Albert Whitted for Lunch

 Video: Albert with Mike

The Albert Whitted Airport is located just blocks away from hotels, restaurants, museums, shopping and more. This district features some of St. Petersburg’s most fashionable dining and shopping destinations as well as independent galleries and museums.  Anchored by the Salvador Dali Museum, Mahaffey Theater  and the Duke Energy Center for the Performing Arts, the district is bounded by St. Petersburg’s sparkling waterfront park system and includes the St. Petersburg Museum of History and the Museum of Fine Arts. We ate at "The Hangar Restaurant & Flight Lounge" on the airport. (My Turkey BLT had fried green tomatoes and was excellent.) 

"Welcome to the new St. Pete Pier! This gleaming new attraction on the city’s picturesque waterfront promises limitless fun for everyone, from first-time visitors to long-time residents. Its 26 beautiful acres seamlessly combine the peaceful blue waters of Tampa Bay with the vibrant greenery of downtown St. Petersburg’s parks, creating the ultimate place to stroll, bike, dine, drink, shop, swim, take in a concert and more. So get together with your family and friends and visit. It’s time to soak up some fun under the warm Florida sun!" ~ https://stpetepier.org/

It was on Mike's bucket list. The only question was what route to take from KVDF to get there. We couldn't fly direct as that would take us through Class B airspace and right over MacDill AFB. We could call Tampa for permission but doubtful that route would be approved. We could ask to take the "Bridge Transition" to fly directly over KTPA and out to the beach, or we could stay east of I75 and make our turn at Ruskin and fly over the bay. We did the latter.

The weather was very good, light winds, morning convection gave us a little chop but overall a very comfortable flight. I love the Tower folks manning KSPG. They are always very friendly and helpful. When we told ground we were there for lunch you could almost hear the smile on his face as he welcomed us to his airport. Landing fee was $5 since we didn't need any services. We sat in the shade out on the veranda overlooking palm trees and watching airplanes land. Paradise.

During the preflight prior to departure my ADSB returned a 1090ES fault. Not good. This means that ADSB was down and unless I got a waiver we could not leave the airport. Mike shut her down and got out and I scrunched under the pilot side panel to search for loose wires. The coax from the GPS antenna was loose. It never fit snugly and now it became an issue. After some jiggling and a few prayers the box finally passed its system check. We were good to go.

The next stop was Airport Manatee. Mike had never landed on grass before and I wanted him to have that experience. The first challenge is to find the airport. Even with GPS, a turf field looks just like another patch of grass from a distance. It's not until you see the hangars that you really get a feel for the runway environment. The next challenge is to fly a standard traffic pattern. Without runway reference markings its a bit difficult to tell when to turn and what to use for an aim point. Winds here were variable and gusty and it turns out we probably landed with a tailwind. But Mike did well. After looking at the sock we decided to take off in the opposite direction and head for home.

It was a great adventure.

Ridge Landing Airpark 4FL5 & South Lakeland Airport X49

X49 Video.

Ridge Landing Airpark (FAA LID: 4FL5), also known as Ridge Landing Airport, is a private use airpark located four nautical miles (7 km) west of the central business district of Frostproof, a city in Polk County, Florida, United States.

1+ acre lots – Custom Built Airpark Homes – Top Builders In Florida – Fly in Fly Out

"Ridge Landing Airpark in Frostproof, Florida, is an aviation community that sells real estate property for custom home builds and custom built Airpark Homes. Pilots, find your dream home, Search through our homes and property for sale that are near landing strips, airports, and perfect for pilots and aviation enthusiasts. Live where you fly. Homes can be built with private hangars in a safe gated community, located near some of Florida’s main attractions. Purchase your very own piece of airpark real estate in Ridge Landing Airpark!"

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South Lakeland Airport (FAA LID: X49) is a public airport located 13.5 miles south of the central business district (CBD) of Lakeland, a city in Polk County, Florida, United States. The airport covers 32 acres and has one runway. The airport is also home to a regional skydiving company, Skydive Tampa Bay, Inc.

Low pass at Ridge Landing Airpark.

While scrolling through Facebook I came upon a post announcing the Ridge Landing Airpark was holding a fly-in this month. The pictures showed a few planes parked near tents with people enjoying a light lunch. You know, it seems like forever since we went to a fly-in so I decided to take the 30 minute flight to find this place to see just where it was located. 

The flight down was pretty uneventful, although we did get an "OBSTICAL" alert on a monstrous cell tower about midway on the flight plan. The chart says 825' but it seemed much taller than that. Sally and I decided to divert a bit to the north just in case the chart was wrong.

The airpark is a private field with no frequencies for CTAF or AWOS. Landing is by permission only so I just made a low pass to see what was there. It might be nice to go back for lunch but I'm a little wary of getting a real-estate sales pitch.

South Lakeland is a grass strip that occupies the cutout in the Lakeland Class C airspace.

Dimensions: 2412 x 100 feet / 735 x 30 meters, Surface: Turf in Good Condition

There was one bi-wing ultra light taking off when I arrived and she was downwind by the time I was on short final. I decided on a low approach. Sally is still pretty clean from her bath and I didn't want to have to clean weeds off the the underside of the wings and wheel pants.

Just one pass and we were done. Time to go home.

KVDF just announced that their repairs will take longer than expected. Maybe they'll be done by mid-April.