Days 15/16 - Bay Minnette to Triple Tree Fly-in, South Carolina

Back at the Bay Minette Airport in the morning, I talked with two young Marine officers who were in the aviation training pipeline.   One of whose mother was a classmate of mine at the Naval Academy, although I did not know her.  Small world.

My flight-plan preference for today was to fly to Plains, Georgia, visit the Andersonville civil war prison, and then continue on to the Triple Tree Fly-in in South Carolina.

But although the weather looked good in Alabama, there was a front of low overcast stretching across Georgia right in my path.  It was supposed to burn off later in the day.

I took off knowing I would probably have to stop and wait somewhere.  But I would go as far as I could.
   
Sure enough, I encountered a low scattered layer.  Which became a broken layer.  Which became solid overcast I did not want to fly over, and was too low to fly under.
   
So I looked around for an airport to hang out at.  South Alabama Regional (79J) looked like my best bet so I landed there.  I had flown about 100 miles from Bay Minnette.
   
South Alabama Regional -- in Andalusia, Alabama (isn't that a great name for a town?) -- turned out to be a great stop.  They had a nice FBO where I hung out for an hour or so, drinking coffee and checking the weather and news on my iPad.  There were friendly people working there to chat with.  There was even an on-field restaurant I could have gone too for breakfast, but I didn't.   (I really lost my appetite on this trip and was only eating one big meal a day.  For breakfast, I usually grabbed a danish at the motel or gas station on the way to the airport.)  I was surprised that fuel prices were the same -- low -- as Bay Minette.  I must say, Alabama is an aviation-friendly state!  A big Army C-47 Chinook helicopter came in just before I left.  This airport is a good cross-country stop.  Recommended.
   

The low overcast was practically gone by this time.  The scattered/broken layer hung around but it wasn't a problem.  It was clear sailing the rest of the way to South Carolina.  (I had given up on Andersonville civil war prison;  will have to be another trip).

After what I have flown over the last two weeks, this leg of the flight was pretty boring.  Nothing but trees really.  I know, I'm spoiled.  Eastern Utah has ruined me for life.  No scenary will ever top that.
   

Approaching Triple Tree Aerodrome (SC00) in Woodruff, South Carolina, about 20 miles south of Spartanburg, on the western side of the state.

I would be attending the 8th annual Triple Tree Fly-in which runs Wednesday through Sunday.  I was arriving around noon on Thursday.  This fly-in has a great reputation and I have wanted to attend for the last couple of years but couldn't do it for a variety of reasons.

They have an Oshkosh-like arrival procedure which I had printed out weeks ago and somehow not lost.  The Oshkosh Ripon equivalent was a Wal-Mart known as "Walley World".   I followed the arrival procedure and soon Triple Tree Aerodrome appeared magically ahead.   I think the forecast scared a lot of people away and there was not much traffic when I arrived.  Here I have just passed over the control tower and field and am turning left downwind.

 
   
Left base for Triple Tree!  They have a restored World War II control tower clear visible at mid-field.   The parking ramp area is at lower right.  So is the camping area but is hard to see because it is in the woods.  At top left on the far side of the pond is the big hangar area where the dinners were held.
   
The ground operation was extremely well organized and soon I was parked in the woods at my camping spot.  Soon after I landed, I could hear thunder in the distance and see dark clouds so I quickly tied the plane down and set up the tent.  I had lugged that tent around the entire trip and this was the first time I used it.
   
A muddy creek ran behind the plane.
   
The view from the front.  Most of the airplane campers were parked into the wooded area.  Which had just been cleared out this year, I understand.
 
I should note that all of the volunteers -- the people who run the fly-in -- I encountered were exceptionally friendly and happy to be part of this event.
   
I liken the Triple Tree Aerodrome to a golf course that happens to be an airport.  I've never experienced a finer grass strip.  It was like landing on a 7,000 foot long, 400 foot wide fairway.  These Cubs appear to be parked on a golf green, but it's actually the ramp.
   
I registered at this building which was also a nice shaded place to hang out.
   

Nearby was the food tent where you could get breakfast and lunch.  Also a nice shaded place to sit down and get out of the sun.

