06-04-2010, 03:47 PM
Got a call last night from one of my old flying buddies and was asked if I would consider a special cargo flight to Washington D.C. I had retired a while back and the temptation was too much. "OK", I said, "I'll go".
This morning I arrived at KLAL and there on the ramp was my favorite 757-200F loaded and fueled up.
[attachment=1491]
After the normal walk around and preflight, climbed into the left seat and executed the start up procedure and checked my flight plan. After all this was done, I contacted ground and got clearance to taxi to Rwy. 9 and hold short. It seems we had a C-17 making a GPS approach to 9 and a fly by.
[attachment=1492]
After he passed, we were given takeoff clearance, taxied out onto the runway and let her roll. In no time it seemed, were in the air and climbing out to our initial altitude of 7000 ft.
[attachment=1493]
After the normal traffic advisories and several step climbs we finally reached our cruising altitude of FL340. Nice to be above most of the other traffic and weather. The further north we went, the rougher the weather got. When we got east of KSAV, we could see the clouds and storms starting to build.
[attachment=1494]
The balance of the flight was uneventful and eventually we received our clearance to land VFR on Rwy 19 at DCA. Surprised we didn't get an ILS approach since we had filed an IFR flight plan. However, it was what it was and we went through our approach and landing checklists.
Very soon we were on final to DCA.
[attachment=1495]
The landing was a challenge due to the gusty winds and the nearby thunderstorms. At times, the windscreen was almost completely blocked with rain. We made it though and all was well. We exited the runway at the last turnoff and were give taxiing instructions to the gate.
[attachment=1496]
Arriving at the gate, we weren't in too big of a hurry to deplane as the weather was still rough. We went through our shutdown list and arranged the cargo offload while we enjoyed a cup of coffee.
A friend was kind enough to take some shots of us at the gate showing the weather and the city in the background.
[attachment=1497]
[attachment=1498]
Hope you all enjoyed the flight as much as we did. Good to get back in the seat again.
This morning I arrived at KLAL and there on the ramp was my favorite 757-200F loaded and fueled up.
[attachment=1491]
After the normal walk around and preflight, climbed into the left seat and executed the start up procedure and checked my flight plan. After all this was done, I contacted ground and got clearance to taxi to Rwy. 9 and hold short. It seems we had a C-17 making a GPS approach to 9 and a fly by.
[attachment=1492]
After he passed, we were given takeoff clearance, taxied out onto the runway and let her roll. In no time it seemed, were in the air and climbing out to our initial altitude of 7000 ft.
[attachment=1493]
After the normal traffic advisories and several step climbs we finally reached our cruising altitude of FL340. Nice to be above most of the other traffic and weather. The further north we went, the rougher the weather got. When we got east of KSAV, we could see the clouds and storms starting to build.
[attachment=1494]
The balance of the flight was uneventful and eventually we received our clearance to land VFR on Rwy 19 at DCA. Surprised we didn't get an ILS approach since we had filed an IFR flight plan. However, it was what it was and we went through our approach and landing checklists.
Very soon we were on final to DCA.
[attachment=1495]
The landing was a challenge due to the gusty winds and the nearby thunderstorms. At times, the windscreen was almost completely blocked with rain. We made it though and all was well. We exited the runway at the last turnoff and were give taxiing instructions to the gate.
[attachment=1496]
Arriving at the gate, we weren't in too big of a hurry to deplane as the weather was still rough. We went through our shutdown list and arranged the cargo offload while we enjoyed a cup of coffee.
A friend was kind enough to take some shots of us at the gate showing the weather and the city in the background.
[attachment=1497]
[attachment=1498]
Hope you all enjoyed the flight as much as we did. Good to get back in the seat again.
