little, but had a grand time of it.
Circling the properties, I banked up to 30 degrees to see
how Kelly did. I had been keeping the banks shallow on our
trips to get her comfortable, and was slowly increasing to a
standard 30 degree bank. As long as the turn was coordinated
she did well. (There's the rub, keeping the turns
coordinated!)
Sightseeing done, we
tuned 134.55 and got the updated ARB ATIS information. We
called the tower ten miles southwest and were cleared to
land on 24. Shortly after 1700 we landed at ARB.
We
enjoyed the trip. Although we didn't find near as much on
the island that interested us as we had hoped, we still
enjoyed seeing a new place. Of course, I was happy simply to
have flown somewhere and Kelly was happy to have simply
survived flying somewhere with me.
Would
I recommend this trip to someone else? Sure, especially if
they would enjoy the tours of the Monument, winery and
caves. Naturally, if the intent is to partake of the
abundant partying that the island is famous (infamous?) for,
then either take a ferry or plan an extra day to recover
before getting into the left seat.
As
before, after our trip to Mackinac Island, I was pleased to
have actually gone somewhere in an airplane, to have used
the pilot privilege I earned to do a trip that could not
have been done by land. This is why I endured the lessons,
challenges and expense of earning the license. I hope to
keep doing these flights, and to extend the distances and
see new places. That is what the UM Flyers is about for me;
learning to fly and then doing so for recreation, seeing
places and views that other, land-bound people cannot see.
As always, I am ecstatic and grateful to be able to do this.
It is both a privilege and a blessing that must never be
taken for granted.
Put
In Bay links:
www.putinbay.com
www.put-in-bay.com
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