October 3, 2023 - Fly to Cape May for Breakfast (Again)
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This Tuesday was another good flying weather day. Since both Pyro and Gadget had the day off, we decided to take advantage and go flying. We decided to go back to Cape May, even though Gadget and I had been there two days ago, to see if it would be crowded on a weekday morning.
Here, I'm looking back at Pyro on my left wing as we cross the Chesapeake Bay.
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And Gadget off my right wing.
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| Close-up of Pyro lit up as we head east into the morning sun |
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Surprisingly, the eastern shore was covered by a thin, wispy ground fog. All my time flying the Eastern Shore, this is the first time I've seen this.
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| South Jersey had no ground fog by the time we got to Cape May Airport. |
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| Looking down at Cape May Airport. Since winds were light and variable, we landed on runway 19 so we wouldn't have a long taxi. The perpendicular runway is still under construction and closed. |
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| Safe on deck, ready for breakfast! |
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What a difference two days makes. There was no line, and we were able to pick out own table. Very nice! Gadget on the left, Pyro on the right. I've always loved all the World War Two planes, plus the F-14 Tomcat jet, that hang overhead. Plus all the unit patches that adorn the wall behind the counter. Cape May Airport was originally Wildwood Naval Air Station. During WWII, all the U.S. Navy's dive-bomber pilots trained here. They received good training as Japanese ship captains discovered to their great misfortune.
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| About to startup for takeoff. |
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Winds were still light and variable so we took the short taxi to runway One.
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| Having crossed over the Delaware Bay entrance, Pyro descends toward Cape Henlopen. |
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| Flying south down the Delaware-Maryland ocean beaches. Gadget is flying off my left wing. |
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| Pyro cruises by the big Jolly Roger waterpark at Ocean City, Maryland. |
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Another big event took place on the Ocean City beach.
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| Turning west over the southern tip of Ocean City. |
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Looking down at Ocean Downs horse-racing track. That's highway 50 to the elft.
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While the autopilot flew his plane, Pyro took a selfie of me and him.
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The air was amazingly smooth all morning which makes formation flying easy.
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| Pyro over Rock Hall with the Chesapeake Bay in the background. |
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Another strange phenomina: low cumulous clouds in the middle of the Chesapeake Bay. Just when you've think you've seen it all.
Our planes know their way home at this point. On the other side of Pyro's RV-8 is Sparrows Point -- former home of mighty Bethlehem Steel, but now home to big box distribution centers for Amazon, Fedex & UnderArmor -- and in the distance Charm City itself: Baltimore. Essex Skypark is dead ahead of my nose.
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| Preparing to back taxi at Essex Skypark. |
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