West to Marco Island

I wanted to fly, but not too far. I wasn't in the mood to sit in the plane for 3+ hours today, so we decided to go to Marco Island. We took the same plane I used for my instrument checkride, 04D. A solid airplane, but the pilot's seat is a little low. I've had to deal with worse problems, so this one hardly phases me. I'm flying for the second time with this pilot. All in all, I think he's a good pilot, but he sometimes does things that cause me to scratch my head. Since he's relatively inexperienced at ~80 hours, he does get a little nervous at times though. I wonder if I was like that at 80hrs...

I use my handheld radio to get the ATIS. The ATIS is a synopsis of the pertinent weather details, and operational status of the airport. It is normally updated every hour. We close the doors, and start the engine. It fires on the first attempt. That's been happening a lot lately. Either I'm getting better at starting engines, or they've changed the engines somewhat. I turn on the avionics, finish the checklists, and am ready to taxi. My PNF isn't quite ready though. He wants to get the ATIS again- just in case it changed since we checked it 2 minutes ago. Um...okay.

He's running the radios for this leg, and before he calls for taxi instructions and flight following, he verifies our intended routing before making the transmission. We taxi to runway 09L behind a Cirrus and do our engine check. All is well, and we are ready to depart. The Cirrus has left, and we call the tower, advising them that we are ready for departure. We're told to hold short for a Piper Arrow on final. We watch as the pilot makes a nice corsswind landing. As he clears the runway, we are cleared for takeoff. I check that the arrival path is clear, and do a mental checklist as we line up on the runway. I verify my PNF is ready, and then smoothly apply full power. The old girl rattles down the runway and makes it into the air. We're climbing at a whopping 500fpm. With 2 grown men and full fuel, she doesn't climb too well in the 32C heat. Leaving 700ft, we turn westbound and contact Miami Approach, where we're instructed to maintain VFR below 2000ft. Not a problem. I prefer to go higher though, as the air is smoother and cooler. We also get a slightly faster speed and better fuel economy.

As we leave the lateral limits of the Miami Bravo airspace, we start a climb to 4500ft. We have to dodge a few clouds to maintain VFR, but it's nothing serious. One could hardly ask for a better day to fly in the Summer in South Florida. We're soon handed off to Miami Center, where they continue to track us via radar. My PNF confesses that he's never been higher than 3500ft, and he's rather excited. This doesn't surprise me. He isn't the first to tell me something like that. I'll never understand the reluctance some pilots have when it comes to flying higher. The entire experience improves when you fly higher. That's not to say that I take my Cessna to the service ceiling though- I'm not silly. However, I've heard of pilots who go on 3 hour trips and never fly above 2500ft. What a waste of all that altitude above.

Miami Center eventually has us contact Fort Myers approach. We switch frequencies and get no answer. Back to Miami Center, and the controller gives us yet another frequency, that turns out to be Miami Approach. We go back to Miami Center and he gets on the land line with Fort Myers. Soon, he gets back to us and says that they're unable to pick us up, and radar service is no longer available. Just great. I'm not fond of flying around without talking to anybody, which is why I prefer to fly IFR. VFR without flight following represents an unnecessary risk. The South Florida sky is crowded, and it helps to know that the controller is able to advise us of traffic in the area. It doesn't make sense going back now, so we exercise increased vigilance in scanning for traffic.

For some reason, I usually have a hard time spotting Marco Island; more so than other airports. Today though, I spot it with ease, and we enter the pattern, making announcements on UNICOM since the field doesn't have a control tower. As I turn final for runway 35, I have an 8 knot crosswind. Not unduly difficult, but you have to pay attention if you want it done safely and smoothly. I start out with a crab, and at ~200ft, transition to the wing low twchnique my instructor taught me not long ago. I'm still amazed at how well it works, as the pilots I've flown with used way too much control input. I manage a nice touchdown, right wheel first, and roll to the end of the runway. We park and note the flight time. Exactly an hour. We'll go inside, chill for a bit, then return home.