I couldn’t resist getting one more flight in this early, early Christmas morning. The problem was though, that all of the outbound flights from my last location (S44 - Spanaway) were either too much cargo (1,700 lbs.) or had just expired, so they weren’t available.
So for this flight, I took a gamble and picked the only other thing available out of S44 - a MISSION…! Now, I haven’t flown any missions in AH2. Your total REP level is a composite of cargo, passenger, and mission flying. I’ve been 100% concentrated on cargo flying. Missions have you fly supplies (or passengers) just as you would cargo, but the difference is that you have a time limit in which to complete the mission. This flight from S44 to 2WA3 (Stuart Island) was about 101 nm, and I’d be given 49 minutes to complete it.
I was a little worried for several reasons. First - the weather. It has been miserable in the PNW the last couple of days. Mucking about in the soup causes performance loss at the minimum, and extra time to shoot approaches or hunt around for an airport at the other end. Second, the destination airport (according to AirNav) is just a tiny strip with some interesting approach notations. This could be a bit more exciting that I want.
So off we go into the weather…
I keep the throttle firewalled, lean out the engine, and aim for a short climb to 4,000’ which I’ve calculated will keep me at a minimum height above the highest obstacle enroute. Most of the flight will be over water, and I’m counting on a ceiling of at least five or six hundred feet at the destination to let me come zooming in over the water…
It become a race between my GPS time enroute display and the occasional reminders from Air Hauler that I’m running out of time. At the beginning of the flight I have about a two minute margin, and I’m getting pretty nervous that by the time I maneuver to land, I’ll fail the mission. After starting a 100’ per minute let down about 20 minutes out, I gain another 10 knots and end up banking a couple more minutes.
My gradual let down gets me below the bases and I’m starting to feel a bit more confident - the only hurdle left is to FIND the airstrip and land on it in the first pass…
I spend an inordinate amount of time looking at the sectional chart, comparing it to my GPS, and pulling up Google Earth to figure out my best plan of attack. I figure I will aim for the small airport on the east end of the island, which lines up nearly perfectly with the much smaller strip on the west end of the island. A large hill apparently blocks approaches from the west, and perhaps could be a problem in the event of a go-around.
I arrive at 1,300’ - my minimum descent altitude while I zip across San Juan Island (home of Friday Harbor) and I’m relieved the weather has given me a break…
As Stuart Island comes into view just beyond San Juan Island, I’m reminded that I have about 8 minutes left - my GPS is showing around 3 minutes out…a nice little buffer and I start to relax a bit, but I don’t pull the throttle back just yet…
I cross over the east airport and start my turn to follow the strip of land toward my destination…but I still haven’t spotted the dirt strip. I’m getting nervous again…
Then I spot it - whoa - that’s no joke…! 1560’ x 50’ embedded right in the side of a hill. I start to scrub off speed quickly and start concentrating on form rather than speed. I get all the flaps in, slow to around 70 knots, and start to concentrate on not under OR overshooting…
The reliable and trusty 185F proves her worth once again - handling the small strip with little problem…
I unload the mission packages with a few minutes to spare…
And with that successful mission - 40.03 REP…
As well, we are sitting on a nice bit of company cash ~ $387,624
I’m more relieved that elated. That will come later. Time to get the 185F back to Longview Ranch. She’s only 2.6 hours out of a Phase A (50 HR) check and sitting at around 71% condition. I don’t know if I should repair her to 100% prior to selling her and if that will allow me to get more cash or not. Time to do some research.
Already in the back of my mind is the thought of keeping the faithful workhorse. I could hire a pilot I suppose. Decisions, decisions.
