$100 Hash Browns

When pilots go flying to an airport that has a restaurant on the field we call it going for the $100 hamburger. Of course with fuel costs what they are I’ve started calling it the $200 hamburger!

Saturday a local Meet-Up group, out of Auburn (S50) had a breakfast fly-out planned for Jefferson County International (0S9) in Port Townsend. This has long been a favorite destination of mine – a beautiful flight, good airport, delicious food at the Spruce Goose Café.

My lady-pilot friend, Judy, is grounded as she needs to take her bi-annual flight review and cannot legally fly until she has done so. This is a mini-version of the Check Ride we take to earn our pilots license and actually re-certifies that we have not acquired any bad habits, forgotten rules or procedures, and are safe pilots. I called Judy at 6:45 am. Yes, that early. I knew she would not mind being drug out of bed - “Hey, if a certain pilot were to land at your field, would you like to go to breakfast?” Her response was quick and affirmative. An hour later I fired up Path and we headed north. Twenty minutes later I touched down at 3B8 – landing a bit longer than I like but smoothly. I’d spotted Judy standing near her hangar, so taxied back, amused to see her sticking her thumb out! She loaded in as planned, without my even shutting down.

My usual route to Jefferson County is straight north. Now I was heading from the SE and enjoyed flying over an area that lays directly under the approach to Seattle-Tac, where I had to carefully remain below incoming jets. Passing Tacoma and over Commencement Bay I asked Judy to fly and took some pictures.
Industrial area and Tacoma Dome, where the next day I would go with my son to see the German band, Rammstein.

This is the Tacoma Narrows bridge and part of Puget Sound.

Here is Tacoma's downtown.

We flew NW, then North, carefully avoiding two No-Fly areas (called TFR’s). One over the Bremerton shipyard, where aircraft carriers are parked and the second Bangor, a submarine base.
Here is a photo of Hood Canal and the Olympic range. Judy said it looks just like Norway.


Air Traffic was light. We saw no heavies near Sea-Tac, heard no small planes as we passed Bremerton (PWT) but as we neared our goal, two other planes were coming in – one of them Dave, the leader of the Meet-Up group. Time for some good food, good friends, and tales of flying.

I’d used my Android phone to check fuel prices, and learned that Pierce County (PLU) had the lowest in the area. Imagine being happy paying $5.80 a gallon. Here I am filling up.

Returning Judy to Shady Acres was not pretty. I made a poor approach, but pulled it out with a go-around. (That is a maneuver where instead of landing the pilot re-applies power and gains altitude, turning back to try again.) The second approach was spot on as was the landing. Pride restored.

Heading home, the day was so beautiful that I wanted to just keep going, but must economize and put money away for my big eastern trip in September when I’ll be adding 16 states to the map on Path’s fuselage. That will be worth waiting for.

Ended the time with Path back at Chehalis with 2.6 in the logbook and memories of good times with good friends.