This will probably be my last flight with Joseph for a while. It’s not that I don’t like flying with him; I do, but he gets bored pretty easily. I guess that’s better than getting sick and it’s at least a sign that he’s comfortable in the air. Maybe when he gets older and appreciates it a little more and/or when we go somewhere to actually do something it’ll be more exciting.
Today I decided to take Joseph on a little cross country to a small airport (43A) in Montgomery County, about half way between Sanford and Albemarle, then south to Richmond County (where I’d gone before on my dual night cross country as a student), then back to Sanford. I figured it’d be more fun than just flying around wherever.
It was kind of hazy, and there’s a whole lot of nothing between TTA and 43A, but I managed to keep Joseph busy trying to match landmarks on the sectional with what he saw outside. He did a pretty good job, actually. We made our way to the airport with no problem. It’s a 4000 foot paved strip, but that’s all I knew about it. As we landed, I quickly realized it’s a good ol’ boys airport.
Being Sunday, I didn’t expect anyone to be around, but when we parked and approached the FBO (which looked like an old gas station/garage being held together by who knows what) we saw a couple guys working on an airplane and found the FBO door unlocked. We entered for a bathroom break, noticed a cat sitting on the office chair and lots of flying history on the walls. One of the men entered and we started chatting.
He’s a student pilot; he’s been one since the early 1960s and still flies with his instructor when he can, but just can’t seem to finish. He’s flown a lot more than I have, though, and some much more interesting planes.
After about twenty minutes of miscellaneous chit-chat, we headed out for Richmond. The flight was uneventful. The airport was desolate; not a soul in site, so we just taxied back and headed out.
We flew over the North Carolina Motor Speedway that I’d seen on my solo cross country to Florence, SC and headed back to Sanford.
Two hours of flight time and Joseph was ready to go play with his friends.