Bob is based in New York State along the Hudson Valley and I am in Northeast Maryland near the Susquehanna Valley. We had been planning to meet for lunch – somewhere on a route between our two respective homes – since I bought my own airplane in September of 2008. After the third cancellation we began referring to this particular mission as the “Bally Jinx.” We did manage to complete other “meet up” type missions but this one eluded us from October last year to (finally) September of this year. We had a gorgeous day in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast regions for a day of flying. Bob actually had additional missions for this flight, having stops planned for two other airports during his day-long flying.

So…on to Butter Valley Golf Port (Airport – 7N8), which is located just east of Bally, Pennsylvania. On first glance at Airnav and the comments posted there, some pilots may be a bit apprehensive about landing at this small airport. Of the six comments posted thus far, here are five quotes: “Challenging place to land and take-off,” “to practice an unusual landing strip,” “definitely a challenge the first time. I would do it again, but not in a Cirrus,” “one fun and challenging airport!,” and “the runway keeps the pilot on his/her toes.” What that all means is: make sure you are up on your short field landings and takeoffs – if you consider 2400′ to be short, that is. I am used to flying out of an airport with the longest runway being 2000 feet long.

We arrived as a flight of two – a C-172 (from the northeast) and an Ercoupe (from the southwest). The runway is a bit different in that it is part paved and part grass. Both surfaces are in fine condition with a smooth transition from one surface to the other. There is a displaced threshold to get your flare over/after the golf cart and road crossing. It also has a slight roller-coaster effect because of a small hill at about the half way point and, overall, is slightly uphill. With that said, the preferred runway is 34 – to take advantage of the uphill slope to keep you from needing much brake power, considering the field length. We landed into a 50 degree crosswind from the right side at about 12 knots. There was a bit of a “burble” on long final over some trees, but everything smoothed out on short final and seemed negligible during the flare. That was my experience in my Ercoupe – but Ercoupes are very easy to land in crosswind conditions (no need for rudder pedals at all). My colleague in his 172 also had no problems either with the runway length, the roller coaster or the crosswind. (He flies out of an airport with a looong runway.)

Neither of us would label Butter Valley airstrip as “challenging.” A bit different, maybe, but not difficult at all. We arrived within ten minutes of one another and met up in the tie-down area, which has ample space for a dozen or so transients. There were marked tie-downs but no ropes at the ones we chose. So bring your tie-down rope. We parked on grass and I had wheel chocks for the nose gear so I did not bother with wing-tie ropes. We said our “Hellos” and headed to the restaurant. Walking across the parking lot, I was stopped by an older golfer who asked about my Ercoupe – to see if it was mine. It seems his father had owned one for many years – from the 50′s until his passing in 1990. I am used to questions and/or comments about my airplane no matter where I fly it. (It really is a nice example of a well-cared for 1946 aircraft.)

Lunch was the main reason for our meeting – not the flying. Yeah, right! Neither of us are avid golfers so I cannot comment on the quality of the golf course but it sure did look nice. It was very beautifully kept and was picturesque with trees, hills and bunkers all around the runway, clubhouse and restaurant. It may be surprising, but many small airport (General Aviation) restaurants are not over priced. To the contrary, many are very reasonable – and Butter Valley was no exception. One of the posted “specials” was a Chili Dog for $1.95 and a Grilled Chicken Salad for $5 (if I recall correctly). The place was clean and service was efficient and friendly. And, this is a biggie for me, they served breakfast all day. Well, all day for them was Breakfast and Lunch – closing by mid-afternoon. So I ordered a usual (for me) breakfast of two scrambled eggs, bacon, home fries and toast. Bob had a cheeseburger and later added on a hot dog (hungry boy that day). We both had iced tea. The entire bill was only $14 and change. The breakfast was priced at $5.95 – which seem s about average for a breakfast place. However, the surprise was that the price INCLUDED coffee or tea AND a glass of orange juice. Nice place, friendly service, good food and very reasonable pricing. This place is a “keeper” – for sure. We will be back.

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My last flight in the Ercoupe was just before Christmas, then a few “life events” seemed to get in the way. The Monday before Christmas was settlement day on our new “second home” at the beach. “Moving in” over the holidays and weekends thereafter kept me away from the airport. Then a business trip to Affiliate Summit in Las Vegas (in January) took me away for almost a week.

