On Sunday we decided that it was time to get back in the air again. After putting a new tailwheel spring chain on the airplane (the right one this time--last time it was the left), we headed out toward the south, aiming for Watsonville and ultimately the Pacific coast. The plan was to fly up the coast roughly 60 miles to Half Moon Bay Airport.
Before too long were we on the ground.
After arriving and tying the plane down at the far south end of the field, we walked through the path to the gate that leads to some of the nearby shops and restaurant. The nearest establishment to the airport is Mezzaluna, a nice little Italian place. They make a fantastic meat sauce.
We spent a bit of time walking by the ocean and checking out a few of the local shops before heading back to the airport for the flight back home. With full bellies, we decided to take out time and do a bit more sightseeing and photography along the way.
Along the way we got some excellent shots of the coast, including a lighthouse.
And the part I had most fun with was along the coast near Watsonville. We dropped down a few thousand feet, slowed the plane down, and put the camera out the window.
On the way home we swung by Frazier Lake Airport to play on their wonderful grass airstrip a bit.
Not a bad way to spend a Sunday afternoon! :-)
Full pictures are available here: Half Moon Bay Lunch Flight on Flickr.
Posted by jzawodn at August 20, 2007 06:31 AM
Wow, that's certainly not a run-of-the-mill date. You shouldn't have fixed the spring first, though, as that's the quintessential plane version of the "oops, ran out of gas" trick. :-)
(I noticed, with appreciation, Kathleen's Y! Finance hat.)
Heh.
Trouble is, she was in the plane last weekend (or was it 2 ago?) when we tried to fly to Placerville to look at an airplane... and the tailwheel spring chain gave out before we left the ground.
At least I now have spares and know how to fix this particular problem. :-)
one of those rare days each year when HAF is not fogged in!
Amazing - I'll keep this in mind next time I think driving somewhere for lunch is excessive! I know - its totally not the same thing, but still..
Hi Jeremy,
Fun flight! Did you see suitable emergency landing sites along the coast between Watsonville and Half Moon Bay? What altitude did you use for that stretch?
Thanks,
Tom
Tom:
There aren't a lot of good landing strips, but there's a lot of beach that appeared quite landable. We were pretty low on the way there (~2,000 MSL) but about double that on the way back.
