Pennsylvania

I don't even really feel like talking about Pennsylvania. Heh. It was just a flying day, so nothing interesting for you, but it was a big one for me. It's the first time I think I've *ever* thought, "Gee, today would be a lot better with a copilot". I like doing it all on my own. But this one was a lot. ;)

Morgan had a trip, her first in the Cirrus, with taking Nick to Kansas City. Her plane was left on the ramp, in a snow storm. She Facetimed me in a bit of a panic, because I was about to leave in the Conquest with Ethan, Amber and Logan, and she wasn't sure if it was safe to go with the wings like that. So I talked to her about it for a few minutes. Is it loose snow, is it ice, is it stuck to the wing, etc. It was loose, so I told her to wipe it off as far in as she could reach off the wings and tail, that having the leading 1/3 of the wing clear would be good enough, and that once she started accelerating, the rest of the loose snow would blow off anyway, and it would be okay. 

I then loaded up my folks, in 3/4 mile visibility and snow, and we headed to Pittsburgh. I'm going to short cut this and just say it this way.

Pittsburgh (PIT) and Philadelphia (PHL) are the two largest Class B airports in Pennsylvania. They're busy, and big. Normally you go in and out of one, once, and you can prepare ahead of time fairly well. It's always harder the first couple of times you go into one of these because you don't know that particular airport's quirks yet. The busier airports have arrival procedures, approach procedures, and complicated and fast ground procedures.

So I had an arrival into PIT, and then an instrument approach through the clouds, to landing. Taxied over, dropped off Logan, didn't even get out of the airplane because I was pulling up my departure, which included a ton of waypoints and procedures, a "depart via the SID" which means you have to be very precise on altitudes, headings, and procedures. For only an hour flight, and then I had an arrival into PHL, also very specific and busy. Land there, am there long enough to grab some food, then a tricky departure out of PHL, followed immediately by an arrival and an approach back into PIT. Picked up Logan, stayed in the airplane trying to get the next leg, and a departure out of PIT. The ground operations were tricky too at these huge airports with tons of runways and taxiways and controllers who assume you're familiar with the area. In other words, I was HOPPING, and tense, and "on", all day, because it was a lot. Even to me, single pilot, it was a lot. 

When we got back to Frankfort, it was getting dark. We put the plane away, and I made it home late, in time to get up at 6:15 am again for the Michigan adventures that are above.

Like I said. Long day. We were in PIT for Logan and the job, we were in PHL for Amber and a medical procedure she got done. 

This was PIT after breaking out

It was sunny in Philly at least

A couple of shots of the ice on the windshield after breaking out of the top of the clouds