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Report:
A positively beautiful South Florida day. Clear and crisp, some gusts from the WNW, and a belly full of homecooked Cuban food provided a nice platform for flying. In the back, a 6-pack of the local brew, Key West Sunset Ale, the Official Beer of the Conch Republic. Sounds like the perfect way to begin a journey around the world.
GB and I hadn't been on an adventure like this in nearly a decade. Last time we were flying, we were immersed in flying desks as administrators of Lynx Airways. I don't think either of us can recall the last time we flew purely for pleasure. As the wheels left terra firma and the Pilatus PC-12 climbed towards the sun, I'm pretty sure our smiles could be used as running lights. A beautiful day, indeed.
As we set course north towards the Ft. Meyers area, it was time to survey this magnificent craft we had chosen for this adventure. Originally, when coming up with specs for this trip. We had considered the Cessna Caravan, and while we liked the forgiving nature of the 208A, it simply was too slow. As we climbed the PC-12 out to a cruise altitude of FL012, it became evident why we chose this Swiss-built aircraft. Maybe she's not as forgiving as the Caravan, but she has oomph.
She also has a bathroom onboard.
The Key West Sunset Ale (see review) was kicking pretty good (for a fairly passive, flavored ale), so as we approached the Tampa area, we decided to descend and deviate course a bit to check some of the structures in the Tampa Bay area. Unfortunately, a nasty haze rolled in about the time we had completed our descent to 4500 ft. Figures. Climbed back above the growing overcast and rejoined our course, heading NNE towards our destination. As we transited GB's hometown of Orlando, we could clearly see the land that Walt Disney built down below through the breaks in the cloud cover. We were experiencing a bit of a crosswind at FL013, which affected our ground speed pretty well. I wanted to deviate again to check out Daytona International Speedway, but time was pressing us onward. Thank God for the bathroom...
WX got a bit nasty on our descent into Craig Muni. As we descended, GB pulled out this nice spiraling maneuver to line the craft with RWY 32. The ceiling had dropped to 3800 feet, but the wind was nicely arranged with the active runway . Not the most graceful of approaches or the smoothest of landings, but not too bad, either.
Jacksonville isn't one of those exciting destinations radiating culture and lifestyle. But I understand there is a brew somewhere around here for us to examine. Tune in for the next part of our journey, which will bring us to the Atlanta area...
GZ
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