Although I have no picture, I must say something about the bathhouse facility which is much better than those at AirVenture or Sun 'N Fun.  You have your own little private space to shower and change.  What's the big deal, you say?  Imagine a room full of naked middle-age trying to get dressed, having just showered.  It's not a pretty sight.  Oh, and the sink area has granite counter tops!
   
So what do you do at the Triple Tree Fly-in?  Well, you pretty much watch airplanes takeoff and land.  Or walk around and look at airplanes.  Actually, I think what most people do is make Triple Tree a social event.  Come with a group, bring your own beverages (ice is available) and hang out in a pleasant, aviation environment for a couple of days.
   
Greg Connell does a low-level pass in his Pitts Model 12.
   
The weather was better Friday, and a lot of planes flew in, filling out the ramp area nicely as you can see below, but I think the forecast still scared people away.  The forecast called for thunderstorms all across the east coast and a broken layer.  But the reality was we enjoyed mostly clear sunny skies all day.
   
I liked the paint job on this RV-8.  Too bad it was half in the shadows.
   
A neat paintjob on this Air Coupe.
   
There was a wide variety of aircraft at the fly-in, including quite a few RVs.  I heard a P-51 Mustang was coming and sure enough, this one came rolling in for a low-pass.
   
Now that's a climb out!
   
 
The P-51 was followed by this big C-46 Commando which was a WWII cargo plane.
   
C-46 fly by.
   
The Mustang landed and then taxiied back.  Is this not the coolest airplane of all time?
   
The C-46 makes a nice wheel landing on the grass.
   
A German Fiesler Storch in U.S. markings?
   
A military version of the Stinson Reliant, AT-19s were sent to Great Britain under Lend Lease and served admirably in a variety of roles for Royal Navy:  sub hunting, liaison, transport and training.
   
Breakfast and lunch could be had near the ramp/camping areas, but the dinners where at the other end of the field by the big hangar.
   

Starting in 2000, Pat Hartness, with the assistance of associates and volunteers, started turning a bare field into what the Triple Tree Aerodrome is today.  It is a private field but they have a number of fly-ins each year, including this one and the big, week-long, Joe Nall Radio-Controlled fly-in in the spring.

Pat Hartness has owned this 1937 Spartan Executive since 1971.  It's recent renovation in 2005 including replacing all the original aluminum skins and 12,000 new rivets!  It's just a magnificent airplane.
   
This hangar is the ultimate man-cave.  In the back is an immaculate Cub, and overhead are extrememly radio-controlled airplanes.   In the front was an immaculate Stearman.
   
Including this four-engine B-17.  I say again, this is a radio-controlled airplane and it is airworthy!
   
Another look at the Spartan Executive.
   
 
Even the hangar floor was first-class.  But I must say, the hangar could use an RV.
   
Thursday's dinner was "Cook your own steak" night.  I bought dinner tickets when I first arrived at the registration desk.  The dinner ticket was good for a good sized filet mignon steak, plus sides and a drink.  They had a bunch of grills set up which you used to grill your own steak.  It was excellent.   The second night they had 25 different food stations set up, each with a different kind of food, and you had your choice or any or all.  That too was excellent.  So the dinner fare at this fly-in was far superior to your flyin-in fare including AirVenture & Sun 'N Fun.
   
 
While we dined, a Cub and a Champ flew around in close formation.
   
So did a powered parachute.
   
 
   
Even a couple of Cessna 152s got into the act.
   
A pleasant evening at the conclusion of a fun day.  Once it got dark, it got very dark, and for campers like me, there wasn't much to do except go to sleep.
   
I had arrived mid-day Thursday and stayed all day Friday.  I could have stayed Saturday, but I had been on the road a long time and was ready to go home.   So Saturday morning I broke down the tent and loaded up the RV.   Most everyone was doing a low-pass after they took off, so of course I had to do one.  The control tower was manned but enthusiastically fitted the low-passes in.
   

After my low pass, I climbed high to get an overhead picture of the field.  While I was overhead, the P-51 Mustang did a low-pass.  It was cool watching him from the air do a climbing turn after the low-pass.  Even though I was high, I was a little concerned that he might zoom to my altitude but it wasn't a problem.
   
   
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