Arcadia X06

 Video Arcadia

According to The Atlas of Florida, "The Rev. James Madison ("Boss") Hendry (1839–1922) named the town in honor of Arcadia Albritton (1861–1932), a daughter of Thomas H. and Fannie (Waldron) Albritton, pioneer settlers. Arcadia had baked him a cake for his birthday and he appreciated it so much that he named the city after her."

Turning downwind X06 RWY06

From 1917 to 1922, Arcadia was the home of Carlstrom Field, a grass airfield of the U.S. Army Air Service named for deceased aviation pioneer Victor Carlstrom. Carlstrom Field was used for pilot training both during and after World War I. In May 1941 the site again became an airfield for military primary flight training, operated by the Embry–Riddle Aeronautical Institute (now Embry–Riddle Aeronautical University). Carlstrom Field, one of several satellite fields in the Fort Myers area, also trained pilots for the Royal Air Force until its closing in 1945. Arcadia Municipal Airport is a public-use airport located 1 mile (1.6 km) southeast of the central business district. The City of Arcadia operates the day-to-day operations of the airport. It is leading the State in low fuel prices and has a nice Fly-In & Camp Out facility called Aviation City. It is becoming locally famous for weekly fly-in Taco Tuesdays.

Arcadia and other areas of Florida have a rich history of cattle-raising, which means it also had – and continues to have – a large contingent of cowboys, known locally as Florida Crackers (for the sound made by their whips). Located just one hour east of Sarasota and Bradenton and one hour north of Fort Myers, Arcadia sits in the middle of Florida cowboy country and it is a place where the Old West meets the Old South. Rodeos and other competitions in Arcadia are common, and the town also hosts the De Soto County Fair in January and the Watermelon Festival in May. 

Sally looked good when I opened the hangar doors. Still clean from her bath, the sun shined on the spinner as I began the preflight.  Nose tire was a bit under pressure so I put about 5 lbs. of air in the tire. I also marked the spot where the stem comes out with a silver Sharpie. The wheel pant makes this a bit difficult to find. The rest of the checks were good. 

Citation taking off on RWY18

The weather looked good for the 30 minute flight. The temperatures are in the mid 70°s and we're under a low pressure system.  Light winds  and haze. The farmers are burning their winter weeds so there is a lot of smoke is in the air. 

Runway 5-23 is closed at KVDF for improvements. It won't be open again till the end of March so all traffic is forced to use 18-36. Only a slight inconvenience for me since my hangar is just off this runway. It does mean a significant increase in traffic. I got an airshow today as a Citation took off on RWY18 as I taxied out of my ramp area. I waited a few extra minutes for wake turbulence to clear prior to to taxi. 

The flight plan was pretty routine except for one thing, my "nightmare towers". These are a group of monstrous cell phone towers with long ugly arms that reach up out the ground trying to grab unsuspecting pilots on smoky, hazy days. I looked for them as soon as I crossed over I75 and kept well clear to the east. Sally took us up to 2,700' and we stayed there with a few burbles in the air for most of the trip. A few orange groves and a lot of pasture were the only sights to see along our route. Florida is pretty flat.

On final RWY06 at X06

The engine is performing very well. Prior to the flight I took the remaining tape off the oil cooler and I may have done it too soon. Temperature stayed in the 180°F range and I would prefer it get up to 200°F. I'll add a strip next time. The prop repitch is a success. TAS was 118kts for cruise at 5300RPM (about 5.5GPS). That's about 5kts faster than before the adjustment. Takeoff is at 4950RPM and climb out (80kts) is about 5180RPM. I'm happy with all of those numbers.

Arcadia only had a few visitors. None were in the pattern when I got there. It's a nice, well maintained airport. I'll plan on going back for some tacos. A touch and go and I was on my way home. I decided to climb above the smoke and leveled at 6,500ft. There was smoother air but still smoky. The Tampa class B was coming up so we went back down again, just in time to fly over my house. The development is expanding to the north and the sandy soil stood out from the rest of the green lawns.

The landing pattern was a little busy with student pilots at KVDF. I was number 3 on the downwind and someone was turning crosswind behind me. But the spacing was all good and I made an uneventful full stop landing.