The winter of 08-09 was a bad one – not snow wise, but the temperatures were colder than average and there were prolonged periods of high, gusty winds. Then in late january we had an ice storm – one icy step in our back yard didn’t like me – and caused a fractured ankle. I hobbled on crutches into the FBO and made arrangements to have the Annual Inspection on the Ercoupe moved up to NOW. I figured, correctly, that an unscheduled Annual and taking care of a couple of Squawks would have the bird being finished up about the time I could climb back onto the wing. Well, the timing was about right and the weather cooperated yesterday – so takeoff I did – up I went – back in the saddle again.

The flying really felt good. The earlier breeze and bumps had calmed down and I had smooth air at 2500 AGL. I wanted to get away from the airport for a bit and flew north to test the newly installed elevator trim cable (one of the squawks), which had all but frozen after I bought the airplane. The trim worked perfectly, I could set it up to hold altitude quite well, a poor-man’s autopilot for sure.  The ‘Coupe tries to make a slight left turn – not because it’s out of rig, but because my butt takes up 40% of our useful load. If I move to the other side, the tend is turning toward the right. With a passenger, hands off flight should now be “straight and level.” Yay…

Then it was back to the airport for five landings. However, a close friend was doing some pattern work with his (our) CFI in preparation for his anticipated solo flight. So after two pattern trips and two nice landings I decided to tie down and watch my pal fly. I also didn’t want to distract him by being in the pattern and making CTAF calls in opposition to his. I know he needs to learn to handle a crowded pattern, but thought his solo evening should be as free of distractions as possible. It all worked out – HE DID SOLO – Congratulations!

Next trip I’ll knock out a few more takeoffs and landings. Then I’ll be legal and current. Of course those two attributes do not make a pilot safe and proficient. We (pilots) all need to keep working on those important attributes. But my first two landings in over three months were “chirp-chirp” greasers. (Ya gets lucky every once in a while.) In fact, the CFI called on the radio to say the one he saw (1st one) looked cool – crosswind crab on the short paved runway. He got to see it from above. (Pilots find it interesting to see the ‘Coupe touch down in a crab. LOL) So, I’ll reach around, pat myself on the back, and look forward to getting back in the saddle again in the next few days.

Bob has begun the intensive work (fun) required to become instrument rated. Admittedly, all flying is fun to some of us “hard cases,” but some of the training is very, very intense. So, his email stated, “I tell ya, I wanna get out tomorrow for some RECREATIONAL flying. Soo… badly, I’m seriously considering coming down to see you. I was supposed to go to Alton Bay with my Cuz on Thurs, but that looks like it’s going to get weathered out. He doesn’t think he can get off tomorrow. So… I’m looking your way.”

My response was, of course, to “come on down, I’ll take you to lunch.” (One of those $100 hamburgers that pilots talk about. One of us, however, enjoyed the Jambalaya special at Coakley’s in Havre de Grace.)

Now, by car, we live 275 miles and five hours of drive-time apart. Obviously, that is not convenient for a “lunch meeting” (which we can call a meeting because we are in the same business and collaborate on occasional projects).

With about an hour and a half of flight time in a C-172 (that’s a Cessna, small 4-place aircraft). Bob’s last email gave his time of arrival and departure like this: “I have to be back at home by 5p…wheels off by 2/2:30p so how’s a 12:00 arrival sound? I’ll need fuel, probably upon arrival would be best.“

That’s all I needed, I arrived at the airport about an hour before noon. I wanted to check on my airplane’s Annual Inspection (which is going well and should be finished next week). About 10 minutes ’til noon I heard a radio call from Bob, asking about wind and runway information. We gave him an advisory and soon watched him fly the pattern to a smooth touchdown. He taxied to the ramp near the fuel tank, shut down and climbed out of his plane. It was EXACTLY NOON. Great flight planning, eh? Harford Air Services (the FBO at Churchville’s airport) fueled the plane and then we headed to town to fuel the pilot(s).

