Yesterday's flight (part two)

So what is it that I found about 30 miles south of Elkins, WV? Why it's the The National Radio Astronomy Observatory in Green Bank, West Virginia.

The centerpiece of this facility is this massive radio telescope, actually the world's largest.

It's official name is "The Robert C. Byrd Green Bank Telescope". No shock there, considering that the late senator was instumental in steering the needed federal tax dollars to the project, undoubtedly with the usual caveat that he would only support it if it was built in his home state. There's a reason that West Virginia has so many federal buildings, including a Coast Guard station (anyone see an ocean anywhere near WV?) and most of them bear his name. The old Klansman certainly new how to bring the bacon home.

This complex has lots of other antennea too, as you can see here. It's also got it's own private airstrip.

The NARO and it's adjacent town, Green Bank, sit at the center of the United States National Radio Quiet Zone, an area in which radio transmissions are sharply limited in order to "facilitate scientific reasearch and military intelligence". (Read: "Because of this place.") As a result, Green Bank, population 143, has become a haven for people who believe that they are affected by electromagnetic transmissions from cell phones and other Wifi devices, which are barred in Green Bank. Yes, some of the people living here actually moved here just because of that. Like thirty of them at last count.

I was nice and respectful, and I shut down my own cell phone and all aircraft avionics before I got here, including my transponder. Admittedly, I was tempted to plug my iphone into my radio/intercom system and broadcast a bit of Jethro Tull, just to brighten the eggheads' day as I flew over. (I did not give in, however.) I also made sure to orbit the center from a distance and avoided crossing over their antennas.

This one below is their 43-meter telescope, currently being used by MIT to study the ionosphere.

Here's the brain box that runs this place. The building in the center of the shot is tha Jansky Lab, where these telescopes are developed, maintained and operated. The other notable building, seen below and to the left of it in the shot, is the museum and vistor center, and it's open to the public.

And as I pull away, here's the town of Green Bank.

I headed back to the northeast, following the mountain valleys and flying off of the VOR recievers instead of the GPS. The GPS makes things too easy and I've gotten shamefully out of practice on using the VOR, so this was a refresher flight for that.

If I'd driven this trip instead of flying, I'd have been on the roads for 3-4 hours one way due to the distance and the fact that there is no direct route to anywhere in these mountains below. But flying? An hour.

The sunshine and lack of clouds makes it look like a nice calm day. Nothing could be farther from the truth, however. The clear air turbulence over these mountains is wearing me out. Several times, the aircraft has suddenly and violently dropped, ascended, or flipped into a steep bank without warning, and my head is sore from being bounced off of the doorframe more than once. It looks nice out, but it's downright violent today.

Hey, what's that over there?

It looks like a fire, or as it's pronounced in West Virginia, a FAHR.

Sure enough--it's a brush fire on the side of the mountain. Fire Department is already on scene and no houses appear to be involved, but there are a few that are close enough that the owners are likely concerned.

I put a few orbits in, but the turbulence was positively medieval here so I didn't linger too long. Besides, it looks like they've pretty much got it handled so there's no need for me to play Air Tanker and throw my last water bottles down on it. Still, I was willing to help if they'd just called up on Guard and asked.

Half an hour later, I was back at my home airport, where the winds were now a ninety-degree cross-wind at 11 knots, gusting to 14. My old 172 is rated for a maximum crosswind of 15 knots so this looked like another great if improptu training opportunity. I came in with just ten degrees flaps, crabbed and upwind wing down, and I was all set to firewall the throttle and execute a go-around if it started to get stupid, but I somehow managed to set it down right on the centerline with hardly a squeak from the tires. What a great ending to a great flight. Time aloft: 4.1 hours.

No permitless concealed carry in West Virginia

Despite bipartisan support in both the State House and State Senate for SB 347, a bill which would have allowed any non-felon non-domestic abuser citizen to carry a concealed pistol without a permit, Democrat Governor Ray Tomblin basically kicked gun owners and legislators from both parties in the junk and vetoed the bill.

