Paul Segupta crosses the pond

Well, Paul took his vacation from Olde England and hit Manhattan last Saturday.
Today, he hopped a train down to my place in New Jersey. We procrastinated as long
as possible, but finally it was time to head out to the airport. We decided to run
the Hudson corridor, cut west over northern New Jersey, and follow the Delaware river
down through the water gap on our way home.

I briefed Paul on how to climb into the plane (not a trivial matter), and we started
up and headed for the fuel pumps. I was then informed that the FBO was out of gas. No
problem - off to Mannville.

Upon landing at Mannville, we were informed that there was no fuel there either.
Jeez! Off to Solberg.

Solberg had fuel. After getting a briefing on how to run their pump system, we got
the plane full. Paul bought a New York terminal chart as a souvenir. We then
discussed reversing the original path we had planned. We nixed that when it became
obvious that that would put Manhattan on my side of the plane.

Back in the air, we headed for the Raritan bay, then over the narrows bridge. I
dropped down to 500' past the Statue of Liberty and then climbed back up to 900' for
the rest of the run. Paul kept a video camera on the dash and a digital camera for
the highlights, so Jay should have some nice shots for his web site shortly.

Once we passed the northern tip of Manhattan, Paul asked if we could turn around and
run down the other side along the East River. Since that requires extensive
collaboration with NY ATC, I declined the attempt. Therein ensued a lengthy boring
run over northern Jersey.

When we departed 3N6, the winds were reported as 11 knots from 270 degrees, but
headed west at 3,500', we were looking at ground speeds in the mid 70s. With a cruise
speed of 103, that indicates that the winds were a bit stronger up there. We passed
over miles of packed McMansions, followed by the relatively unpopulated ridge area
near Suffern. I pointed out the old Lockheed at Lee Ross' home base as we went by. We
hit the Delaware northwest of Sussex and paralleled the ridge. I dropped down to
2,000' for the run through the water gap, and Paul's video camera went back on the
dash. Then I screwed up.

"Let's see if I can find Easton", I said. "If we land there, I can log this as
cross-country time." It didn't occur to me that 1) Easton's runway is lined up
north-south, 2) the wind is out of about 270, and 3) we've just verified that said
wind is bucking 20-25 knots.

I managed to find the airport and set up a nice downwind leg. Base went well too.
Then I turned final. Dropped in 40 degrees of flaps. Halfway through the final leg,
it becomes obvious even to me that the rudder isn't big enough for this job; the
runway keeps shifting over to the side. So I pull the flaps up to 24 degrees, drop
the nose a bit, and add a little power.

Unfortunately, they've put in a new subdivision about half a mile from the end of the
runway, and all those nice green yards make a delightful heat sink. The bottom fell
out. Paul said "should we be looking *up* at the runway?" More power!!!!!

With the runway back in its usual position in the windshield, I managed to get down
without too many bounces. The tailwheel bearings and springs complained all the way
down the strip, however. I turned off onto the grass about 2/3 of the way down and
taxiied back. It took nearly full throttle and nearly full right brake to keep from
weathervaning.

We shut down beside the avionics shop and went in to chat with Charlie Blackert for a
while. The have a Skyhawk in there that someone brought in for a panel upgrade.
During the preliminary work, some corrosion was found at the top of the firewall.
After removing the engine, windshield, and the panels right below the windshield,
it's been established that an earlier firewall "repair" was a butcher job, and the
firewall has to be replaced. Charlie has to send the avionics back 'cause that
money's going to someone else for a new firewall.

Charlie *did* offer to let us sleep in the hangar, and pointed out the "very nice"
diner right down the road, but we finally steeled ourselves to brave the wind.
Charlie pointed out that we could probably get off the ground in about the width of
the runway if we took off directly into the wind, but I decided to do things the
"correct" way. I left the flaps up, however, to give me better control on the ground.

The first inkling of trouble occurred at the end of the runway. I pulled out on the
runway and couldn't turn left! We sat there on the centerline at nearly full throttle
and full left rudder and brake at 90 degrees to the runway. With full takeoff power
and a locked left brake, I was finally able to swing around, but the first few
planelengths of takeoff were made with some degree of left brake to keep it straight.
This and the lack of flaps, made for a long takeoff run, of course, and by the time
the tail was up, the end of the runway was fast approaching. There was still asphalt
under the wheels when they lifted off, but that just changed the problem - either the
airport or one of the neighbors has a fence, and the ground south of the airport
rises. Time for the flaps!

With a notch of flaps down, we were able to climb with the usual alacrity and turned
for home. Fortunately, Paul had forgotten about his video camera during both the
landing and takeoff, so I didn't have to try to figure out how to erase any footage!

We ran the river down towards New Hope, Pennsylvania. Hertz Rent-A-City had taken
away Philadelphia for the day, but I was able to point to a glint or two in the haze
to show Paul where it's located on a day with better visibility. Then back to Old
Bridge. Paul remembered his camera for that approach, which was fortunately
uneventful.

After some great conversation and a lovely meal (thanks again, Paul), I saw Paul off
on the train back to New York, where he will do some more sightseeing before heading
west.

Your turn, Jay.

George Patterson
This marriage is off to a shaky start. The groom just asked the band to
play "Your cheatin' heart", and the bride just requested "Don't come home
a'drinkin' with lovin' on your mind".

Your turn, Jay.

Thanks, George. We'll be showing Paul the Iowa sights shortly!

Problem is, I was at SNF when he emailed me with pertinent questions -- like
how he is getting to our place!

Oh, well -- it will work out somehow...

:-)
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

"G.R. Patterson III" wrote in message
...
Well, Paul took his vacation from Olde England and hit Manhattan last
Saturday.

Today, he hopped a train down to my place in New Jersey.

story of 90 degree crosswinds snipped

Can't say I wasn't entertained on my trip!

Cheers George, and nice write-up!

Paul