We had our lunch meeting in Havre de Grace, whose name means Harbor of Mercy. I also threw in a short driving tour of this quaint and picturesque waterfront town at the head of the Chesapeake Bay. We then headed back to Harford County Airport for a sightseeing flight of the surrounding area.

Bob’s flight effectively demonstrated/implemented one of the great things, one of the “joys,” of general aviation. It would have been ridiculous for either of us to drive to visit one another for lunch. Some folks might claim it was silly to fly three hours for a lunch/meeting. But this was a multi-purpose endeavor. Bob needed some “recreational” flying as a break from the intensity of Instrument Flight training, we both wanted to meet to discuss an Internet project on which we were collaborating. It’s true we can collaborate via email and phone, but the occasional face-to-face meeting is also important and effective in the business world.

For me, the local sightseeing flight was a great way to familiarize Bob with the area and to get me back in the air. Because of life events I hadn’t been “up there” in a little over two months

So…it will soon be time for me to work on a mission list, get back in my Ercoupe for some (Takeoffs Are Optional) “practice” and begin making some trips. The ride in Bob’s plane certainly has my batteries recharged and ready to go. Hopefully be the end of next week the Ercoupe (currently in for Annual), the weather and my ankle (broke it during an ice storm in late January) will be ready for action. It has been 40 years since I touched a control yoke from the right seat (Bob let me fly a bit) – t’was cool. I am now eager for Jamie, my CFI, to begin training me to be PIC from the right side. That’s another goal, earning a CFI-Sport rating, and another story – to be determined.

We had talked about heading to York, Pennsylvania for lunch, but as I was planning the flight I came across two PIREPS saying that the cafe at York had recently closed, apparently going out of business. If that’s true it’s a shame because we had heard good things about flying there for a meal.

So, my first actual mission for food in the Ercoupe was to Chester County’s G. O. Carlson Airport, just west of Coatesville, PA. Chester County Airport has a great little restaurant, The Flying Machine Cafe, in the terminal. Mike was already removing the cover when I got to the airport and we pre-flighted in CAVU, but chilly (44 degrees) weather. As we warmed up the engine I shared with Mike the DUATS pre-flight briefing and the AOPA printed flight plan I had done earlier. Even though this was a rather short flight (35 miles) I wanted to show him some of the tools available to pilots. Mike made use of the warm-up time to put the destination latitude and longitude into an old GPS we had used on a boat. I learned that even a rudimentary GPS can be used as an effective backup to an expensive Aircraft GPS Unit. But, the ‘Coupe only has an old Garmin Pilot III GPS. I did, of course, update it with the latest chart data from the Garmin web site.

Along the route to Chester County (KMQS) we used three navigational tools. The on-board Garmin, Mike’s old boat GPS and good ol’ fashioned pilotage. I am a former geography teacher and know the area pretty well, so my “pilotage” amounts to looking out the window and keeping my thumb moving along the sectional chart. It’s tough to get lost when you can see for 15 miles or more. On approaching the airport we heard a fair amount of traffic and saw three aircraft in the process of landing.

Being a non-towered airport, I announced on CTAF 122.7 at 6 miles out and again on making a 45 entry into the left downwind. Shortly after announcing my turn to base, I heard an inquiry as to where I was. With the Ercoupe I fly a rather tight pattern and announced I was ready to turn final. The response was that he had a visual – but did not state where he was. Soooo, less than two minutes after I cleared the runway a King Air twin comes roaring in on final. I imagine his touchdown speed is about equal to my normal cruise.

Speaking of the landing pattern and final approach at Carlson – I have been used to Harford County’s 2000 x 40 ft. runway; and there I was, looking at a 5400 x 100 ft. runway – nearly seven times the area on which to touch down. I figured if I can handle a small runway a large runway should be a piece of cake. It was – we hit the numbers and announced clear of the runway at the first taxiway.

Of course, the Ercoupe ended up being the smallest plane on the ramp. We shared “parking” space with a couple of Bonanzas, a C-172 (or two) a business twin and an executive jet. The ‘Coupe may be small, but it does attract some attention. I was told this would happen by the former owner when I was interested in buying the airplane. One gentleman, another pilot, stopped me in the terminal building to ask when the Ercoupe was manufactured. Mine is one of the early ones having had its test flight at the factory on August 16, 1946.