We were very close to joining Alaska, Arizona, Vermont and Wyoming, states that already allow their law-abiding citizens to carry without a permit, but one man decided to block it.

Taking the state legislature away from the Democrats this past election went a long ways towards putting the power back into the hands of the people, but it seems that so long as the Nanny Party controls the Governor's Mansion, freedom and representative democracy are just going to have to wait.

More here.

I voted.

I did my part as a citizen today. I tried to save America by making the best choices available to me, so from now on, the blame for everything bad falls on the low-information voters who make choices without thinking them through and the lame-os who won't bother voting at all.

Our only big race here is a US Senate seat, a race between Shelley Moore-Capito, a fairly conservative woman, and Natalie Tennant, an Obama supporter who refuses to admit voting for him. Moore-Capito is NRA "A" rated and opposes Obamacare; Tennant brought liberal whack-job (and fake indian) Elizabeth Warren in to campaign for her. Moore-Capito is still a bit squishy on illegals, but the only other choice is Tennant, who won't say where she stands. Tennant does brag about being pro-gun in her ads, but the truth is that, if elected, she'll vote for Harry Reid or some other gun-hater for Senate Majority Leader and like all good party members who want to stay in favor, she'll toe his line when it comes down to crunch time. This race is important because the candidates are different, so I voted for gun rights, protection from illegals, and smaller government. And if Moore-Capito wins and doesn't stand up for these things, I'll vote against her next time around. I will be watching.

Change in the air?

When Stretch and I drove out to the airport on Sunday, one of the first things that I noticed over on the Air Guard side of the field was two C-17 transports nestled in amongst the C-5 Galaxies that the 167th Airlift Wing flies.

It's a little thing next to the C-5, isn't it?

Admittedly, I didn't think too much of it as aircraft from other units can occasionally be seen over there on a transient basis, but I snapped a couple of pictures anyway. It wasn't until I got home and looked at the picture that I saw the markings on the C-17:

Damn. That's a 167th aircraft! WTF? Is the 167th going to fly both C5s and C-17s?

Apparently not, per their own press release, dated a week ago.

167th Airlift Wing ushers in new era with arrival of first C-17

Transition time. The last ANG unit to fly C-5s is switching over to C-17s. 8 C-17s in, and presumably 12 C-5s out.

I will miss the Galaxies. They've only been here since 2006, and I wasn't happy to see them come in and replace the C-130s, both because I like C-130s and because early C-5 operations really messed with the general aviation at the field, but I came to appreciate and admire them, especially when the Guard stopped treating every C-5 take-off like a space shuttle launch and closing down the field for lengthy FOD sweeps before each one. Still, there's never been anything quite like them flying, and once the last one touches down at AMARC out in Arizona, nothing like them will fly again.

Flying West

I went over today and picked up my faithful flying steed from the mechanic shop following it's 50-hour oil change, and since there was nary a could in the sky and no wind at all, I took off and headed west after a call to Flight Services to confirm that I'd have decent weather on a long-planned airport-hopping trip.

Climbing out of the Shenandoah Valley, I followed the Potomac River west towards Cumberland. Here's a train bridge crossing it.

And here's the south end of that pesky ridge that normally stands in between my airport and Cumberland. Coming down south along the river took me around instead of over it. I'll have to remember this the next time I have low ceilings over that ridge.

First stop: Mexico Farms, a small grass strip one mile directly south of the big airport at Cumberland, MD.

Ignore the big cement runway. I'm landing on that green grass strip running horizontally across the shot just below and to the right of Cumberland's Runway 5. It's 2100 feet long and it had trees and terrain at both ends. It took me two go-arounds before I was able to drop in at a decent speed and get stopped on the third try. Seems I'm developing a bad habit of turning base too soon and too high, forcing me to dive for the deck on final and rocket across the threshold at mach speed. I've been getting away with that at longer strips, but these short grass strips are making me re-think my approaches. I needed this.

Nice "control tower/FB" eh?

