May 29, 2022 - Fly to Gettysburg for Lunch
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I've flown into Gettysburg Airport only a couple of times over the years. But an FBO opened up a year and a half ago, so now it is attended, and most importantly, has a courtesy car! On a car visit to the Gettysburg battlefield a few years ago, Lynnette and I had lunch at the Blue and Gray Bar and Grill in downtown Gettysburg and liked it. So I organized a Sunday trip by the Essex Skypark Hangar Row A flyers to Gettysburg Airport. We would take the courtesy car into town and have lunch at the Blue and Gray.
On this flight we had six planes: Four RVs, a Maule and a Cessna 150. That's Chuck's RV-7A on the left and Mark's RV-8 on the right. At left, Mugsy is talking with Tom.
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My RV-7 on the left and Mugsy's RV-8 on the right. Tom's Maule is just behind the RV-8.
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| Inside the FBO was the famous Louie the Cat. He's very friendly. Dan, the FBO Manager, wasn't there when we arrived but he had let us know where the keys to the courtesy car were. It was a big Suburban which held all seven of us comfortably. |
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| After a short drive into town, we were at the Blue and Gray Bar and Grill. Unfortunately, Gettysburg was a happening place on this beautiful Sunday. There were lots of people walking around. Lots of motorcycles driving through town. All the restaurants were packed. We had to wait for 45 minutes to get a table at the Blue and Gray, but it went by quickly and was worth the wait. |
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Hanging outside the Blue and Gray, waiting for our table.
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| The Blue and Gray Bar and Grill is right on the corner of town center. |
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| Lots of history in Gettysburg. |
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| Another look at the Blue and Gray. |
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Tom and his daughter Rachel, who earned a private pilot's license the last year.
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| Yay, we finally got a table! The Blue and Gray features burgers named after Union and Confederate generals from the battle. All were superior. |
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Back at Gettysburg airport. We met Dan the FBO Manager who was very friendly and helpful. Gettysburg would be a great overnight stop for any transient pilot on a long cross-country. You don't find many of them in mid-Atlantic area. .
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| Looking down at Gettysburg Airport. It has a 3,000 foot runway. Just before I touched down, a deer ran across the runway in front of me! That's a first. The airport is two miles to the northwest of town. |
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| The town of Gettysburg. Town center -- where the Blue and Gray Bar and Grill is -- is in the center of the image. |
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| Looking at the Gettysburg battlefield, which is just south of town. If you've never been here, you should go. There is an outstanding museum and it is easy to drive the battlefield. There are lots of monuments, honoring the men on both sides. Guided tours are available which I highly recommend. This area is beautiful in the fall. |
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In this excellent shot looking west, at the bottom is Cemetery Ridge where the Union line was. The State of Pennsylvania Monument is at lower left. The State of Vermont monument is just right of center. The copse of trees and "The Angle", where the Confederates actually breached the Union line briefly -- called the highwater mark of the conferacy -- is to the right of the State of Vermont monumnet.
Emmitsberg Road runs from top left to center center right. Seminary Ridge, where the Confederate line was -- runs left to right at the top of the image. The Virginia monument is at top right.
This picture shows the ground covered by the dramatic infantry assault on July 3, 1863 by 12,500 Confederates against the center of the Union line on Cemetery Ridge, known as Pickett's Charge. Nearly one half of the attackers did not return to their own lines.
In three days, more than fifty thousand men are killed, wounded, or missing, nearly 60 percent of them Confederates.
Gettysburg was a landmark battle, the largest of the war and it would not be surpassed.
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| Heading back to Essex Skypark. |
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