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My girlfriends family invited me to their home in Nantucket for memorial day weekend. While I was fully planning on taking the RV up there, her family didn't trust their only daughter in some metal contraption hastily assembled in a garage. So she flew commercial, and I took the prestigious Westminster, MD to Nantucket, MA non-stop flight on BullockAir. The flight path was very straight forward with no real weather to be concerned with. Fly north of NYC class bravo, hug the south coast of CT and RI, cut across over Martha's Vineyard and end up in Nantucket.  I removed my GoPro tip and installed the recently reinforced standard tip. Every knot counts!  I elected to bring my own booze since I heard Island prices were quite high.  At 7,500' there was some wind, but not much behind me where I needed it.  The visibility was great for a late May day. Off to the distance you can see the Susquehanna.  It was chilly out.  I climbed up some more in order to search for a better tailwind.  Booyah! 13 kts on the tail.  Brrr, temps were falling quick. I did have to turn on the heat a little to keep my feet warm.  The puffy clouds are always fun to fly around.  Traffic started to get busy...NYC must be nearby.  Once I turned the corner around the top of NYC, the winds started working in my favor. 35 kts on the tail.  Zoomin' at 206 kts (237 MPH). Not too shabby!  Coming up on the Hudson River.  Passing by West Point on my left. Wait...wasn't I just here? I have a serious case of Deja vu.  The clouds started to get thicker at 9,500', so I decided to drop down.  Under the clouds, looking south over the Long Island Sound.  Once I was under the clouds, the ride started to get very rough. 0.6 to 1.5 G's of bumps.  Newport, RI with hundred's of WAFI's (Wind Assisted Freakin' Idiots - a power boaters name for sailboats).  Cuttyhunk Island.  Almost all Blue on the GPS. Why does the engine always seem to make funny noises in this situation?  Coming up on the western two islands off of Nantucket.  The water color is quite spectacular up here. It almost looks Caribbean.  Sankaty Lighthouse on the east end of the island.  We watched the Figawi race from Hyannis to Nantucket. Lots of sailboaters ready to party for the weekend.  Very windy on the island...and chilly.  We ate like champs. 4 pound Lobsta's were just one of the great dinners.  The next day we were off on another adventure - taking a 4X4 on the sands. Our destination was Great Point, on the North East side of the island.  We saw a few seals swimming and also sunbathing.  And then we stumbled across a huge heard of a couple of hundred of these suckers. The male seals did not seem to enjoy us in their vicinity.  At dinner people charged their cell phones in an interesting spot on my chair. I should of warned them of the beans I had for lunch. I don't know how everyone knows who's phone is who's....they all look the same.  The 5 days in Nantucket went by quick, and it was time to head out. The tower at Nantucket is very friendly.  Off in the air, looking at the Nantucket Harbor.  More pretty water.  Not pretty headwinds.  Blah...my RV likes to go faster than this. Once I am done with this over-water nonsense, I will find ways to speed up.  The south beaches of Martha's Vineyard looks quite nice.  A better shot of Cuttyhunk Island. Looks quite nice.  Off to the distance is Nomans Land, south-west of Martha's Vineyard. Back not too many years ago, this was a bomb target.  First stop was to get some cheap gar - $4.25 a gallon at Richmond, CT (08R). However, not self-serve. Off to the next stop.  Passed near Foxwoods Casino in CT. Last time I was here the Blackjack tables were friendly to me.  Tough to see, but off of the Thames River is another casino - Mohegan Sun.  Navy sub base on the Thames, just north of new London, CT.  I have taken a private boat in and out of these slips many times.  Second cheapest gas was at Chester, CT (KSNC). The crosswind was brutal here. It took me two tries to get on the ground.  On the way back home, once over land I stayed down low where the headwinds were gentler to me.  Even better..under 10 kts.  I am happier with this ground speed.  Crossing back over the Hudson River.  Big Iron was all around.  NYC off in the distance.  The trees were getting too close to my landing gear, so I went up to 3,000'. Winds were still reasonable.  The benefit of a side by side with no passenger.  Foreign bug matter was accumulating at an astonishing rate on my windshield.  There was an interesting bird in the pattern at my home airport. Looks like it's the annual visit from the DirecTV blimp.  The trip home took nearly 4 hours with the two stops and the headwinds - not bad, but the trip up there took only 1.9 hours! Still faster and cheaper than commercial. I was able to bring back some fun items from my trip. Did anyone really have a doubt I came back "Dry"?  Bugs galore. I decided to clean up this mess while they were still wet. 
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Last Modified: October 5, 2024 |