And here I am, looking at the cornfields just off the end of the strip as I go full power to take back off. (And then it's a sharp left bank up the valley to avoid the ridge straight ahead.)

Why did I come in here again? Oh yeah...just to see if I could.

Then it was westward, towards Morgantown, WV. But wait--where'd my blue sky go? Once I started going west into the mountains, the sky started to get cloudy and dark and damned low. WTF? This was not in the script. Sight. Radio to 122.0 and let's talk to Flightwatch.

Me: "Hey Flightwatch, I'm over Lonaconing, MD and I've got solid cumulus overcast at 4,000 that's darkening up real fast here. What's the story with this stuff? I'm enroute to Morgantown, WV VFR."

Flightwatch: "We have an amended forecast for your area showing 6000 broken and Morgantown reporting 1500 scattered, greater than 6 miles visibility between Cumberland and Morgantown."

Not 6000 broken.

Me: "Uh, I'm actually dodging dark cumulus stuff at present, solid at 4000."

Flightwatch: "I'm checking radar now and not showing any precipitation in your area."

Me: I've got rain here, just west of Lonaconing."

Flightwatch: "Again, not showing any precipitation in your area."

Me: "Can you repeat? Having trouble hearing you over the sound of the rain on my roof."

Flightwatch: "Pilot reports are always appreciated..."

Me(Speaking aloud off-radio): "I'm trying to report rain, you dick."

Sigh. "Thanks, Flightwatch. Have a nice day."

But it was just a narrow band of showers, and I got past it pretty quick. The low ceilings and haze stuck with me, though.

At least the colors are changing nicely on this side of the mountains.

I shot a touch-and-go at Garrett County, MD and ambled up towards Morgantown, WV. I forgot to shoot a picture of their runway, but here's a towboat on the Monongahela river, doing what towboats do: pushing stuff. (Yeah...I know.)

Then it was south and in to Fairmont. Here's a bridge on the way in.

Their airport:

I actually stopped here for a bit to use their facilities and check weather proper. Once Flight Service told me that most of the crud was to the north, I felt better about going on. So I lifted out and hit the grass strip at Shinnston, Wade F. Maley Field. (aka: Bob's pasture.) And I thought the last one was bad? This one had a 400' ridge just 1,100 feet off the north end. So after a couple of orbits to look it over, I came in from the south instead, touched down, and steered between some hay bales and a fence post or two. But because I came in longer and shallower this time, I also touched down earlier and slower and had no problems.

Turning around, I took a shot before going power on:

2,245 feet long and 45 feet wide. But it worked for me.

Next was Clarksburg, WV. Like in the song, Last Plane to Clarksburg, or something like that.

The tower cleared me in, and made this odd duck wait.

What's that? It came from a hangar behind it with another one that looked just like it parked outside.

And something else that I didn't see there until I was looking at the pic of the turboprop there:

Maybe an L-29 Delphin?
Anyone?
Aaron?
Anyone?

Pity I was just on a touch-and-go and didn't see that thing until I was going through the camera film. Might have to go back now.

I was going to fly down to Buckhannon, but the weather down that way looked as bad as anything to the north so I said "screw it" and headed back east again, pegging Barbour County Regional on the way.

Yeah, mad props to whoever thought to put that inclined runway up on that hill like that. But I hit it, went full-stop, turned around and launched back out back down the valley.

Then I overflew the grass strip known as Simpson Airport, aka Linda and Barb's front yard. Wow. Just 1500 feet long. That's 700 feet shorter than the 2200-foot strips I'd hit earlier. Could I get in there? I overflew it, rocking my wings at the person on the farm tractor working next to the strip. I probably could get in if I was careful, but could I get out again and clear the trees at either end? Maybe that strip wasn't meant for 172s. And that tractor was awfully close to the runway proper and it wasn't moving away.

I chickened out. Damn it. I took a pass and flew on, knowing that it made sense but regretting not at least giving it a try first. And I pulled my pilot operating handbook for the plane out as I flew off and looked up it's take-off roll requirements. Light as I was and at that field elevation, I probably could have done it.