As neither of us had had breakfast we were ready to sample the fare at The Flying Machine Cafe in the terminal building. The Flying Machine had some nice reviews and we wanted this first $100 Hamburger jaunt to be a good one.

The service was friendly and efficient. We each had Grilled Cheese sandwiches rather than the “traditional” $100 burgers and they were good. The place was not crowded but had a nice Saturday afternoon crowd with several tables filled with people enjoying the decor. The ceiling had Tiffany lamps and airplane models – LARGE models – hanging all over.

Another nice touch is that every table had a view of the runway. Chester County Airport is quite busy and the takeoff and landing activity is entertaining for those of us who live airplanes. We probably saw 15 to 20 operations while we were eating lunch. But soon it was time to head for home. Being a holiday weekend, Mike and I both had family “things” to do in the evening.

Mike started the pre-flight “walk-a-round” while I walked around with my camera. We lifted off, did the noise abatement turn abeam of the water tower (you’ll know what I mean if you ever go there), and headed southwest toward Aldino International – actually Harford County Airport, 0W3. It was a gorgeous fall day, crisp and clear. The Ercoupe thoroughly enjoyed the dense air and we enjoyed the flight, the “new” airport and the lunch.

]]> http://www.takeoffsareoptional.com/chester-county-kmqs-carlson-airport/feed/ 6 http://www.takeoffsareoptional.com/crosswind-landing-the-ercoupe-at-harford-county-airport/ http://www.takeoffsareoptional.com/crosswind-landing-the-ercoupe-at-harford-county-airport/#comments Mon, 10 Nov 2008 02:06:11 +0000 Bill http://takeoffsareoptional.com/?p=69 OK, flying the Ercoupe on a windy day is easy but getting the video “right” was not. But this is a first attempt and I used a cheap Flip Video Camera. Actually the camera does a nice job, but it did not like imaging the propeller. I actually shot 20 minutes of video of the Susquehanna River Valley, Perryville and Havre de Grace before returning to the traffic pattern. However, with the propeller at cruise speed the video was streaked with propeller “smear.” So for this trip I am only sharing the landing portion – from when I pulled on the carb heat and chopped the power to 1500 RPM before turning onto the base leg for a landing on Runway 28.

The wind was about 10-12 knots with gusts to 18 or 20 and from a direction of 300 degrees. That created only a slight crosswind component for Runway 28, which can be seen in the angle of crab during the later part of final approach. However, the x-wind died out at ground level and the Ercoupe straightened out just before contacting the tarmac. You can even hear the tires “chirp” on the soft touchdown. Usually I make greaser landings only when I am alone – but today I have a video to share.

Harford County Airport has one paved runway, two turf runways, and an awesome FBO, Harford Air Services, that takes care of the place. The paved runway 10-28 is 2000 feet long and 40 feet wide. It also has a parallel turf section that is popular with the local glider school. The longer of the turf runways, 01-19, is also 2000 feet long but stretches out to 75 feet wide. I have not yet used the shorter, diagonal turf runway, 14-32, which is only 1600 feet long and 75 feet wide.

The wind was bothering some people today (keeping them grounded) and my flight was definitely bumpy. Those fair-weather cumulus floating at 4500 feet were formed by some strong convective currents; meaning today provided good reason for ALWAYS wearing a seat belt in a small airplane. However, those updrafts sure put smiles on the faces of the glider pilots, who were having a ball this afternoon. The wind certainly blew out the humidity, making the air so clear and you could see for miles and miles. I could even see the skyline of Wilmington, Delaware, nearly 40 miles to the northeast. And at 1800 feet above the ground I could see small details below me. In fact, my eyes kept wandering to the altimeter because the ground looked so clear it was hard to believe I was nearly a third of a mile above it.

Today was one of those wonderful days when it felt good just to get up in the sky. We had just ended a week of fairly miserable weather that an overnight cold front pushed on out to sea. That set up a day perfect for pictures, so I though I would give the video a try.

The video was uploaded at a “smaller size” to make it more efficient for downloading, but I am not happy with the quality. I’ll try to re-build it and upload again at high quality and see if YouTube tailors the streaming to the appropriate connection speed for our viewers (you).