May 14, 2016- Massey Aerodrome Fly-In
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| A friend at work has a son interested in flying so I invited him to accompany me to the always fun annual Massey Aerodrome Chili Fiesta Fly-In. His name is Paul Michael and this is the second time he has been in my RV. |
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Flying conditions were fine in the morning but thunderstorms were forecasted in the afternoon. This probably kept many people away I think because the turnout was light compared to previous Massey fly-ins. Only 50 or so planes flew in -- with good weather they'll get 100+ at this fly-in. Still, there were plenty of planes and people to make it interesting.
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| There are always a couple of planes being restored in Massey's maintenance hangar. |
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The DC-3/C-46 looks better every time I see it.
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| You can even go in now. Paul Michael likes standing in one of the truly great planes in aviation history! |
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| Hangar walk-throughs are mandatory. |
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| Usually this area is crammed full of planes. But you can see there is a high overcast, and the weather isn't supposed to get any better with time. |
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PM likes the "Super Cat".
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| This veteran of countless fly-ins deserves a closer look. |
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PM checking out my friend Karl's Kitfox Lite.
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| Carrying a little more weight than the Kitfox Lite is this radial powered Cessna 195. I sure wouldn't mind having one of these! |
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| A Yak-50. These were produced between 1975 and 1986 for aerobatics and military training. The type was twice world aerobatic champion. There aren't too many of them still flying since they were flown hard in competition. |
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| Because of the "grassy knoll" at Massey, it is a great place to take pictures of the arriving and departing airplanes. |
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One of the AirCams based at Essex Skypark flew over.
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| Departing. |
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Mugsy flew in -- later we did some formation work for Paul Michael.
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| After checking out all the planes, having a lunch, and hangar flying with the other pilots, it was time to depart before the weather arrived. |
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| Mugsy on the roll. |
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| There he goes! |
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PM and I on the roll.
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And we're flying!
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We did some formation work with Mugsy, then some follow-the-leader, then split up. PM flew for awhile. It's always amazing how fast the kids pick it up. At first they are tentative but within minutes they have the feel of the airplane and are able to turn, climb and dive. We headed over to Annapolis on our way to Freeway Airport where I would drop PM off. Because Annapolis and Freeway are within the SFRA, I had to deal with that. It's been a while since I've done it but it came right back and I had no problem.
You can see it is dark to the west. I could also see the weather approaching on my XM Satellite feed but it looked like I could get to Freeway Airport ahead of it.
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Passing by the U.S. Naval Academy. Looks like they are building something down there. Always digging and filling at USNA!
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| Since we are here, we might as well check it out. |
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| Lot of memories from down there. |
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| It was only a few minutes more to get to Freeway Airport. But when we arrived overhead, the FBO informed us that winds were currently gusting over 30 knots. A Cessna actually landed ahead of us in that. I tried an approach but it was ridiculous so we went back to Lee Airport (Annapolis) where the winds were light. We landed and the FBO guy advised us to put the airplane in a T-hangar to get the plane out of the rain which was obviously coming. As you can see, it did rain pretty hard. After a short wait in the pilot's lounge, PM's Mom came and picked him up here. He had a good time! |
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Raining at Lee Airport
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But less than an hour later, the storm had passed through and the sun was back out!
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| It was a pleasant short flight back to Essex Skypark. |
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| A tanker cruises down the Bay. |
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The weather was so nice now, I wanted to fly some more so I went back over to the Eastern Shore to check out some waterfront mansions.
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| Not too bad. As soon as I hit the lottery I'll get one of these. |
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| Worthy of a second shot. |
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