Probably.

I like my plane too much to roll the dice on a "probably". But it still rankles me that I didn't at least try.

Frank Tallman would have done it, I'm thinking.

As I went back north and east, the clouds got lower again, and the terrain of course got higher. A couple of times I had to resort to heading up or down the ridge lines until I found a highway or river pass and using those to cut through to stay out of the cloud deck. Scud-running in the mountains is no way to grow old, I'm thinking.

But then I was through the worst of it, and the terrain got lower again. And here's Grant County, WV, just the other side of a 4,000+ foot ridge that I went around courtesy of the WV Highway Department.

Yeah, the windscreen's getting buggy. But at least now I'm down in the valley, and the clouds are starting to break up and thin out over here. I can see patches of blue sky now.

In, out, and off to the northeast, heading for home.

By the time I got to within 20 miles of my home field, I had skies like this again:

I flew over Old MacDonald's place here...

and then I was home.

3.6 hours flown, nine take-offs and landings. Now it's beer time.

West Virginia's Sell-out Senator seduced by anti-gun money

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, speaking to formerly-pro-gun West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin.

Joe Manchin, the former Governor of West Virginia, who ran for the Senate by touting his pro-gun credentials and who even made a campaign commercial showing himself shooting a rifle at a copy of the Obamacare bill (which he then voted for once he was safely in office), is now taking money from anti-gun billionaire Michael Bloomberg.

Michael Bloomberg Will Host Fundraiser For Joe Manchin

Manchin, a Democrat from Republican-leaning West Virginia, led the Senate’s push for a bill to expand background checks on private gun sales earlier this year in the wake of the mass shooting last December in Newtown, Conn. Manchin’s bill, co-sponsored by Republican Sen. Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania, failed despite backing from the White House and Bloomberg’s own group, Mayor’s Against Illegal Guns.
The fundraiser, scheduled for July 22, marks Bloomberg’s efforts to reward those who supported the gun control campaign...

So now Judas gets his silver after supporting legislation that he knows that most of his constituents didn't want. And now it's up to every West Virginian to make sure that "Sell-out Joe" chokes on it every time he appears in public in this state.

I got this story last week from Bob over at Drawn Cutlass, but I wanted to wait until after the week-end to get it out there. COme on, West Virginians. Spread this news and let's make the next five years long ones indeed for our traitor senator.

Stupid criminal is shocked as he gets charged.

OK, there are just too many jokes that await your best efforts for me not to post about this Darwin Award winner from Thurmond, WV (Down in the really stupid part of the state...and tat's saying something!) who shot down a power cable to steal it and then electrocuted himself when he tried to pick it up.

W. Va. Man Electrocuted After Shooting Down Power Line To Steal Copper

I'll be chuckling over this one for a few days. Any comments from the peanut gallery on this?

Credit where it's due

So this afternoon, I'm walking around downtown Charles Town and I see a small crowd on the sidewalk across the street in front of the barber shop. Now me being me, I wander over to see what's going on, and what do I find but a bunch of people wearing "John Raese for Senate" shirts all surrounding one Joe Manchin.

Manchin, for those of you not from around here, is the former Governor of West Virginia and it's newest senator.

Sen. Manchin was being loudly harangued by two men in particular, one wearing a "Raese" shirt. This guy was loud and obnoxious and he stormed off and went down the block about the time that I got over there so I missed any points that he had other than some apparent belief that Manchin had no business being here while the Democratic National Convention is going on in North Carolina. (Most of us who pay attention know that Manchin does his best to distance himself from the wildly unpopular Barack Obama every chance that he gets so it's not really a surprise that he's here this week.)

The other guy appeared to just be one of those free-range crotchety old men who sit on benches outside barber shops all day. He was going on and on about KAL 007, the jetliner that was shot down back in 1983.

To his credit, Joe Manchin was polite and respectful to both of these guys and didn't even try to make an excuse to walk away from him like politicians so often do when they're confronted by someone who disagrees with them. Manchin sat right there, responding to them respectfully and basically being the bigger man.

