February 3, 2021 - Flight to Spruce Creek, Florida
Today, Bruce and I are flying with Bruce's friend Jeff in his Cessna 210 Centurian from Sebastian to Spruce Creek Airport.  We'll meet our friend Lee there for lunch at the Tailwind Cafe.
 
It's a beautiful day.  We have taken off and are heading north.  I'm sitting in the right-front seat.
   
Looking down at Valkaria Airport (X59).
   
Looking down at Patrick Space Force Base.  That's right.  It's no longer an Air Force Base but a Space Force Base.
   
Approaching Merritt Island and Merritt Island Airport (KCOI).
   
Looking across the Indian River at the Kennedy Space Center area.
   
Canaveral National Seashore is inthe distance.
   
Looking down at Blue Ridge Flightpark.
   
And there is Spruce Creek.  We are on a left downwind for runway 6.
   
Turning final.
   
Short final, over the golf course.
   

Safe on deck.  That is Jeff on the right and his nice Cessna 210.  Bruce is on the left.  This is the first time either has been to Spruce Creek.

Our friend Lee picked us up in his golf cart and drove us to the Tailwind where we had a nice lunch sitting outside.
   
Across the taxiway, just your everyday sight at Spruce Creek:  a P-51 Mustang in a hangar, along with a Miata, motorcycle and golf cart.
   
This amazing hangar was filled with race cars.  I'm not a car guy but they looked pretty fancy.  The owners were hanging out inside and invited us in.  Notice the room on the second floor -- designed to look like a passenger jet!
   
In this hangar is the famous RV-8 with the radial engine.  It's been in the news lately.  The owner swapped out the previous Rotec 3600 radial with a Verner Scarlett 9S.  The newer engine produces 148 horsepower.  The owner is a heckava engineer and innovator, I'll give him that.
   
Just another typical scene at Spruce Creek; a cool helicopter taxies and parks outside the hangar home.
   
You have to look closely but the owner has this box cart thing for the nosewheel.  The box cart is powered and the owner controls it with a remote control set.  How cool is that?!
   
Lee showed us his hangar and man-cave, then we got in the 210 and headed back to Sebastian.
 
We taxiied through Spruce Creek to get to runway 24.  It helped that I had been here before and knew the taxiways.
 
Here we are taking off on runway 24.  I was sitting in the backseat this time.
   
Looking down at the Big Oak Tree and the transient ramp.
   
Looking out over Spruce Creek.  The Country Club is center right.
   
Looking back at the entire complex.
   
Looking east at New Smyrna Beach Municipal Airport (KEVB).  It's a towered airport.
   
Passing by the Kennedy Space Center complex again.  The long NASA Shuttle Landing runway is clearly visible along with the massive Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB).  At left in the distance are the two major launching pads where Apollo, Shuttle and now SpaceX blast off from.
   
The Kennedy Space Center visitor center is at lower left.
   
Looking east at Port Canaveral.  It's kind of interesting how the ocean port is kept separate from the Banana River  except for a narrow Lock at the center of the picture.
   
Looking down at Merritt Island Airport.
   
Golf is big in Florida.
   
Passing by Melbourne Airport, a big towered airport.
   
A better look at Melbourne.
   
Looking down at Melbourne Beach where we rented a place for a couple of weeks last year.
   
You can see the place we rented if you know where to look.
   
There's Valkaria Airport again. Yeah, I know, I take too many pictures when I'm a passenger.  Why not?  Don't cost nothin.
   
Still a lot of undeveloped land looking west.
   
Passing by Sebastian Inlet.
   
Approaching Sebastian Airport.
   
Looking west of Sebastian Airport there is nothing -- it's St. Sebastian Preserve State Park.   That's the C-54 Canal.
   
Turning base leg.
   
Looking west at the preserve.
   
Turning final.
   

Passing over the Saint Sebastian River just before landing.

Another great aviation day!  Thanks to Jeff for flying us in his 210.
   
 
   
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