Uneventful is always good.

*Question from a reader about smoke: 

Smoke from local burns at about 5000'.

Paying your Debts

 Video Introduction Flight

I was browsing Facebook and read a post about young man offering to wash airplanes for an airplane ride. I made an appointment almost immediately for the next available Saturday morning. It turned out to be a cold but sunny Florida winter's day. 

I taxied over to the wash area and waited just a few minutes before he and his mom arrived in their car. They introduced themselves and quickly got their equipment out and began to work. I brought along a beach chair and sat down to watch. I was impressed. Attention to detail. They assessed the trouble spots on the belly and decided how to coordinate their efforts to get the job done. Constant communication. 

It had been awhile since I did this so the airplane was dirty. Some areas are harder to get to, even on a creeper, but they never slowed down. Their clothes got soaked as they laid in the puddles to get the dirt off the brakes. I was amazed when he cleaned the top of the vertical stabilizer without using a ladder. Teamwork.

After about 2 hours they finished up. The best the airplane had looked in a long time.

This past Saturday was my turn to pay up. When I left home the weather was marginal. Foggy mist was breaking up and low clouds were forming. Winds were still light but getting stronger. The forecast was good and I hoped it would be right for a change. It was chilly for Florida, low to mid 40°s. I asked them to dress warmly. They arrived on time.

I briefed them both in the FBO break room. We chatted briefly about objectives and expectations. Then I talked about the airplane, emergency procedures and what I planned for each flight. He went first. After an hour we returned and gave her a chance. Not quite as long but it was her very first time to control an airplane. Both had smiles on their faces during the debrief in the break room. 

He is 14, just starting his adventure. She is a manager at the airport and for the first time saw a traffic pattern from the cockpit. The debt I owe aviation is huge. I was so happy to give just a little bit back. It was a very good day.

Plant City KPCM

Video: Plant City

Located between Tampa and Lakeland Plant City is known as the Winter Strawberry Capital of the World and hosts the annual Florida Strawberry Festival. Stretching back more than 80 years, this Plant City festival bursts with midway hilarity, on-stage entertainment (much of it free), livestock and, of course, plenty of ways to eat strawberries. Usually in February or early March it is attended by people from all over the United States as well as many people from around the world. Despite many thinking it was named for flora grown at plant nurseries (especially vegetables and fruits, as well as tropical houseplants) in its tropical Gulf Coast climate, it was named after prominent railroad developer Henry B. Plant. 

The Plant City Municipal Airport was founded in 1948 to ship strawberries. Runway 09/27 was lengthened in 1999 and redesignated 10/28. In 2000, a new terminal was constructed, along with two new hangars (E and F) and a new Jet-A fuel tank. PCM is a public-use airport located two nautical miles (4 km) southwest of the central business district of Plant City in Hillsborough County, Florida, United States. The airport is publicly owned by the Hillsborough County Aviation Authority, which also operates Tampa International Airport. ~Wikipedia

Me and my shadow at KPCM RWY28.

The pickers are busy getting ready for the festival. As I drive the local roads, bands of workers with various colored team shirts work the early mornings and afternoons harvesting the winter crop of sweet strawberries. Hard work.

The cold fronts come pushing through like waves on the beach. The air gets churned and is often very gusty, but unlike northern cold fronts these do not bring snow. Florida temperatures vary greatly throughout the day making typical attire shorts and jackets (mid 30's) in the morning then peeling back to t-shirts (mid 70's) in the afternoon. It was calm early in the morning but the local TAFS said to expect gusts into high teens by mid-day. I got out to the airport early.

During my system checks on preflight the ADSB-out transponder failed with a 1090es fault. I found the coax from the GPS antenna was loose. I was able to reach under the panel to tighten it but will need to investigate just how it happened.

I taxied out with new databases and updated software (version 5.60). I had to unlatch the GPS unit from the plane and bring it home to my office and attach it to my computer with a cable. Garmin Express recognized it and installed all of the updates. This is a process change from my 696 when I could leave the unit in the plane and do this using an SD card.

The TAFS were right this time. The winds were getting "sporty" so after three landings at KPCM  I headed for home. 

Sally is running very well. It was a fun flight, but I need more landing practice.