Now full disclosure--I'm going to be supporting Raese just because I want the Dems out of majority control of the US Senate. Manchin, though a moderate Dem, is still a Dem who will vote to retain Harry Reid as Senate Majority Leader or some other tool if Reid decides not to run for it again. He's also much more conducive to Obama's agenda than John Raese will be. I will be voting for Raese this year, not just because I think that Manchin's party is bad news for America but because I believe that Raese with his private-sector business experience is the better man for the job. But that said, I still have to give Manchin props for the way that he handled himself today.

Week-end Road Trip!

On Saturday morning, Murphy and I piled into our ride and headed south, then west, having business of a sort in Beckley, WV. Said business will be the discussion topic later in the week. Suffice it to say now though that things went well and the mission objective was accomplished.

After taking care of business, we went sightseeing. I actually had panned to blog from the road and brought my trusty iPad with me but..Wifi in Appalachia? What was I thinking?

But we headed up to New River Gorge National Park and banged around for the day. First, we stopped in Thurmond, WV, the town that they used to firm the famous Matewan shootout seen in last week's man movie.
Ain't changed much. They seems to have done a pretty good job policing the brass though. We looked.

Then we stopped by the park visitor center and took a look at the view and the bridge.



To steal from Wikipedia: "The New River Gorge Bridge is a steel arch bridge 3,030 feet (924 m) long over the New River Gorge near Fayetteville, West Virginia, in the Appalachian Mountains of the eastern United States. With an arch 1,700 feet (518 m) long, the New River Gorge Bridge was for many years the world's longest steel single-span arch bridge.

The roadway of the New River Gorge Bridge is 876 feet above the New River, making it the fifth highest vehicular bridge in the world, and the third highest in the Americas (behind the Mike O'Callaghan – Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge over the Colorado River between Arizona and Nevada, bypassing the Hoover Dam, and the Royal Gorge Bridge). When it opened in 1977, the New River Gorge Bridge was the highest vehicular bridge in the world..."

The bridge is also famous because BASE jumpers leap from it legally on the one day per year that it's allowed (and illegally on many other days). It's also the bridge on the West Virginia state quarter. Now you know.

After that, we traveled on down to Nuttalburg, the abandoned coal mine site that the Park Service is restoring. It's at the bottom of a long, winding one-lane road that is all blind curve. Quite the adventure in itself, just getting there. At it's peak, there were over a hundred buildings here. Now almost nothing is left other than the tipple and coke ovens.

It was getting late, but we took some time to check out the old tipple used to load coal from the mine into rail cars.



Below you can see the long conveyor tunnel used to bring the coal down from the mine, which was some distance up the steep hillside. Henry Ford had this built and installed at considerable expense when he owned this mine from 1920 through 1928, part of his "vertical integration" scheme where he would own every aspect of auto production, including his own iron and coal mines, his own ships and railroads, etc., It didn't work for him here because he could never gain control over the railroad that serviced this mine and they could (and did) shut him down any time they wanted to just by not providing coal cars for haulage.




The tracks below.

Oh look! Stairs up into the structure. But they took the lower staircase away, leaving a platform about 8 feet off the ground. Surely that wasn't intended to keep people out. Hell, that wouldn't keep a one-legged fat man out.

Proving my point:

"The Ranger isn't going to like this, Yogi!"







The view looking up the conveyor line:




It was about this time that I suddenly got bit/stung on the arm by something that I never even saw. It sure hurt, whatever it was.

So we drove on back towards home, taking the little Appalachian two-lane roads to see the sites. Just before dark, we reached the interstate, and since we still had a long was to go, I hit a drive-through.

"I wud like burger too, pleeze! No ketchup or mustard."

Of course the retard in the window put ketchup and mustard on it anyway, even though they knew that it was for a dog. I'm thinking that someone from that store needs to come clean my back seats now.

We finally got home about 18 hours after we left. Very tired.


"Best. Trip. Evah!"