As
usual, the Luscombe took its sweet time crawling up to altitude. The air was
quite turbulent for an airplane of such small size and I was getting tossed
around inside the cockpit. Hoping for a smoother ride, I continued the climb to
6,500 ft. On days that experience convective
heating, the rising columns of air which build cumulus clouds typically yield
to smooth air around 4,000 or 5,000 ft. But today, it was rough the whole way
up. Upon reaching 6,500, I finally resigned myself to the bumpiness. At the
very least, the air was cooler up there.
For
once, I was not enjoying the ride. The turbulence had me constantly working to
keep the little airplane coordinated and level. All the while theLuscombe eagerly
threw away airspeed and altitude but always took a painfully long time to gain
it back. By the time I had made it to the southern edge of the Atlanta Class
Bravo airspace, I was drained.
 |
| Pleasantly Cool - Miserably Bumpy |
Thankfully,
I had noted my takeoff time—a very useful step that I occasionally forget—and
was keeping an eye on the ETA for my next fuel stop at Tuskegee, where I had also
stopped on my way up. After I cleared the Bravo and turned to go direct to
Tuskegee, the full strength of the atmosphere’s river of air took effect. The
ground speed ticked down and the ETA ticked up; it was clear that I wasn’t
going to make it.
There
I was, stuck in strong winds, getting bounced around in turbulence, and being
forced to find an alternate fuel stop. Pine Mountain, on the Georgia side of
the Alabama border, was just inside the edge of my comfort range for fuel so I prepared
for an early stop.
The
headwind picked up once again and I considered a diversion for my diversion,
into Roosevelt Memorial just visible off my right wing. Thankfully, I could just
make it into Pine Mountain and I passed Roosevelt after a bit of hesitancy.
Pine
Mountain was surprisingly busy but I joined a left base for the westward runway
and made my approach. A 10 knot direct crosswind was billowing over the trees down onto the runway. At about 200 ft, the approach got
interesting as I wrestled the little Luscombe down. An attempted wheel landing
turned into a three-pointer and the noises coming from the fuselage and
tailwheel weren’t pretty.
I was
glad to be on the ground and shut down third in line for the pumps. Heading
inside, I took a breath of the A/C and got some water. After taking a seat, an
older gentleman complimented me, “That looked like a pretty good landing.” I
thanked him but responded honestly that the landing didn’t feel so great. He
shared a few words of encouragement and then I went on my way to refuel and get
back on the airways.
Climbing
out of Pine Mountain, I was intent on finding smooth air. At about 1000 ft, the
right wing lifted rapidly in a thermal. My glider skills kicked in and I quickly
banked the little Luscombe into a tight right turn. After I centered the
thermal, the VSI showed over a 1,000 ft/min climb! Not bad for a little
taildragger that thinks it’s a glider!
 |
| The Top of the "Thermal Perch" |
The
thermal helped me all the way to 8,000 ft before it gave way and the air was as
calm, cool, and collected as a cucumber. Wispy little clouds passed under the
wing as I droned south over now familiar towns—Tuskegee, Auburn, Montgomery,
and Greenville.
I
wasn’t going to make it back to Ocean Springs with just the fuel from Pine
Mountain so I picked my next stop for the lowest priced fuel which worked out
to be in Evergreen, Alabama. My fuel wasn’t the only range-limiter either—my
bladder badly needed relief. I made my approach and got down as I quick as I
could. As soon as the little A65 went silent I dropped the chocks and ran
inside.
After
I came back out and refueled, I spoke, or rather shouted over the sound of the
airplanes, with the airport manager who was very nice. A few minutes later I was back on track to Ocean Springs.
Soon
the bay and downtown Mobile came into sight. I did the math and the time was
the same to go around the Mobile Charlie to either the north or the south. I
chose the southern route and enjoyed the usual view of the Gulf of Mexico.
 |
| Looking North Towards Mobile |
Ocean
Springs soon came into sight and I was on the ground a few minutes later. I had
arranged for a hangar and the airport manager was waiting for me. We pushed her
into her new home then I went about removing all my bags and tools as well as cleaning
the wings.
I
pulled shut the hangar doors with the last of my strength, lifted my exhausted limbs
into the truck, drove home, and collapsed into a deep sleep. It had been a good
day.
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