Lake Parker Arrival

I got started later then planned, but was still airborne before 10:00am. The weather was clear blue skies but gusty. A cold front was predicted for the evening. I would have to pay attention to the weather to insure I wouldn't be spending the night in Lakeland.

Sally still has some sensor issues. It seems if running at a high RPM (>5200) she starts to report out of limit readings. It is nerve wracking, but I'm convinced its a gremlin and not a real reading. Still, getting a low oil pressure annunciation gets immediate attention!

Lakeland (KLAL) is only about 18 miles from Tampa Executive (KVDF) so the flight is relatively short. This would be a busy flight as I had to understand and follow the NOTAM for the Lake Parker Arrival. Inbound, the beautiful clear sky made it easy to pick out traffic. As I turned in toward the power station on the northeast corner of the lake I spotted a number of airplanes starting their procedure.  I took interval behind a "high wing" and was happy to "Rock my Wings" over the power station for positive identification. I maintained a westerly heading at 1200' and 100KTS but strong winds from the east increased my groundspeed by about 20KTS. It was fun looking for the landmarks along the way.

The controllers did an outstanding job keeping everyone informed and the tower was just great handling the huge amount of traffic. The key to flying into an event like this is to study the procedure, listen to what is being said, and respond to the commands. There simply isn't any bandwidth available for chatter.

The only problem I had was spotting my intended point of landing. I didn't see the "orange dot" until well down the runway, but I understood that this was a heavy traffic situation and the tower wanted me out of the way and off the runway as soon as possible. (I misjudged the gusty winds and landed just short of the dot, argh!)

The ground crew and linesman did a superb job of getting me to my parking spot. After shut down a linesman came by to remind me to double check my "Master -Off" and asked if I need tie downs. After the episode a few years ago, tie downs are mandatory. (I brought my own...The Claw)

Once I was sure she was secure, I took the L O N G walk to the display area and immediately found some old friends.

Video Notes: Lake Parker Approach