Flight Training - May 2014 - 39

FLORIDA KEYS
CONSOLATION PRIZE
Rob Dean and his father, Richard Dean,
planned to join the fly-out in a Tecnam
Sierra. They even left a few days early to
allow plenty of time to get down to the
Florida coast. Alas, that was the week
that the entire South was smacked with
ice and snow, stretching as far as Atlanta.
The Deans landed at St. Simons, Georgia,
and tried to wait it out-but by the time
the weather had moved off, the rest of
the group had departed Florida for the
Bahamas. Rob Dean didn't want to do the
overwater flight without the others, but he
didn't want to turn around and head back
to frigid Virginia, either. Instead, he and his
father pointed the Tecnam south and flew
down to Key West, making several stops
along the way. He estimates that he logged
24 hours and visited 14 unique airports.
"It was a great father/son trip," he says.
"Dad had not been to Key West since 1952
when he was there with the U.S. Navy."

Van Der Haegen head farther inland,
where the skies are clearer.
At about 4 p.m., the Twin Comanche
touches down at Fort Pierce, and Hepp
takes attendance. That swath of IMC en
route meant all three VFR pilots had to
land well short of their destination. They
are scattered up the coast: Fernandina
Beach; Savannah, Georgia; St. Simons,
Georgia. A fourth instrument-rated pilot
flying a Cessna 182 experienced radio
problems when she tried to depart her
fuel stop, and has returned to Savannah
to troubleshoot. And a fifth pilot is still in
Virginia because his wife has been ill.
The remaining members of the group
gather that night at a Fort Pierce Red
Lobster for a final planning dinner. Hepp
circulates among the tables. "I'm on a
mission," he announces. He can't rescue
the pilot with the ailing radio, or the pilot
in the Tecnam, which isn't certified for

FOOD SCRAPS make a tasty snack for the feral pigs that live on Big Major Cay near Staniel Cay. Some
believe the pigs were marooned by sailors who planned to come back and butcher them.

instrument flight (see "Florida Keys Consolation Prize," above). But there is help
for the others. Troy Marshall, owner of a
six-seat Bonanza, will carry instrumentrated pilots to a stranded Cessna 172 in
Fernandina Beach and a Cessna 206 in
Savannah. They will be pilots in command to get the airplanes to Fort Pierce.
Marshall is training for the instrument
rating, and he is traveling with CFII
Roger Coffman so that he can log some
real-world IFR. He gets it in spades: Rising before dawn the next day, Marshall
and Coffman execute an approach to minimums at Fernandina Beach. The mission
goes as planned. The pilots scramble to
file their eAPIS manifests before depart-

ing for the Bahamas that afternoon. All
this, and the international portion of the
trip hasn't even begun.
THE BRILLIANT BLUE. Engine failure
over open water is a very real concern
on a trip like this, which is why everyone
is required to have a life vest, and some
in the group have rented or purchased
life rafts. Those concerns fade as the airplanes climb out over the Atlantic and the
greenish waters of coastal Florida change
to the unmistakable teal and turquoise
hues of the Caribbean.
All traffic must be on either an instrument flight plan or a DVFR international
flight plan, so the pilots are in contact not
MAY 2014 FLIGHT TRAINING

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Flight Training - May 2014

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