Got to fly at the Cotton Gin in Jarvisburg NC. It is only a 20 minute drive from Nags Head. They have opened towing to solo pilots! I got to fly in the early afternoon for a nice flight and a no stepper spot landing. No BS, lots of landing area and a Winery on site! What could be better? Hopefully I'll have time to do some more flying there and the WX will cooperate.
Also the National Park at Hatteras has provisionally opened the SW dunes. If you are familiar with the Outer Banks you will realize this a big deal. It is one of the only soarable SW dune faces on the Outer Banks in the summer prevailing winds (since the south bowl is gone). Tomorrow I will try to get some local pilots or more experienced instructors to go fly the dunes with me. This could be fun.
Charley
Flying the Outer Banks!
Moderator: CHGPA BOD
Re: Flying the Outer Banks!
Today I flew at the Currituck County Airport. It is about 45 miles from Nags Head. Still very convenient from OBX. Jonny T. was towing an eager group of young instructors. Advanced instructors were giving tandem rides to KHK employees. The airport is a little more open than the Cotton Gin and has XC potential for those that are interested.
It was fairly windy and the conditions were not soarable, but it was still fun to get in the air at another new airport. My first launch ended with a gentle rope break at 100ft. I just pulled in and landed straight ahead without any issue. It reinforced the idea to alway be thinking ahead and have a way out. My second attempt was a nice tow to altitude and scenic flight around the airport. I had a good approach and a satisfying landing. Still hoping for soarable conditions before Sunday. Looks like Saturday might be day to do some dune hopping at Jockeys Ridge with light NE winds.
Jonny was very helpful and gave me good briefings at the Cotton Gin and Currituck. He would like to see more solo pilots so they could keep both locations busy. He was curious why more people don't come down and fly? I preferred the convenience and scenic view from the Cotton Gin, but it probably won't be their primary field for solo pilots. Mitch and Linda are also part of the flight operations at the C.G. so endless opportunity for edutainment exists. The vagaries of OBX WX in the summer can be challenging, but it is still a great opportunity to do some low key flying and be at the beach. Maybe once I get back I'll post some photos if anything looks interesting.
Charley
It was fairly windy and the conditions were not soarable, but it was still fun to get in the air at another new airport. My first launch ended with a gentle rope break at 100ft. I just pulled in and landed straight ahead without any issue. It reinforced the idea to alway be thinking ahead and have a way out. My second attempt was a nice tow to altitude and scenic flight around the airport. I had a good approach and a satisfying landing. Still hoping for soarable conditions before Sunday. Looks like Saturday might be day to do some dune hopping at Jockeys Ridge with light NE winds.
Jonny was very helpful and gave me good briefings at the Cotton Gin and Currituck. He would like to see more solo pilots so they could keep both locations busy. He was curious why more people don't come down and fly? I preferred the convenience and scenic view from the Cotton Gin, but it probably won't be their primary field for solo pilots. Mitch and Linda are also part of the flight operations at the C.G. so endless opportunity for edutainment exists. The vagaries of OBX WX in the summer can be challenging, but it is still a great opportunity to do some low key flying and be at the beach. Maybe once I get back I'll post some photos if anything looks interesting.
Charley
Last edited by Dunegoon on Sat Jul 11, 2015 6:32 am, edited 1 time in total.
Re: Flying the Outer Banks!
Thanks for the update Charley! I was just in Hatteras, but didn't bring my PG. Maybe coulda used it early on Saturday in the SW flow on the dunes. The wind felt like it was cranking 20+ mph by the afternoon - the birds were soaring the dunes and the kite surfers were out in force. Went sound side in the afternoon and got an up close kite surfing show. Gonna have to try that one of these days. Wish I had had more time on this trip.
Matt
Matt