January 25, 2020 - Flying some Virginia Rivers

Rich and Nhu-An were at the Skypark when I arrived, along with a bunch of other Hangar Row A pilots.  Rich was working on his hangar and asked me if I would take Nhu-An flying.  So I had a passenger on my fun-fly today.  Nhu-An has flown with me before.  I have been helping her and Rich build an RV-10 the past couple of years.  The plan was to fly down the Eastern Shore, cross the Bay to St. Mary's Airport, get gas, then fly the Rappahannock River west and then fly the York river east, a quick diversion to Jameston, then back home.  I have been meaning to fly those two rivers for years; today's the day!

Weather was good for flying today.  It wasn't really that cold, maybe low 40s.  Winds were not bad.  Clouds were not an issue; just a broken layer.
   
Another flight with fantastic visibility.  I guess it's a winter thing.  Here we are passing by St. Michaels on the Eastern Shore.
   
Approaching Tilghman Island the western shore visible on the other side.
   
Looking down at St. Mary's Airport (2W6).   They had AvGas at a very nice price.  Notice that the parallel taxiway is all torn up.   In fact, there isn't one at present. So there is no turnoff on the
4, 000 runway except at each end.  Also, if you get fuel, you have to back taxi the entire runway to take off (or land) depending on the wind.  This made it a little tricky when we left.  If someone is on downwind, can you backtaxi the entire runway before he lands?  If it was a busy day at this airport, forget it!  Hope they get that taxiway back in operation soon. 
 
   
On the sectional, this little island in the the Potomac River has a symbol labelled "Monument".  I've flown by it many times but never taken a close look.  And there it is, that big cross.
   
Leaving St. Mary's, we headed southwest until we came to the Rappahannock River where it narrows.
   
Still heading southwest, about to turn northwest up the river which is on the right and not really even in this picture.
   

I don't know why, but I didn't take any pictures of the Rappahannock River.  Maybe because it was fairly narrow and winding; I was too busy flying the plane.  The Rappahannock goes all the way to Blue Ridge Mountains but prior to reading Shannon Airport near Fredericksburg, we turned south.

While flying south I saw this double-track railway complete with train coming the otherway.  The lead engine had a bright headlight turned on.

Once we were clear of Fort. A.P. Hill restricted airspace we turned southeast which would take us to the York River.

Prior to reading the York, we flew over nothing but trees.  We could see the skyline of Richmond in the distance to the south thanks to the great visibility.  This area was very remote -- no civilization, farms, houses, or roads.  It's hard to believe you would find such remoteness in an east coast state like Virginia.   But it is what it is.

 
   
We finally reached the York River and continued southeast.  At least I thought it was the York.  I found out later it is really the Mattaponi River which runs into the York at West Point.  I found the Mattaponi much more scenic than the Rappahannock, perhaps because it is just wider with marsh on one side or the other.
   
There was just enough sun to light things up.
   
 
   
I bet this area is really pretty in the fall with the colors.
   
The Rappahannock was narrow like this but did not have the marshes.  The Mattaponi River water was blue and the Rappahanoock water color was brown.
   
 
   
 
   
This area was still fairly unpopulated, although there were a few houses along the water.
   
Passing by Middle Peninsula Airport in West Point, Virginia.  I've flown by this airport many times but never landed here.  It has the same Unicome frequency as St. Mary's so I had the frequency tuned in my radio.  I heard a couple of calls refer to "West Point" and I thought "I've never heard of that airport before.  I wonder where it is?"  But now I know, it's Middle Peninsula.  They have a courtesy car -- Mugsy and I may have to come here and drive into town for lunch.
   

At West Point, the Mattaponi flows into the York River which really gets bigger (and uninteresting).  So we turned south for a quick hop over to Jamestown.

And almost immediately ran into another interesting river branching north off the James River:  the Chickonominy River.
   
Lots of marsh and flooded areas off this river.
   
 
   
Still on the Chickanominy River but the big James River is visible in the upper right hand corner.
   
Overhead a golf community just off the James River, west of Jamestown and Williamsburg.
   
Just a little further on, and there it is!  Jamestown Colony.  Where it all began.  The first permanent English settlement in the Americas, established on May 7, 1607.
 
A replica of the colony's fort, triangular shaped, is visible along with replicas of two of the three ships:  Susan Constant, Discovery, and Godspeed.
 
The visitors center and big parking lot is at the top of the picture.
   
Zooming in on the triangular fort.
   
Another zoomed in close-up.
   

We turned north and climbed up above the broken cloud layer and headed for home.

There is Middle Peninsula Airport again at lower left and a good shot of the Mattaponi River to the right and Pamunkey River to the left winding away to the west.
   
Climbing through a hole.
   
On top, making good speed, towards St. Mary's.
   
Crossing the Patuxent River with the Chesapeake Bay ahead on the right.
   
We dropped below the broken layer over the Bay.  The visibilily was so good that the Chesapeake Bay bridge is clearly visible in this picture -- that horizontal white line in the center.  It doesn't show in this picture but we could also see Baltimore city to the left.
   
Over Tilghman Island heading north.
   
Now you can see Baltimore on the other side of the Bay Bridge.
   
The obligatory shot of the Chesapeke Bay Bridge.
   
Chalk up another successful flight.  Nhu-An, used to flying in C172 and a Decathelon, was amazed by the speed and versatility of the RV which allows you to do a flight like this in a few hours instead of an entire day.  I told her she would love flying her RV-10.
   
 
   
Previous
Home
Next