Pancake Day Flying

Yesterday was the 50th annual pancake breakfast hosted by the Kiwanis Club of Dalton, of which I'm a member. The breakfast is our annual fundraiser for local children's charities. I normally get there at 5 AM, but this year they put me on a swing shift, so I didn't get there until about 6:45 and worked until 11 AM.

My friend and former college roommate, Tom, came to town for the event and to do some geo-caching, but I also showed him FSX and did a couple of flights.

First I took off from Dalton in the Cessna with realistic weather turned on. Oddly, it seemed cloudier in the simulator than it did looking out the window. It was definitely windy though. I took off heading SSW, climbed out and turned back towards Dalton and flew up to Chattanooga to land. I was explaining the "red over white" light system used by some airports but when we got to Chattanooga I realized they use a different system that I don't know how to read yet. I had to eyeball my approach but the cross-wind kept pushing me off the runway, so while I landed successfully, it wasn't pretty.

Next I switched back to Florida to show off the MegaScenery. Took off from the Shuttle Landing Facility and flew across the waterway to Titusville where I successfully located and circled over my father-in-law's house. Definitely an Aha! moment that made the scenery purchase worth the money. Here's a picture:

This is looking over my left shoulder at La Cita Country Club in Titusville. I'm not going to identify the house but if you've been there you should be able to spot it.

My father-in-law, like my own father, was a private pilot back in the day. I'll have to show him this some time.