Night time round robin rescue mission

“Hey Senior Captain, how’d you like to do a flight?”

“Sure. Where to, and when?”

“Ft. Pierce, Ft. Myers and right now”

“Ok, I’ll be there ASAP”

When I get to the airport, I learn that an instructor is stuck in Ft. Pierce (FPR) and two other people are stuck in Ft. Myers (FMY). I have to pick up 3 people in all, and we just won’t fit in a 172, so I have to fly a more capable airplane- the Piper Arrow. I smile to myself, because I know this will be fun. Moreover, part of my route is below VFR weather minima, so I’ll have to file IFR- the smile broadens. The Arrow we have is a pretty impressive airplane. It’s pretty new, has a 200hp engine, and has all the bells and whistles you’d want for IFR, save for weather radar.

I file my flightplan over the phone, and then walk to the airplane in the cool night air. Airplanes like the cold air- they climb well and are more efficient. As I preflight the airplane, my spirits are high. This isn’t another training flight, or just a flight from A to B to build experience. This flight actually has a purpose. There are people waiting on me, and I get to exercise my commercial privileges.

I’m always extra cautious when I’m flying IFR, even more so as a single pilot at night. I try to be more methodical than usual, as an oversight can have serious consequences. I call ground for my clearance, and the controller we jokingly refer to as “Grumpy” tells me that there’s no plan in the system for me, and he suggests I call Miami Radio to re-file. Great- now I know what those pilots feel like when they fly out JFK (sort of). I call Miami Radio and sure enough, they have the flightplan. After verifying the details, I’m told that the tower should have it within 5 minutes. I pass that message to “Grumpy” and tell him that I’d like to taxi in the meantime.

The taxi to the runway is short, and I finish my runup just as “Grumpy” gets me clearance:

“Cleared to FPR via radar vectors to Palm Beach, then as filed. Maintain 2000, expect 7000 ten minutes after departure. Departure frequency xxx.xx, squawk 4763”

I read it back, and complete my final checklists. I contact the tower, and the controller tells me to line up on the runway and await further clearance. I turn on the strobe lights and taxi onto the runway. For a moment, it feels like magic. I see the red beacon reflecting off the wings and the high intensity white strobes reflecting off the runway. They’re flashing in synchrony, and it’s almost hypnotic. I can also see the green and red navigation lights on the runway. In short order, the trance is broken by the tower controller issuing my takeoff clearance. My landing light goes on, and I advance the power. She accelerates rapidly and is off the ground in no time. As I retract the gear, I start smiling again. It’s my first time flying the Arrow solo, and the rate of climb is pretty impressive.

Before he tells me to contact departure, tower tells me “the instructor just called; he said 25, 25- and you’d know what that means.” I laugh out loud as I switch frequencies. 25/25 refers to the power setting we use in the climb of 25 inches manifold pressure and 2500RPM. He wants me to get there fast, because he wants to go home. I maintain runway heading as I contact Miami Approach, and they soon have me northbound at 3000ft. The controller points out a VFR Seneca 500ft below me and I start looking for the traffic. It helps that I have TIS on board, so I use the large GPS moving map to help locate the traffic. As an afterthought, she clears me to 4000ft, and I set climb power and begin a climb at 104kt, which is some 15kt above the speed for maximum rate of climb. Even so, I’m getting more than 800 feet per minute, and not even trying. Life is good. I look outside and see the strobes flashing and the red beacon illuminating the wings. The air is smooth and the night is peaceful. I truly love my job!

Pretty soon I’m heading northeast at 7000ft with a groundspeed of 125kt, and Palm Beach Approach tells me to join the V3 airway, which runs northbound along Florida’s east coast. A minute later, he tells me that I’ve overshot the airway, and gives me a vector to re-join. What?!? I double check the chart, the VOR and the GPS, and they all say that I’m on the airway. I tell him my instruments show that I’m on the airway, and he doesn’t seem to mind, so I continue on my way. This is the reason I take extra care when preparing for IFR flights. You don’t want a controller to tell you that you’ve deviated from your clearance, as that sort of thing can get the FAA involved- and I try to avoid the FAA much like a demon avoids holy water.

I get closer to FPR and the ATIS indicates that I’ll be landing to the east. I request the ILS for runway 10R, and Miami Center clears me 4000, then 2000ft. Since I’ve got people waiting on me, I leave the power in, and allow the groundspeed to increase to 145kt in the descent. Man, that feels good. With the approach reviewed, and all my radios set, Miami Center gives me a nice tight intercept for the ILS. Once established, I contact tower and get my landing clearance immediately. I look at the “VFR runway” to the left of the main runway. It has its own taxiway, but is not connected to the rest of the airport. Instead it’s used for flight training. A pretty unique sight.

I must have checked the gear down and locked six times on final; I didn’t want to be the guy to land the Arrow with the gear retracted. You get nightmares about that when you first start flying complex airplanes. My landing isn’t bad, but a bit firmer than I’d have liked. As I clear the runway, the controller announces that the tower is closed. I look at my watch and it reads 9pm exactly. I wonder if she was waiting for me…

I locate my stranded colleague and shut down the airplane. I offer him his choice of seats, and he’s comfortable with sitting in the right seat. With the weather checked, we’re on our way to FMY in five minutes. More to come…